Belvoir Lettings in Coventry is warning its property owners that they should be choosing an agent who is part of both an ombudsman scheme and a part of a SAFE agent scheme, or they could be at risk. The lettings agent who has an office on Walsgrave Road in Coventry is warning property owners that choosing an agent who is not part of both schemes could leave them wide open to frauds and lost money should the agent go bust.
The warning came after the SAFE agent organisation www.safeagents.co.uk , issued a similar warning to property owners ahead of its second national SAFE agent Awareness Week, reminding consumers of the importance of choosing letting agents that offer client money protection.
It is great that the Government has sought to protect both property owners and tenants by giving them the right to seek redress, but this only goes so far. The recent changes to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill do not cover client money protection, so if an unscrupulous agent vanished with a property owner or tenant’s money, they would not stand much chance of getting it back. I would advise property owners to do their research when choosing a lettings agent and select an agent, which uses client money protection, and who is part of an ombudsman scheme to reduce the risk
“Belvoir Coventry has not only a client money protection scheme in place, but we are in an ombudsman scheme too (OEA)
More than 2,000 letting agents have now signed up to the SAFE agent campaign to signpost their commitment to protecting landlords’ and tenants’ finances and all agents registered belong to a recognised client money protection scheme which reimburses consumers in the event of misappropriation of clients’ funds. Quality agents should also be a member of Safeagent or ARLA.
Property owners and tenants need to shop around to ensure that they are going with a reputable agent to avoid being miss informed and invite anyone interesting in using our services to come and have a free no obligation meeting with us to discuss their options.
Don’t be fooled into handing your property to a low fee agent who’s service will certainly be inadequate and they will not be covered by any of the organisations mentioned above.
Contact us on 02476 458585 or Email us at Coventrycentral@Belvoirlettings.com
