We’ve all heard about hot property, but an Australian real estate agent took that concept one step beyond and wound up burning down her client’s multi-million-dollar residence – a boo-boo that cost her employer more than $860,000 plus five years of interest.
According to News.com.au, Sydney real estate agent Julie Bundock was preparing for an open house at a $3 million residence when she discovered the current renters left bedding on the deck to dry. Bundock took the sheets from the deck to a downstairs room, where she threw them onto a metal shelf below a wall mounted light. Before leaving the room, Bundock turned on the light.
Unfortunately for all parties involved, the heat from the light caused the bedding on the shelf to catch fire. The house and all its contents were destroyed, and the property’s owner and his renters took Bundock’s employer, Domain Residential Northern Beaches, to court.
The court ordered Domain to pay the property owner $740,642 for the loss of his house and a combined $121,475 to the four renters whose belongings were lost in the fire. Domain was also ordered to pay interest on the combined $862,315, from the time of the fire in May 2019.
“That a fire might be caused by putting or throwing bedding up against a burning light is obvious,” said Chief Judge in Equity Justice David Hammerschlag in his ruling. “That risk was plainly foreseeable, and Bundock ought to have known this.”
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OMG!! Wasn’t the home insured???
Being in Aus, they may have different rules for insurance than other countries especially since it was rented. The insurance company also may not have wanted to pay out fully on the real estate agent’s gross negligence. Then just maybe the owner didn’t have it insured either or thought renter’s insurance would cover it. Too many maybes with none of the facts.