What happened at the recent Prop Tech event…

We at Estate Apps recently had the pleasure of attending the property tech event held pretty much right in our own back garden! The rainmaking loft by tower bridge was chock full of property professionals, all bringing their own unique ideas to the table.

We were lucky enough to hear from 4 key note speakers: Bethan Jenkins of Crowdlords, Russell quirk of Emoov, Trevor Mealham on INEA and Hannes Buhrmann the head of innovation at Rightmove. Each speaker gave a fantastic insight to their business and how they operate.

First to the stage was Bethan with the Crowdlords start-up. They put forward that we in the UK is far too focused on owning a property when it comes to property investment. They suggested another way  in which you don’t have to own a property to take advantage of the property industry, you can become an investor. The site its self works by connecting potential investors with developers and landlords in need of investment in return for equity. With investments starting at as little as £1000 it’s much less strenuous on the bank account than purchasing your own property.

Russell Quirk from Emoov shared an insight into his online estate agency and their low fees. He’s set out to prove that lower fees doesn’t have to mean lower quality service. This has been ensured with  his unique commission model whereby his employees don’t get their commission from just making the sale, they have to get great feedback too. Not only did he make some great points in his talk, he left us with a smile on our face when he brought up what his competitors say about him.

Trevor Mealham took to the stage next with almost a polar opposite view next with his company INEA. His idea is to create a network of estate agents all sharing the properties they have with other agents. The issue he’s looking to solve is that sometimes an agent just doesn’t have a property that meets a clients requirements. While this would normally end in the client being shown the door, what this now means is the agent can pull from a new wealth of resources and still help close a sale. He sees this as a way to help consumers while still keeping agents fees high.

Last of the Keynotes was Hannes Buhrmann who talked us through the 12 week process of creating a new app. One currently in the beta stages of development is geared towards informing users what their property will potentially be worth in 5 years. I’m always a little nosey myself to see what properties are worth and something like this will do wonders in satisfying my curiosity. It’ll be great to see what they come up with next!

In addition to the main presentations, we also had the opportunity to hear from a handful of others who came along for the “open mic” section of the evening. Speakers were given 2 minutes on stage to give a quick rundown of their business. Included on the bill we had Sarah from renovate me, with her start up looking to make finding renovation properties easier to find and acquire.

We also heard from Will Burton from Chiphall, who had one of the shortest presentations but one of the biggest crowd responses. They’ve got a piece of kit that can scan a house room-by-room and then replicate it in a 3-D model. Not only does this replace the need for a photographer, it builds a full scaled digital version of the house far more engaging than any standard photo. These guys are ones to watch!

Post event was a fantastic opportunity to get out there and meet some of the professionals that we share the industry with and put some faces to business logos. The whole event felt very friendly and welcoming start to finish so you can be sure we’ll be popping along to the next one! Hope to see you there.

Alex Evans

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Popping the Asking Price Bubble

Where in the Uk Can Buyers Snap Up Property Bargains and Where Properties Go for a Premium Above Asking Price   New research from fast selling property company, Upstix has uncovered the UK’s most surprising postcodes for snapping up a property at bargain prices this year, highlighting a widening gap between sellers’ expectations and the…
Read More
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Highest demand to lease office space since pre-pandemic

The latest insights from the UK’s number one commercial property website Rightmove, reveals that the number of unique enquiries to lease office space is at its highest point since pre-pandemic, as businesses look for spaces that meet modern requirements. Demand to lease office space is 19% higher than the same period a year ago and…
Read More
Planning disputes on new build land
Estate Agent Talk

Planning consultations for major infrastructure to be streamlined

Robert Bruce, a planning and infrastructure partner at law firm Freeths LLP, said he: “Welcomed the change as a significant step to speeding up the DCO process and the focus on the quality and effectiveness of the consultation, rather than box ticking and a risk averse approach to pre-application consultation due to the current legal…
Read More
Breaking News

‘The property ladder pulls further away’ warns Open Property Group

For many first-time buyers across England, the dream of homeownership continues to slip further out of reach. Despite rising wages, soaring house prices are making it harder than ever to get on the property ladder. A leading UK professional house buying company ‘Open Property Group’ based in Buckinghamshire UK, has raised concerns over the ongoing…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

How Long It Takes to Buy a House in the UK: 5 Common Delays That Can Slow Down Your Home Purchase

Wondering how long it takes to buy a house in the UK? The average timeline ranges from 8 to 22 weeks, but even that can stretch significantly due to unexpected delays, especially if you’re a first-time buyer or caught in a chain. That’s why working with experienced professionals like Belvoir — one of the UK’s…
Read More
Love or Hate Rightmove
Breaking News

Rightmove to host Renters’ Rights Bill webinar with Guild of Lettings

Rightmove is hosting a live and interactive webinar session with the Guild of Lettings to help agents get Renters’ Rights Ready. The webinar will take place from 10:00am – 11:00am on Wednesday 23rd April. Susie Crolla, Managing Director for the Guild of Lettings, will be joining Rightmove to help agents with questions they may have about…
Read More