Land agent
Encyclopedia
Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts.
Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large landed estate
for a member of the landed gentry
of the United Kingdom, supervising the farming of the property by farm labourers and/or tenants and collecting rents or other payments. In this context a land agent was a relatively privileged position and a senior member of the estate's staff. The older term, which continued to be used on some estates, was steward
, and in Scotland a land agent was usually referred to as a factor
. Today the term estate manager or similar is more common.
A land agent may also be a real estate agent who specializes in land and farm sales. Land and farm sales differ drastically from sales of houses. Therefore, there is the need for specialization. This usage is found in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
Finally, a land agent can be an agent of the oil and mining industry who negotiates with landowners for mineral and surface rights for the potential extraction of those minerals. This usage is primarily found in the United States.
Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large landed estate
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
for a member of the landed gentry
Landed gentry
Landed gentry is a traditional British social class, consisting of land owners who could live entirely off rental income. Often they worked only in an administrative capacity looking after the management of their own lands....
of the United Kingdom, supervising the farming of the property by farm labourers and/or tenants and collecting rents or other payments. In this context a land agent was a relatively privileged position and a senior member of the estate's staff. The older term, which continued to be used on some estates, was steward
Steward (office)
A steward is an official who is appointed by the legal ruling monarch to represent him or her in a country, and may have a mandate to govern it in his or her name; in the latter case, it roughly corresponds with the position of governor or deputy...
, and in Scotland a land agent was usually referred to as a factor
Factor (Scotland)
In Scotland a factor is a person or firm charged with superintending or managing properties and estates -- sometimes where the owner or landlord is unable to or uninterested in attending to such details personally, or in tenements in which several owners of individual flats contribute to the...
. Today the term estate manager or similar is more common.
A land agent may also be a real estate agent who specializes in land and farm sales. Land and farm sales differ drastically from sales of houses. Therefore, there is the need for specialization. This usage is found in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
Finally, a land agent can be an agent of the oil and mining industry who negotiates with landowners for mineral and surface rights for the potential extraction of those minerals. This usage is primarily found in the United States.