Estate Agent Talk
WHEN CHEAP ISN’T VERY CHEERFUL
Estate agents’ fees are always a hot topic! And it is true they can vary wildly. In many parts of Stockport, fees can vary from 0.5% to 1.75% and there is considerable variation right across the country in every town or city. There are also online or low-cost agents offering headline-grabbing fees. Ignore their slick…
Maurice Kilbride
Residential Property Valuation: The End of The Beginning or the Beginning of The End?
Recently, Zoopla announced its latest acquisition, the capture of housing data firm Hometrack for a cool £120 million. For those that don’t know, Hometrack provides residential property insights, analytics, valuations, and data services to over 400 partners including mortgage lenders, developers, investors, housing associations and local authorities. Should we be concerned by what appears to…
EAN Content
View My Chain Reduces Estate Agents’ Stress
A revolutionary new cloud-based software tool has shown that it can cut estate agents’ workloads and reduce their stress levels. That’s because View My Chain cuts back on the amount of telephone calls agents have to make chasing up conveyancers and other estate agents. It does this by allowing agents to view their own sales…
EAN Content
First-time buyer’s increase to 36%
February saw the rate of first-time buyer’s increase to 36%, a demographic that currently accounts for just over one third of February’s property market activity, the largest proportion of first-time buyers since July 2011. It is suspected that the reason for this is twofold; near zero base rate mortgages, and the drop in buy to…
EAN Content
Rant and Rave – What the heck is going on out there in property land?
Never mind ‘Lala Land’, what about ‘Lala Property Land’! What the heck is going on out there in property land? My rant: To our inner negative self-talk. Lack of properties, lack of buyers, sad people, worried people, all going around in a zombie-like trance. Muttering ‘oh poor me’, ‘oh this is really bad’, ‘I blame…
EAN Content
Question: What is the worst kept secret in UK estate agency?
Answer: That things aren’t what they used to be? Reply: That’s right, but don’t tell anyone and we will all be fine. Am I the only one that is getting a little weary of this continual High Street versus Hybrid Model debate that seems to get avid readers of industry websites so exercised? I sincerely…
EAN Content
Looking to Rent a Property? How an Estate Agent Can Simplify the Process
These days, renting a property isn’t as straightforward as it used to be. There are so many things you need to think about before you rent and the actual process can be a nightmare – especially if you go down the private route. If you’re looking to rent in the not too distant future, an…
EAN Content
Conveyancers Want ID Property Portal Like “Border Control”
Estate agents are to be given back-up to help confirm the identity of property sellers – if the Conveyancing Association (CA) gets their way. In an attempt to cut back on property fraud the CA is to lobby the government for a centralised ID Verification process – one which includes the use of high-tech biometrics….
EAN Content
Can UK Estate Agency learn to live with the Online Generation?
It has been said many times and in many different ways that success comes from looking forward, and not from looking backwards, and never has this sentiment been more true right now than in UK estate agency. For well over 50 years the estate agency fraternity in this country has relied on the same inflation…
EAN Content
IGNORING BAD ONLINE REVIEWS CAN DAMAGE AGENTS’ REPUTATION AND LOSE POTENTIAL INSTRUCTIONS
Despite the massive growth on online reviews, agents are still handling bad reviews inappropriately, which is resulting in a damaged reputation and loss of potential instructions, according to Chatty Imp, specialists in delivering social media campaigns in the property market. According to recent research from search agency BrightLocal, more people are reading reviews on a…
EAN Content
THE POWER OF WORD OF MOUTH
Going through my 2016 figures last weekend, to my amazement I found that 92% of my business came from word of mouth referrals. Not that I’m blowing my own trumpet (ok, perhaps I am!), but that figure even took me by surprise. And then it got me thinking: why was it so high? I was…
EAN Content
CEILA Gets its Claws Out Early
It’s not been in existence for all that long – actually just one week – but already CIELA is making waves with one of the UK biggest online property agents. The Charter for Independent Estate and Letting Agents – which currently has 12 regional officers and doesn’t launch officially until October this year – is…
EAN Content
Are the So Called “Disrupters” Guilty of Post Truth Politics?
You really would have to have been living in a cave for the past six months to have avoided the phrase “Post truth politics” when turning on your TV or tuning in your radio. As the term has been used in great abundance by political journalists from all sides, in the context of describing the…
EAN Content
Selling Your Estate Agency? Points to Consider Before Making Your Decision.
Are you eligible for Entrepreneurs’ Relief? When you sell a business your proceeds of sale are likely to be subject to Capital Gains Tax. However, if you qualify for Entrepreneurs’ Relief you will only pay 10% on all gains on qualifying assets up to a lifetime limit of £10 million. So, how do you qualify?…
EAN Content
Why Some Estate Agents Make Lousy Lovers – Three minutes and it’s over
Picture the scene. And picture you’re single – if you’re not already. The man / woman you’ve fancied for ages is standing alone by the coffee machine looking gorgeous. Now you’ve said hello a few times, but you don’t know them very well as they work on the floor above. Then you bowl up to…
Jerry Lyons