Category Archives: CEA

Two salespersons disciplined for bypassing landlord’s salesperson

Posted on 7 May 2015 | Comments Off on Two salespersons disciplined for bypassing landlord’s salesperson

Two salespersons, Goh Seow Guan, Vincent and Chua Say Siong, Eric were disciplined for misleading acts in an attempt to bypass the landlord’s salesperson, bringing disrepute to the estate agency industry.

Goh represented a tenant who was interested in renting a property. He contacted the landlord’s salesperson to arrange for a viewing and agreed to co-broke with him for the potential rental transaction. Later, Goh’s client made an offer which was conveyed to the landlord through her salesperson and the landlord counter-offered. Goh’s client then made another offer to rent the property at $8,500 per month if the landlord was agreeable to pay $1,500 to repair certain defects.

Instead of conveying the offer to the landlord’s salesperson, Goh decided to bypass him and asked his colleague Chua to call the landlord to close the transaction. Chua pretended that he had an interested tenant for the property and conveyed the same offer that Goh’s client had proposed.

Upon reviewing the profile of Chua’s prospective tenant, the landlord became suspicious that this tenant was the same person as Goh’s client. Although Chua denied it when asked, the landlord discovered that the tenant was indeed Goh’s client when she met up with him. The landlord informed her salesperson that he had been bypassed, and the salesperson filed a complaint to Goh’s and Chua’s estate agent.

The estate agent subsequently conducted investigations. When asked, Goh and Chua misrepresented to their director that they had come to know of the prospective tenant independently.

For bypassing the landlord’s salesperson even though having agreed to co-broke and lying to a director of his estate agent, Goh has brought disrepute to the estate agency industry, a breach of the Code of Ethics and Professional Client Care (CEPCC). He was sentenced to a total financial penalty of $3,000 and four months’ suspension, with a two months’ suspension running concurrently.

Chua was convicted of bypassing the landlord’s salesperson, lying to the landlord about the identity of the prospective tenant and lying to a director of his estate agent. He was sentenced to a total financial penalty of $5,000 and four months’ suspension, with another three months’ and two months’ suspension running concurrently.

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Estate agents move from selling houses to…

Posted on 2 Nov 2014 | Comments Off on Estate agents move from selling houses to…

Survival instincts kick in as sluggish property market takes its time reviving

FACED with a tepid property market, Mr Nicholas Chia, 28, decided to go from selling houses to shining cars.

An estate agent since 2010, he decided to “jump ship” in the first quarter of this year, setting up car-grooming business Doorstep Detailer as well as a franchise of a pre-school enrichment centre.

“Because of the slow market, I need something to supplement my income and something in which I can tap the network I’ve made,” he said.

Car-polishing was a natural choice: “Almost every property agent has a car, and image is important when they meet clients.”

In today’s sluggish property market, more agents are letting their licences lapse or trying their hand at other jobs, according to anecdotal reports.

Housing Board resale deals hit a record low of 18,100 last year. There were just 12,683 deals in the first nine months of this year, putting 2014 on track for a new low.

Private property deals this year barely hit 10,000 as of September, a number that was about the average of each quarter in 2012.

On top of more agents leaving, there is also less new blood entering the industry. According to the Council for Estate Agencies’ annual report last week, there were 3,061 new registered sales professionals in the last financial year, down from 4,289 the year before.

Agents say the exodus began last year, but really gained momentum this year.

Some part-time agents have returned to their day jobs, said Dennis Wee Realty agent Priscilla Pang, who is still in the business.

Full-time agents simply took their skills elsewhere. Active PropNex agent Remus Koek said: “They are mostly still in sales, but different types of sales.”

Dennis Wee Realty agent Aaron Lin said he has seen older agents turn to multi-level marketing or driving a taxi.

Alternative jobs beckon in the food and beverage as well as spa industries. Agents are also turning to forex trading, holding investment seminars and even setting up economy rice stalls.

A 41-year-old agent who wanted to be known only as Mr Ong returned to his previous field of engineering. “I’m not seasoned enough to weather the current lull,” he said.

Another agent, who wished to be known as Ms Xie, 27, stopped actively advertising around April, a year after she got her licence.

“Ideally I would have continued my activities in real estate but it just wasn’t viable.”

Besides the slow market making it tough to close deals, the new Personal Data Protection Act has made it harder to get clients, she said. Potential leads must be checked, for a fee, against the Do Not Call list of people refusing unsolicited marketing requests.

Still, she has renewed her licence for next year – just in case.

Indeed, some agents are biding their time, noted Mr Michael Long, key executive officer of Spacez Real Estate. They have told their agencies they would let their licences lapse on the understanding they can return in 2016.

Property experts expect transaction figures to start recovering by the end of next year.

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