http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk Daily Estate Agent News Copyright 2009 Estate Agent Today http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/i/email/logo.gif http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2925&type=news_features Agents should not lose sleep over the new Spicerhaart cut-price sales offering it has launched in association with Tesco. Leading London agent Eric Walker, managing director of Bushells, yesterday urged an end to panic mongering over iSold. He says the savings it offers vendors do not amount to much and that too... Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:33:53 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2925&type=news_features http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2924&type=news_features At EAT, we were surprised and curiously touched to receive an email intended for the Hon Sir Mr Tony Addinall yesterday evening, and asked to pass it on to him. The Hon Sir is, of course, chairman at Badgers, the highly successful property business in and around greater London. The email is... Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:32:15 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2924&type=news_features http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2923&type=news_features If you want to win friends and influence people, you might be interested in the new Home Mover Box. It might not be an instruction winner in the immediate future, but which of your tenants or buyers is going to complain about your giving them a free box of essential goodies... Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:30:05 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2923&type=news_features http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2922&type=news_features Boards firm Agency Express replaced more than 8,000 For Sale boards in little over two weeks following the sale and rebranding of Halifax estate agents to LSL firms Your Move, Reeds Rains and Intercounty. All the existing boards had to be replaced in one of the biggest rebranding exercises the sector... Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:28:28 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2922&type=news_features http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2921&type=news_features A Conservative win at the general election will make no difference to the housing market, according to a narrow majority of borrowers and investors. They say that house prices and mortgage availability will not alter – the verdict of 53% of Savills Private Finance clients. A further 35% think a change in government... Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:27:26 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2921&type=news_features http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2920&type=news_features More new instructions than buyers are coming to the market, says the RICS, creating new downward pressure on prices. This week’s RICS survey suggests that the balance in the market is on the change. It says that the difference between the number of RICS estate agents reporting house price rises... Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:25:58 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2920&type=news_features http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2919&type=news_feed A seminar on Local Housing Allowance was so successful that it will be repeated elsewhere. The seminar in London, given by Landlord Action, a company specialising in tenant eviction, drew a large number of delegates. It was held in response to an increasing number of calls received by Landlord Action regarding issues... Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:24:56 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2919&type=news_feed http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2918&type=news_features Consumer watchdog Which? has welcomed the launch of iSold, describing it as giving consumers the chance to sell their own homes. At the same time, iSold is now appearing on Rightmove, which bans private sale by owner sites. iSold does, however, perform some estate agency services even at its cheapest package,... Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:32:36 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2918&type=news_features http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2917&type=news_feed Plans to make it illegal for rental properties that do not have loft and cavity insulation to come on the market have been dismissed as blatant electioneering. The ban suggested by the Government could come in as early as 2015. At the same time, EPCs would have to be shown on... Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:31:19 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2917&type=news_feed http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2916&type=news_features Over 19,000 votes have been cast by members of the public, over 450,000 pieces of data have been processed and now the shortlist for the 2010 ESTAS is announced. In each region the top ten rated agents for customer service have been nominated, and on April 15 the top three, as... Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:30:21 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2916&type=news_features http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2915&type=news_features More than six in ten of last year’s total transactions happened in the last six months of 2009. But while property sales volumes in Britain as a whole for 2009 were 6.8% lower than a year earlier, in Scotland the drop was dramatic, with transactions down 33%. In England, transactions fell... Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:29:18 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2915&type=news_features http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2914&type=news_feed Easier2move is holding a one-day only HIP sale for both new and existing customers on Wednesday (March 10). For just that day, deferred and ‘no sale, no fee’ HIPs will cost the same as the standard up-front paid-for HIPs. Prices are £260, including floorplans if required. ... Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:27:42 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2914&type=news_feed http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2913&type=news_feed Metropix has launched a new way of uploading floorplans to the Digital websites, Primelocation and FindaProperty. It is aimed at getting round the problem of having disparate floorplans online – varying in size, quality and legibility. The new technology bypasses third-party software and ensures that floorplans are processed for consistent delivery. Metropix... Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:27:06 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2913&type=news_feed http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2912&type=spotlight There are 2 kinds of agents - the proactive ones who constantly strive for improvement, and the procrastinators who are "too busy" to make changes or improve. Most agents would like to increase their profits, increase their sales and decrease the time and money spend on non-productive activity. But its amazing... Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:58:18 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2912&type=spotlight http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2911&type=news_features People who want to sell through the new iSold service launched by Spicerhaart in association with Tesco will have to pay an upfront, non-returnable fee of at least £299. If they opt for the dearer packages, the upfront fees – again, non-returnable – will be £499 and £599 respectively. In all three... Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:28:06 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2911&type=news_features http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2910&type=news_features We know how much you enjoy your videos, so here is one we thought you might enjoy. It appears to be a close relative of another YouTube video that has been doing the rounds. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbgwR1pA1k0&feature=related ... Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:24:18 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2910&type=news_features http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2909&type=news_features Click on the lengthy link below and you will find a contender for some of the most interesting property details around. Well, perhaps interesting is not really the right word. However, what intrigues us is that, given the house is a shot in the dark, what time were the photographs taken? Was... Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:22:43 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2909&type=news_features http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2908&type=news_features High Street agents are being warned that time is running out if they want to contest their business rates over the past five years. Any business owners who believe they have been charged too much for their rates since the last revaluation in 2005 have until March 31 to appeal.... Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:21:27 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2908&type=news_features http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2907&type=news_feed Lack of buy-to-let funding could strangle the private rented sector. The warning comes from HomeLet managing director John Boyle, who is also a landlord. The latest FindaProperty Rental Index reveals a rise in asking rents by 1.2% to £814 pcm. But Boyle said that unless restrictions on buy-to-let lending are relaxed, there... Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:20:45 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2907&type=news_feed http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2906&type=news_features A good turnout in the General Election, coupled with a Tory defeat, could devastate the property market, says one of the UK’s largest agents. Bookies are currently offering odds of 1/5 on a turnout higher than the last election, but odds of only 3/1 of a lower turnout. Research by Your Move... Fri, 05 Mar 2010 07:18:28 GMT http://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/News/Story/?storyid=2906&type=news_features