Associations & Bodies
News and updates from associations and member organisations in the UK residential property industry.
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Phil Spencer teams up with Propertymark to promote the association to the public
The Location, Location, Location presenter will be using his well-known property profile to help inform the public about Propertymark and what it means.
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Bichard rejects outside regulator to police RICS members
An independent regulator to police RICS members has been rejected by Lord Bichard, in his report into how RICS is run. He said it would be a mistake to set up an outside regulation body, but he warned that he would not be surprised if the government considered the proposal. Bichard said: “It [RICS] is, of course, not the only professional body to have wrestled with these problems and in professions such as solicitors, auditors and healthcare professionals the government has intervened to create separate regulatory or oversight bodies. “In fact, separate bodies have become the default setting for professional regulation and I would be surprised if government does not consider that option for Chartered Surveyors. “For my part, I believe that it would be a mistake to establish a separate body”, and he agreed with the conclusion reached by Peter Pereira Gray in his review of real estate valuations, that RICS is best placed to fulfil this role. Board strengthened The RICS Standards and Regulation Board needs to be bolstered, Bichard said, to ensure it can properly police members. “I therefore favour immediately strengthening the independence of the SRB to create and maintain clear divisions which prevent the representative…
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Bichard calls for big changes to RICS as it faces ‘watershed’ moment
Peer's proposals will see urgent changes to many parts of the institution's operations including greater member involvement in decisions.
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Propertymark puts more local agents ‘at heart of trade body’
Bosses of leading agencies in Gravesend and the NW of England join the Propertymark board as its welcomes latest ARLA and NAEA Presidents.
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Inventory trade body chair reveals plans to change direction and refresh board
The Association of Independent Inventory Clerks is looking o build on recent successes with collaboration and idea-sharing, says Daniel Evans.
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RICS reveals post-scandal report will be released tomorrow
Lord Bichard's report will look into purpose and government of the venerable and global surveyors' trade organisation.
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Regional auctions group to ‘be national’ in five months, says boss
Town and Country CEO Neil Mcdonald makes comments as he reveals eight new territories bagged by estate agencies including London and Brum.
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Estate agents give Prime Minister’s housing proposals a cool reception
Propertymark says government policies need to be more radical to solve problem that agents 'do not have enough homes to meet demand'.
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Three out of four voluntary board members at inventory association resign
The Neg understands differences of opinions over the AIIC's direction of travel have led to resignations ahead of AGM later this month.
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Legal trade body launches probe into sales progression speed
A new Conveyancing Association survey aims to discover whether its work to improve the mortgage and conveyancing process has made a difference. The annual study takes the temperature of the industry and identifies opportunities for collaboration by asking conveyancers including estate agents’ in-house solicitors to rate lenders’ waiting and response times, consistency of reply, clarity of mortgage instruction and follow-up actions. Last year, feedback triggered meetings with lenders to improve the process and workshops with Lloyds Banking Group and Nationwide. The association also met and worked with surveyors, valuers, valuation panels, valuation software providers, RICS, and lenders to share working practices and identify how post-offer queries might be reduced. It now wants to know whether this has had an impact and how conveyancers view their experiences when dealing with lender processing teams. This year’s survey is looking for information on raising post-offer queries, receiving amended offers – or those which were withdrawn – and the nature of this activity, so it can identify how much time upfront material information could save its members and lenders. Respondents are also being asked for their input about the changes they’d like to see in the post-mortgage offer process, the ease of use of…
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