Posts with tag: estate agents

Property Ombudsman offers competition law guidance

Published On: October 13, 2015 at 12:38 pm

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The Property Ombudsman scheme has provided a supplementary membership guidance note to assist letting agents in understanding their obligations under the revised Codes of Practice. This move has come to ensure compliance with the Competition Act.

Approved by the Chartered Trading Act, the revised codes came into effect on the 1st October.

Assistance

‘As part of the most recent Codes of Practice review process, we have produced further guidance in collaboration with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to help support TPO members and improve standards within the industry,’ said Christopher Hamer, the Property Ombudsman. ‘This guidance note supplements section 3 of the TPO Code of Practice for Residential Estate Agents and has been drafted with the aim of ensuring agents do not compromise honesty in relation to the advertising of fees.’[1]

‘These guidelines come as a result of a well reported case that happened earlier this year where the CMA found that an association of estate agents and a newspaper publisher had entered into an illegal anti-competitive arrangement, breaking the competition. CMA imposed penalties of over £735,000,’ Hamer continued.[1]

Property Ombudsman offers competition law guidance

Property Ombudsman offers competition law guidance

Clarity

Ann Pope, CMA Senior Director of Antitrust Enforcement, added that, ’it is clear that some agents are still unclear how competition law applies to their business which is why we wanted this guidance to be disseminated widely. We wanted to assist agents and help the industry understand their responsibilities and what is seen as inappropriate practice.’[1]

‘In particular, we wanted to highlight that the ability of agents to advertise their fees or discounts freely plays an important role in stimulating price competition between competitors. If agents are prevented from advertising their fees or discounts in the media fee levels may be artificially inflated and owners are likely to find it harder to assess which agents offer the best value for money. It could also make it harder for new entrants to enter the market and compete effectively with established agents. Agents that continue to restrict their advertising of fees or discounts in this way are breaking the law and may face severe consequences,’ Pope added.[1]

[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/business/the-property-ombudsman-issues-competition-law-guidance-note-to-agents.html

 

 

EweMove targets hungry staff

Published On: October 6, 2015 at 9:15 am

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Categories: Landlord News

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Estate agency EweMove has today announced four new branches, with the promise of more to come.

Looking to target staff working for other agencies, the estate agent has opened branches in Ilford, Bracknell, Reigate and Redhill, bringing its national total to 66. There are a number of new franchises earmarked to launch before the end of 2015.

Disgruntled

Previously, the firm has only taken on recruits from outside of the industry, but it has now changed its focus to disgruntled former agency staff who wish to set-up on their own.

‘The tight market means that many valuers have seen their income and career prospects curtailed,’ observed Glenn Ackroyd. ‘We’re offering those with the right attitude and values a change to run their own estate and letting agency with EweMove.’[1]

‘We know that many of these individuals have got what it takes to become a successful franchisee but are trapped in their current situation with limited opportunities to progress or reap the financial rewards of their hard work,’ he continued.[1]

EweMove targets hungry staff

EweMove targets hungry staff

 

Opportunity

Ackroyd is now offering 20 agents the opportunity to begin a EweMove franchise, for a cost of £1,995 plus VAT. However, he said that this may not be given on a first-come first-served basis This is due to the fact that the firm wants the most adequate agents who can adhere to their unusual part-traditional, part-online business model.

‘We’re also exploring opportunities with independent estate agents,’ Mr Ackroyd added, before observing that, ‘the industry is going through rapid structural change with the growth of the online agent.’ He went on to say that, ‘there will always be space for traditional full service agents but in the technological arms race and with on-going consolidation, independents are being squeezed from all directions.’[3]

[1] https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/10/ewemove-targets-disgruntled-agents-with-ultra-cheap-franchise-offer

 

Public Should Embrace Estate Agents

Published On: September 14, 2015 at 12:21 pm

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A leading estate agent boss has said that the public should learn to love estate agents.

Ed Mead, the executive director of London agency Douglas & Gordon says that people blame estate agents for any problems with buying or selling their homes.

Public Should Embrace Estate Agents

Public Should Embrace Estate Agents

He asks that when property dreams don’t become a reality, who else do people have to blame?

Mead explains: “Given the absurdity of our property-buying system, the cheapest in the developed world and one the Government refuses to regulate in even the most basic way, there are plenty of weak links where those who could face blame enjoy hiding behind the estate agent.

“Most of the public erroneously think that, once an offer has been accepted on a UK property, it is sold – it’s not. Until contracts have been exchanged, anyone can pull out of a deal – buyer or seller – and 35% of people do. That’s a lot of heartache, and lost money.”

Mead argues that if a buyer pulls out, as the deal is taking too long, it could be for a number of reasons and none the fault of the agent.

He says: “The solicitors could be slow but it’s much easier to blame the agent rather than a lawyer.”

It is neither the agent’s fault if there is gazumping or gazundering.

Mead continues: “There is one very good reason why you should love your agent. Very few property dreams come true without one. It may surprise you, but only 20% or so of the work an agent does goes into advertising your property or putting details on one of the massive property portals.

“80% is reserved for the bit that cajoles, begs, drives, counsels, buys, kicks, obsesses over and finesses all the elements mentioned above. Given we are the undertakers, the last involved, we very rarely get any thanks.”1

1 http://www.propertyindustryeye.com/its-time-to-love-estate-agents-public-are-told/

 

Zoopla reveals encouraging results in Q2

Published On: August 12, 2015 at 3:09 pm

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Zoopla has experienced a good second quarter of 2015, with its latest trading update revealing that it has recorded a net growth of 213 estate agency branches during the period.

These additions take the total UK agency membership of the group to 12,556 branches. More significantly, the rises are the first recorded since the emergence of challenger website OnTheMarket.

Encouragement

A statement released by Zoopla said, ‘management is encouraged by the reduction in churn and return to growth of the UK Agency business, combined with the strong performance of its members who continue to grow their listings. The Zoopla Property Group had 2,672 new home development members, 684 overseas members and 219 commercial members taking the total number of members at the end of the period to 16,131.’[1]

In addition, the inventory has grown by 7% from 828,000 to 882,000 properties over the same period. What’s more, traffic to the site is strong, with Zoopla reporting 45.6m monthly visits on average, between April 1st and July 31st. [1]

Zoopla reveals encouraging results in Q2

Zoopla reveals encouraging results in Q2

Pleased

Alex Chesterman, founder of Zoopla Property Group, today announced the figures, to the approval of many shareholders. Chesterman said, ‘We are very pleased that over the past few months of trading we have returned to growth in our number of UK agency members. Our huge audience of property-interested consumers remains loyal and engaged and our members are enjoying strong performance and a competitive advantage in terms of both brand exposure and leads generated via our platform.’

‘With the acquisition of [price comparison website] uSwitch now complete and the business performing well, we are focused on developing our combined services to provide consumers with a single resource for all their property needs which will serve to further enhance our user engagement and create a greater competitive advantage for our advertisers.’[1]

[1] https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2015/8/zoopla-reveals-latest-figures-for-agent-membership

 

 

Landlord anger at estate agent commission fees

Published On: June 16, 2015 at 10:17 am

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A landlord who has found himself in the middle of a legal tussle with Foxtons estate agents over a £616 bill to repair a light fitting claims he has been inundated with messages of support.

Dr Chris Townley, academic at King’s College London, claims many fellow landlords have contacted him to express their concerns over how estate agents conduct their business. As a result, he is campaigning for the letting industry to become clearer for property owners and tenants alike.

‘Morally wrong’

An angry Dr Townley stated that, ‘this behaviour is wrong, morally and legally. Foxtons has never apologised properly, they do not even think they have done anything wrong. I’m happy to carry on fighting and I hope it pushes them to change their behavior.’[1]

The cause of Dr Townley’s anger centres on a dispute over a £616 charge to fix a light fitting in a three-bedroom house that he let out in the Forest Hill area of the capital in 2013. After being unaware of the cost charge until recently going through paperwork, Dr Townley then contacted the company that had carried out the job.

It was discovered that the subcontractor had charged just £412.50 to carry out the work, but Foxtons had added 33% in commission. Solicitors working on behalf of Dr Townley have started legal action against Foxtons, citing that the, ‘hidden commission’ was not included in the landlord’s contract.

Peace of mind

Dr Townley paid Foxtons 17% plus VAT on rent of £1,400 per month for two years. He decided to let his property through an agent to achieve peace of mind, as the house was his family home and he was to be spending time abroad.

‘I keep wondering what I could have done better to have stopped this happening to me,’ Dr Townley said. ‘When you go through an agent, you trust that they’re acting on your behalf. It seems stupid to have paid £600 to repair a light, but I thought they were replacing two lights and trusted the agency.’[1]

It is estimated that thousands more landlords could be entitled to compensation from Foxtons, with the legal firm suggesting that the final cost could rise to as much as £42m.

Landlord anger at estate agent commission fees

Landlord anger at estate agent commission fees

Disappointed

Dr Townley said that while the whole episode has put him off renting a property, he believes that there are many estate agencies that provide a quality service.

In a statement Foxtons said:

‘We are incredibly disappointed to hear when any customer is dissatisfied with the service they have received, however, as a legal dispute we are not in a position to comment on the specifics of this case. We are satisfied though that our fees are clearly laid out within our terms and conditions and that approvals are obtained from our landlords before works commence on their property.’

‘As part of our managed service to our landlords we arrange for maintenance works to be carried out on their behalf from a panel of carefully vetted and trusted contractors. Due to the volume of work we provide we are able to achieve discounted rates offering competitive value with the benefit of efficiency, availability and quality of work that many landlords would not be able to achieve on their own.’[1]

 

[1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/11670878/Landlords-in-tears-over-hidden-estate-agency-costs-following-Foxtons-case.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

 

 

New investment portal launches

Published On: May 29, 2015 at 2:17 pm

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Categories: Landlord News

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With the buy-to-let sector now thought to be valued at £1 trillion and showing little sign of slowing down, now seems to be a great time to take advantage of the buoyancy of the market.

As estate agents, landlords and developers look to capitalize on the perceived market gains, the release of dedicated investment property portal Buy2Let.com today seems to be perfectly timed.

Unique

The new portal, thought to be the first of its kind, will be populated with thousands of different property investment listings, each generated from some of the most well-known agents in the industry. These include full-service agents Leaders, Northwood Uk network and East London providers Stirling Ackroyd.

In addition, the portals exclusive partner Bamboo Auctions will be able to offer instant, chain-free purchase opportunities, alongside offering live auctions of investment property.

As a result of spiralling buy-to-let volumes and in light of the new pension reforms, now seems to be the optimum time for agents to entice buy-to-let investors. These could be either first-time or seasoned investors, or those looking to cash in their pension funds.

New investment portal launches

New investment portal launches

Perfect partner

Founder of Buy2Let.com, Martin Wilkinson, said that the portal is, ‘designed to be the perfect marketing partner for agents to reach investors directly and encouragingly, it seems our panel of forward-thinking early adopters already recognise us as such.’ He continued by saying that, ‘we appreciate that some agents and developers simply don’t have the time to dedicate to the investment market and we know that the current property portals simply do not cut it when it comes to marketing to investors-they are designed to sell solely to the owner-occupier market.’[1]

Wilkinson went on to say that, ‘alternatively, Buy2Let.com provides the crucial pieces of information that investors need to make a purchasing decision – uniquely, the portal allows them to search for and identify opportunities by annual rental yield, as well as categorising each listing as vacant, instant rental – or tenanted, and HMOs. No other portal offers this level of insight or comparison, because they are not intended for the buy-to-let property investment market.’[1]

Concluding, he pledged that, ‘we are confident that our portal will prove to be a vital resource, both to agents and investors, especially at a time when the market is thriving. We will continue to work with estate agents, developers, and corporate landlords, to source and list genuine buy-to-let investment properties, providing selling agents with an unrivalled direct marketing outlet, and investors with a dedicated resource of property investments and analysis of the market.’[1]

 

[1] http://estateagentnetworking.co.uk/2015/05/28/buy2let-com-launch-opens-investment-doors/#.VWgiqmNytWw.twitter