SAHITA, which has offered certified online training courses for home and building inspectors and property insurance assessors since 2012, has expanded its offering to include a short online course for estate agents.
John Graham, CEO of SAHITA says evidence shows that estate agents are increasingly aware of the risks to their reputations of marketing properties with undisclosed defects.
Agents are aware that home buyers are increasingly demanding more transparency from sellers (and their agents) regarding defects which are not obvious to the layman seller. This is because of the mandatory sellers disclosure required by the Property Practitioners Act, together with several recent court cases where sellers have successfully sued buyers for not fully disclosing the condition of houses.
HouseCheck says that in the first 5 months of FY 2025, one in four of its inspections had come from estate agent referrals. The internet remains the biggest source of HouseCheck’s inspection business (47%), followed by existing clients (28%), then agent referrals (25%).
Estate agents also tend to refer more expensive homes to HouseCheck for inspection. The average asking price for homes inspected by HouseCheck in FY 2025 to date is R5,6-million. While estate agent referrals contributed 25% of HouseCheck’s inspections, inspection fee revenue resulting from estate agent referrals was over 30% of total fee income.
The SAHITA online course for agents, “Condition Assessment for Property Practitioners” (CAPP) consists of 7 modules and costs R4,599 including VAT.
Graham says the CAPP course teaches agents everything an agent needs to know about assessing the condition of any property which is to be marketed.
“This course won’t make you an expert building inspector, but it will:
- Give you confidence to quickly and accurately assess the severity of cracks and damp and also the likely latent defects which may be present in the roof, plumbing, drains, electrical and stormwater management systems.
- It is also likely to convince you how recommending a good home inspector to your buyer or seller can enhance your reputation as a property professional.”
Each of the 7 modules has a 20-question quiz designed to test the agent’s understanding of the material. The estate agent must achieve a minimum of 80% in each quiz before proceeding to the following module.
- Module 1: Property Practitioners & Consumer Protection
- Module 2: Roof Leaks & Stormwater Management
- Module 3: Cracks & Paint Issues
- Module 4: Dampness in Buildings
- Module 5: Electrical Issues
- Module 6: Plumbing & Drains
- Module 7: Property Risk & Safety
You can find out more about the CAPP course at https://www.sahita.co.za/product/condition-assessment-for-property-practitioners-capp/
