Tag Archives: Property Agents

Have minimum educational requirement for property agents

Posted on 4 Nov 2009 | Comments Off on Have minimum educational requirement for property agents

I AGREE with the latest efforts to regulate property agents . Having retired after being a managing director of two housing agencies, I am privy to the many unseemly practices of unscrupulous property agents.

Needless to say, I had to terminate the employment of some of these agents when their unsavoury practices came to light.

Besides adding an ethical component to the housing agents’ certification, I believe setting a minimum educational benchmark is quintessential, for example, a minimum prerequisite of three O-level credits, like what DTZ has set for its agents.

This would enhance the agents’ ability to discern correct work ethics when it concerns substantial amounts of monies being paid by unsuspecting parties.

Palanisamy Ramadas

Source : Straits Times – 4 Nov 2009

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Why property agents should act for only one party

Posted on 4 Nov 2009 | Comments Off on Why property agents should act for only one party

I REFER to last Thursday’s Forum Online letters by Mrs Teresa Yao (‘How new rules can protect property agents’) and Mr Teo Kueh Liang (‘Barring same-agent property brokerage not practical’).

Both writers have highlighted the plight of the majority of ethical property agents, whose image has been tarnished by a small group of unscrupulous and dishonest agents.

In any profession, it is impossible to completely wipe out the bad hats. Therefore, after an acceptable standard of practice has been established, understood and made into law, non-compliant practices should be punished.

In any property transaction, the two most important parties are the seller and the buyer. They must enter into a legally binding contract in order for the sale to go through. It is therefore natural that we facilitate the interests of the seller and the buyer first.

The interests of the property agent come after those of the seller and the buyer, as his role can come into being only after he has been appointed.

The terms of appointment, that is, what the agent can or cannot do, for example, must be expressedly agreed between him and the one who appoints him, so that there is no ambiguity that leads to future problems. Continue reading →

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