The Corona Virus pandemic continues to impact the real estate industry.  After the industry has gone through a turmoil end 2019, interest in property started picking up again in February, however, COVID-19 seems to be wanting to have its way too and all operations have stopped.

Everything has impacted our way of working, from listing properties, advertising, negotiating and conducting viewings.  Everything is now shifting to online.  So much uncertainty and skepticism still.  People not understanding what is best to do, whether to stay put or to keep looking for their dream home. 

What perplexes me, is the fact that as estate agents we must be compliant with FIAU regulations, pay taxes like any other businesses along with many other obligations which we gladly abide by.  

How come we are not directly listed in the Annexes to be able to opt for the grant? It seems that once again, the institution has completely forgotten us.

Don’t we depend on sales or lets of properties to earn a wage?  to be able to pay our bills? mortgages and rents? So, I ponder at this thought, I am sure that I am not the only one feeling discriminated and undressed from my rights.  I agree that the individual who works in the catering industry are given grants to help their families get by during these exceptionally hard times.   Don’t we all have families at home?  Or perhaps being a real estate agent is not a job? Perhaps one might think that it is all about showing a property…. or maybe it is my fellow competitors who at times shoot themselves in the foot with their bad publicity and how they treat their customers! However, at the same time I am sure that we have all been at a restaurant, sometimes receiving a fantastic service and other times mediocre one.  The grant is not discriminating against the level of service given but against the industry.

Taking a leap of faith and venturing from a paid job to a non-paid job is a risk.  Truth is we do not get paid for our jobs; we do not get paid for meeting up on Sundays with clients who decide to meet us up simply to shop around when we also would like to be with our families.  Don’t we all pull long hours as well? A true dedicated estate agent knows that this is not just an 8am-5pm job and working late and during weekends is compulsory.

We have struggling months when we cannot sell and you rely on a previous sale to get by.  Then you wake up again trying to be positive and give your best to get a lead that can materialize.  If you do your job well with a dash of luck, you sign a promise of sale and then you get to reap your earnings when contract is signed, worst still with the delays in construction which an estate agent does not have any control whatsoever, only means that the wage slip is earned a year or more later.  How would any other worker feel if wage slip would be postponed by a year?  

As an estate agency we provide a service to customers who trust in us and who specifically look for our services. We have also been waiting for the government to issue a licensing for agents, which I am sure most of us are willing to do. 

Our business has been dramatically impacted and since we have closed our offices too, the phone has seized to call, and enquiries have shrunk down to almost none.  We are trying to work remotely, however, since the courts are closed, it is not easy to conduct business online as it does not only depend on us. We are trying to promote online campaigns to show property hunters that we are still there available and we can still pass on all the knowledge needed.   Moreover, one must understand the limitations to show properties, hence, making the buying process even more difficult.

So, dear Prime Minister do consider us as contributors to society, people with families and people who are struggling too.

A dedicated property consultant, one of many!