Although many people are working with 'sourcing agents' to help them find properties for their portfolios, it still amazes me how few know about the recent changes within the industry to protect consumers who use their services. This article is to make you aware of those very necessary changes and what you need to check about the people you work with going forward.
In case you are not familiar with the term, or have never used a property buying agent or sourcing agent before, let me enlighten you. A Buying Agent is someone who receives instructions from a person to act on their behalf to search for property and negotiate the purchase price. Someone who employs the services of a sourcing agent is looking for help to purchase property (either their own residence or property for investment purposes, etc) for a number of different reasons. These could range between the following:
- To purchase property outside of their own immediate area
- Due to lack of time to find property themselves
- Don't like the activities involved in having to source
- Want to be as 'hands off' as possible
- Want to work with someone else due to lack of experience
- Etc, etc
- Comply with all laws relating to residential estate agency
- Be a member of a client redress scheme
- Adhere to anti money laundering regulations
- To name but a few...