John helped the reviewer buy this property

A deeply disappointing experience that taught us to get everything in writing

Our experience purchasing a rural property through John Pitman was extremely disappointing. The property was advertised as a home where we could enjoy the rural lifestyle “from day one”. At our first inspection, we specifically asked John whether the home had full Shire approval and were reassured that it did. When making our offer, we discussed structural, electrical and termite inspections and left believing these would form part of the process. Before going unconditional, I text John asking when the structural inspection would be organised. John phoned and told me these things weren't organised until we went unconditional. We relied on that advice. Once unconditional, we asked again and were then told we hadn't requested a structural inspection, it wasn't in our contract. Two weeks before settlement, our settlement agent raised concerns about the Shire approval. After repeatedly requesting documentation, we discovered the building was approved only as a STORAGE SHED. We ultimately had to engage a property lawyer to negotiate a resolution with the seller. Another troubling issue involved title insurance. At the meeting where we signed our offer, we recall John offering this insurance and I signed a physical document. When the Shire approval issue arose, we asked John about it and he denied knowledge of it. We then realised a copy of the document had not been included with the paperwork emailed to us. Finally, at our Wednesday pre-settlement inspection, I specifically told John we HAD to move Friday. John reassured me we could. John then messaged AFTER settlement to tell us the seller was remaining until Saturday. When questioned, his response was essentially, “Sorry mate, nothing I can do for you.” That was the last we heard from him. Our biggest lesson from this experience: GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING. Independently verify everything, ensure anything you rely upon is explicitly included in the contract and never rely solely on verbal assurances.