Estate Agent

Job overview
Estate agents find and bring together the sellers and buyers of all types of immovable property including houses, flats, farms, factories, shops and offices.

What do people do in this job?
The work of estate agents begins with a mandate from a seller or a buyer, usually a written instruction to find a buyer or a seller for a specified property.

The agents?' ?first priority is to establish a fair market value for the seller's property.

They will also discuss and put together the most effective marketing plan for the seller's property.

In offering or advertising a property for sale, estate agents will point out its merits and strong selling features including its location, current state of repair and, most importantly, its likely market value.

Estate agents, in their negotiations with prospective buyers, should always adopt an objective approach and find out precisely what the particular buyer requires and if he/she will be able to meet financial obligations for the chosen property.

In finding a buyer for a house the agents must, find out his/her requirements in regard to schools, universities, churches, shops, public transport and recreation.

The agents must also know about the zoning of undeveloped land in close proximity to the property being marketed.

In most instances estate agents act as negotiators between seller and buyer and will bring about agreement as to price, date of occupation etc.

All such items of agreement are defined in a written? "?Offer to Purchase?" ?or? "?Contract of Sale?"?.

This contract will be submitted to an attorney who will attend to the legal aspects of the sale and arrange for transfer of the property.

It is usual for the purchaser to arrange a bond with a bank or building society in order to pay at least part of the purchase price and an attorney will attend to the registration of such a bond.

In addition to the above duties estate agents perform many other functions including the completion of application forms for building society bonds, liaising with attorneys and other similar duties.

Estate agents are one of the few professions where earnings by way of fees or commissions are only paid on finalisation of the transaction or registration process.

If the transaction fails the estate agents do not receive their commission.

What kinds of people are suitable for this career?
Estate agents must be people of high integrity since they must protect the interests of their clients, usually the seller, at all times to the best of their ability having due regard, however, to the interests of all other parties concerned with the transaction.

It is also essential that they be self motivators because the market is highly competitive and they only earn a fee when they sell.

What qualifications are needed?
There are no formal qualifications, although estate agents in the bigger centres will have their own professional bodies, stipulating standards of good practice and sometimes offering courses of instruction for prospective agents.

Familiarity with legal requirements and aptitude for financial dealings are advantages.