THREE Isle of Man property agents have been awarded a prestigious qualification by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), the leading membership body for estate agency in the UK.

Local agents Philip Carter of Harmony Homes, Ian Lloyd of Cowley Groves and Lorna Gallagher of Propertywise were amongst the recipients of the Level 5 Diploma in Residential Estate Agency.

The qualification required the estate agents to complete a project and series of examinations totalling 15 hours which tested their knowledge of building design, the legal aspects of estate agency and specifics on the valuation process.

The number of people taking professional estate agency exams has increased significantly over the past decade, from 34 in 2003 to in excess of 1,400 today. This has been helped in part, by the increased availability of online qualifications.

Michael Jones, President of the NAEA, said: “I would like to personally congratulate Philip, Lorna and Ian for their outstanding achievement in receiving this qualification.

“This will enable them to uphold the highest standards of professionalism when working with house-hunters and those looking to sell their home – something the NAEA is keen to promote throughout the industry. Customers can rest assured that their property transaction is in good hands.”

NAEA urges customers seeking high professional standards and good practice to always use an NAEA licensed member for all their property dealings. The licence guarantees the agency is covered by required amounts of professional indemnity insurance and reflects the agents’ commitment to keeping up with industry developments.

They also have to undertake 12 hours of continuing professional development every year, and are bound by the NAEA’s rules of conduct.

The NAEA represents around one in three estate agents in the UK. It has proposed to get as many members as possible licensed by June 2011. All of its members can be found by visiting www.naea.co.uk.