Rosalind Renshaw, editor of Estate Agent Today, has confirmed her resignation as editor of the various NFoPP publications.
These include The Estate Agent (NAEA) and Agreement (ARLA) as well as the weekly NFoPP newsletter, which continues to be produced for NFoPP by Angels Media, publishers of EAT.
Rosalind said: “Sadly, I feel that NFoPP has lost its way.
“It would therefore not have been right for me to continue and I believe I can serve the property profession better at a remove from NFoPP.
“I have supported the NAEA and ARLA for many years, and more lately also the two other NFoPP associations, ICBA and NAVA.
“I wish their members all the very best.”
NFoPP did not comment.
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Comments
Oh, my! Never thought of that.
Mrs. Jonnie will be distraught I am sure.
Perhaps I should offer... erm... a shoulder for her to cry on... ;0)
I do have another account for posts which do not require the personal sincerity appropriate to this particular story.
With regards to Jonnie (as opposed to Jonnie no mates) I reckon all that wooing of Gourmand Gossip came good and they have skipped into the sunset together. Who knows?
Robert: I appreciate your kind words - and fully agree with you that more Jonnies would make the industry a better place! His absence is worrying - hopefully he is just holidaying somewhere nice - but if that is the case where is his dedication to the cause... this site has been 'PeeBee'd' from the USA, Egypt and Scandinavia in the past! Who knows where I will be able to stir up the HPC brigade from next... ;0)
Your guest appearance (you must come more often!) on the site to wish Ros well and add your thanks to her for her outstanding efforts whilst with the NFoPP is I am sure echoed by many, many people throughout the nation. It is a great shame that someone has to commit the employment world's ultimate sacrifice as they no longer believe that they are making a difference; or that they can best make that difference somewhere else. The Association's loss is profound. That passion will not be easily regained - and the damage done will be seen and felt for quite some time.
The silence from the NFoPP is deafening... which leads me to wonder:
a) whether they have noticed?;
b) whether they care; and
c) whether they realise how strongly their Members feel about this, and the possible repercussions that may well follow?
If the answer to any of these is NO - then they need to put this story and its' responses in front of the Council damn fast...
Thank you for the advice Peebee.
I am of sound (but stubborn) mind, if agreeing with someone who wants to make the profession stronger makes me unpopular, “Jonnie no mates” is a label I would wear with pride.
You can take comfort from the fact that some people do respect your direct and honest approach. I always enjoy the points you raise, both the ones that I agree with and the ones where you are clearly wrong
My appearance here was to thank Ros for the very many years work she has done for the profession. I have respect for her action and a great deal of empathy for the circumstance that bought about her resignation.
Best regards
Robert
Robert: Do yourself a favour - withdraw the comment about sharing my opinions. It won't score you any brownie points with some on here - might even cost you business!
Just say you were having a bad day - a mental aberration, even - I'm sure you'll get away with it! :0)
I don't normally pass comment on the stuff I read on Estate Agent Today. But living 250 miles from Watford, sharing a lot of his opinions and not being an Agent at present, I could easily be Peebee!
I am sad that Ros has resigned her position. I would like to thank her for all the great work she has done to promote the aims of good Estate Agency and for the entertainment and good reading she has given us all. Thank you Rosalind!
Anna, this isn’t a personal attack, that isn’t my style. I am a (proud) Fellow of the National Association, even though I have not sold a property for a fee in over 16 years I pay my subs every year to support the Association. I sell software to Estate and Property management Agents.
My FNAEA is an indication that I am qualified to talk on the subject of Property Sales, Valuation and Property Management. It is an indication that for at least 10 years I have done the job. Surely that is all that a vendor wants to know.
I have had business dealings with over 4000 NFOPP firms and have only come across 3 individuals, in 25 years, who fall short of the codes of conduct laid down by each of the divisions. 1 is in prison, 1 is on his way and the other is now out of the country.
When I see “FNAEA” on a business card I know that I am dealing with someone who is honest, trustworthy and knows their job. FRICS envy is just in your head.
My only comment on NFOPP is that the “Blue book” should be extended across all divisions of the group with detailed sections covering each unique practice.
Provide clear guidance so that the profession and the public can see that there is cohesive structure
As has been pointed out in one post I am fanatical about standards and freely admit it does drive me crazy that I have a minimum 4 codes of conduct and 3+ sets of legislation to consult every time I specify a feature in software. My one request is 1 set of rules with 1 set of centralised staff split into teams to deal with the many specialist areas of our Profession.
PBtoo: Does there NEED to be a new professional body? The profession has one - it simply seems as if it is losing its Members' confidence and support. Without support, there is no body.
I was a Member for a number of years, as you will have gathered from my earlier post - and I was proud to become a Member, as I sincerely wanted to raise the public perception of Estate Agency. Unfortunately, as soon as you join you realise that most Members did not share this view - or if they do, then they do nothing about it. MOST don't even display the window sticker - surely this free advertising of your professional standing is worth trenty seconds of your time...; MOST do not attend a SINGLE branch meeting; MOST make no contribution to the positive promotion of the profession as it gets in the way of their 'numbers game' targets; and - most unfortunately - MANY see...and use... the Association as a pay-for-letters 'club' to fill the blank spaces on their CVs that SHOULD be filled with their achievements.
Who is the better Agent: The 'Member' who flies round like a whirling dervish listing anything and everything on the basis that 40-50% should eventually fall into the sausage machine - and if the you-know-what hits the fan then his negs will clear it up before he flashes by to throw the next ; or the non-Member whose aim is to SELL every property he lists - and goes the extra mile to make it happen wherever possible? Mores to the point - which of those SHOULD be a Member? Which is the better Ambassador for the profession?
One major area where the Association seems to have gone awry is that it has apparently not acted where, on sounding grounds like this very website, Members have been screaming and it has not listened. The thing is, it CANNOT get proper feedback from Members at Branch Meetings - because MEMBERS SIMPLY DO NOT TURN UP! It should be mandatory that at least two BMs are attended per year as part of CPD and the Membership criteria. Members would learn something - but more important, the Association would learn and benefit also.
From what I can see from his blog posts on here, PBK either reads this site - or someone reads it for him. I truly believe it is the former, knowing the man as I do, and his passion for the profession. He will be hurting that the Association seems to be in dischord on his watch - and I am certain will want to bring about the healing process.
The answer to the problems within the Association lies with ALL MEMBERS. They are YOUR problems - YOU created them; then allowed them to fester. Some have been growing for years; some are new and just adding to the weight of the burden. Now some urgent self-healing has to take place or the animal will wither and die.
If you want 'outsiders' to help - then I would happily throw my two penn'orth in. Thing is, I don't know if I can help - as many clearly do not like what I say... whether it is in the best interests of the market (and therefore the industry...) or not.
"We have binned the one you have got ....and gone for something designed by an FNAEA"
It is actually the same bloke, Robert May, He was in Who's Who as “Sales Supremo” but I noticed that has changed now to Operation Director at Jupix.
We got a sneak look at his new package and it is very good. Apparently we weren't supposed to have seen it yet, Robert May is keeping a very tight control over the whole thing. The chap that was showing us Estate agency accidently let his finger slip onto the wrong tab. whoopsee! He said Robert is giving the developers a hard time and won’t let anything through without it being right. They haven’t given the product a name yet but the team in the Office call it OCD II (“the MD is just as bad”) Funny!
If Mr Creosote does explode (horrid mental image that won’t get out of my head) a few of the posters on here could get together and put our money where their mouths are and show us all how it’s done. How about it PeeBee and wooden top? A new professional body?
Surveyors were the ones with no social skills; the ones who worked alone, scrabbled around down drains and poked about in lofts got sweaty and often as a result had B.O.
RICS (partners) mostly never went near a roof or drain but larded about in their Mk1 Jags having spent a few years roughing it at the COEM in Reading.
FNAEAs had to have 10 years clean practice, be 30 years old and sit before an interview panel.
All 3 worked side by side and had mutual respect for each other’s profession.
Everything was fine till RICS gobbled up ISVA and then the merger with ARLA and NAEA ended up with NFOPP, each with their petty jealousies, sacred cows and precious sets of admin staff/hangers on. The result is an organisation that has no clear direction and no leadership but an unhealthy business relationship with commercial companies.
It resembles Monty Python’s Mr Creosote in so many ways. It is bloated, arrogant and rude. Just like Mr Creosote, it is my prediction, that all we need is an itsy bitsy waffer thin mint to see the whole thing explode in a disgusting mess.
Rosalind Renshaw’s resignation could be the waffer thin mint that has Members of all divisions calling for a vote of no confidence in the executive.
Property Live is simply a farce, a pathetic ego trip for someone who is simply out of his depth.
Anna would I be right in guessing that yours is actually FNAEA envy, you don’t like the fact that you cannot get a Fellowship without the required study and are jealous of the few that got theirs under the time served rules. My guess is that you also one of those people who moans that some old folk have never passed a driving test and some people managed to get free milk at School. Please don’t think I am having a go Anna I actually feel sad that you come across as a bitter malcontent who thinks the world owes her something
Our RICS audit found a problem with our PM system, many hours of our FNAEA's time has been spent working out why an Industry leading system simply did not add up.
(It was not user input error!)
We have binned the one you have got (assuming you are the same Anna who was blowing smoke up their chuff a while ago) and gone for something designed by an FNAEA.
You are simply wrong Anna!
5 separate 3 hour written examinations on Law, Economics, Surveying, Town and Country, Planning and valuation. Exams did exist and were a site tougher than at present.
Back then a lot of the people respected in the Industry were Fellows of an association that meant something to the public.
Anna,
What is wrong with being qualified by years of gaining experience by successful practising?
Your reference to like having a London office is just plain silly.
Please take some time out to obtain some knowledge.
Anna: "(Fellows) ...still envy the RICS status they couldn’t get." You think so? COULDN'T get, you say?
What about those who chose NOT to become qualified? Those who preferred to let their results on a day-to-day basis be the measure of their competence? Those who simply could not afford the monetary cost of qualification? Or those who have simply done the job for years and neither need nor want the qualification?
Is the "experience in bucketloads" you refer to not worth far more than marks on an exam paper? Does a 30-year veteran of property peaks and troughs feel envy of a wet-behind-the-ears graduate whose dissertation completely omitted the eighties, nineties and the first seven years of the noughties because Google said 'no'?
Read my post below. It is discomforting to be proved correct so quickly after clicking 'Submit' that there are many out there who do not value the people; only the badge they wear. Whatever 'badge' that is.
The apathy shown to this lot is as simple as the bulk of members just use it to pretend they are qualified to fool the public and have initials after their name, which if we are all honest means nothing, just deceiving the public, like having a London office etc.
Most of the so called “Fellows” will not even have sat the simple exam as it didn’t exist when they were young and starting out. They are qualified due to experience in bucket loads, but still envy the RICS status they couldn’t get.
Big T.
Having been a member of NAEA since 1974 I remember you from your time at the top of NAEA. I too warned of the folly of diluting two very well known brands
The Propertylive site is a problem but not the only one. The NAEA (and ARLA etc.) who operate under the 'umbrella' name of NFoPP, have not yet realised the confusion caused by the 'merger' of the various disciplines, in both the public and the agents minds. They must get their act together, quickly.
In my view the name NFoPP should not be prominently shown or advertised, if required at all it should be mainly the administrative body. NAEA and ARLA were well known for representing their separate individual qualifications, purpose etc, - Sales or Lettings. The public and agents knew what was what. Now? Who knows.
Neil: Uh-oh... here you and I go again.
I speak for the pondlife you refer to. I am suitably - nay, EMINENTLY I hear you say... qualified to do so.
I was first 'invited' to join the NAEA when the interview process took place down the pub. I declined.
In later years I did in fact join - by this time an ' entrance exam' was required. I joined, turned up at all the meetings - was even invited to join a Working Party down at Arbon House for my field of specialty! I did my CPD - all 12 hours a year (although I have to confess that attending the courses was a major problem as I could not afford the time away from the job). I was, I am certain, Ruth Lilley's worst nightmare - probably still hold the title! But I was a Member.
What is my point here? Simple - it is absolutely abominable that you or anyone else dare to question a person's ability to do a job simply because they haven't signed up to some membership club or 'professional body'.
I worked with Members, Fellows, Branch Committee members of the NAEA; RICS and ISVA Members and Fellows - I TRAINED many of them in Estate Agency matters ffs! They were NO BETTER - in many instances worse - than some of the junior negs or weekend staff that I had the absolute pleasure of working with - and LEARNING FROM!
Qualifications prove nothing other than you can take and pass an exam. That you have an understanding of the concept of a given subject. Does it make you better? In your eyes, obviously.
In mine - we are ALL pondlife.
I would hazard a guess that you refer to those who choose to work 2,3,4 days a week as 'Part-Timers'. If nothing else, I respectfully ask you to take the following away from what I write. We are ALL part-timers. No-one works 24:7, 52 weeks a year. It is WHAT we do with our time; the INFLUENCES we have on those around us; the RESULTS WE ACHIEVE that are the measure of the person, not the stupid letters behind their name.
Some people are too busy collecting these to learn the real important things in life...
"How can I possible manage having an NAEA person in each branch all of the time???? Madness. "
Which supports my theory that agency standards appear to start no higher than pondlife and slowly work upwards. It appears its just _too_ challenging to put agents through a simple £110 qualification. How embarrassing!
So should the criticism by levelled at
1) the NAEA for trying to enforce some (very low) standards or
2) at agents, who appear to want to carry on as they have before.
Even cats could be herded more easily.
Having had the appalling demand for an NAEA member in all of my offices or else, I have instead removed all of the NAEA livery from all of my branches and decided to plough the ombudsman furrow instead.
How can I possible manage having an NAEA person in each branch all of the time???? Madness.
Staff turnover, maternity leavers, promotions etc just throw this into chaos.
I have had a reminder through the post just this week to pay my subscriptions.
25 years membership NAEA membership hanging by a very thin thread and then up pops this story confirming the rumours Henry posted earlier in the week.
The membership of the national association is disenfranchised from Arbon house.
4% of members turn up to branch meetings! Why is that? Ordinary members can’t get a word in! Then we are virtually blackmailed into going with this license bizzo and threat for CPD.
Simply Nuts! The only open voice we have is through Estate Agent Today. Maybe the frustration that is voiced here on a daily basis is part of the pressure on Ros. I will gladly apologise to her for any negativity my posts have had. I am grateful that She has taken the opinion of the posters on EAT back to the Ivory tower, but feel sorry that they do not have the sense to listen to a voice that many of us deeply respect.
NFOPP are trying to be a commercial organisation but it is only their own misguided egos that are convinced they have even the foggiest idea what they are up to.
I congratulate Ros for her very good sense and will follow her lead.
I find myself in the odd position of agreeing with big Trev (well not completely, of course).
Ros did a great job for the Naea and I know had the members interests at heart. She also had a better feel for what the Association stood for than some others. Having perhaps been placed in a difficult situation she has acted very honourably and done the right thing which is to concentrate on providing agents with up to date relevant daily news in a measured and concise form. An admirable lady who deserves much gratitude for the work she has done for us.
@Peter Simpson: "It's not professional of a PR person to act this way..."
Er, what?...tell the truth?
Now now folks, the NAEA has lost its way (as I, almost alone at the time, predicted at the last Council meeting before 'the changes'), BUT the penny will drop one day. I am no longer involved at all, but we still need a 'Trade Body' to support us, the NAEA name is well known and listened to. All we need is for them to drop their quasi-regulatory member-punishing attitude and resume flag-flying FOR our profession and its practitioners.
As for Ros, it's great to know her talents are now exclusively devoted once again to fearlessly keeping us all, members or not, up to date with the business we love. Welcome home dear lady. Big T, Big Smile, Big EAT.
The ego has landed. It's not professional of a PR person to act this way...
Well done Ros - you don't want to be tarred with the same brush as that shower.
NFopp has lost it's way????
I said that three months ago, are you paying royalties Ros?
Are you resigning from Rightmove too ??? ;-))