Kundkännedom i fastighetsmäklaryrket : En kvalitativ studie om balansgången mellan lagkrav och kundrelationer

Sammanfattning

Background: The real estate brokerage industry is an important part of Sweden’s economy, and today the real estate agent plays a crucial role both as an advisor and as part of society’s protection against financial crime. Regulations on customer due diligence aim to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism, but they create practical challenges in the broker’s daily work. Collecting sensitive information can damage the trust between agent and client, which risks negatively impacting long-term business relationships. At the same time, the regulations impose a significant administrative burden and create uncertainty about how legal requirements should be interpreted and applied correctly. A lack of training and guidance increases the risk of both overreporting and underreporting suspicious transactions. The real estate market is particularly vulnerable to money laundering, and therefore, the introduction of mandatory annual training for real estate agents has been highlighted as a necessary measure. Overall, real estate agents must balance sales work with a complex regulatory framework and high demands on ethics and professionalism. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to examine how real estate agents work with customer due diligence in practice, and how this process affects the customer relationship. The focus is particularly on how agents communicate the requirements and how they balance regulatory demands with maintaining trusting relationships. How do real estate agents work with customer due diligence in practice? How do real estate agents work with compliance in the area of money laundering? How does the customer due diligence process affect the relationship between real estate agents and clients? Method: The present study has applied a qualitative research approach. The empirical data is based on six semi-structured interviews with real estate agents from various brokerage firms operating in Skåne. By analyzing the interviews, a deeper understanding has been gained regarding how real estate agents work with customer due diligence and the related regulatory framework. The interviews revealed that the agent's attitude toward customer due diligence influences the customer's own understanding and experience. Conclusion: The study shows that real estate agents generally comply with the requirements of the Anti-Money Laundering Act regarding customer due diligence and integrate the process as a natural part of their work. Through clear communication and professional conduct, the customer due diligence process is used as a tool to build trust rather than harm the client relationship. The agent’s experience and attitude play a key role in how well the process is managed, especially in sensitive situations. In summary, real estate agents are largely successful in balancing regulatory compliance with maintaining strong client relationships through a conscious and empathetic approach. Suggestions for future research: An interesting direction for future research would be to explore the perspectives of buyers and sellers. How do customers perceive the impact on their relationship with the real estate agent when their financial situation is questioned and customer due diligence is conducted? This could provide a deeper understanding of how the agent's requirements for customer due diligence affect the customer’s experience of the process and their relationship with the agent. Another possible avenue for future research is to examine the potential impact of introducing annual continuing education in anti-money laundering and customer due diligence. Are real estate agents and company leaders already sufficiently informed on the subject, or is there a need for additional training that could not only prevent money laundering but also contribute to greater confidence among agents in handling these issues?