ERCAAN Tasks Members on Professionalism

Ugo Aliogo

The Zonal Chairman, Estate, Rent and Commission Agents Association of Nigeria (ERCAAN) Okota Isolo Zone, Hon. Akinlosotu Olugbemiro has advised its members on the need to imbibe the culture of professionalism in the discharge of their duties as real estate agents.

Olugbemiro, who disclosed at the second Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos recently, with the theme: ‘Real Estate Practice: Ethics and Public Perception, noted that the public perception about real estate was that they cannot be trusted. He also stated that real business is all about trust and relationship, adding that there was need for agents to pursue the values of professionalism in the discharge of their duties.

He explained that the conference was aimed at training and empowering members on the proper ethical practices to embark on in the discharge of their duties.

Olugbemiro, expressed confidence that the conference would allow members and association to learn more on the necessary steps to adopt to succeed.

“Many real estate agents today are in the industry for a short period (easy entry and easy exit), many for a long period but no company name, no office, no training. Many are only after agency fee without acquisition of knowledge, while many cheat and relocates many are not disciplined financially or trustworthy,” noted Olugbemiro.
Delivering his paper on ‘Real Estate Practice: Ethics and Public Perception,’ the first guest speaker, Ewenla Mustapa, said real estate agency is confronted in Nigeria with various border challenges that border on ethics and conduct in practice.

He added: “The agency practice is regarded as an all comers’ affairs as lawyers, accountants, engineers, and even laymen learned in numeric details carry out this operation.

“An expression has become synonymous with the estate surveying profession calling every other profession dabbling into the agency as quacks. However, there are no clear-cut edicts granting the estate surveyor and valuer the exclusive preserve of operation even when the series of protest has been made to that effect.

“The effects of the present state of real estate agency practice in Nigeria are indeed too numerous to count, these include fraudulent transaction and losses of income through the activities of dubious practitioners. The consuming public on the receiving end of the estate agents in terms of very poor services. The major effects are due to lack of regulation and requisite competence on the part of the practitioners.”