Posts by ARPM
Resignations, workplace perks & staff retention .
Did you return to work in January to find a white envelope on your desk? The start of a new year often prompts change and there are probably a few lettings directors and property managers out there smarting over a resignation letter (or two). If an envelope on your desk has rocked your team dynamic,…
Read MoreEverybody’s talking: separating the speculation from the fact.
Ah December 2014. The end of the calendar year and a time for property experts, journalists and agents to gaze into their crystal ball and predict just what might happen in 2015. There’s so much hyperbole out there that it’s hard to separate the fiction from the fact, especially when you’re looking for some key…
Read MoreName, not shame, in the big branding exercise.
The Apprentice is all wrapped up for another year. This TV show gives us so much material to blog about. Apart from how not to do business, it opens our eyes to how brands are built. From focus groups and creating a logo, to designing packaging and directing adverts, creating a brand is the corner stone of many Apprentice tasks. Remember…
Read MoreProperty language: time to think again?
You might have noticed recently that one of the UK’s most unmistakable properties has been put on the rental market. Relatively unassuming until you see the roof, the three-bedroom cottage in Oxford has a 7.5 metre fibreglass shark embedded in the tiles, installed to mark the 41st anniversary of the Nagasaki atomic bombing. It fell to…
Read MoreIs it time to rebrand application fees?
With the Government overlooking any radical reforms for the lettings sector before May 2015’s general election, there are at least six months of stability ahead. Or are there? While Mr Cameron might not be planning a rental revolution any time soon, tenants are still up in arms over letting fees. And it appears there’s always…
Read MoreIs subletting the biggest issue in lettings today?
Time to think again if you assumed subletting was a social housing problem. The private rental sector is far from immune to unscrupulous or misguided tenants, with subletting fast turning into a silent industry epidemic. There is a shortage of affordable rental property, especially in cities where recent graduates, young professionals and migrant workers are…
Read MoreSuits you sir! Is your dress code your undoing?
The Apprentice is back on our screens and I’m sure many of you will be following Lord Sugar’s candidates as they make fundamental business errors on a weekly basis. Of course, with a top-rating TV show come reviews and the irrepressible Jim Shelley writing for the Daily Mail wrote of week one: “Yes it was…
Read MoreAre you providing a truly tailored lettings service?
Smart office? Check. Deposits protected? Check. Adherence to over 500 regulations and pieces of legislation? Check. All the ingredients of a sophisticated, trustworthy and transparent lettings business, surely? While all of the above are essential in today’s marketplace, this attention to detail is all-consuming. Has the quest for accountability and professionalism overtaken ground-level customer service?…
Read MoreAre you a property manager or a flunkey?
There was a brilliant article recently that stemmed from revelations of letting agent Benham & Reeves. It covered the bizarre and often ridiculous questions posed by some tenants – including the request to put a bouncy castle on a roof terrace. The agent agreed that, while they strive to help in any situation, a line…
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