Tag Archives: CEA

Professional practice when marketing projects

Posted on 5 Jul 2014 | Comments Off on Professional practice when marketing projects

Professional practice when marketing projects

The CEA had received feedback on instances of salespersons holding placards near the road kerb that pose road hazard, or distributing flyers in area without obtaining prior approval.

(1) Salespersons shall not do anything that may bring discredit or disrepute to the estate agency trade or industry; and

(2) Salespersons shall conduct their business and work with due diligence, despatch and care, and in compliance with all laws including statutory and regulatory requirements, practice circulars and guidelines.

Distribution of flyers is allowed only in specific locations of designated SMRT stations and SMRT bus interchanges.

Salespersons are required to seek prior approval from LTA, as SMRT is the operator. Distribution of flyers is not allowed at SBST Bus interchanges and SBST MRT stations.

Dummy advertisements and Advertising with consent by developers

Advertisement of a property shall be done only when there is an actual property to be marketed.  Salespersons shall not advertise any property that is no longer available for sale or letting. If salespersons are advertising developer’s units for rental or sale, they are required to seek the developer’s prior approval before advertising the developer’s properties. Salespersons are to retain proof of the approval to advertise.

Marketing foreign properties by estate agents involving third parties

If an estate agent secures a foreign project through a third party, it must ensure that due diligence on the project and the developer, including on the third party, is performed before marketing the property. If the EA is unable to perform due diligence, then the EA should not market the property.

If the third party is not licensed with CEA, then the third party is not allowed to conduct estate agency work in Singapore. Licensed EA cannot be present in name only and cannot let the third party perform estate agency work as the third party is not licensed with CEA. The estate agency work is to be done by the estate agent and salespersons deployed must be conversant with the facts and processes for marketing foreign property.

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Fine on former estate agent reduced

Posted on 21 Jun 2014 | Comments Off on Fine on former estate agent reduced

A fine imposed on a former property agent has been reduced from $18,000 to $8,000 on appeal, after Judicial Commissioner See Kee Oon agreed with the defence’s claim that it was disproportionately high, said media reports.

He also noted that the starting point for the quantum imposed by the district judge, who relied on cases involving unregistered estate agents performing the work of an estate agent, is not “entirely appropriate”.

The first to be prosecuted for moneylending offences under the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA), Ghazali Mohamed Rasul was a former registered agent with PropNex Realty.

In 2011, he received a kickback of $150 from a moneylender he had introduced to a client who was having financial problems and wanted to sell his flat.

Ghazali was then charged with two counts of moneylending offences under the CEA, with four other similar charges taken into consideration.

The CEA had urged the district judge, in its written submissions on sentencing, to impose a fine of $15,000 as well as two weeks in prison for every charge. It explained that salespersons who refer their clients to moneylenders cause serious social problems as some low-income clients have little choice but to sell their properties in order to repay the high-interest loans.

But defence lawyers Andrea Gan and Derek Kang said in their written submissions that Ghazali had “absolutely no payment or commission arrangements” with the moneylender and that the payments he had received had been offered to him.

Moreover, Kang argued that the amount involved – two payments of $150 – was “extremely modest”.

He noted that Ghazali, who had been called in for a single offence, did not only pleaded guilty to such offence, he also helped the prosecution build its case against himself after voluntarily disclosing that he also made similar referrals to three other clients.

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