WITH MANY property businesses in trouble it’s no surprise to hear that the IAVI (Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute) has had to pay out from its compensation fund after one of its member firms ran into trading difficulties.
Chief executive Alan Cooke says that, by today, it will have paid out close to €150,000 to reimburse deposits paid by clients.
The upper limit on the compensation scheme is €190,000 for each individual firm, with a maximum reimbursement of one-third of that in any particular case.
The fund was set up voluntarily 32 years ago and, according to Cooke, has paid out the equivalent of €10,000 a year.
Of course, there were few calls on the fund in the good years, when everyone in the property game was making money. Now with businesses folding and litigation high on the list of priorities, the auctioneers’ fund is more vulnerable than ever before. No matter how bad it gets for estate agents, the IAVI can thank its lucky stars that it’s not in the same boat as the Law Society which has apparently paid out around €40 million over the year from its compensation fund.
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