Agencies & People
News covering the businesses, activities, people and personalities in estate agency and letting agency and wider residential property industry.
-
Is this hybrid agency the future of the industry?
A company in Cardiff is claiming to be one of the first independents to offer side-by-side hybrid agency and traditional high street services. It’s a move already made by Countrywide with its selective hybrid digital roll-out, but Four Walls Online claims to be one of the early adopters among smaller, non-corporate agents. The agency, which is part of a local housing association and operates from its HQ (see above), has launched a digital platform that enables it to offer both traditional high street services and an online-only model to landlords and vendors. Cardiff city centre-based Four Walls Online says it believes the high street and hybrid agency models are not mutually exclusive. The company’s Property Platform enables clients in both sales and lettings to log on at any time and using any device to progress the sale or let of their property including scheduling viewings, negotiating offers and managing payments. The system was soft-launched during the first week of July and Four Walls Online says it has so far processed three sales and ten lets through the system. Hybrid agency Four Walls Online offers two sales pricing packages. The first is a ‘sell-it-yourself’ style online packaged priced £595 and charged…
Read More » -
Why being a Rising Star at The Negotiator Awards changed everything
Winning the Rising Star of the year at the The Negotiator Awards last year was a really proud moment for me. I’d worked hard over the years to try and promote property auctions not just to savvy investors and experienced landlords but also as a feasible means of buying a home. Having bought my first property under the hammer when I was 22 years old, I knew how daunting it could be but I also knew the many advantages it can bring too, if you’re brave and take the right advice. From that point onwards I made a point of encouraging suitable home buyers to come along and consider auctions as well as their traditional estate agent. While there is still a long way to go with bringing property auctions into the mainstream, they’ve certainly come a long way in those eight or nine years when I first bought my house. Out of the blue In truth, on the night of the bash I hadn’t given the awards a great deal of thought prior to the night starting as the whole thing came a bit out of the blue, with me only realising I’d been nominated when I received an…
Read More » -
Belvoir buys mortgage broker as founder steps down
Belvoir has bought mortgage broker Brook Financial Services for £2 million in a deal which will see the franchise agency pay £1.5 million in cash plus £500,000 in ordinary shares. Brook, which trades as Mortgage Advice Bureau and is the appointed UK representative of the PLC with the same name, is one of the UK’s leading referral networks for mortgage intermediaries. Its client list includes many independent estate agents across the UK. Brook, which is based in Barnsley has 32 staff, says it will “leverage its expertise to introduce new mortgage products and services to the Belvoir Group”. The company was set up in 2010 by Michelle Brook (pictured left). She is the sole shareholder and has worked in the financial services industry for over 30 years. “The acquisition today of Brook by Belvoir represents a significant milestone for the business and provides the opportunity to grow sales of financial service products within the Belvoir group. Brook has a fantastic team of experienced advisers and a solid support structure operating within the Mortgage Advice Bureau network from which the Belvoir Group will benefit.” Brook turned over £1.6 million during its last audited year of trading and made a profit of…
Read More » -
Government property market track record is “disaster” says agency chief
One of the UK’s leading estate agency CEOs has launched a blistering attack on the government’s handling of the property market since it was elected in June. Haart CEO Paul Smith reckons the number of landlords registering with its branches to buy property is down by almost a third as fewer landlords invest in property. He says that “this could have serious long-term consequences for the rental market and lead to higher rents, putting those who are trying to save for a deposit in an even more difficult position”. His comments follow the most recent overall data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) which reveals that , although mortgage lending rose in May by 10% year-on-year, the figures “flatter to deceive” says Paul Smee, Head of Mortgages at CML parent organisation UK Finance (pictured, left). “The seasonally-adjusted data shows a less buoyant lending picture, with home buying activity remaining relatively unchanged month-on-month and remortgage lending gradually decreasing each month since January,” he says. Disaster Haart’s Paul Smith (pictured, below) says he also thinks Prime Minister Theresa May’s legacy on home ownership has so far been “a disaster” and that ‘just about managing’ families are further away from owning their…
Read More » -
Campbells launches online service
Campbells, whose property experts mainly work in the Northamptonshire and Warwickshire area, has just launched their online property selling and letting service.
Read More » -
70% of millennials rely on reviews to choose an agent
UK homebuyers rely on reviews to inform their decision making when selecting an estate agent, according to a national study commissioned by global ratings and customer insights company Feefo.
Read More » -
Just Giving page in memory of young estate agent raises £13,945
The family of a young estate agent who died in tragic circumstances on 1st April this year have raised nearly £14,000 in his memory via Just Giving, funds from which are to be donated to a charity dedicated to preventing male suicide. 23-year-old Alex Quealy, who is believed to have worked for his family’s estate agency in the town of Sittingbourne, took his own life after a night out socialising with friends in Canterbury. He was found soon afterwards by his younger brother at his home on the western outskirts of the city. Paramedics were called but Alex was pronounced dead at the scene. During the inquest at Margate Magistrates Court last week Coroner Ian Goldup said Alex had showed no signs of suicidal thoughts but had been struggling with “the pressures of modern life and dyslexia”, it was reported. His father Dee Quealy told Kent Live that “We would like to raise money in Alexander’s memory so that other young men realise they are not alone and can be offered the support they need through troubling times. “Alexander was a lovely young man, he was kind, generous, good looking, loved by his close family and friends and had so…
Read More » -
Manning Stainton acquires AR Estate Agents
Manning Stainton has acquired AR Estate Agents, providing residential sales and lettings services in Crossgates, East Leeds and the surrounding areas.
Read More » -
Is this the future of lettings after the ban?
The looming fees ban has prompted several suppliers to the lettings industry to significantly re-appraise their offering, and the latest to announce changes is Let Alliance. The referencing and insurance firm, which is based in Chester, has announced the first products to emerge from its ‘Fit for the Future’ initiative announced in April. It’s launch follows consultations with over 200 independent agents. Fee ban The new package of products, which the company says has been developed to help agents combat changes brought about by both the tenant fee ban and the way properties are being rented out, includes three key solutions – a ‘Nil deposit’ scheme, free tenant referencing and its existing monthly rent guarantee scheme. The Nil Deposit scheme offers an insurance-based deposits scheme that provides a guarantee of up to six weeks’ rent when a claim is made against a tenant – paid for by tenants via a fixed fee. “The Nil Deposit Scheme presents a very different offering to other schemes currently on the market as we replicate the terms and conditions of the current cash deposits registered in the official schemes,” says Andy Halstead, CEO of Let Alliance (pictured) Let Alliance is also offering a rent…
Read More » -
YOPA raises another £15m
Online hybrid estate agent YOPA has raised a further £15 million from investors including the Daily Mail’s parent company DMGT and Grosvenor Hill Ventures, the investment arm of Savills.
Read More »
