purchasing a house through Phil was definitely a roller coaster. We knew we would be on holidays on settlement date, this was no problem as we had organised my sister to act on our behalf and we would be contactable. So we booked a pre settlement inspection on Tuesday 3/11 and my sister would video call us from the property. This was confirmed with Phil via email. Phil never showed up. After finally getting in contact with him we rescheduled for Thursday 5/11. During the inspection it was found that the power had been disconnected (despite agreeing that power would be left on until settlement day and we would connect from then as the pool needed the filter running). The power had been off for around 2 weeks and so we couldn’t test the pool equipment and it was fluro green and full of sludge. We asked for it to be rectified and withheld funds through our solicitor, no big deal, settlement went ahead. Post settlement Phil was delivering the keys to my sister, which he did. But before he did so, he attended our newly purchased property and unlocked it and left it open. Why? Because he had organised for the previous owners to access the property post settlement and had decided not to tell us about it. He also left keys inside the property for them to use. They were attempting to have the pool rectified ASAP as to release the pending funds. Had we known about this it would not have been an issue and we would have allowed access. We found out when my mum attended the property to attempt to turn the power on (was off at the mains switch inside the house) and found the old owner inside. The old owner had pocketed the keys that Phil had left for her and was leaving the property. It wasn’t until she was confronted that she returned the keys. So it’s safe to say that Phil’s actions were not only illegal but highly immoral. How many more people have keys to my property? How many people accessed my unlocked property without my knowledge? Definitely would not recommend Phil!
