The Sunday News
Real Estate issues with Jonathan Thompson
IF you have been reading the newspapers you may have noticed a number of articles recently focusing on “Bogus Estate Agents”.
“Bogus estate agents put minister’s house up for sale”, read one headline. “Bogus valuers on the prowl”, another headline shouts. Another headline screams, “Bogus estate agents jailed!” But what is a “bogus estate agent”?
The Estate Agents Act describes a bogus estate agent as, “any person who, not being registered, practices as an estate agent, or describes himself or allows himself to be described or holds himself out as an estate agent.”
In Zimbabwe all Real Estate agents need to be registered with the Estate Agents Council (EAC).
Anyone who is selling or leasing out a property, which does not belong to them, has to be a registered Estate Agent or under the direct supervision of a Registered Estate Agent. Any other person who is out there trying to work in the Real Estate industry is a “bogus estate agent”.
A registered Estate Agent has to meet a minimum standard of experience and has to study and to successfully pass the required examinations.
They have to maintain the standards of the Real Estate industry as prescribed by law. But how do you know if the person that you are dealing with is a genuine real estate agent or a bogus estate agent? First of all, a registered estate agent has a Certificate of Registration with a registration number.
An estate agent will also have a current Compensation Fund Certificate. You can go online to the EAC website and search the Approved Agents list at https://eac.co.zw/agents. If you discover that you are dealing with a bogus estate agent you should record their details and report them to the EAC.
Many bogus estate agents make their money by charging “viewing fees”. These viewing fees can range from US$5 to US$20.
They also will charge “agent fees” which can range from US$10 to US$60.
A registered estate agent will collect their management fees from the collected rentals, not from a prospective tenant, upfront. Bogus estate agents have been known to offer houses for rent or for sale that are not even on the market.
The public may be paying for the viewing of a property that they have no chance of getting. The shortage in suitable rentals in Bulawayo has caused this situation to become worse. Unscrupulous scammers have decided to cash in on this shortage, by acting as bogus estate agents.
I have been to many real estate industry meetings where the focus has been, “What can we do as the Real Estate Industry to stop bogus estate agents?” The answer is that it is a difficult problem to tackle from the top. The easiest way to rid the industry of these bogus estate agents would be for the public to realise who they are dealing with.
A real estate purchase is likely to be the biggest purchase that you will ever make in your life. So protect yourself by using only reputable, registered estate agents.
Refuse to deal with a bogus estate agent. Report their illegal activities to the EAC. Trust your home, your office, or your property only in the hands of a registered estate agent. Together we can help to make our country a better place to live and work.
Jonathan Thompson is a Registered Real Estate Agent who works in Bulawayo. He has nine years of experience in Real Estate in the USA, and another 10 years’ experience in Bulawayo. He has great interest in the Real Estate Industry of Zimbabwe, and actively invests in Real Estate.
