Fresh claims against suspended estate agent ‘Teflon’ Josh Tesolin as he launches new career

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If Sydney real estate agent Josh Tesolin was hoping this weekend marked the end of his four-month suspension from the real estate industry, he’s out of luck. Instead, he is expected to be slapped with a second suspension as early as Friday.

Among a raft of new allegations from the regulator to be levelled against the high-profile agent are offences related to high-pressure sales tactics, an incentivised commission scheme, and breaching his previous suspension by continuing to be involved in his Quakers Hill agency.

Josh Tesolin is set to be hit with a second suspension on Friday.

As the NSW Office of Fair Trading continues to compile its hefty dossier on Tesolin, the high-profile agent has already lined up a new career, training the next generation of agents in the tricks of the trade.

Peak Mentoring is a recently launched online coaching business aimed at training agents who are hoping to emulate Tesolin’s high-earning success. The company by that name was registered early last month with Tesolin’s mother Annette Tesolin as a co-director.

Judging by Tesolin’s social media posts this week, agents have not been deterred by recent allegations against him by Fair Trading of serious and repeated breaches of the law.

Josh Tesolin has been spruiking his new training business to his 17,400 followers on Instagram this week.

Tesolin declined to comment for this story but he has previously rejected suggestions that he has breached any of the relevant property laws.

According to agents who have made inquiries, fees range from $2000 for one-on-one sessions up to $10,000 for the whole office, with training open to a dozen other industries.

It’s been a tumultuous second half of the year since Tesolin signed off on last financial year’s success by banking more than $9 million in sales commissions. At the time he was ranked the highest-earning real estate agent across the Ray White network.

But in July an investigation by this masthead into his business conduct revealed that his record-high commissions were fuelled by a dodgy, incentivised commission scheme whereby clients were charged tens of thousands of dollars extra by way of a last-minute incentive payment.

The scheme was detailed in a leaked team SMS chat shared by the broader Tesolin office, and detailed how Tesolin could turbocharge his commissions to a total of $420,000 in one day.

Ray White initially stood by their star agent but a few weeks later announced the mutual termination of its franchise agreement with Tesolin and his Quakers Hill office.

The next day Tesolin relaunched his real estate business under the NGU banner, which is part of the Brisbane-based NGU agency run by his friend and now business associate Emil Juresic.

Comment was sought by Fair Trading. “Given that NSW Fair Trading’s investigation into Josh Tesolin is ongoing, further comment is not available at this time,” said an office statement issued on Thursday.

Tesolin spruiks his new training business on Instagram.

The full extent of the three-year investigation into Tesolin’s business practices was laid bare in August when the NSW Office of Fair Trading initially suspended his licence for four months pending possible disciplinary action. The deadline on that first suspension is Saturday.

Included in the allegations were more than 100 cases of underquoting, dummy bidding, high-pressure sales tactics and producing false documents to Fair Trading. The licence of his private real estate company, Tesolin Consulting, was also suspended.

Corporate restructure expert David Mansfield, of Deloitte, was appointed manager of Tesolin Consulting.

Tesolin, 30, is still able to profit from the Quakers Hill office because the suspension orders did not apply to his other real estate company, Norwest Realty Pty Ltd, which is the company owner behind the NGU Quakers Hill office.

Tesolin was revealed as one of the worst offenders in terms of underquoting in the Bidding Blind investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Controversial Sydney real estate agent Josh Tesolin put his Bentley Bentayga up for sale for $260,000.

As part of the investigation, more than 36,000 auction campaigns were analysed over 18 months across Sydney and Melbourne, uncovering an extraordinary level of misinformation and deception in terms of auction guides. Of those analysed in Sydney, almost half of the sale results were for more than 10 per cent above the guide.

Tesolin’s underquoting stood out in this masthead’s analysis. Tesolin’s pricing was out by an average of 19 per cent, or $180,000. Of his 400 auction sales tracked, 50 sold for at least 30 per cent above the guide.

Tesolin’s change in career comes as he and his wife Sophia have moved out of their Bella Vista home, putting it up for rent early this week for $1800 a week. It is one of 11 houses currently rented out by the Tesolins, earning about $9000 a week.

The family’s white Bentley Bentayga was put up for sale in July for $260,000.

Corporate records indicate that they are now based in Rozelle, where Tesolin listed, and subsequently purchased, an inner-west parkside house a year ago for $2.2 million. A recently lodged development application for a backyard pool has been approved.

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