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Matthew Payne

Business & Property Consultant

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About Me

Business and property consultant offering strategic consultancy services and executive coaching to property businesses and property people looking for guidance and support to fulfil their potential, become more compliant, commercial, effective and profitable.

Get in touch at aficionadoproperty.com t. 07970 773 847 e. matthewpayne@aficionadopropertyconsultants.co.uk

my expertise in the industry

I worked in the independent and corporate property world for 25 years, working my way up from trainee estate agent to Managing Director of a multi-million-pound estate agency in London delivering record profits in the years that followed. Working closely with my teams, clients and customers in sales, lettings, property management, land and new homes afforded me an intimate 360 degree understanding of a transactional residential property business and the people it served.

Matthew's Recent Activity

No one made any savings of course in any price ranges, bar those who got in early in July, as house price inflation, higher mortgage rates and fees from spooked lenders, increased costs in the supply chain all dwarfed any savings in stamp duty. Perhaps it's only getting more press now as the party is over and transparency is now unavoidable with published data that wasn’t available when many of us precisely predicted this outcome right at the start, dismissed at the time by most stakeholders who were benefitting from the activity. “If you buy during this stamp duty holiday, you are going to be out of pocket” is understandably not a message that many wanted to get much air time, from the Treasury down to suppliers at the coal face.

From: Matthew Payne 22 January 2021 14:06 PM

Pressure on buyers (viewers) to beat the stamp duty deadline? That ship sailed a long time ago for most. If the average transaction time was 19 weeks before the pandemic, why do people think it halves to 9 weeks during that pandemic when supply chains are bursting at the seams with many unable to deal with yet more new business? Surely this is a qualification issue alone for agents who want to limit the impact of virus as well as simply improve their productivity. Their usual 80:20 criteria, plus onward chain, plus is the stamp duty saving a primary motivator/dealbreaker for your purchase. Viewings for the right few, not the wrong many.

From: Matthew Payne 21 January 2021 17:53 PM

LSLs EA profits have been on a steady downward trajectory since all the senior & experienced estate agents departed, starting with David Newnes at the end of 2014, replaced with accountants and retailers. Profits are down from £33.9m to £14.5m last year, with 2018 & 19 seeing the largest slide. EA revenue has dropped by almost 50% in the same period. Could be a complete coincidence of course.

From: Matthew Payne 18 January 2021 14:14 PM

If stakeholders were simply concerned with a few thousand transactions not making the deadline as supply chains were unexpectedly overloaded, they would be arguing for a 1 or 2 month conditional extension for certain transactions, not a new free for all until 30 September. If granted, give it until June before the same copy and pasted letter warns about a new dawning cliff edge in September for all the new deals that have been agreed in the meantime, capitalising on the first extension, which was of course the intention all along. Whatever the end dates, these holidays need either to be less generous, so the cliff becomes more of a ledge, or they need to be tapered over a 2 -3 month period like a gentle incline.

From: Matthew Payne 18 January 2021 12:08 PM

This apparent FT cliff in March doesn’t make sense, and extending it only kicks the problem a bit further down the road. Firstly, surely all these deals that were tied up from about September onwards were done so with a lot of "what if" stress testing on buyer, seller and the chain regarding the deadline. I suspect many weren’t though based on the adverts I still see in January saying "Beat the stamp duty deadline, buy from us" with just 10 weeks to go. It is clear that a chuck mud at the wall approach has been adopted by some, so I accept some of these more recent buyers may not have been properly educated on the realities, but that particular cliff edge is self-inflicted. Secondly, based on average figures, those earlier buyers will have made about £15,000 in house price inflation since they agreed to buy, are they going to pull out over that net gain now only being £10,000, and go back into the market to pay a higher price and then SDLT anyway? Thirdly, anecdotal stories from agents and surveys show that the holiday has been a welcome bonus for most buyers, but it wasn’t their primary motivator for moving, so they will move anyway for the reasons they chose to in the first place, and of course there is the FTBs who don’t care anyway, and I’m sure many downsizers won’t either. One take away for future chancellors, taper the exit from these holidays over a 3-month period, and then this wont ever become a discussion point.

From: Matthew Payne 14 January 2021 09:08 AM

No remedy for extra wear & tear, dilaps & cleaning = no pets (terrapins & goldfish aside). Is it time to allow tenants to pay a higher deposit and obligate themselves to professional EOT cleaning once more if they wish to, so that all the landlords that used to consider pets would do so again? Thats more the relevant Q, not, "We didnt really think through the implications of the Tenant Fees Act before we introduced it, and since we are too embarrassed now to do yet another uturn, how can we instead force landlords to accept larger pets even though we have made it so high risk that a financial loss is almost guaranteed?"

From: Matthew Payne 17 December 2020 17:25 PM

A taper to the stamp duty holiday is the only sensible exit to wean buyers off its effects, albeit god knows why all these buyers have been queuing up to buy a property in recent months, save those who did so right at the start of the holiday - the additional costs have outweighed any stamp saving by 3 or 4 x. An extension will only create a bigger cliff to jump off later in the year.

From: Matthew Payne 01 December 2020 10:10 AM

True, but are many going to pay for RM, Zoopla/OTM and Boomin once their fees start? Surely there has to be casualties somewhere? RM is here to stay whether people like it or not, but will all these challenger portals all just each nibble away at its market share as people like John above rationalise a combination that works for them?

From: Matthew Payne 26 November 2020 15:50 PM

The stamp duty holiday was never going to save buyers any money unless they acted as soon as the holiday was announced, but the chancellor never intended it to, he was simply after the economic activity that this mesmerising gimmick would produce. The inevitable sharp house price inflation was always going to dwarf any savings, as well as more expensive mortgage rates, and just about any service connected with a purchase as supply chains understandibly looked to take advantage and cash in on the activity, especially after the lockdown. Lots of jobs protected and lots of VAT, so it has served its purpose but caveat emptor has never been more appropriate in recent months.

From: Matthew Payne 24 November 2020 10:41 AM

Completely agree David. As with any professional service provider, there are too many variables to be able to publish a fee, as any lawyer, planning consultant, or architect would and do argue the same thing. Even then when you try to engage any of them to act for you, they insist on a first appointment, usually free of charge, to better understand the detail, very much like an Agents "free valuation", two words which in themselves create the impression of off the shelf simplicity that can be often found accurately online anyway without the need for a meeting. Perhaps the high street side of the industry needs to start looking at the language and terminology it uses to better help those that don't understand the complexity of different levels of service, time and expertise involved in selling a property. Since the cheaper publicly displayed fixed fee online agents became more prevalent, the debate has existed about how much extra value high street agents offer and how they should find a way to better articulate that to their potential customer. Clearly more work to do there, and to the regulators as well.

From: Matthew Payne 18 November 2020 14:33 PM

No Landlords are going to be rushing to complete any sales when there is a 3 year backlog of possession claims and with section 21 notices currently 6 months, which is rumoured to be extended further from March 21, unless of course Mr Sunak plans to announce the CGT increase is going to be in 2023 or 2024 to give time for all these landlords to gain vacant possession and then 6-9 months or so to fix the inevitable dilaps and try and complete a sale. Even April 2023 will be a bit tight for many.

From: Matthew Payne 14 November 2020 15:26 PM

They wouldnt be able to introduce this until at least April 2022, more likely 2023 unless they want to be challenged in the Courts. Many landlords won't be able to gain possession until then based on current forecasts on court backlogs and section 21 notices being 6 months with no end to that in sight. HMG can't impose an increase in tax on an activity when they have effectively prevented landlords from engaging in that activity before any deadline to change it. When you then consider that there is a GE in 2024, would any tory government want to overtly alienate a couple of miilion of its core voters in the run up to the election? Tory spin doctors will have one eye on the election and discussions will already be under way about the timing of tax increases, which they wont want to be doing in 2023-4, they will be too fresh in peoples minds at the ballot box. Sector targeted tax rises will have to be 2021, 2022 at the latest to allow people to forget, or instead be spread over most of the population to neutralise political fall out and create a feeling of acceptance as everyone has to pay it. One suggestion I saw floated today by a think tank was a temporary covid health tax of 3-4p in the pound on income over £12,500 for a few years. Tugs at the heart strings a bit as well. What we can be certain of though is massive tax increases across the board in June 2024, as the new administration will have a new 5 year mandate to do what it wants as they did in 2010, 2-3 years after ground zero.

From: Matthew Payne 12 November 2020 17:25 PM

After the government had to come under immense pressure to extend furlough by one month and only because of a new lockdown, this sudden, unexpected uniltateral extension that has taken everyone by surprise should tell us all we need to know about how the government expects the second wave/lockdowns to play out over the next 4.5 months and the BofE forecasts for the economy, they just don't want to give us the bad news just yet. If they really believe the rose tinted version they chug out on the 10oclock news about R dropping, it's only 28 days etc etc, they wouldn't have done this with the deficit as it is. Buckle up.

From: Matthew Payne 06 November 2020 14:00 PM

An extension of 6 months wont alleviate the pressure, it will simply create another tranche of sales in the Spring who then won't make the new deadline for the same reasons, there will always be a cliff edge. No doubt we would then see a copy and paste in another letter wanting another 6 months. Most sensible solution is to taper its end from March to June as they did in reverse with the introduction of Section 24. That should cover all transactions currently agreed, and anyone agreeing a to buy a property from now on should be given the health warning that there is a possibility they may not complete before 30th June. Anything that is currently agreed that needs more than another 8 months has got far greater challenges to worry about than stamp duty.

From: Matthew Payne 02 November 2020 16:01 PM

I think the model you describe is also called the "Drug Dealer Strategy". Free to join, all seems to good to be true, gets you addicted before the future repercussions are fully understood, after which the costs to feed that addiction go through the roof, and you end of wishing you had said no at the start.

From: Matthew Payne 02 November 2020 15:37 PM

These aren't new tools, these targeted FB driven services based on preferences and search behaviour have been around for years, I remember we first signed up with a supplier in about 2015.

From: Matthew Payne 28 October 2020 18:04 PM

He is lucky he kept his job yesterday with that spectacular u-turn on the Job Support Scheme, that was so badly misjudged only a few weeks ago, other chancellors have been sacked for less . I am surprised he is therefore crowing about an equally misjudged decision to fan the flames of an already active housing market, to the point where conveyancers can't cope with the volumes, lenders don't like the volumes, surveyors don't like the overnight house price inflation and social distancing delays service provider activity. Not a good recipe for swollen pipelines that all are in a desperate hurry to complete. I wonder if he will take the credit for the potential cliff edge in the next few weeks when people realise they are no longer able to or want to proceed as they have run out of time.

From: Matthew Payne 23 October 2020 12:48 PM

I have to say I don't get it, but good luck to Max if he makes it work. Perhaps there is a lot more detail than is being shared above. On the little we have though, it appears not only do you alert other agents as to what you have been valuing, you remove that long game chain building opportunity with local VIPs who then know most other people can also see it, other agents will no doubt be pre listing the same property maybe at a different price, and pre formal instruction, public marketing sounds like a compliance nightmare.

From: Matthew Payne 20 October 2020 17:04 PM

The government doesn't support house price inflation or design policy around propping it up. House market activity is what they crave. Tax receipts in large, complex supply chains. Unfortunately their desire for activity is so desperate sometimes, as with this ridiculously short SDLT window, that house price inflation is a by product they actually don't want but suffer like most buyers. A target of 300,000 new homes a year is indicator enough that house price deflation is their actual aim to make purchases more accessible to more people - over supply reduces prices - we don't have an extra net 300k of people a year who are able or want to buy a property, even if there is a bit of catch up to be made. Net result of lower prices = more confidence, more activity, more employment, more tax, less pressure and dependence on social housing and councils.

From: Matthew Payne 09 October 2020 19:21 PM

Love that word, savings. If you move the money from your current account into one marked savings, it then becomes morally unacceptable to force someone to have to move it back again and then spend it to cover the cost of living irrespective of the sums involved. Of course businesses were going to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday and put their fees up where they could. What else would you do with tens of thousands of time pressured lemmings hurtling towards you needing your services?

From: Matthew Payne 06 October 2020 19:14 PM

It has been a requirement in TPOS code of practice for years.

From: Matthew Payne 02 October 2020 10:21 AM

The stamp holiday was too short with transactions times the length they are, perceived too generous, creating too much frenzied activity and crazy house price inflation, hence lenders have quickly battened down the hatches. Whilst good for stakeholders, like any quick fix, they end and you have to deal with the cliff edge, but thats's not the only consideration. When the cebr is predicting house price deflation of 14% next year, furlough ending/unemployment rising, the brewing social housing/PRS crisis, another 6 months of CV19, inevitable tax rises, and possibly leaving the EU on WTO rules, the government needs to be implementing measures with this possible nasty cocktail of confidence draining events on the horizon in mind, that give some steady sustained stimulus and activity through 2021 and 2022 and into 2023. Let's hope this wasnt some high octane gimmickry for a few weeks before austerity starts and they avoid the temptation to allow the 2024 general election to start to influence the timing of these decisions in lieu of what is right for the economy over the medium and long term. They will have one eye on that already though.

From: Matthew Payne 01 October 2020 10:57 AM

Let's see if he also claims the credit for the apocalyptic collapse if he puts CGT up in April at the same time as the stamp holiday ends and before when no landlords or downsizers can realistically sell in time to avoid the increase.

From: Matthew Payne 23 September 2020 11:38 AM

Yes and one that is not overly generous to whistleblowers either. There obviously needs to be an incentive of course otherwise noone would come forward. However, it feels a little perverse to create and manage a price fixing Cartel, sometimes for many years, no doubt eliciting significant accolade, revenues, profits and salary only then to escape with full immunity and no financial punishment at all, thus retaining all the ill gotten gains. I cannot think of many other examples in the criminal justice system where a guilty parties' cooperation is so richly rewarded, and it doesn't feel like enough of a disincentive when the risk really then just comes down to the timing of making sure you are the first one to grass up your bed fellows.

From: Matthew Payne 11 September 2020 17:34 PM

Completely agree Mark. Most agencies focus is blinkered on vendors, local VIPs, chain building etc. Hunting and farming for sellers and landlords who pay their fees, which of course is very important, but it more often happens with no consideration, cultural standards, process or training on how to handle buyers or tenants whose experience is in large part is moulded by how they are dealt with when they fail to secure a property. The media stereotypes and the hangover from the 80s/90s on top fuels their cynicism and belief that they have been mistreated, wronged in some way by that Agent. When these are the sellers and landlords of tomorrow it is arguably making an agents job in winning instructions in the future more difficult for many, but a lot easier for the few who buck the trend. I have heard sellers and landlords comment 1000s of times that their own choice of selling or letting agent later on was heavily influenced by those experiences in the past, and why would anyone expect any differently.

From: Matthew Payne 09 September 2020 09:39 AM

They have been in London quite a while. All that's possibly new is the hot desking they have taken from Spaces at 30 Moorgate.

From: Matthew Payne 08 September 2020 11:32 AM

Smoke and mirrors. A buying agent masquerading as a selling agent. Worcestershire sellers beware.

From: Matthew Payne 07 September 2020 18:30 PM

These stats dont feel any different to what they have always been. I remember the big yellow pageesq catalogues being delivered 20 years ago. All distressed sales or repos at signifcantly lower prices.

From: Matthew Payne 04 September 2020 11:39 AM

It was discreetly rolled out yesterday, albeit there was no announcement as such, I just came across it. I am not surprised lenders wont touch it especially at the moment, but I cant see that changing much. The scheme is excessively complicated with regional price caps after 30% discounts, independent pricing sign off, salary caps to qualify, covenants on titles etc. Wouldnt be surprised to see this canned in the not too distant future. Stick to help to buy or a variation of it.

From: Matthew Payne 07 August 2020 11:27 AM

Is this about squeezing a bit more tax or about getting the economy properly firing on all cylinders? Generally higher taxes don't produce more tax, people just avoid paying them, and they certainly dont create more activity in that area. I am sure he realises that a few extra quid on a higher rate of CGT whether on BTLs or then on private residences will quickly paralyse the market and be counterproductive. People won't suddenly all sell up to avoid the tax which would be tough anyway in a November to April window, instead they will simply hold on to assets or stay put. If the lead time was to April 2022 or 23 perhaps people would make use of the window if they planned to sell anyway, but that wouldn't create the big bang he is after whether more activity or a bit more CGT being collected. Perhaps as with the stamp duty, the chancellor plans to have a CGT holiday to stimulate that frenzied economic activity he is after that has far a reaching impact in supply chains and tax collected across the board, as opposed to just one. If he wants to get a load of people moving home and small landlords selling up which has always been a government focus, a temporary cut not a permanent increase is the only way to do it.

From: Matthew Payne 21 July 2020 10:46 AM

Value per instruction aside which will always split opinion, RM has never been able to explain away or justify why they charge agents such different rates for the same service, with very little transparency in the way they apply charges. Yes they attempt to complicate their rate card with additional extras and variations on discounts for X, Y & Z for stock levels etc to attempt to disguise the differences, but the botom line is the range per office per month seems to be from £185 up to about £1700, and even then, corporate agents discount aside, they charge a one office agency £900 a month and then an identical size business in the same town £1500 a month. All this variation demonstrates is a consistant lack of goodwill towards agents whose account manager charges them whatever they think they can get away with at the complusory stare down meeting each year orchestrated to see how much fear they can smell at the prospect of leaving RM or sucking up the increases. RM could build bridges very quickly if they had a published rate card including all the bits and pieces, which would naturally give larger agencies a discount, but at least everyone would take comfort from a balanced and fairer application of charges.

From: Matthew Payne 18 June 2020 09:51 AM

From: Matthew Payne 04 June 2020 08:27 AM

Anyone who doesnt think we are in for a huge second wave and second lockdown needs to be giving that some serious consideration as real possibility sadly. The virologists have said it would be likely anyway and only the most disciplined followed lockdowns and a bit of luck, the snuff out as they call it, would prevent one. The quality of social distancing out there is frankly a joke, essential seems to have become a word less and less people understand, and then when you combine that with the accepted risk that social distancing simply won't be possible in many environments (small estate agency offices with one door for example) and with reckless behavior like this, how could it not? HMG should start to be far more honest with the public about how bad this could get if people dont strictly follow the guidelines to the letter. Its all too nanny state at the moment and wave 2 and lockdown 2 will be far more damaging for peoples health and wealth.

From: Matthew Payne 06 May 2020 12:50 PM

The stark truth will never feature in the comforting 5pm briefings or on the 10pm news, it will damage confidence too much, but at the same time it is creating a false dawn. The nightingale hospitals are empty and cases are dropping. Did the experts get it badly wrong and build hospitals we don't need? No, because the hospitals haven't been built just for this Spring. Lockdown 1 as this is, has just been to immediately gain some control before a lull, then wave/spike 2 will start. Millions of people in the UK are still going to get the virus as so few of us have had it, but HMG wants to try and manage how many in any given rolling period. The trouble is according to virologists, it spreads too quickly when it starts again, and locking down again is the only way to gain that control back when you lose it. It is essentially uncontrollable as noone knows who has it, just like flu, but that isnt as deadly. So, lock, unlock, lock unlock, lock unlock is the way the scientists say it has to happen, or just trust to the Gods. People need to return to work for many different reasons when relatively safe to do so, as we all need to get on with life, however whoever goes back to the office first probably wont be there for long, and this will be a cyclical process until noone is at risk of dying from it.

From: Matthew Payne 04 May 2020 16:20 PM

The corporates pay nowhere near as much as £500 an office.

From: Matthew Payne 30 April 2020 11:01 AM

As Chancellor Merkel reminded everyone today this pandemic has barely started. If I told anyone we had made 0.029% progress on a task they would no doubt tell me I had made little progress and had a long way to go. Thats how much of the global population has so far been infected. Interestingly the mortality rate globally is running at 7%, and 13% in the UK, much higher than the 3.4% WHO estimate, albeit they keep revising it upwards. This wont be over until there is a) a vaccine in the numbers required to immunise everyone, or b) we have all had it. Most people say the vaccine is 12 months away at least in the numbers required. The only possible way out more quickly is if millions of us have already had it and survived, but we are no nearer to us all getting tested than getting a vaccine. So we have to buy ourselves 12 months breathing space until it's ready. If we all go out and get it before then, 630 million people are going to die. Sounds dramatic, but at 0.029% very few people as Andrew says have been touched by this yet, but most of us will be. Perhaps everyone will have a different view when they have, and perhaps then social distancing would be taken more seriously that would enable recommendations like this to happen. Its talked about a lot as a workable solution to allow the economy to breathe, but I see dozens of people breaking it every time I venture out and the lockdown hasnt even ended.

From: Matthew Payne 23 April 2020 17:07 PM

Yes I can, and the same fear factor existed then that exists now with RM. We were pretty dominant in our London borough and we took 10/12 pages in the local property rag, used to cost a fortune, just at about the same time RM was launched. The thought of coming out the paper at the time was horrifying when a similar debate happened then, so I can understand the dilemma now from agencies who are considering leaving but havent. We told ourselves at the time it was just a comfort blanket and we could better spend the money on other things, but actually kicking the habit and pressing the button was hard.

From: Matthew Payne 23 April 2020 12:22 PM

I dont think the public care one way or another provided they get to see what is for sale where they are looking. More and more people just google what they are after, eg: 3 bed house for sale in Watford, and page 1 delivers you links to all the portals stock and local agents. No messing around going onto each site and ten clicks on dropdowns times 3 to get to the same place.

From: Matthew Payne 22 April 2020 13:27 PM

Putting predictions on the housing market or any other market aside, just think of people’s base instincts; I think many commentators grossly underestimate or conveniently ignore how nervous people are about getting CV19, and most of us have still not had it. Ignore all the chumps on the news misbehaving, most people are staying at home trying to avoid getting contaminated. Most people I speak to about the situation are going to be very cautious when the lockdown ends, in terms of changing their lockdown behaviour too much. I know of dozens of examples where people have been told not to come back to the office until October or January, or where they or their businesses are reengineering their routines and lives to accommodate a self-imposed lockdown for many months yet. There is always a range of opinion, some people more bravado than others, I am pretty relaxed about it, but feel a responsibility to others. About 2/3s I have spoken to are scared of getting CV19, and the vulnerable group is huge from asthma sufferers, to diabetics to anyone due for surgery who can’t risk getting it, to anyone who has had chemo in the last year or so, to grossly overweight and unfit people, to those with respiratory illnesses or any serious illness, smokers & vapers, and then there is of course the middle aged and the elderly who are more at risk of dying from it anyway. I cant see many people rushing down the pub in May if that’s when it ends, or even June, July or August, or rushing to buy a house, or off to the garden centre or wherever until there is some confidence in being able to stay healthy and alive, it’s not all about the economy and jobs, albeit that will play its part too. I know people quote the risk of dying is low, 3% or thereabouts, but a friend of mine put it very succinctly the other day. "If I put 100 skittles in a bowl and said help yourself, how many skittles would you eat if I told you 3 of them would kill you?" And that’s an average. If you are in the vulnerable group a load of skittles in the bowl will do it, and even then it’s not just about you, its who is close to you that you then infect. Social distancing will also play a huge part in our lives for probably the next 12 months, and that will simply slow everything down, reduce capacity and services and sometimes just make certain things unattractive to do. My travel agent tells me people are cancelling their prebooked holidays hand over fist for later in the year, not rushing out to book one. Social distancing in any resort or hotel will ruin most holidays. Think of the queues at the bars, no swimming/splashing allowed, some pools may not even be open. Imagine the kids boredom! I agree there is pent up demand for all sorts of stuff and people will want to move house, but I cant see people sacrificing their health or that of their family in order to satisfy it, so whilst there may be gradual improvements in many markets over the summer and autumn, it is going to be painfully slow until people start to feel safe once more, and I cant see that happening until testing and vaccinations are widely available.

From: Matthew Payne 22 April 2020 12:24 PM

Ive seen one of these CV clauses from a lawyer in a chain I am involved in which apparently came as a template direct from the Law Society. Whilst it would protect people from having to complete if they are genuinely affected by CV19, it does however make the proposed exchange worthless as anyone can pull out for pretty much any reason as long as they quote CV19 as the driver.

From: Matthew Payne 17 April 2020 11:37 AM

If they were accurate to the point sellers could rely on them and people realised that, you and they would have no reason to have a conversation when the lead comes through, in fact it would become an obstruction. How the leads are handled is critical to converting them, and it's the inaccuracy of the online valuation that enables this to be done more effectively.

From: Matthew Payne 03 April 2020 14:11 PM

I can believe it, I think there will be a polarising of opinion, one section becoming more loyal because of the way the crisis was handled, the other becoming more disillusioned. There have been many anecdotes of some extremely compassionate and well meaning decisions taken and temporary strategies put in place to look after their employees as best as the business is financially able to cope with, but also I have seen and heard of some pretty poor behaviour over the last 10 days that have left employees looking at their business owners/leaders/directors in a different light and not necessarily because it directly affected themselves - some of it blantantly attempting to profit from the crisis for their own personal gain. Many will now have an unexpected insight not only into the metal of those people but into the fragility of their business now where it exists.

From: Matthew Payne 03 April 2020 13:29 PM

I can understand why agents that are doing it feel the need to list new instructions, they have numbers to hit which are now essentially unachievable this year, and of course up front fees put some cash in the bank now, but agree with sentiment above, it is not in a vendors best interests at all and creates a huge credibility issue that could cause much more damage later on. Time should be better spent on preparing for the end of this lockdown talking to people, data mining and setting themselves up for when it is over, considering how to upscale the business that is inevitably being run very skinny at the moment when normal trading activities are allowed once more. Instructions should be accepted on a deferred basis like a lot of agents do in December, advice should be not to list now. I dont see any value in these virtual viewings and valuations suggesting that we continue as normal, especially when the government has very publicly put the housing market on hold, looks desperate in fact. Any supposed purchase will still be conditional on a physical viewing at a later stage whether they know it now or not, conditional on them still having a job, conditional on them having the same confidence they may feel they have now. Inevitably you will never achieve as full a price now as you would be able to in what was a looking like a promising Spring market, and anyone making an offer will be opportunistic. Any deals put together now will be held together will sellotape and not worth booking. Similarly, with very little underwriting taking place, surveyors at home, councils closed, any deals done will be no further down the line than when the lockdown ends, so I don't see what is to be achieved with a business as usual approach for anyone, agents included.

From: Matthew Payne 30 March 2020 10:50 AM

Techincally a tenancy agreement needs to be signed by all parties, date binded and an engrossed copy circulated to all for it to be executed. Most agents dont do this, they just collect signatures and sit on them and send out nearer the move date.

From: Matthew Payne 27 March 2020 13:56 PM

Once more demonstrates the need to have all comms between tenants and landlords supported in emails or whatsapp or for agents their CRM or 3rd party app, especially as a follow up to anything that might have been discussed, and especially when time passes so quickly. Seen this happen hundreds of times, where some maintenance happened or was due, the tenancy suddenly roll on for 3 or 4 years and it becomes contentious at the end of tenancy as noone can remember who said what, or dispute what was said. DPS/TDS will never accept someones word especially when it will be inevitably challenged by the other side.

From: Matthew Payne 25 March 2020 11:11 AM

That's 11 times what the big boys pay, which they might argue is the right amount for the number of branches they have, but the disparity between that and independent agents is extraordinary, and very inconsistent at the same time. I cant remember seeing the same number quoted twice by any independent agent the last time everyone volunteered what they were paying.

From: Matthew Payne 18 March 2020 12:25 PM

I remember when Your Move heralded their £3m national TV advert, prime time, Corrie slot etc. They got 5 calls from the campaign and 3 of them were staff checking the number was working.

From: Matthew Payne 12 March 2020 11:11 AM

It will be interesting to see where NFOPP draw their line with regard to previously taken qualifications. It was the case that anyone that had done ARLA 1 & ARLA 2 for example had to resit the Level 3 technical Award as so much legislation had changed in such a short time. From memory that was about 2008 ish, and ever since everyone has been taking the current level 3 award in sales and lettings. I have heard claims that have not been verified that some people that have passed the Level 3 award since the change who have NOT paid a continuous membership fee every year to NFOPP have to now resit. I know up to 2018 this was not the case and rightly so, as many firms were not prepared to pay for every single member they had each year, as it mounted up to tens of £000s and for individuals, expecially younger people it was expensive at £200 a year. I sincerely hope NFOPP are not going to use this a vehicle to force people to resit a qualification they have already passed simply to generate more income. If the level 3 award is going to be the measure, then anyone that has passed it should not have to resit it, and with tens of thousands of people who have never done it anyway, I doubt there would be the capacity.

From: Matthew Payne 29 January 2020 08:25 AM

There clearly needs to be a distinction made between the Romans management team of February 2018 who rightly approached the CMA and instigated the investigation thus affording them no fine under the leniency policy, for the actions of the Romans management team that created and helped maintain the Cartel from 2008 to 2015.

From: Matthew Payne 23 January 2020 15:04 PM

At the very least there needs to be some value offering as an incentive to fill in a form, and clearly an online val alone isnt it where most people have done this to death over the last few years and know pretty much what their property is worth anyway, there are so many ways to stay up to date without filling them in. Even better still would be a more compelling reason to subscribe to that site more generally, where the user would receive a comprehensive variety of relevant content they might find useful or interesting which they may currently get from 5,6,7,8 other subscriptions. Most people want the information, but would like to try and consolidate the number of data sources and associated email traffic, not expand them further.

From: Matthew Payne 22 January 2020 13:44 PM

They have no excuse not to, it only needed an extra sentence set out in the correct way, in the appropriate place being added to their TOB.

From: Matthew Payne 22 January 2020 13:21 PM

Another well known defintion states, "approved by the UK government to help consumers.." The starting point has always been to provide support to consumers which is appropriate but only when that support is administered in a non partisan fashion. That has not always been the case in my experience. TPOS in spite of not upholding most complaints I received were still all too eager to make some kind of token award of compensation for £150 for "inconvenience" for the consumer having to spend the time pursuing the complaint in the first place. Targets to hit like anyone else.

From: Matthew Payne 14 January 2020 12:31 PM

This isnt new news, the Working Group havent met since May, this is a piece on Anthonys views, so not much has changed since the last article. If measures are introduced by mid 2021 that wont be the deadline for everyone to have passed for all the reasons stated above and others. Legislation may be in place by then, albeit, there is only so much time the House has to debate anything, and Brexit will dominate parliamentary time for the forseeable future, so many less important bills will get shelved until time allows as they have done since 2016, we will see if this is one. Look how long the Tenant Fees Act took from public announcement of intent to enactment. If it does come to fruition there would need to be a 2-3 year lead time not only to allow businesses and candidates time to prepare, but the organisations who will be approved to issue these qualifications to a potential 50,000 agents.

From: Matthew Payne 07 January 2020 10:39 AM

It says that electronic ID verification can now be considered as a reliable source, ie: they are satisfied that prop tech companies have beta tested it sufficiently if agents choose to use a firm that offers that. "..electronic identification processes, regulated, recognised, approved or accepted at national level by the national competent authority may be taken into account" It is not mandatory, so yes more smoke and mirrors.

From: Matthew Payne 06 January 2020 18:09 PM

Looks nice if you watch the video, and they are clearly very passionate about what they are doing, but not sure what is new. Either they are not doing a great job of promoting what is different or there is nothing different. Central ID for people and property is old hat and has been around for years, but that seems to be their big ticket item. Be interesting to see how these guys, Reapit and others get on, as there is definately a need for some consolidation in this area of the industry so I sincerely hope a revolutionary product comes along soon. Difficult to see the wood for the trees at the moment though, hence proptech advisory companies are being born to advise agents which bits of proptech are "best", who by the way are in no way influenced by who pays them the most commission.

From: Matthew Payne 06 January 2020 17:40 PM

Have you ever seen a supposed independent article with comment by anyone that is not a plug for their own position or business? It is all a bit one dimensional, there is stacks of it on facebook/linkedin. "John Doe says agents must get to grips with X, which is really hard, scary and difficult, but if they dont do it they will all perish in hell, 4 horsemen etc." The article/post ends with John conveniently turning out to be the chief exec of a business that can save them from this plight if they all buy his product. In this case a bit of a recruitment drive, which is taking its time. Their imminent launch was about 2 years ago, and its still imminent.

From: Matthew Payne 06 January 2020 17:09 PM

The Tories only interest with this policy is to reduce the size of the state. Conservative policy has always been based on a free market economy, where the nanny state as they see it should be strictly limited. Having all this stock move into the private ownership achieves that. I dont see that it is reducing opportunity now for families that need it as there are fewer properties in the social housing sector. They wouldnt be able to move into any of the 2.5 million properties that were sold anyway, they were being occupied by the people who have now bought them.

From: Matthew Payne 30 December 2019 10:32 AM

Completely agree Simon. There are way too many unknowns and too much to establish to commit any party to a financial penalty at the point of offer, and we have a system that doesnt promote disclosure by sellers. We also typically have old housing stock in this country that inevitably brings up potential issues for a buyer and their lender, not to mention the legals, chains etc. The only solution if we are to go down this road is full disclosure much earlier in the process, similar but more advanced to the idea on HIPs, building survey, complete legal pack incl searches etc so a buyer (and their lender) can then make an informed decision about whether to commit, at which point a NRD could be introduced. That is currently called exchange of contracts. The 19 weeks of work (if it needs to take that long) needs to start before someone puts their property on the market. You have to provide more information to buyers to sell a secondhand car, or a fridge on ebay, why does property seem to be the exception?

From: Matthew Payne 17 December 2019 08:57 AM

It would appear that running a profitable estate agency/lettings agency is maybe not as easy peasy as people from outside the industry believe, as they all seem to gravitate towards it claiming to be able transform the businesses they get involved in or purchase with revolutionary ideas that worked for them in retail, hospitality, leisure, dot.com or some other completely different industry. The common thread, very few of them know anything about property and everything that goes with it, but then strangely they surround themselves with people who know even less. All of these businesses have seen their profits plummet, the businesses much smaller than 2-3 years ago as well, and the agencies that seem to be prospering in the stormy weather like Connells, Savills and a host of smaller agencies are actually run by career property people.

From: Matthew Payne 10 December 2019 13:58 PM

Mainly to guard against litigation similar to the old Caveat Emptor used by Agents to admonish them from having accurate sales particulars. The surveying industry doesnt want the responsibilty of underwriting all these areas, so these recommendations are get out of jail free cards to protect them from the buyer and lender if later there are issues.

From: Matthew Payne 22 November 2019 13:34 PM

Another example of why the proposed rushed introduction of reservation agreements wont work in a practical sense which was nicely summarised in a Property Industry Eye article on 28 March. Relevant to this point why they won't work is due to a lack of full legal disclosure by vendors that makes them accountable. At best most vendors won't voluntarily highlight all the problems with their property, at worst, a good number deliberately conceal issues and hope they can get their sale over the line without a fall through or price reduction. I know 2 people near me currently with properties sold, one with a historic nasty boundary dispute with the neighbour, and the other with a big drainage issue. Neither matter disclosed to either buyer at the point of sale, and as it currently stands I havent seen anything that would protect either buyers reservation deposit in these cases when they decide to withdraw further down the line. If the MHCLG is genuinely only looking to stop people changing their minds as it is claimed, there needs to be complete transparency in place for that to happen. Too much smoke and mirrors as it stands that will only see far more cases in the Courts as people fight to recover these deposits.

From: Matthew Payne 19 November 2019 11:09 AM

Everyone's views are understandably influenced by the RM rate they are paying and whether they feel that is good value or not. A cooperative approach is the only way to tackle these price rises for independents anytime soon, which is effectively all the corporates have done. 600 branches, 800 branches carry a lot of negotiating muscle and they use it. RM won’t care about losing a handful of smaller agents who protest, and if anything, that adds fuel to the fire as they hike their prices even more the following year to those that are left to compensate. Rightmove has created this monster but not because of expense alone, but due to a very inconsistent and perverse charging model applied very differently to small independent and large corporate agents along with the fear factor its historic dominance has allowed them to create, that it is a necessity in your businesses if you want to succeed. A 1 branch independent agent is paying as much as 11 times more per branch than the biggest agents after they have had their corporate discount applied which they can also fix for 3 years, so the largest agents can choose to invest the saving in other marketing campaigns that generate them better quality leads from elsewhere, hence they are never critical of what it costs. (I know what they charged me as an independent and then when we became part of a corporate) Further, the rates quoted to the smallest agencies are so inconsistent, some might think RM is charging whatever they think they can get away with, as the fear with the smaller agents as with newspaper advertising 15 years ago, is RM is something they cannot manage without, and will destroy their business if they don’t have it. The more fear RM smell at each review meeting, the more expensive it gets. Ever wondered why they don't have a rate card and always want to agree new terms in a meeting? So, food for thought when you consider whether it’s worth the risk to leave… Firstly, the world isn't dependent on any portals property or otherwise anymore or has a loyalty to any particular app or website and clearly Zoopla has woken up to that. Apple, Google and others have made it so easy for us not to need to. The high tech has moved on monumentally in the last 5 years let alone the last 19. Google is only 2 years older than RM but look at how much it does now, how advanced it has become. When I look for property or anything for that matter I use Google, Siri if I’m out and about, not any particular portal and I get to see all of what I am looking for wherever it is listed, whatever website, and more people are doing the same. I used to go on particular sites, but search engine reliability has improved so much, and it is so much quicker. It’s a similar challenge for Amazon, I used to go there as my default, but I now trust Google to send me to the right places, give me the best choices, and I don’t shop on Amazon half as much as I used to, because in fact it’s not the cheapest place or has the best products all the time as they like RM would have you believe. Secondly, independently, if you are developing your own customer capture and engagement strategy at a local level in your communities and more broadly digitally with search engines always in mind, you can service the public to a large extent yourselves anyway, now that some (not all) of the Proptech that is out there has been road tested, improved and works. A combination of these means you will be able get in front of customers without dependence on RM, and perhaps that is what a lot of commentators here are finding. If you are already on Zoopla or OTM your properties will be easily found out there and on your own site, and a minimum £3000 a month saving for a small agency gives them a lot of options to do other things. Thirdly, consider the digital generations. My teenage kids don't use PCs anymore or type unless forced to, that's not even a cultural necessity for young people now to search for stuff they want to find, it’s all voice driven, Siri & Google Home. They don't know any different, they look at me with my laptop, typing away, sending emails manually, using the telephone like I'm some dinosaur. They run their lives front to back digitally through Google, Snapchat, Insta and YouTube. That’s it. No text messages, no browsers, no apps, no phone calls, no emails, no print media. They are your customers in about 5 years’ time, some older ones already are, are you ready for them? I note that most agents don’t have Insta or Snapchat accounts, some are not yet even on Facebook, or they are but never post anything, so maybe not. Soon will be the glasses with a heads-up virtual display in front of your eyes walking down the street, it’s not long. Apps have become passe already, who uses them, websites are mobile optimised, I’ve deleted most of mine? Thought tech is already here in the new F35, that’s next. Think Tony Stark, you will think or request 3 bed houses in Doncaster and they will appear in front of you in the middle of your kitchen for you to pull apart like virtual lego, and it’s not that far fetched. Google will take the lead role no doubt as always. RM was invented at a time when us 40 somethings were young and even we don’t use it anymore like we used to. Unless they have a secret masterplan, a revolutionary game changer about to be announced then they barely have no place in the lives of Gen Y and no chance whatsoever with Gen Z, they simply don’t communicate or operate digitally in a way that RM needs or expects them to. Should precious marketing resources be better spent elsewhere in context of value and relevance?

From: Matthew Payne 13 November 2019 22:23 PM

Is it any coincidence that the removal started in 2008 when the business was no doubt short of cash like many were, and desperate times for some businesses meant desperate measures. They have now returned the cash, but was it just cash? Where was this cash injection reflected in their accounts, did they take it all to revenue as well? If they did that's a £10m write off that needs to be reflected on top.

From: Matthew Payne 30 October 2019 16:20 PM

I wish her well, but I am not sure I understand her ambition for the next 2 years when she says she would be pleased to replicate the pace of the last 6 months which has been a 6 fold increase in that time, she cannot be referring to another 250 listings. That still only gets them to a revenue of £448k. And based on these numbers that supposedly would make an operating profit of £300k? What are these 65 people and herself being paid if costs are so low? Either way the model will have to change. They need a 20 fold increase in listings very quickly or their fees need to increase significantly. Same historic conundrum all online agents face.

From: Matthew Payne 29 October 2019 13:44 PM

A lot of established brokers struggle to justify fees of £400-£700, so I am not quite sure how a new business trying to establish some market share and credibility with customers is going to charge what I assume will be a fee higher than this if it is being branded as a one off lifetime fee, and force people at the same time to commit to them forever. Who commits to any contractual arrangement for life with their accountant, solicitor, insurer, and yes mortgage broker?

From: Matthew Payne 29 October 2019 11:21 AM

It needs resolving but adding another layer of bureaucracy to an already painfully slow process is not the solution. Buyer and vendor behaviour are a symptom of a broken system, not the system has become broken by their behaviour. Think of the practicalities of this proposal that would affect normal everyday people. A buyer can’t be expected to commit blindly to a transaction for 19 weeks, on the back of a handshake, with the vendor providing them with very little detail about what they are buying, hence they do their due diligence. In the 90s, things happened a lot quicker, a search took 2 weeks at most, an expedited search 48 hours, you could get a freehold deal over the line in 4 weeks. Unless you get the vendor to provide full disclosure, a survey in advance, to sign an affidavit that there have been no material omissions then there is still so much to establish, especially on leaseholds, hence subject to contract, subject to survey. Likewise, a vendor cannot be expected to make the same commitments for different reasons for 19 weeks, to a buyer who drags their heels. Does a buyer need to demonstrate their financial capabilities in the same way? Do you then need to go all the way down or up a chain to do the same thing? Then there is other mitigation, in a third of a year, a lot of life stuff can go on, people lose their jobs, get promoted, get pregnant, become ill, there could be many innocent and legitimate reasons why buyers and vendors could no longer honour their commitments. In the real world away from affluent parts of London where buyers and sellers no doubt keep £1000 in loose change in the centre arm console of their Bentleys, £1000 is a huge sum of money to jeopardise on a system that needs fundamental reform. Why should the average UK buyer spending less than £250,000 and saving sometimes for years to pull their deposit together, be told they have to put down a £1000 deposit that they will lose if they don’t proceed, which more often than not is not simply because they have changed their minds, hardly ever in fact. It’s title defects, survey results, down valuations, collapsed chains, search results, neighbours, personal challenges meaning they can no longer buy (or sell) at all because it has taken so long. The list is endless and one you can’t legislate for. If you do allow a huge list people will just declare that reason anyway, nothing will change. If you deny any mitigation list at all, you will punish people for things beyond their control. People will quickly work it out and the market will grind to a halt from the bottom up, people won’t move. It feels like a cottage industry is being created again like HIPs just to make some cash, not solve a problem. The wagons are circling, I note there are already a few companies popping up ready to go with these agreements. The focus should be on getting all stakeholders together lenders, lawyers, councils, agents, HMG and establishing how it can be done as quickly as it was 20 years ago, not force people to accept the current broken system because it’s quick and easy.

From: Matthew Payne 22 October 2019 12:08 PM

Like with anything the government has introduced in the recent past it has to be properly stress tested, something they havent done with many pieces of legislation in the PRS which has had a negative fallout on tenants as many predicted for example. We have seen a similar attempt at this in the past with HIPs that failed spectacularly. Any beta testing should very much include whether it would further reduce transaction numbers which is a real possiblilty. I put together 1000s of deals over years gone by, with persuasion, one off viewings, local VIP work, spotaneity many of which would not have happened if I had been asking people for £1000 up front and where they may not get it back. One of the biggest challenges is always how a fall through is determined. Reasons can be manipluated by buyers and vendors, and then there are countless other mitigations, loss of employment, divorce, bereavement, promotions at work, illness that may influence why a buyer or vendor does not proceed. Defining fault/blame fairly seems like an impossible task especially as one comment has already suggested. How do you determine what is a bad survey result for example? Is there such a thing as a clean survey on a Victorian property, they have all got a bit of damp or loose roof slates. Some buyers pull out over such things, others will use them as excuses to pull out if they have seen a better property. I can't see how there can a workable template, there are too many variables, but if you make it too black and white, ie pull out or dont pull out, then tranasction numbers will plummet.

From: Matthew Payne 21 October 2019 10:07 AM

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