Time runs out for dodgy estate agents

photo credit: Invisible Hour

Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick, tock. No, it’s not the sound of the croc that gets Captain Hook so nervous, although this particular timepiece has got some people similarly riled.

That is the sound of the countdown to October 1, which is when UK estate agents will finally be subject to a redress scheme which will hear and process the complaints of disgruntled property sellers, investors and general buyers.

Two bodies have been given the seal of approval to run schemes which agents can sign up to – the Ombudsman for Estate Agents Company Limited and the Surveyors Ombudsman Service.

Big change for property pros

Whatever someone thinks about this – positive or negative, it’s a big change for Britain’s property wheelers and dealers. Agents already have to deal with a huge slowdown in sales, possible redundancies, and Home Information Packs, which many label as irritating bureaucracy. Now they face the inconvenient prospect of having to properly live up to the impacts of poor practice and mistakes. Boo hoo.

Ok, so you may have guessed I’m not the biggest fan of the shiny-shoe wearing masses, but it will be interesting to see the impact of the redress system in general – will it work? Will it be efficient? Will agents go along with it comfortably?

Already in action

Of course, many agents are signed up already and complaints are already being dealt with. One complaint processed by the Ombudsman for Estate Agents stemmed from the fact a buyer who made an offer on a repossessed house heard nothing from the agent afterwards. They later found out the sale was progressing with another buyer who had made an offer of the same value. One of the reasons for this hoo-ha? The agents wrote down the original buyer’s mobile number incorrectly. The best is yet to come no doubt.

[tags]real estate,real estate investing,property,property investment[/tags]