Complaints Against Unethical Housing Agents On The Rise

Source : The Straits Times, Sunday, Aug 26, 2007

57 complaints filed with Case from Jan to July, up from 32 in same period last year

AN OFFER of $438,000 for his HDB maisonette looked like a pretty good deal to Mr Simon Huin - until he found out his property agent had pulled a fast one.

The agent had kept a higher offer from Mr Huin - one that would have given him $7,000 more for his Geylang East home.

That offer had come from another agent but doing this deal - it is called co-broking - would have required Mr Huin's agent to share the 3 per cent commission.

Mr Huin, a 55-year-old project coordinator, was furious and reported the agent to the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case).

It is becoming a familiar story with the number of complaints against errant agents shooting up amid a hot property market. Case received 57 complaints from January to July this year, compared with 32 in the same period last year.

The Singapore Accredited Estate Agencies (SAEA), received 46 complaints against agents in the same period this year, up from 31 cases last year.

Most gripes are about agents offering poor service or misrepresenting facts.

'These unethical agents who work for their own interests shouldn't be tolerated,' said Mr Huin, whose case is being investigated by Case and the Institute of Estate Agents (IEA).

If the IEA finds that the agent had behaved unethically, it will strengthen Mr Huin's case should he decide to sue for damages.

Agents who want to pocket both the seller's commission and the buyer's fee may refuse to co-broke but that usually greatly reduces the number of buyers viewing a home.

It also goes against industry guidelines, which state that agents should always co-broke to safeguard a client's interest.

But when The Sunday Times - posing as a buyer - called 10 agents listed in the Classifieds, four flatly refused to co-broke.

There are 18,500 agents in Singapore registered with the IEA. Between April and June this year, 12,897 transactions were made in the private residential market - more than double the 5,767 in the same period last year.

Experts believe some agents are rushing to seal deals and cutting corners.

Tenants face the same problems. Expatriate Laura Thornton-Olivry, in her 30s, has thrice failed to get a rental home because agents upped the price even after she had signed letters of intent and handed over cheques.

The housewife is one of 13 frustrated people who have written to The Straits Times' Forum page in the past eight months, calling for agents to be licensed, to curb unethical practices.

Property agencies agree. Although anyone can become an agent now by completing an agency's in-house training, the SAEA aims to have all agents accredited by 2009. Those found to be unethical can then be expelled or suspended.

But there is no regulatory body to enforce accreditation. As PropNex's chief executive Mohamed Ismail pointed out: 'As long as there's no central regulatory body, there will be unethical agents who simply move on to another agency when fired.' Like most estate agencies, he wants the Government to step in.

The SAEA advises people to use only the 6,000 accredited agents listed on its website. At least they can be held accountable.

Down with unscrupulous agents

‘These unethical agents who work for their own interests shouldn’t be tolerated.’ MR SIMON HUIN, 55, a project coordinator whose agent withheld a higher offer for his HDB maisonette

Up with proper regulation

‘As long as there’s no central regulatory body, there will be unethical agents who simply move on to another agency when fired.’ MR MOHAMED ISMAIL, PropNex’s chief executive, calling on the Government to step in