There is a notorious impression of estate agents in the real estate market. According to the public notion, the estate agent in Preston is willing to do anything and give any assurance to ensure they secure the bigger part of the profit. However, this has become irrelevant with new laws, regulations, and guidelines coming into effect.
The Estate Agents Act 1979 and Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 are some of the efficient laws that protect real estate sellers and buyers. These regulations ensure the estate agents are treating the potential buyers and sellers fairly and operating more transparently. Here are some of the legal obligations real estate agents need to abide by while dealing with buyers.
- Accurate description of the property
One of the key aspects of estate agents’ legal obligations towards buyers is accurately describing the property details. This law comes under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. According to this law, the estate agent in Preston is required to disclose any information they are aware of that is related to the property in clearly stated lines with their intellectual ability promptly.
They must provide the buyer with an accurate description of the property they are marketing with reasonable steps. This involves written descriptions along with realistic property pictures, etc. This ensures the potential buyer would not have any misleading or inaccurate information.
- Passing offers to the seller
The estate agents are legally responsible, according to the laws, for passing on all offers to the sellers. Not just offers but all the contracts should be exchanged with the seller until the sale is finalized. The estate agent in Preston is obliged to inform the sellers of all the offerings in writing via proposal letter, email, or fax promptly to make the offer.
This means that whenever the buyer makes a formal offer, the estate agent should notify the seller about it. The exception here can be when the seller has formally requested not to be notified about certain offers to the estate agent. They should comply with anti-discrimination legislation and consumer protection laws.
- There should not be any biassed nature against the buyer
There is also the law for estate agents not to show any biased nature towards the buyer while working on a property transaction. They should be fair to all buyers, no matter the conditions. For instance, the estate agent in Preston should not ask one buyer to hold a mortgage in principle before passing on the offer to the seller.
Moreover, they are also not allowed to refuse the buyer when they ask for any information details. They should promptly send the requested information in detail while dealing with multiple buyers without showing any biased nature.
Estate agents should abide by their professional codes of conduct to operate ethically while dealing with buyers or sellers. Since they are responsible for handling sensitive personal and financial details of the buyers and sellers, they are also required to maintain privacy and confidentiality in all aspects of their work.
It is essential for buyers and sellers to know on what account the estate agents have obliged them when it comes to the legal affairs of the property transaction. When they are not aware of such regulations, they can easily get cornered by the agents without knowing they are getting treated unfairly. Thus, when hiring an estate agent while dealing with a real estate transaction, make sure to sign an agreement and have the peace of mind that they would not do any untransparent business with you.