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Regulation of the property sector continues to be much debated - but until there is a robust mechanism of redress in place, with the teeth needed to weed out unprofessional practice, landlords and vendors looking to instruct an agent can easily get their fingers burnt.

Until reforms are made, the age-old question remains: How do you separate reputable professionals from rogue agents that give the sector a bad name?

A shake-up in how homes are sold, including updating legislation to allow new entrants into the market, could lead to a better deal for house buyers and sellers, according to the Office of Fair Trading.

The OFT's study into home buying and selling found that the housing market remained dominated by traditional estate agents with weak competition between them on price. As property prices rise during housing booms, so too do estate agents' fees.

Overall satisfaction with estate agents, however, has improved in recent years, according to research conducted as part of the study. Where there are problems with transactions, consumers generally do not think the estate agent was at fault.

Estate agents and certain consumer credit lenders must register under anti-money laundering regulations before 31 January 2010 to avoid breaking the law, the OFT has warned.

Carrying on business having failed to do so could result in the imposition of a fine by the OFT, a prison sentence, or both.

Connells Survey & Valuation has been appointed as Home & Capital Trust Ltd’s exclusive supplier of valuation services following its successful bid to manage a new portfolio of home reversion plans for a major international bank.

Home & Capital Trust Ltd is the leading equity release specialist providing home reversion plans to the over 65’s.  Established in 1978, Home & Capital is a founding member of Safe Home Income Plans (SHIP).

Daniel Lawry has become the first Personal Estate Agent to join award winning Thames Valley Agency Davis Tate. He will be operating in the village of Winnersh, an affluent area between Reading and Wokingham in East Berkshire.

This territory links well with established Davis Tate offices at Twyford and Shinfield, and  Dan got his first instruction in the area even before his business cards were printed ! Daniel is 31, and has been a local agent for over 10 years, with expertise in both sales and lettings.

Townends estate agents, part of the Badger Holdings group, has reported a 30% increase in instruction numbers in Q3 compared with Q2 this year.

Douglas Sleaper, Group Sales Director of Badger Holdings, said: "Many housing commentators have recognised that a large part of the impetus in rising prices during 2009 has come from the chronic shortage of new stock coming to the market.

Following the acquisition of the PropertyFinder Group from News International, Zoopla.co.uk – the UK’s fastest growing property portal – is set to integrate all of its websites onto a single technology platform.

The company said that the move - in the next couple of weeks - would combine the best features of each website and deliver an enhanced experience for its estate agent members and millions of home movers that use the sites every month.

The OFT has issued prohibition orders banning Wolfgang David Dunn, Sean Allen Wren and Astons GB Ltd, the Southampton estate agency they work for, from engaging in estate agency work.

An independent OFT adjudicator found that Mr Dunn, Mr Wren and Astons GB Ltd had breached the requirement on estate agents to belong to a redress scheme. They had also failed to pass on an offer from a potential purchaser and had intentionally failed to provide the OFT with information as required by the Estate Agents Act when it was conducting its investigation.

An estate agent has become Britain's best-paid witch.

Carole Bohanan from Shepton Mallet, Somerset, will be known as Carla Calamity, the Witch of Wookey Hole for the role which comes complete with a £50,000 annual salary.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has produced what it calls the definitive guide for estate agents.

RICS claims the book will raise agency standards but will also improve consumer experience of the home buying and selling process.