Property Sourcer Verification Process

When a property sourcing agent registers to get listed with us, they require to pass our verification process before their profile is activated.

This involves the sourcer completing an online form that asks for basic information about their business setup and practices – we use this information to help assess whether or not the sourcing agent is genuine and compliant*.

In order for us to verify, approve and activate a sourcer's profile, we require them to be:

• Employed by a UK registered company or operating as a UK registered sole trader
  • An "employee" of a company can mean they're a Director of their own company, or an agent for a larger company run by someone else.
• A member of one of the UK government-approved redress schemes
  • Either The Property Ombudsman (TPO) or the Property Redress Scheme (PRS).
• Registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as part of the Data Protection Act
  • This relates to how they manage/handle/process personal data. By law, any type of property agent or company must hold an active registration. It can cost as little as £40 per year if their company has less than 10 staff. See the official ICO guidance on Paying a data protection fee – real estate sector.
• Registered with HMRC for anti-money laundering (AML) supervision
  • Any property sourcer's business activities almost certainly fall under the Estate Agents Act 1979, hence there's a legal requirement for AML supervision. See the official UK government guidance on Money laundering supervision for estate agency businesses.
• In possession of Professional Indemnity (PI) insurance
  • This helps protect them from financial loss in the unlikely event that anyone they work with (e.g. property buyers, sellers, investors, developers, etc.) files a claim against them for alleged negligence or breach of duty. Public Liability insurance should be considered too.
• Using contracts or agreements with the property parties they're dealing with
  • To engage and run sourcing activities correctly, the sourcer should be using their own contracts or agreements for property buyers, sellers, landowners, etc. For example, their documents might include a fee agreement, option agreement and non-disclosure agreement (NDA).

We perform spot checks on some of the information provided, particularly where it's publicly available. For example, Companies House, the Property Redress Scheme and The Property Ombudsman member search, the ICO register, and the HMRC AML Supervised Business Register.

We'll also browse a sourcing agent's (or agency's) website and social media profiles if they have any, particularly if it helps us determine anything we're unsure about.

Our expectation is that all registered property sourcers remain "verified" for as long as they're listed with us. Hence, at random, we perform additional spot checks on currently listed property sourcers to help ensure they continue to be compliant according to our standards – i.e. their compliance-related information is up-to-date and still valid.

* You should always perform your own due diligence on any UK property sourcing agent that's listed on PropSourcer. When you contact and work with any sourcing agent, you are doing so at your own risk. We do not take any responsibility for any of your activities with a sourcing agent listed on PropSourcer. Our manual verification and approval of a property sourcing agent does not guarantee that they are 100% compliant and devoid of scams. While we try to ensure that all sourcing agents who are listed with us are authentic and compliant, there is a possibility that some are not, and this could result in a sourcing agent performing fraudulent or unethical activities that could lead to lost or mishandled monies and/or information. If you have any questions about this, please contact us. Or, if you notice a non-compliant and/or fraudulent sourcer on our platform, please file a complaint.

Want to know more or have any questions?