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Anthony Payne

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About Me

Managing Director of LonRes.

my expertise in the industry

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Colin, An interesting blog. I too was at the meeting in question however I fear you may have missed the real concerns of the London agents. The issue is not whether an agent should carry out AML checks on their client, that is accepted. It is the requirement for a sub agent to carry out checks on a head agent and the head agents client PRIOR to inspecting a property for, or with, an applicant. I am sure you will agree that to expect a lead agent to hand over the details of their client to a sub agent before they have viewed the property, showed an interest or made an offer is unworkable. Sadly neither HMRC nor NAEA seemed able to offer any guidance which was surely the idea of the seminar. Far from bleating the agents simply sought clarification so as to avoid falling foul of the regulations, unfortunately none was forthcoming. Here at LonRes we have provided all our subscribers with guidance notes which have been created in association with Eversheds and I am happy to provide a copy to any agent that would like a copy. In addition we are currently devising a system that we believe will allow agents to continue to work together and will ensure that they remain on the right side of HMRC, certainly as far as the AML regulations are concerned. I would like to finish on one point that we can agree upon and that is the return of 'old and traditional skills'. Having started in estate agency in 1985 I remember when agents spent time getting to know both their clients and also their applicants, they spent time understanding the needs of the buyer and matching those to a suitable property. Certainly the internet has eroded many of these old fashioned skills but with the market slowing, certainly in central London, I suspect it is those that offer this level of service that will benefit. Regards Anthony Payne LonRes

From: Anthony Payne 28 September 2015 15:34 PM

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