Author Archives: carolynbond

Rick Otton – Federal Court Decides

Posted on August 11, 2017

On 11 August 2017, the Federal Court found that Rick Otton, and We Buy Houses (WBH) (referred to as “the respondents” below) engaged in conduct which was misleading or deceptive or was likely to mislead or deceive in contravention of the … Continue reading →

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Lease Options in Court

Posted on January 22, 2017

A former Rick Otton student, and witness in his Federal Court case, lost a lease-option case in Supreme Court of NSW (Australia) in December 2016.  The case shows, once again, the risks faced by owners, buyers – and even ‘creative … Continue reading →

Posted in Rent to Buy, Rent to Buy Houses, rent to own, Rick Otton | Leave a comment

Lease Options

Posted on April 16, 2016

In this post I consider some examples of rent-to-buy houses (lease options) which were provided by the people who promote them.  Even these positive examples offer very little benefit to an unsophisticated ‘buyer’ in exchange for significant financial risk. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Rent to Buy, Rent to Buy Houses, rent to own, Rick Otton, vendor terms | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

One more ‘rent-to-buy’ risk – property values

Posted on April 8, 2016

In addition to all the other risks associated with rent-to-buy/vendor finance deals, the ‘buyer’ must gamble on a minimum increase in property value over a short-term.  An examination of some historic property price fluctuations shows how high this risk this … Continue reading →

Posted in Rent to Buy, Rent to Buy Houses, rent to own, vendor terms | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Telemarketing, ‘Do Not Call’, and the The Property Investment Link 

Posted on February 25, 2016

Note: Optima Wealth Solutions is a property investment firm http://www.owealth.com.au which  shares a phone number with Optima Lending Solutions and Optima Homes.  It is not related to Optima Group, Optima Lending or Optima Wealth Management who do not use telemarketers. … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumer issues - general, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Shocked by education costs? – why anxiety about your child’s education can make you vulnerable

Posted on January 8, 2016

We are often reminded about the cost of educating our children at this time of year – not just because we’re paying for school books, uniforms and fees, but by media reports about the high costs of education. These cost estimates … Continue reading →

Posted in sales psychology, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

When even a free extended warranty is overpriced

Posted on October 18, 2015

Consumer Action Law Centre recently warned about virtually worthless warranties that consumers sometimes purchase when taking out a loan or buying a car. If you have paid for a warranty, or any other type of “add-on insurance”  see how you … Continue reading →

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