‘Totally unfair’: High-flying Sydney real estate agent Sarah Zhou suspended over building defects
High-flying Sydney real estate agent Sarah Zhou has been suspended for allegedly withholding documents involving building strata defects from a buyer.
Ms Zhou was an agent for The Marshall Group for almost two years and regularly sold multi-million dollar properties in affluent Sydney suburbs like Turramurra and Pymble on the Upper North Shore.
Two homes her team sold in August went for $4.7 million and $7.58 million, respectively. Her profile has since been removed from the agency’s website.
“NSW Fair Trading received a complaint regarding a property sold by Ms Zhou where documents involving building strata defects were withheld,” a spokesperson for the consumer watchdog told news.com.au on Friday.
“The withheld documents related to the property’s waterproofing, fire safety systems, building drainage and other essential services.”
The agency determined that Ms Zhou had breached the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002, as well as the Australian Consumer Law, the spokesperson said.
“Ms Zhou was fined and her property licence was cancelled for a period of five years.”
The former agent vigorously denied any wrongdoing when contacted by news.com.au.
“That’s totally unfair and it’s a one-sided story, they haven’t reviewed our evidence,” Ms Zhou said.
“We provide whatever documents we have from third parties — we send that to the buyer.”
She claimed the Fair Trading decision arose because she had sent a buyer a link to property documents that wasn’t working.
Ms Zhou added that she was contesting the decision in court.
“It’s an unfair decision by a single person in Fair Trading, so that’s why we do actually have legal action at the moment.”
Ms Zhou’s lawyer said she had filed a stay application against Fair Trading’s decision that would be heard on November 11.
News.com.au has contacted The Marshall Group for comment.
Do you know more? Email harrison.christian@news.com.au
‘Top-performing’ real estate agent suspended
Ms Zhou’s suspension comes after another successful Sydney agent, Josh Tesolin, was
also suspended for allegedly underquoting the selling price of more than 100 properties and dummy bidding at auctions.
NSW Fair Trading also alleged Mr Tesolin, of Tesolin Consulting, had produced false documents to the watchdog and breached rules of conduct by using “high pressure sales tactics”.
The regulator announced on August 9 that Mr Tesolin had been suspended immediately for four months, pending possible disciplinary action, for engaging in “serious and repeated breaches of the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002”.
“The conduct is believed to have occurred while Mr Tesolin and Tesolin Consulting operated under the banner of Ray White (Quakers Hill – Tesolin Group),” it said.
Before his suspension, Mr Tesolin was Ray White’s top-performing realtor internationally and was crowned the number one residential agent at the Annual REA Excellence Awards in 2021.
He boasted on social media he had earned more than $9 million in commissions this financial year.
The Rolex-wearing and Bentley-driving agent’s own property portfolio was worth more than $15 million.
As principal of Ray White Quakers Hill he had a focus on properties in Sydney’s western suburbs.
