Legal Duties of Estate Agents

The information in this article is courtesy of iAfrica (An Estate Agents Legal Duties – 24 April 2009).

When selling your residential property, it is essential that you are aware of the duties of the estate agent. The agent has a responsibility towards the seller but must always be fair to the buyer. These are some other duties of an estate agent:

1. An agent must strive to achieve the highest possible price excepted by the buyer.

2. Agents must ensure that there is no conflict of interest such as selling to themselves or to friends. If so, agents must disclose this information.

3. Agents are not allowed to take any payments from the buyer to achieve a quick sale.

4. Agents are not allowed to disclose any private details about the seller especially not to help the bargaining process – unless this has been discussed.

5. An agent must submit to the clients all offers on a property including those that may have come through another agency on a shared commission basis.

6. Agents must advertise property in an honest way according to the promises made when the mandate was received.

7. Payment of rental properties must be kept up-to-date by agents and monthly statements must be send to clients if money is kept in the agent’s trust.