3 things to know about engaging a property agent

If you are renting out your property, the property agent’s role ends once the tenancy agreement is signed and the property is handed over to the tenant.

The property agent does not handle property management issues including the return of rental deposit to the tenant. They also cannot handle transaction monies in general for you. You will need to do so yourself using verifiable payment means.

Click here to find out more about the roles and responsibilities of a property agent and the regulations on agents handling transaction monies.

You can engage more than one property agent to handle your property transaction by signing a non-exclusive estate agency agreement with each of the property agencies that your appointed agents are from. Click here to find out more about exclusive and non-exclusive agreements.

Your agent, however, can only represent one party in a property transaction (i.e. the same agent may not represent both buyer and seller, or both landlord and tenant in the same transaction).

Dual representation is illegal.

Commission is negotiable. You should discuss and agree on the commission amount with your agent, and state the amount clearly in the estate agency agreement prior to appointing your property agent.

You may wish to compare the commission rates offered by different agents and consider the services that you can expect to receive, before appointing your agent.

After the transaction is completed, do honour the deal. Remember that you should pay the commission to the property agency, not the agent.