Agent who admitted ‘disgraceful conduct’ given top award by real estate chain

A real estate agent who admitted shameful behavior after selling her rental property to a retiree in Waikato without revealing that it was a “leaky home” was hailed by the real estate chain who stood by her side as a “true champion” .

Corinna Mansell was banned from the industry for three months and fined $ 2,500 after a disciplinary court hearing in 2019.

She quit as General Manager of Remax, the world’s largest real estate chain. Despite the results, Remax kept her on as the manager of her Flatbush, Auckland office – and gave her the highest honors at her annual awards ceremony.

The company’s new managing director, Don Ha, gave Mansell the first ever CEO’s Cup and described her in a press release as a “brand ambassador” and “true champion”.

Ha then told Stuff that “everyone deserves a second chance” and that “we humans understand, we don’t crucify them”.

CONTINUE READING:
* Disgraced Remax real estate boss ‘pathetic’ three month ban on leaky house sales
* Real estate manager pleads guilty to “shameful behavior”
* Real estate manager in leaky home drama leaves job

Mansell’s Hamilton rental sales were covered in Stuff’s 2018 three-part series, The Big Leak.

Jean Warburton bought the Whitiora home from Mansell in 2015 for $ 490,000. When she started the renovation work, she found that it had major problems with the weatherproofing.

Stuff’s investigation found that Mansell had missed five opportunities to diagnose the house as leaking prior to the sale and that major repairs had been made prior to the purchase.

An important report on the subject of the House was never passed on either. Mansell blamed sales agents Andrew Gibson and Cary Ralph for this, saying it made it available to them, but a Real Estate Authority investigation dismissed Gibson and Ralph, blaming Mansell.

Mansell pleaded guilty on the eve of a two-day disciplinary hearing in August 2019 and was fined and suspended by a disciplinary court the following month. Mansell’s behavior was a “serious violation of acceptable standards”.

The then managing director of REA, Kevin Lampen-Smith, described the ban as a “warning shot” and a “clear message” to the industry.

Tom Lee / things

Corinna Mansell is leaving Hamilton District Court after her District Court hearing.

But Mansell was able to continue her role as Flatbush manager during the suspension. Warburton described the penalties as “pathetic”, accounting for only one percent of her own loss of $ 250,000 on the property.

Warburton also sued Mansell, contractor Matt Carson, who had done the repairs, and a building inspector, Tony Bankier, who had given him a positive report. Eventually an agreement was reached in which Carson’s parents Ashley and Suzanne bought the property. It has since been completely rebuilt and sold by the Carsons for $ 1.18 million in February of this year.

Since her suspension, Mansell’s career at Remax has grown significantly. In Remax’s own press release sent to real estate websites, Ha was quoted as saying that Mansell “stands out as a brand ambassador, a person who has proven brand growth through recruitment and retention, and who clearly supports her sales team and other franchises has our network, its own family and its community ”.

“Corinna is a true master who makes an outstanding and selfless contribution to all of these parties. I hope that being the first recipient of this award will always be very special. “

Ha told Stuff that Mansell suffered financially and emotionally from the case. “In my opinion [in] New Zealand, when someone has done something that does not seem right and has been punished and humiliated by the press for it and it has obviously done a lot of damage to their personal wellbeing and they have already gone through the process and you lose their reputation – everyone deserves one second chance. “

Mark Taylor / Stuff

The bathroom on 2B Edgecumbe St when renovations stopped after the house was found to be leaking.

Ha said Mansell had resigned as general manager and “she has to make a living and run an office,” which she grew from 12 to 70 agents and became her number one franchise company. “You can’t look at the person’s past and punish them for it, you have to look at their ability to move forward … if you focus on the past, you can’t move forward.”

However, the award was not very welcomed by those involved in leaky house sales. Warburton previously called Mansell the “biggest winner” on the case for dragging the case out until she ran out of options and was appalled by her easy sentence.

Warburton told Stuff that she was very upset with the deal and felt “totally fooled”. She said Remax saw Mansell as “their shining star”.

Gibson and Ralph both left the Remax group after the drama.

Ha bought the Remax NZ Master franchise in 2019. Ha made the Rich List in 2007, but recipients were called to his South Auckland real estate firm in 2011 after it was revealed that it owed Kiwibank $ 7 million. It lost its Ray White franchise but was later bought back to Ha’s family interests. Ha himself went bankrupt in 2012, but his career bounced back under the Remax banner and became their best-selling franchisee. In 2020 he was inducted into the International Hall of Fame in Las Vegas.

Delivered

Real estate manager Don Ha

Ha said Remax is now New Zealand’s fastest growing real estate chain, and Remax has opened 15 new offices since its acquisition.

When asked whether the award looked good for the industry, the Real Estate Institute declined to comment. The Real Estate Agency, which had been so critical of Mansell when it was suspended, also touched it, saying, “The REA deals with complaints and disciplinary issues arising from behavior in the work of real estate agencies, and particularly in connection with real estate transactions.

“Our role does not extend to overseeing corporate reward and recognition programs. In that case, it would not be appropriate for us to comment on issues related to in-house real estate agencies.”

When asked for a comment, Corinna Mansell said: “I was advised not to comment as this is a company policy. Don spoke to you and gave you his comment. “