Estate Agent Talk
Stamp duty – masterstroke or policitcal electioneering?
Chancellor George Osborne yesterday in his Autumn statement was either entering into the seasonal spirit by providing hard pressed home buyers with an early Christmas present, with a long overdue overhaul of Stamp Duty or it was a smart political manoeuvre with one eye on the forthcoming general election in May 2015! As it is…
Stamp Duty Reform 2014.
Stamp Duty Reform 2014 Last week, George Osbourne surprised us all by creating a huge shake-up to the way Stamp Duty works in the UK. As an estate agent I have been lobbying for a change in the stamp duty rules for some time so we’re thrilled about the changes. However, this pesky property tax…
YOUNG, BRASH and C*CKY … the problem with some younger Neg’s in agency.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing so they say. How many times have you seen a young whippersnapper Neg or Valuer/Lister make the same mistakes you did? You see, I have always thought that this saying was one of empowerment in that, if you have even a little knowledge, you could be competent…
Christopher Watkin
Don’t try and out-fox Foxtons.
If you are an agent, planning to open an new office, you have a number of ways of launching, but let me tell you one thing .. don’t try and outfox the masters of a new office opening .. Foxton’s. You can’t copy what Foxton’s do .. you haven’t got their budget, you haven’t got…
Christopher Watkin
All Estate/Letting Agents are sharks and liars.
The typical stereotype of an estate/letting agent …… and they can restrain our ability to network, grow and work well. Stereotypes, however, are not inherently bad—rather, they give someone a reference point to inform them during a new situation. Holding too tightly to a stereotype is the problem. Much of the public continue to view…
Christopher Watkin
The financial advantages of a professional cleaning service.
Whether you’re working your estate agency from home or at the office, small or big, there is undoubtedly rubbish and dust littered around your premises that goes unnoticed to the untrained eye. Hiring a commercial cleaning service can help you to keep up with your daily office cleaning. You may not have time to worry…
Alex Evans
London’s Mayfair Becoming Top Prime Market, Again!
The rare air of Mayfair has inspired wonder for many generations, mainly thanks to its position on the Monopoly board. However, since World War II, the real world has left Mayfair failing to meet the prestige inherent in its name. The great news is that Mayfair is fast recovering its status as one of the…
Online agents – Big savings or, paying up-front for failure?
As an agent who has always embraced new technology and working practices, I have no problem with online agents, in fact, I have often looked at diversifying into that area myself on occasions. However; what I do find unsettling, is when agents of any camp (online or high-street), make bold claims about being better than…
Estate Agents Collaborate To Revolutionise The Luxury Home Marketplace.
Maurice Kilbride Residential Sales Limited, one of South Manchester’s leading and most innovative Estate and Letting agents, has joined forces with Britain’s Best Home who are a fast growing luxury property portal. This new partnership will create one of the premier estate agency and luxury property marketing companies initially in South Manchester but plan to…
What the Real Estate Pundit is doing next.
When I started writing under the Real Estate Pundit pseudonym, I was in mourning. My start-up was in a coma. I needed a solid break from it. There could be no lingering feelings. I had to let go and move on. But I didn’t want my mind (and contact book) to atrophy. So I started…
Alex Evans
Could starting up your own agency be the worst decision of your life?
How many times have you thought, I could do this better, I could run my own estate and lettings agency, but I haven’t the money to get me going .. fine I say. That’s a big risk .. but you are only here once in this theme park called life. So why not play the…
Christopher Watkin
Suits 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…
ARPM
Making Valuations Count.
“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart Property management should be a source of recurring revenue for your business, a stabiliser against market turbulence that affects the transactional sides of…
Alex Evans
2015: What’s your prediction?
In the past couple of months, several articles have been published, predicting how the housing market will change when we reach 2015. Keeping account of all these predictions can be quite difficult and confusing for many property professionals. Therefore, we’ve summarised all of these predictions. Daily Mail Recently, the Daily Mail predicted a fall in…
Cheap Fee’s or Great Fee’s .. just become your town’s PROPERTY GURU.
Influence is a funny thing. Thirty years in Grantham, there were three big estate/lettings/surveying practices, William H. Brown, Goldings and Escritt and Barrell. People thought all the Directors all walked on water and the unclean of Grantham dothed their cap as they drove by in their fancy cars. They were Grantham Property Glitterati, charged full…
Christopher Watkin