Here's how "I might source for a bit" will land you a £10,000 fine and a closed business. When "I'm Fully Compliant" becomes "I'm Facing Charges." Eighteen months ago, one of these landed on my doormat. An HMRC investigation letter. The reason? I had a property company then applied for Anti-Money Laundering registration. The presumption? That I'd been trading as a sourcing agent illegally. They weren't wrong to ask. Because here's something most people operating in this sector don't know or conveniently ignore. HMRC classifies sourcing agents as estate agents. Not property enthusiasts. Not "investment consultants." Estate agents. Which means the compliance bar isn't set by your property mentor, your weekend course or the Facebook group you're admin of. It's set by the same standard as Knight Frank and Savills. Let that sink in. Now look at LinkedIn. Scroll for thirty seconds. If its like mine You'll find dozens of people who "Help busy professionals create passive income through property." Ask them which redress scheme they're registered with. Ask them who supervises their AML compliance. Ask them when they last completed their ICO registration. See if they're showing HMRC or ICO logos (if they are - they'll be fined if caught) Most can't answer. Some will get defensive. A few will block you. And yet they're handling client money. Moving "deals". Taking fees. NAPSA: National Association of Professional Sourcing Agents is the only official industry body built specifically for this sector. Its training was developed in conjunction with HM Revenue & Customs and the Information Commissioner's Office Not cobbled together by a property guru with a Canva subscription. I get a fair amount of flak from non-NAPSA sourcers for talking about this. Apparently it's bad for the vibe. "NAPSA isn't a requirement". True. But answer me this... I was a teacher. Do you think parents wanted a qualified person teaching their children? My wife was in dentistry. Do you think her patients wanted a qualified clinician treating their teeth? Just because your client/customer doesn't know or doesn't ask - doesn't make it ok. Grow up. Get qualified. Get compliant or Get fined... The irony - the wealthiest investors have money for a reason. And they care about who's qualified and compliant. Investors: Work with the compliant. Not the loudest. Not the cheapest. Not the one who's all over LinkedIn because they live here. The ones who can prove it — on paper, not in their bio. Sourcers: "Fully compliant" according to who? If the honest answer is your mentor or your gut feeling — you're not compliant. Get properly registered, get properly trained, or get out of the way. Join via me and I can provide a discount. Because HMRC isn't coming for the vibes. They're coming for the paperwork. #NAPSA #compliance #propertyinvestment #AML #sourcingagent

Posted by James Lovell-Smith at 2026-02-24 09:09:13 UTC