ERA unveils its own Covid-19 response plans for agents

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Local real estate agency ERA Realty Network has unveiled its three-part Covid-19 response plan that is aimed at supporting its agents and clients during the pandemic.

The first response plan is the Agency Support Programme which will support ERA salespersons for the next three months, and benefit over 7,100 of its agents, the company says.

Some initiatives include:

The auto-Deduction of RES Renewal Fees for 2020/21 will be deferred until further notice
Agent room rentals for existing tenants will receive a 10% discount on rental for three months, from 1 April to 30 June 2020
All training room rentals will come with a 10% discount, from 1 April to 30 June 2020
ERA will be subsidising all ERA Salespersons CPD Programme fees before 30 April 2020
Additional training will also be conducted to educate ERA agents on how to use digital video streaming tools, such as Cisco WebEX and ZOOM.

Eugene Lim, key executive officer at ERA Realty Network, says that the government's recently announced Self-employed Income Relief Scheme (SIRS) is timely in helping mitigate “some of the impact” given “the volume of real estate transactions is expected to slow down amid the uncertainties and fallout effects on the economy caused by Covid-19”. (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore)

In addition, the company is setting up a task force to assist agents who are ineligible for the governments (Self-employed Income Relief Scheme) SIRS to file their appeal. ERA says that more details on this will be revealed soon.

Next, the company has started a Home Quarantine Support to make thrice-daily food delivery to affected salespersons and clients who are affected by quarantine orders. The plan will start with immediate effect and will run throughout the entire period of Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) Level Orange, except in the event of a national lockdown.

Lastly, ERA announced a Real Estate Salespersons Income Relief Scheme, a support fund to provide additional protection coverage at no added cost to ERA salespersons in Singapore. Eligible salespersons diagnosed with Covid-19 in the course of their agency work will receive payouts of $500 per day during their hospitalisation period, or up to 30 days whichever comes first. This works out to a maximum amount of $15,000 cash relief.

See: Broad support for government’s income relief scheme, but some agents still fall through the cracks

In the unfortunate circumstance of death as a result of the virus, the company says that an additional lump sum of $30,000 will be paid to the deceased family. This is on top of the existing ERA Leadership Dependent Scheme that also provides coverage for the deceased family.

“As the situation remains uncertain and fluid, ERA Singapore remains watchful on the evolving situation to ensure that its salespersons are fully supported in this time of difficulty. We are prepared to make further enhancements to support our agents when necessary,” the company says.

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