Haringey Council vs Letting Agencies.
“Hate estate agents? Yes, you probably do — and if you rent, the fees you have to pay for every tiny little thing probably make you hate them the most.” Is what is quoted via the Londonist website which reported on this news story. Maybe a little harsh in my eyes as this industry is constantly improving and regulating itself, but do read their full report here.
Not only are Estate and Letting Agents being reportedly attacked competition wise from online estate agents and hybrid estate agents, but it looks that things will not stop just there. Haringey Council have also placed their hat in the ring by setting up the first letting agency in the country that is being run from a local authority – This really does open up the imagination to other avenues and concepts that could soon launch in the selling and renting property sector… I was surprised the failure that supermarkets had in this venture, who knows, soon we may see this re-commence as supermarkets have usually a very target audience in footfall, they can usually guarantee the type of consumer using them, ie age agroup, financial income etc. Will we be seeing another iSold very soon?
Haringey Council has promised to deliver a lettings and management concept that will promise to keep it’s prices to a minimum. Fees are reportedly £172 per tenancy plus £72 per tenant and £50 per guarantor. It also promises to deal with only quality landlords over rogue.
Their non-profit agency is called Move 51˚ North and certainly appears a professional outfit from their website with some encouraging comments and statements, example: “Move 51° North is managed by an expert team of housing professionals. The board boasts a total of more than 200 years collaborative industry experience, representing an organisation which manages 21,000 homes and almost 60,000 repairs each year. These excellent foundations are the basis for Move 51° North“.
Nice website as I say, but no properties yet on the website… ! As of 12/03/2016
Time will determine what success, but it is clear that estate agency and letting agency is no longer a traditional high street concept, many doors are opening and avenues are being explored… More similar concepts from local authorities are planned.
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