NAN-HE-8
Estate
By Lilian Chukwu
Lagos, Jan. 19, 2018 (NAN) Mr Chudi Ubosi, the Chairman, Association of Estate Agents of Nigeria (AEAN), on Friday said the association had worked out modalities to make activities of fake estate agents irrelevant.
Ubosi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that fake agents had forced the members of the public to lose confidence in real estate agents when seeking accommodation.
According to him, many prospective tenants have lost millions of naira to fake agents thus tarnishing the corporate image of the professional.
“The public has poor perception for estate agents and this is also affecting estate surveying and valuation.
“To reverse this ugly trend, AEAN has designed ways and modalities to put the practice of real estate agency under control throughout the nation,” he said.
Ubosi said that the association set up by the Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) was to serve as the umbrella body for estate agents.
“We are going to teach our members the best way to practise real estate agency through our monthly lectures, workshops, seminars and training.
“With this, some ugly situations whereby an agent will collect money from prospective tenants and run away will be a thing of the past.
“We are not actually going to attack the quacks, but by the quality of our premium services, we will render their services irrelevant,’’ he said.
He said there was a disciplinary committee to punish any erring member who worked contrary to the codes and ethical practices of estate agents.
However, Ubosi condemned Nigerians that were interested in patronising cheap things saying they usually encouraged quackery because they would like to negotiate down charges for professional services to be rendered.
“Those who accept to do professional jobs at cheap rates turn out to be non-professionals who pretend to offer professional services.
“But they cannot be held responsible since they are not registered by any professional body,’’ he said.
He advised the public to always engage the services of certified estate agents who were properly registered by authorities recognised by government. (NAN)
LUC/ESAN/PAD
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Edited by Abiodun Esan/Peter Dada