Engage accredited property agents

Source : Sunday Times - 12 Apr 2009

We refer to last Sunday’s article, ‘More expats fall prey to rogue property agents’.

The Singapore Accredited Estate Agencies (SAEA), a real estate accreditation body that has certified more than 300 accredited agencies and over 6,000 accredited agents, echoes the words of Mr Chris Koh of the Dennis Wee Group, a member of our advisory committee, that ‘the industry badly needs both regulation and proper training, as well as penalties for rogue or scamming agents’.

As an accreditation body launched in 2005 with the support of the Ministry of Finance, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and the Housing Board, we have since taken our mandate seriously to work towards the weeding out of rogue agents by ensuring proper professional competency and ethical standards among agencies and agents.

Property transactions can be complex, and the value of property transactions ranges from the few thousand dollars in tenancies to millions for sales transactions.

As a result of globalisation, more foreigners are purchasing and/or leasing properties in Singapore as they relocate for business, work or study. Estate agents therefore need to be competent and reliable.

Besides having the necessary knowledge and skill sets when advising on property transactions, they ought to act in a fiduciary manner.

Thus, we advise consumers who wish to sell, buy or lease properties to engage an accredited salesperson or agents from accredited agencies.

These are agents who have passed either the Common Examination for House Agents or the Common Examination for Salespersons.

As an accreditation body committed to industry progress, the SAEA is concerned with professional standards.

A register of SAEA’s accredited agencies and salespersons is available at its website, www.saea.org.sg

Next, it may be useful for consumers to consider using agents who have professional indemnity insurance and those who have established track records with their respective agencies.

Consumers can contact the agencies that these agents represent and verify their active status with their management staff.

Finally, the SAEA has a disciplinary board to hear complaints from the aggrieved public on agents’ misconduct or malpractice.

We have also established a dispute resolution centre with trained, experienced mediators to facilitate cost-effective, win-win outcomes should there be a conflict between affected parties.

Peter Koh
Chairman
Singapore Accredited Estate Agencies Limited