Estate Agent Talk
Do you know an inspirational agent?
Last year our founding director, Stephen Brown, launched a wonderful competition to find the UK’s most inspirational agent. The entries highlight a wealth of positive stories from up and down the country, of agents doing extraordinary things to help their clients. Due to the success of this competition, we are proud to bring it under…
Stephen Brown
DON’T PANIC YOU CAN STILL BUY !!!
OK don’t panic, you were going to buy a small property in Spain for about ??? euros but now the pound to euro rate is poor. This of course means that your budget won’t go as far. What can you do? Don’t buy Wait and see what happens Buy anyway Look for alternatives This…
Keith Pintointernational
Hull: An area to watch for the future
Maureen Lipmann, Philip Larkin and the Spiders from Mars – that’s a combination to get your parents in a whirl. The point of the connection, with apologies to the late David Bowie, is of course the fair city of Hull – or Kingston Upon Hull if you prefer its more formal appellation. A city with…
Christopher Walkey
Too busy to keep up with compliance?
How good are you at keeping up with lettings and property management compliance? If you’re heading up a small lettings agency or slim-line team of property managers, it’s easy for new laws and legislations to get overlooked. Don’t just take my word for it. The Fixflo Report 2016, which surveyed over 300 letting agents, found…
ARPM
Why don’t the public trust estate agents?
Perception is a funny thing. It’s often pretty far removed from reality. The Cambridge Dictionary definition of the word is this: Perception – a belief or opinion, often held by many people and based on how things seem. Note that it says ‘seem’ and not ‘how things really are’. The general perception of estate agents…
Alex Evans
And now it hits the fan!
Way back in October 2015 when an in-out referendum was intended to mend rifts in the Conservative Party and the shortest serving England manager had seen out a full calendar year, the Deregulation Act took effect for all new tenancies in England. With fundamental changes to both the way in which repairs were handled and the…
Alex Evans
Should estate agents’ professional standards rise to that of the kebab shop?
Last week, the Property Ombudsman published their latest report on complaints against the estate agency profession. Despite transactions not having increased in the last twelve months, customer complaints that have been upheld are up a whopping 32%. Compensation levied in favour of the consumer stands at over £800,000. A record by far. Standards are slipping….
Alex Evans
Adios PR – I’m becoming an Estate Agent!
My friends and clients who work in estate agency all do very nicely by the look of things. Nice cars, smartly dressed, exotic holidays and often with a mini (or midi in some cases) property portfolio to keep them company during the slower months. I want some of that. I’ve had enough of the world…
Alex Evans
3 of the most essential types of apps for estate agents and property managers
In 2016, we can officially say that most of the digital growth has completely switched from desktop to mobile use. Consequently, the mobile app market is becoming big business and keeps going from strength to strength: according to data released in an infographic by the University of Alabama, the app market will soon generate $77…
Christopher Walkey
When is the best time to sell my home?
‘When is the best time to sell my home?’ The obvious answer is to sell at the top of the market, however in practise, this is almost impossible to know and can come with many other factors to consider. The most popular time to sell a property tends to have always been in mid-spring or…
Enness Private
An Innocent Way of Doing Things Even for an Estate Agent
Last Friday I jumped in the car at 4.30am and drove up to north west London to visit Fruit Towers the fantastic HQ of innocent drinks. I grew up on the mean streets of NW10 just down the road from innocent so I felt like the not so prodigal son coming home. When I say…
Building on green belt land is now “inevitable”, says Aston Mead
Leading land agent Aston Mead says that campaigners in favour of maintaining the green belt need to accept that some of it will have to be built on, if a solution is to be found for the UK housing crisis. The company’s comments come after the release of a report from the Campaign to Protect…
Christopher Walkey
How to increase the value of your garden
A well-designed and maintained garden makes a property stand out and will definitely increase its price. Landscaping is a great way to turn your garden into a magnificent and very special place. Here are some great tips on how to increase the value of your garden and thus improve the state of your house. Take…
Alex Evans
The real cost of expanding or diversifying your agency
The motto ‘speculate to accumulate’ is true – growing or diversifying to capitalise on market conditions is a great way of increasing profits and building a more secure business model. The whole idea of growth, however, is to increase profitability and not see any new income wiped out by set up costs and bigger overheads….
ARPM
Ewe must be joking? – Add some Apple thinking to your agency’s efforts
I attended a seminar a couple of years back which featured Steve Wozniak , the co-founder and original brains behind Apple. He came across genuine, down to earth, and incredibly clever but I was bored by the end of his talk – so much so that I vividly recall wondering why Gangsta rappers don’t attract…
Alex Evans