Property Landlord advice: Letting Agencies or Letting Agents

By Steve Roulstone

I have just spent two days telling people what I do at the NEC National Franchise Exhibition and have come to the conclusion as the result of what my answer was that I might be a bit of a snob!

Vive la Difference!!

You see, I discovered that I always answer the question ‘Who or what are you?’ with the answer that I am a Letting Agent. It was only when the question was put to me in a different context that I found myself explaining the reasons why I call myself a Letting Agent – so what is the difference?

Individual Agent or Company Agency?

I see myself as a Letting Agent, because I am qualified through my professional body and having passed my exams it is something that I rightly feel proud of. As a Company we have always and still do look to have all of our agents qualified (There I go again!) because exams are a confirmation of knowledge and it is something tangible that our Landlords can rely upon. But that does not mean that our offices are not Letting Agencies, because they are.

Agency AND Agent.

The difference is that not all Letting Agencies are run by Letting Agents, if you believe as I do, that to call yourself an Agent, you should carry some qualification, through the Industry you serve, that is recognised by the people who work in it, that marks you as qualified to carry out the role. Those who have read my Blog in the past will recognise a theme here, because I firmly believe that as an Industry, it is only by Industry recognition and Legal registration that we will become truly professional and that has to be the goal for all agencies.

Landlord advice.

So I will continue to call myself an Agent first and my advice to all Landlords is check the professional qualifications of any Agency they wish to employ. As a Franchisor who is aware of the competitors in my sphere of operation, I know that the systems we employ mark us out as protective of our clients interests in all that we do, but why not go that extra mile and prove our knowledge through qualification, then, especially if legally registered, all Letting Agencies will be run by Letting Agents!