Estate agent
An estate agent is a person or business in the United Kingdom that arranges the selling, renting, or managing of properties and other buildings.
Estate agents are mainly engaged in the marketing of property available for sale and contract reassignments,[1] and a solicitor or licensed conveyancer is used to prepare the legal documents.
"Estate agent" also remains the current title for the person responsible for the management of one group of privately owned, all or mostly tenanted properties under one ownership.
Alternative titles are factor, steward, or bailiff, depending on the era, region, and extent of the property concerned.
Estate agents need to be familiar with their local area, including factors that could increase or decrease property prices.
Members, known as "Chartered Surveyors", are elected based on examination and are required to adhere to a code of conduct, which includes regulations about looking after their clients' money and professional indemnity insurance in case of error or negligence.
The redress scheme was brought in alongside and to govern agents in reference to the HIP (Home Information Pack).
A handful of national residential estate agents chains exist, with the majority being locally or regionally specialised companies.
Several multi-national commercial agencies exist, typically Anglo-American, pan-European, or global.
Shorthold tenancy agreements are standard contracts; the wording is generally available from legal stationers and on the internet for around £1.00, although most lettings agents will charge £30 to provide one.
Some agents may charge for additional marketing such as newspapers and websites; however, generally, the advertising is included in the fee.
Other than for the cheapest properties, estate agent fees are generally the second most expensive component of the cost of moving house in the United Kingdom after stamp duty.
Online estate agents claim that they can advertise a property as effectively as traditional estate agents by using digital marketing techniques and centralising their back office operation to one location, rather than having physical offices in the town in which they are based.
Boards are still very effective, but many agents are now cutting out paper advertising and moving just to digital such as eMags and just the web.
In recent years agents have started working together again through systems similar to the USA called MLS (multi listing service).
In both cases technology via MLS and idx means that sub agents collaborating can populate many more properties into their websites by working together.
In Britain, no formal qualifications are required to become an estate agent; however, local property knowledge and customer-service skills are considered worthwhile.
