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Richie · 03-04-2008, 10:19 AM

Here you go Toni, I wrote to AIPP to find out answers to questions and here they are for you and me (and anyone else that is interested).

Quote:

Dear Richie,

Thanks for sending us the link to your forum. There are plenty of reasonable questions on there though, unfortunately, a statement about our rules of qualification attributed to a Member company is not correct. I’ll contact that company and make sure they know the guidelines on qualification.

All the questions centre on the same sort of points; I hope the answers below covers the main points.

The AIPP is a non-profit organization – a private limited company with no share capital. It was set up in 2006 to improve standards of professionalism in the international property market. We now have 373 Members worldwide though the majority (just over 60%) are companies with their head office in the UK.

We don’t claim we can make the market perfect nor do we claim we can make massive changes very quickly. However, we do believe that our work will help improve the market.

We do turn down applications for membership (19% in 2006 and 21% in 2007 were either refused or the applications were withdrawn when further enquiries were made).

Our membership fees do reflect the size of each Member company – why? And do bigger Members who pay more get a bigger benefit? To the second question, the answer is no, all Members should get the same benefits. Why charge in this way? When discussions about setting up a new trade body took place in 2005, the feeling was that any new body, to make a real difference, would need funds. The funds would pay staff and market the name of the Association to the consumer. By having full-time staff and a marketing budget, the Association would be able to create greater value to membership and would be able to more quickly inform the consumer of our Members and their commitment to voluntary regulation. Where would that money come from? With no external funding, the only source had to be members and the annual fee they pay. Previous trade bodies had charged approximately £300 per company and had up to about 200 Members - £60,000 does not pay for many staff or for much of a marketing budget. Setting the fees too high, however, might exclude smaller companies; this market has many good small companies and it was important to make membership just as accessible to them as it was to the bigger companies. With these factors in mind, it was decided to pro-rate the fees according to size of company. 2 years since launch and many conversations into this role, I’ve yet to hear of a better, fairer way to set the fee level.

For companies to qualify, we do need to see experience of the market though we don’t ask for 3 years’ audited accounts. Companies need to have 3 years’ trading in this market or the people running the company need ‘extensive experience’ of the international property market. You can see our qualification guidelines that are published in full on our website; to view, click here AIPP membership qualification details. All information submitted on the length of time serving in the market has to be referenced and we run brief checks on the referee too.

As for how we check on the adherence of our Members to our professional code, this is done reactively rather than proactively. We simply do not have the resources (nor does anyone else, I suspect) to actually check each transaction done by our Members. However, by encouraging Members to advertise their membership, they are at the same time highlighting the fact to consumers that they are signed up to an Association and it is likely that most consumers recognize that such accreditations come with obligations. We have recently released the first details of disciplinary action taken against Members, again available on our website: Notice of disciplinary actions taken by the AIPP.

I hope this covers the points raised about the AIPP on your forum. If anybody has further questions, they should feel free to call or email me direct; contact details below.

Best regards,

Paul Owen
Chief Executive
Association of International Property Professionals
The industry body. The industry voice. The industry standard.

94 New Bond Street, London W1S 1SJ
Tel: +44 (0)20 7409 7061 Fax: +44 (0)20 7409 7068
Mob: +44 (0)7870 174530
Web: AIPP: the industry body, the industry voice, the industry standard & www.aipp.ie

ToniW · 03-04-2008, 12:09 PM

I´m in thinking, anyone else got any comments?

Thanks Richie.

Se Vende Casa · 03-04-2008, 09:53 PM

Hi,

I found this on the AIPP website. it seems they do check up on members and non members to ensure misuse of logo is not occurring.

here is the link also - AIPP

Beware: misuse of Member logo by non Member
A company called Salma Homes, CBA Properties, or Torton Properties is using an AIPP Founder Member logo on their website. Please beware: these companies are not Members of the AIPP.

They have copied (without authorisation) the website of one of our Members, Property Frontiers Overseas Property Investment - Property Frontiers, including the AIPP Founder Member badge.

We have tried to contact them by phone, letter and email about this matter without reply. We are taking legal advice on this matter.

In light of their unauthorised copy of our Member logo as well as the unauthorised copy of Property Frontiers’ website and their refusal to reply to reasonable requests to remove the logo, we recommend you proceed with great care, if at all, with these companies.

We also recommend that you check the list of Members on our website (always up to date) before proceeding with any company displaying our logo. Although this problem is not widespread, the misuse by Salma Homes / CBA Properties / Torton Properties makes it clear that this can happen. Despite the fact that we will always take action to remove such unauthorised use, you will be best served by making a quick check on our website or by calling our Head Office to make sure of a company's voluntary commitment to the professional standards set by the AIPP.

Emma
SeVendeCasa.eu, Propiedades en venta en España - Home