Fiona’s real estate nightmare | A Current Affair

Fiona worked hard, saved hard and built up a nest egg for her retirement.She had plans to live out her twilight years in a newly built home of her own.Helping her was Jim, the real estate agent who won her over with two words, trust me.Sadly, she did and now she has nothing, is back renting and warning others to steer clear of deceitful Jim.

This was my retirement home and it was my retirement dream.I feel like I've been robbed.

I'm Jim Chikurti.I'd love to see you at the open homes.

Jim, I wouldn't trust you as far as I could throw you.

When Fiona Cairns moved to Australia from New Zealand 30 years ago, she arrived with nothing but two suitcases and a dream for a better life.

All I ever wanted was to live the dream, to own my own property in retirement, have my super, travel.I've worked hard.I've worked really, really hard to get to where I've got to.Sorry.

An innocent real estate search would introduce the single mum to agent James Jim Chikuti, a meeting that would end up destroying Fiona's retirement dreams.

So this was supposed to be my dream home.Low maintenance, no upkeep needed.

This home is ready for a new chapter.Hello, I'm Jim Ciacutti.

Jim convinced Fiona to sell her current townhouse where she'd lived for 18 years and rent while that off -the -plan dream home was being built.

Jim came around and drove around in his Lexus and looked like a nice car.And yeah, and then, you know, looked at my house and said, you know, how neat and tidy it was and that he would like to list it.

She claims the high pressure tactics started all over again.immediately.

He was relentless in pursuing me with phone calls.It just wore me down that I was just like, just go away.Just do what you have to do and go away and leave me.

Fiona signed the contract for the sale of her house in July 2021.What she didn't know was that Jim had already approached authorities about declaring bankruptcy, which triggered the cancellation of his property agent licence by Queensland's Office of Fair Trading.But he continued to promote listings online for at least another 15 months.

to be protected and know that the person that you're dealing with is represented and qualified to be able to do that job.

The sale of her house left Fiona with almost $200 ,000 to invest while she waited for her new home to be built.

He walked into my house and he took a measure of me and he summed me up.This man purposely sized me up and I have to live with that for the rest of my life.That there are people who we think we can trust, and they ruin your life.

Even the salesman, Jim, sold Fiona on buying shares in a mining giant as part of an investment scheme, reassuring her with the phrase...

Oh, trust me, I'm a real estate agent.He just kept it up.He was just like, you know, it's a great deal.Come on, Fiona, I just want to do this for you.I'd like to see you set up in your retirement.And I ended up giving him my money.

" Two years after selling her home, alarm bells started to ring and Fiona started googling.Fiona's fight to get her money back started in 2023.The excuses came thick and fast in the beginning.

Hey Fiona, on -track transfer will be done Monday.Hey Fiona, I'm working on it as we speak.We'll be in touch as soon as I have something concrete.Okay, I'll be back to you this afternoon.

The formerly chatty agent went silent and Fiona launched a case with the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, QCAT, to try and get her money back.

That whole process took me probably 26 months to pursue.It was difficult.It took a lot of resilience.There were lots of times I just wanted to give up.But I did pursue it.

Q -Cat ruled in Fiona's favour and almost five years after her townhouse was sold, she was awarded $270 ,000 in compensation.A debt Chakuti is liable to repay.A current affair reached out to Jim, who hung up on our producer, then blocked us.

Yeah, no, thank you.

QCAT member Rebecca Bellamy in her decision saying Jim leveraged his status and position as a real estate agent salesperson to induce Fiona to rely on whatever he told her and that she fell victim to a man who had the appearance of legitimacy.After being out of the real estate market for so long and missing out on so much capital gains, Fiona fears she'll never get back in.

now just be another cohort of a 60 -year -old woman who will never own a home.a home.I never just wanted to be independent, look after myself, you know, make my own decisions, and that independence has been taken from me now.