A new business proposition for estate agents offers them the chance to make money from wealth management.
Frank Lowe, former estate agency director of the collapsed mortgage firm Home of Choice, has launched the service whereby estate agents and financial services firms work together.
He said that his new model could bring in income streams for both and claims that take-up has been enthusiastic, and well ahead of expectations.
He said: “I turned the existing relationship on its head.
“Usually it is financial services firms that approach estate agents, and the deal is set on their terms. This is something very different.”
Lowe’s new business aims to introduce wealth management services and sales through a joint venture programme. The two partners would enter into a contractual arrangement, with the split on sales commissions previously agreed.
Lowe said: “The UK estate agency market is long overdue a significant change in how it relates to financial services and in particular wealth management. Conversely, FS companies need to understand the culture of agency and the opportunity for financial services and investment sales from the various disciplines in a conventional EA practice.”
Melfyn Williams, a former president of the National Association of Estate Agents and managing director at Wales-based estate agent Williams and Goodwin, has just launched Lowe’s offering.
Williams said: “Estate agency has always looked after mortgages, and because it’s a moving market we decided to look at financial services from a different angle. We see a lot of clients with second homes or empty properties, for example, who might benefit from some help with the wider management of their finances.”
Lowe said: “The environment within estate agency as it is now may look very different over the next few years. For example, the old referral system is now obsolete; it never really worked and was often open to abuse, concentrating mainly on mortgage leads.
“Joint ventures with quality agents offer a much wider opportunity for sales in wealth management, investments, pensions, life cover and general insurances.
“The wealth management market has been largely ignored by most agents and brokers, and consequently there is an opportunity for both to increase revenue and provide an extra layer of service that historically has been outside the scope of an agent’s activity.”
“Presently, there are a number of key issues facing agents – maintaining market share, pressure on fees and the increased cost of employment being the main ones. In addition, the corporate agency chains will not be far behind in marketing wealth management services to their existing and new clients.”
“This is a new opportunity for most independent agents.”
Lowe, who has 30 years’ experience in estate agency with firms including Reeds Rains, Connells and TSB Property Services, has been developing Estate Agency Business Solutions since network Home of Choice, where he was estate agency director, went into administration in May last year.
He was not taken on by purchasers LSL and is understood to have a claim again the administrators.
Comments
Oh dear yet another brainless nurd with a get rich quick scheme which will be a get poor even quicker scheme.
Will they never learn and I agree with Martin on this one?
Agency is selling houses etc, renting them and not trying to cash in on wealth management because the wealthy will not go to some white socked agent to ask his advice. We have a crap reputation that has taken years to build so how can we break that down would be the way to go first.
Any ideas folks?
Another attempt to cross sell from an estate agency client.
Only when agents wake up to the fact they need to provide the function the client approached them for - estate agency- and do it well in isolation, will this business iimprove it's reputation.
What credentials- “collapsed company”, Reeds Rains, TSB! Is this a new low.........