Tag Archives: Property Agents

A demerit points system?

Industry suggestions include licensing, mandatory training

JUST like drivers, some suggest, property agents should be licensed by a government body – and subject to a demerit point system too.

That would mean being allowed to a set number of points, before facing possible suspension for misconduct.

Such ideas were floated by industry players yesterday at a forum organised by the Institute of Estate Agents (IEA), as the Ministry of National Development (MND) began this month its consultation process on a new regulatory framework for the real estate sector.

Complaints of agents’ poor service are rising and customers are now more discerning and demanding, so such regulations will be necessary to keep the standards of the profession up to mark, said IEA president Jeff Foo.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan had said in March that the whole system was “not satisfactory” and the status quo “not tenable”, after several cases of unethical practices by housing agents came to light. Continue reading

Going the extra mile pays off handsomely for SLP Int’l

This exemplary property agency does a lot more than merely bring buyer and seller together

SLP International Property Consultants Pte Ltd does something many of its ilk just don’t. And it is this extra touch that has propelled the property agency into the ranks of Singapore’s top SMEs.

SLP doesn’t just bring buyer and seller together; it takes the trouble to find out what potential buyers want and how potential sellers can deliver.

Helmed by the husband-and-wife team of Stanley Yeo and Kain Sim, the outfit took off in 2001 with the objective of serving clients in the commercial and industrial property sectors. Notably, both of them had earlier helped developers and investors to acquire more than S$48 million worth of investment properties in Singapore; some A$383 million (S$471 million) worth of properties in Australia; and over £128 million (S$289 million) worth of properties in London.

So it carved a niche for itself by assisting developers in designing properties that meet the demands of the target market, recommending them potential land and buildings for development that have strong projected returns.

On the buyer or lessee side, SLP takes the initiative of going to them. Its marketing team visits SMEs at their premises so as to better understand their needs. This way, it can propose better facilities even before the client looks for it. Continue reading