Estate agent owned, all or mostly tenanted properties under one ownership. Alternative titles are Factor, Steward, or Bailiff, depending on the era, region, and extent of the property concerned. The term originally referred to a person responsible for managing a landed estate, while those engaged in the buying and selling of homes were ""House Agents"", and those selling land were "Land Agents". However, in the 20th century, ""Estate Agent"" started to be used as a generic term. Estate agent is roughly synonymous with the United States term real estate broker. Estate agents need to be familiar with their local area, including factors
Estate agent warnings right through to more severe penalties of up to £5,000 for each rule breached, and a maximum penalty of €5 million for breaches of the specific Anti Money Laundering rules. Some estate agents are members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the principal body for UK property professionals, dealing with both residential, commercial and agricultural property. Members, known as "Chartered Surveyors", are elected based on examination and are required to adhere to a code of conduct, which includes regulations about looking after their clients' money and professional indemnity insurance in case of error or negligence. The "Ombudsman