Posts by Andrew Stanton
Boris on a bike 7 miles from home – Is it a sign?
Though not on a visit to a castle to test his eyesight, as his recent advisor DC was, Boris has been seen with his bicycle clips at the Olympic park some seven miles from home. The questions raised are, did he cycle there, or was he driven, and what constitutes local exercise? And in a…
Read MoreBREAKING NEWS – 5 top stories 12/01/2021
SIR KEIR STARMER WADES INTO VIEWINGS DEBATE Though largely supportive of the Conservative’s Covid-19 handling, albeit he feels Boris is often behind the curve of what to do, the leader of the opposition has opened his big guns on the sanctity of agents doing physical viewings, asking why ‘It is still possible at the moment,…
Read MoreBREAKING NEWS – 5 top stories 11/01/2020
TECLET AND FIXFLO COLLABORATION As predicted only a few days ago 2021 will see some seismic collaborations, and Fixlo and Teclet are now to be joined at the hip, which will greatly enhance both the consumer ride – the UX, and give both sides potential new client streams. In lots of ways it also makes…
Read MoreFreedom of speech – and cladding debacle
As a journalist, freedom of speech is sacrosanct, yet in recent day’s certain bodies have taken it upon themselves to become the decision maker as to what should and should not be given a voice. Considering the first of these – The President’s Twitter account being closed down, is this right or wrong, I am…
Read MoreAll modern business including agencies are digital businesses
The legend that is Chris Watkin asked me this question recently: – ‘If you were going to go into estate agency now, what route would you take, High street, franchise, online, hybrid or a combination of all or any?’ My answer is, ‘the route I would take Chris is DATA. Forget online agency, hybrid, traditional…
Read MoreBREAKING NEWS – 5 top stories 08/01/2020
PROPERTY CLADDING SCANDAL CRISIS GROWS Yesterday there was joy with Leasehold reforms moving forward, which would free up homeowners living in properties that had become tainted and hard to sell, and of course meant ratcheting costs. But there seems no end to the chaos caused by the external cladding debacle which has left around 900,000…
Read MoreBREAKING NEWS – 5 top stories 07/01/2021
WILL LOCKDOWN 3.0 EXTEND RISHI’S SDLT HOLIDAY? Many predict that in the early March Budget or just before the Chancellor may extend the 31st of March dead stop deadline for SDLT. With 50,000 plus signatures still needed on the petition pushing for an extension, which would then trigger a debate in the house of commons,…
Read MoreDAY IN A LIFE … Carla Burnett, The Depositary
What does a day in the life mean? Definition (expr.) a typical day; a normal day. Examples I wonder what a day in the life of a Rock star is like? Today we have Shoreditch royalty, in this series of daily insights with: – Carla Burnett, Mission Specialist at The Depositary … ‘where they are passionate about creating a…
Read MoreKeep calm – but perhaps do not carry on until it is safer
It is a normal Wednesday night in the Stanton household, Zara has been racing around the sitting room before finally jumping up onto my lap as we zone into watching the evening television. In a televised, good-mannered debate, centered on Covid-19, what really comes across is that with other a thousand poor souls perishing in…
Read MoreBREAKING NEWS – 5 top stories 06/01/2020
ONE IN FIFTY INFECTED BY COVID-19 With the head-line analytics that one in fifty are now infected with Covid-19, a large schism is appearing between agents who want to open with ‘safeguards’ and agents who want a blanket closure policy. With over 1.1M having the disease and one in 30 in London said to be…
Read MoreTime to hit the Estate Agent Reset Button?
When I began in agency in the mid 1980’s life was simpler, on my desk was a traditional telephone, a small red plastic box with cardboard dividers and applicant cards all in price order, an A4 size day personal diary, a biro and some business cards. These were my tools of influence, that and my…
Read MoreBREAKING NEWS – 5 top stories 05/01/2021
BUSINESS AS USUAL – NOT REALLY Boris has spoken and Lockdown 3.0 Lite is upon us, according to the government guidelines issued yesterday agents can trade, but last night of the fifty or so call I took from agents, I think over half will be closing their doors and only doing ‘virtual viewings and valuations.’…
Read MoreKeep smiling through and time for TikTok
A little after 8pm last night my co-director Zara, looked at me rolled her eyes, then rolled over several times on the carpet and started barking at the TV. Boris was in full flow, and although Zara is a three-and a half-year-old cockapoo she knows when to take notice of things, and how to make…
Read MoreDAY IN A LIFE … Sián Hemming-Metcalfe
What does a day in ‘the life of’ mean? Definition (expr.) a typical day; a normal day. Examples: I wonder what a day in the life of a Rock star is like? Today in this series of daily insights is: – Sián Hemming-Metcalfe, is the Head of Training & Development for InventoryBase Academy – training inventory clerks and…
Read MoreBREAKING NEWS – 5 top stories 04/01/2021
WILL THERE BE A SECOND LOCKDOWN FOR ESTATE AGENTS? Having watched Boris do battle with Andrew Marr on Sunday, and the defensive soundbites from the Prime Minister which seemed to say that deeper and wider curtailment of many businesses are likely, could January be a lockdown scenario for some agents? Kier Starmer is pressuring for…
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