Real Estate Agent burns down house before Open

Sydney : REA agent was tidying up the owners home (which had tenants) prior to a open home. Left sheets from a dryer on a illuminated light. 20minutes later house was ablaze.

This 2019 drama found its way to court this week. The realator was found negligent and liable for the owners loss and also to indemnify the owner for losses from the tenants. $850,000 worth

No mention on how much, if any, insurance the agent held for this matter. Julie Bundock no longer works for the agency and now works elsewhere. Surprised ??

Real estate agent Julie Bundock accidentally burns down a $3M home at Avalon Beach minutes before an open house | Daily Mail Online

 

Don’t give developers who want to demolish heritage protected houses any ideas lol.

 

really curious why owner's insurance didn't cover it in the first place

 

The owner and tenant insurance policies may have exclusions for negligence or the like. The REA was on the property with permission. My policies say something to the effect that any adverse events caused by a person on a property with permission are excluded. A guest who steals something may not be a defined event under the policy.

The $850,000 may be after claims were made, excess costs, inconvenience, etc.

 

They might have. The trial might be effectively the owner's building insurer versus REA's liability insurer.

 

Now works elsewhere? I’m surprised the agent is still in the game. I wonder how the resume hid the disaster?

 

Wow

 

It's more like $741k for the house and $121k to the tenants for the loss of their contents.

I don't see this as an incorrect outcome, ie the person (employer/agency) who caused the damage through their negligence being made to pay restitution.

 

Yes. Many assume insurers just pay an apparent loss. Oh no. Insurers will spend $500K to defend a $750K claim and even spend $750K to defend a $500K sometimes. The bigger the claim he bigger the likelyhood they will fight it hard. Its rule #1 of insurers. Insurers all have major contracted law firms under a retainer agreement. The first thing a insurer may do is appoint the law firm to advise and manage the claim. The issues decided appear to suggest there were defences raised of contributory negligence and also failure to communicate the heat source etc.

The owners and tenants insurance (assume they held it) may also have refused a claim pending the outcome as insurance doesnt work as a first line to compensation of loss. It is the final line. Until that is decided there is no loss. We often are misled by car insurance where the innocent driver car loss is met by their policy. However insurers have a car chargeback approach which does the re-claim against the other driver and their policy behind the scene. So the innocent drivers insurer gets compensated by the at fault driver OR their insurer.
This doesnt happen with property loss. Insurance policies basically say we will cover you for your loss. The insurer will even fund a legal claim to assist a owner to avoid a policy claim. And make the legal costs a element of the civil claim.

 

They have been using fire as a tool for such a long time. And still have done so recently. Brisbane has some shocking stories from only a few years ago.

 

The plot thickens... this is like a bad soap opera...



A real estate agent who accidentally burned a multimillion-dollar home to the ground in one of Sydney’s most prestigious suburbs had previously been in a relationship with the owner, court documents have revealed.

 

Soap opera indeed. Might the relationship be a conflict of interest? Maybe not - both parties accepted the REA selling the place.