Mel took her property off the market after claiming her real estate agent lied to her... then came a $17,000 bill

Published: 03:11, 28 April 2026 | Updated: 03:11, 28 April 2026 An Aussie has unleashed at a real estate agent for slapping her with a $17,000 bill even though her property did not sell.  Mel O’nilia Nou explained she had agreed on an asking price with the real estate agent before he listed her Sydney property on realestate.com. She later noticed the price was $40,000 less, and claimed the agent said it was part of a strategy to 'bring in buyers'.  Ms Nou decided to pull it off the market four weeks later.  'I said to him I was going to put it off the market because it was costing me money to pay the mortgage and not have it sold,' she said.  'He then pressed the potential buyers and they offered a price that was similar to what was advertised.' When Ms Nou doubted she was going to sell her property for her intended price, she said the agent told her to trust him.  'I asked him how we were going to push for the extra $40,000 of what my actual asking offer was and he said "just trust the process and let me do my job",' she said.  A home seller has claimed her real estate agent led her on after being slapped with a $17,000 marketing bill despite her house not selling 'I'm like "Ok, no worries" and after four weeks, I'm getting offers well below what was promised'.  Ms Nou said she sensed her agent wasn't being truthful.    'I felt like the agent lied to me so we could keep our listing and maybe try to persuade me to sell it for a lower price,' she said.  Ms Nou said she was given a $17,000 bill for the marketing, even though the property didn't sell.  According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), it is illegal for real estate agents to 'mislead consumers'.  'Real estate agents must give consumers truthful and complete information relevant to a property, including the property’s price,' its website states. Agents also cannot advertise well below the selling price to attract interest.  Some Aussies sided with Ms Nou and believed the agent was at fault.  Mel O’nilia Nou put her Sydney property on the market after her agent told her she would be able to sell it for a certain figure (stock image) 'He was planning to wear you down and potentially buy it himself. I know an agent that done this multiple times,' one said.   'S*** realtor behaviour, they're not all like that but a lot will tell you anything to get you to sign with them and then roll back their projected achievable price,' a second said. 'He's a scammer,' a third said.   However, some defended the agent.  'It can't all be the agent's fault or responsibility, sellers need to do their due diligence,' one said.  'They did the work and you changed your mind,' a second said.  'You still pay for the work, just not the commission for a sale.'  'The agent didn’t earn anything either for the time, effort and the price that couldn’t be achieved,' a third said.  Ms Nou didn't name the agent because she still has other properties under their property management.  Daily Mail has reached out to Ms Nou for comment.    No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.