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Ben J

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my expertise in the industry

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Smacks of desparation. I am sure in the begining they said they were not raising investment but they did and recently another £150M all before making any money. I hear too that their account managers hounding agents to sign up to paid subscriptions even after saying no multiple times and asking not to be contacted. One reportedly was sent a contract too after declining their offer. This is out and out harrassment! This company has to make its shareholders happy and can go no other way now than RM and the others. Its about profit and profit only. Also, they are up to their old tricks again will false reviews on trustpilot and elsewhere. They are first class manipulators and prime example of emporers clothing syndrom.

From: Ben J 09 April 2022 12:12 PM

Absolute farce this. Why on earth would you join a 'nothing' they have just created a load of hype around a 'nothing'. How many of their 8k members are now paying? Looking forward to seeing the list of idiots supporting this. What on earth are agents doing signing up to this as it offers absolutely nothing of value that we don't get from the other portals. To be honest I think one dome are a much better challenger. More innovative. You agents supporting this need your heads testing. Nothing ground breaking to see here just 2 greedy self absorbed individuals who want to fleece us yet again.

From: Ben J 05 April 2022 02:08 AM

Erm, didn't they say when they launched that they were not getting investors involved? How quickly that changed. Investors = increased fees for agents FULL STOP anyone who thinks otherwise is only fooling themselves

From: Ben J 31 March 2022 13:54 PM

They will be in exactly the same pickle as RM etc. as they will need to satisfy shareholders and investors. It is an unsustainable model unless agents are happy with continuing price hikes and surprises. So it is also a big fat NO from me!

From: Ben J 31 March 2022 13:53 PM

So they are basically taking the same approach as they did with PB and will end up exiting with millions leaving shareholders/investors with a dead duck. Nice one. The only thing this pair are good at is spin doctor marketing. More fool Foxtons and Channel 4. The bigger fools though are the ar*e licker followers clinging to their coat tails hoping to piggyback on any success they might have (all their secret handshaker pals, you know who you are). Its basically emporers new clothes syndrome. The valuation tool I believe is EATs? so guess thats why they keep promoting boomin on here. People that have tried it said it was pointless as if they wanted a general idea of what their property was worth there is a faster way to do it on the other portals and elsewhere without all the gimmicky timer things. Plus they also said they wouldn't believe a remote valuation like that as the agent will not have even seen their property. I cannot see anything that would make us want to pay them 3-400 a month. Even if I could, I wouldn't join it because they are involved. So now we know it has been Foxtons and Channel 4 funding their 200+ staff. They are just creating a whole load of marketing hype in a desparate bid to get agents signed up. The hype isn't working though as the public simply don't get it and their ads are damp squids. Ask any member of your own circle and bet you get same reply as we did. Basically asking what is the point when the other portals already offer all of this. Additionally, if anyone seriously believes their agents together was anything but a sweetner, or believes any of the other nonsense they spout to appear humble then more fool you. Go spend your money on their thing whilst the rest of os focus on better more genuine offerings out there.

From: Ben J 31 March 2022 13:50 PM

Boomin one of the top 5??? Sorry but this has to be a joke right? I agree ref quirky.

From: Ben J 13 August 2021 09:01 AM

As per usual a pile of hype and PR. We received an email from them boasting they had the largest number of site visitors of a newly launched portal. A friend who signed up to their site out of curiosity checked out their visitor stats on alexa dot com and here is what he shared with us. Visitors by Country in last 30 days 🇺🇸 United States 71.4% 🇮🇳 India 21.9% Engagement in Past 90 Days Daily Pageviews per Visitor 1.6 - 73.6% Daily Time on Site 4:26 - 59% Bounce rate 56.0% Popular Articles (Top articles by total engagement amongst this site and its competitors - Based on articles from the past year, updated monthly) Boomin - Transforming the property market. For everyone. engagement: 133 shares: 55 Founder Agents | - engagements: 15 shares: 4 Boomin - Transforming the property market. For everyone. engagements: 15 shares: 4 Boomin - Transforming the property market. For everyone. engagements: 13 shares: 3 They are as per usual spinning out a pile of c**p in the hope of getting those idiot agents on board with FOMO. My friend has so far had no leads. Waste of time.

From: Ben J 03 August 2021 09:42 AM

Andrew, you always talk a lot of sense. Yes it is free for now. However somewhere down the line it will be the agents paying as BBs need to claw their investment back. Yes it has ignited a whole load of pivoting and new proptech solutions which can only be a good thing. There is absolutely no point us agents developing our own solutions we should focus on doing what we do best and leave this to the innovators. However we should also try support innovators when they put out their solutions (instead of bashing them). I just can't support the BBs though and will be giving it a wide berth.

From: Ben J 14 June 2021 18:01 PM

Sorry but who is paying for all of these new hires? All of this stuff they spout is nonesence marketing. They are playing with agents heads. All these hires for a business that isn't making profit make no sense. They don't care about us, they are trying to create yet another business to make themselves richer - end of. Bring in all the leaders they like they won't address the underlying concern that they are not trustworthy. Poacher turned gamekeeper! Onthemarket are a better option, or one of the others (excluding RM and Z here as they are just as bad). Agents need to think about where they spend their money. It would be wasted with these. In the long run they (agents) will be paying for these expensive hires, these new board members etc. They are a startup for goodness sake why do they wven have a board??

From: Ben J 14 June 2021 01:43 AM

DA ALawyer, Unfortunately, I think you are part of the problem that needs to be addressed. You are coming across very negative and one sided in this discussion. I am guessing you are one of the old brigade who don't like change. "Well, it’s you agents that too often feed them the work, for your “referral fee”. Firstly, sorry but no one is forcing you to take on the work. It is your decision. "Agents can assist in this regard by not pestering and by not trying to get involved - at all -in the legal aspects" Sorry 'pestering' how about trying to help our clients move - it is the client who wants these questions answered after all! "And please, no daft phone calls as month-end nears “has it exchanged yet?” Says it all really and confirms my assumption that you are one of those who exasperates this problem.

From: Ben J 04 March 2021 16:35 PM

Algarve, think the key word here is 'become' they were all stupid names just like this one but they now roll off the tongue as you say. They are memorable. Personally I couldn't care less what someone decides to call themselves it is what they do, how well they do it, whether I want or need it that matter to me.

From: Ben J 04 March 2021 16:26 PM

It is those at the top then who should be penalised as its the conveyancers 'at the bottom' bearing the brunt of the anger and blame and for very little.

From: Ben J 03 March 2021 11:16 AM

It needs balancing out, but that shouldn't be done by bringing other's fees down, but by raising conveyancing fees to the right level so staff can be trained or recruited to carry out the work. After all, Its not the buyer and seller who set your fees. Some people will always go for the cheaper option and others for the best service.

From: Ben J 03 March 2021 11:10 AM

You speak total sense Isobel. Fees do need to rise and that goes for agents too as not all are enjoying high fees and instead drastically cutting fees to get clients and barely surviving.

From: Ben J 03 March 2021 11:02 AM

I can see why the intro caused the reaction it did but in a small way it makes sense, however agents are just as much part of the problem. Maybe if the reverse was the case in that conveyancers are rewarded for completing sooner it could help? Most of what i have read of late echoes what Isobel Brookfield says above. There are abviously serious problems that need addressing to support conveyancers that might have a knock on effect on these processes.

From: Ben J 03 March 2021 10:54 AM

Yep! Google, Zoopla, Twitter, Ewemoov the list goes on.

From: Ben J 03 March 2021 10:42 AM

Disagree, These are NOT the ones to "come to the agent's aid" Guessing you were not affected by commisery so don't feel or understand the pain and anger experienced by others.

From: Ben J 27 February 2021 16:03 PM

"It’s surprising how many agents seem to have remarkably short memories" Agree it is. As someone else said, it is akin to someone returning to an abusive relationship on the promise they are going to change. No thanks, once bitten and all that!

From: Ben J 27 February 2021 15:59 PM

I still don't understand why they went down this path. The worst thing they did was go public that it was their (bruce) venture. I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole for that very reason and will be advising every one of my clients why. I see it/them for exactly what it is and disagree about Agents Together, that was a marketing ploy to try and win agents over. Some fools rushed in (the normal group of attention seeking wannabe influencers that push stuff on us on a daily basis) and basically sold their souls. If they really wanted to support agents with mental health, there were numerous other more established and respected charities they could have chosen.

From: Ben J 27 February 2021 15:56 PM

What I would like to know is how they got to list on Zoopla in the first place? Don't Zoopla do any kind of checks on the agents? Sorry but the fact that someone can set up all these fake accounts on the portal and elsewhere says to me those sites are at fault with their poor security.

From: Ben J 20 February 2021 16:43 PM

Andrew, agree, we need to give you all a go for at least a few months as we moan about the others RM Z and OTM but do nothing about it. When challengers pop up we put them down because they haven't got the public eyeballs. The others started the same way and it was the industry that built them so we as an industry need to support the likes of PM in the same way then let the public decide where they want to go as one size doesn't fit all. It is about providing choices.

From: Ben J 17 February 2021 14:27 PM

Don't know for sure but guessing the ones at the lower end are the like of ExP and Keller Williams. Why I say that is I saw posts one FB groups around this and someone explained that they pay a monthly fee of £100 a month to one or the other and it gets them listed on the 3 main portal. The other figure will definitely be a multi-branch or maybe operating in multiple zones?

From: Ben J 17 February 2021 14:20 PM

Seroisly guys, what is wrong with you still entertaining RM??? Beggers belief. This is out and out abuse. What justifies their price hikes? Lambs/fools to the slaughter. Don't you realise we are heading for a recession and you need every penny you can get. We are off it and no impact whatsoever. Don't let "We are on RM and them down the road arn't" be the basis of your marketing strategy when "them down the road have come off" as your actually shooting yourselves in the foot. Instead take a stance and for once work together to stop companies like this from bleeding us dry.

From: Ben J 05 February 2021 17:39 PM

Nail on the head. Masons have too much power. They get these positions not because they are the right candidate but because they are part of this outdated old boys network. It is why most of these organisations stagnate because they are not in it for the right reasons.

From: Ben J 22 January 2021 10:41 AM

Unless WE ALL put our actual fees out there somewhere, how will we ever know what the actual true figues are? Be good to know the source.

From: Ben J 20 January 2021 15:35 PM

"Most agents are charging 1-1.25%". Can you tell us how you know this for sure Martin? So many assumptions are made about our industry so it would be good to know the source of both your cliam and of EAT with this report.

From: Ben J 20 January 2021 15:30 PM

If we applied this thinking across the board of only having 3 or 4 portals then there really would be no choice, no motivation for change or innovation and the portal fees would continue rising because there would be no competition. How about we do the same for CRMs? there are 35+ last time I counted and also for organisations like the FIA? Doesn't Kerfuffle and a few others do what this does? It is very limited thinking and restricts growth. Some of the challengers coming through are far more innovative (sorry, wouldn't touch boomin) so time will tell in terms of what the public think. Don't second guess what the public want or will choose as none of really know what the future holds.

From: Ben J 12 January 2021 10:53 AM

Very worrying. Is Zoopla still pushing this? Heard loads of bad stories about people using this service. Best not to touch!

From: Ben J 24 December 2020 17:15 PM

The whole regulation situation is an absolute shambles. For a start I pity the public as there are way to many and not just for estate agents. WHY SO MANY? What is the government's answer to this? Create yet another one. Now we sit on the sidelines watching the existing regulators fight for the top job of becoming the new ROPA or whatever it will be called. No loyalty between the regulators within Propertymark. Embarrassing.

From: Ben J 24 December 2020 16:55 PM

mmmm ... sounds like a pitch for your site this Babek. Agree, agents should try all channel as there is no one size fits all. Buyers etc. are fickle, they are all different. One site will suit one type of consumer and another with suit others. It is about maximizing your reach. Personally, I wouldn't touch Facebook. Way to risky, and our clients don't want their property listed on there. Also, the marketplace on there is still way too clunky and un-user-friendly so would definitely avoid for our clients. It also feels a bit tacky and desparate.

From: Ben J 29 November 2020 20:22 PM

Well lets hope not as this will be a disaster. Our properties will certainly be coming off for sure! We don't want to line the pockets of this pair with a single penny of our earnings. Anyone who supports them is an absolute fool! Also, imagine given what I have heard about their platform there are a whole load of GDPR/legal issues and problems for agents.

From: Ben J 28 November 2020 16:58 PM

You are missing the point Michael. Yes everyone in business is in it to make money. This isn't about that, it is about backing the right alternative and this just isn't right, they aren't right. You may not have been affected by their PB commisery etc. so don't feel as strongly as some of us and so don't understand the depth of feelings and anger here. The power is not in their TV and other marketing campaigns, the power is in our hands. RM didn't do it with TV ads in the early days, they did it through the agents, it was us who promoted RM, it was us who told buyers and sellers where to go and we can do that again with the better alternatives that are out there. Its that simple.

From: Ben J 28 November 2020 16:54 PM

It needs competition, just not from the pair that tried to ruin us. Surprised at you for aligning yourself with these. They won't be getting our listings

From: Ben J 28 November 2020 16:46 PM

Exactly my thinking. WHY? Glad we are not one of his clients as would be a bit pis***d off if he started pushing this down our throats.

From: Ben J 28 November 2020 16:44 PM

Andrew, there is so much innovation out there now, they just need to enbrace it. They seem a bit stuck in the dark ages.

From: Ben J 22 October 2020 18:07 PM

Don't doubt they will deliver something good. But given what they did it goes against the grain to support them. I just see greed and more greed.

From: Ben J 16 October 2020 15:57 PM

Agree, This new Mr nice guys, caring, charitable, agents friend and the rest doesn't wash. They have seen an opportunity and gone for it. Once the honeymoon period is over it will be RM2 on steroids. Why are these agents supporting them? Why don't they get behing OTM and the new challengers? If we want proper change for the better then we need to back the new blood coming through and not the bad blood. Once bitten and all, talking of which, a bit like a mosquito feeding off the unsuspecting agents. We will never learn

From: Ben J 16 October 2020 15:54 PM

Didn't read it like that myself.

From: Ben J 12 October 2020 14:13 PM

A bit misleading as I thought this was about boomin. Not interested in boomin but very interested to see what others are paying to the portals compared to us. We're all talking about it constantly so about time we got some real idea as to what we are eaach paying.

From: Ben J 12 October 2020 14:12 PM

Hit Man why is it dead before it starts? Must admit, a little confused as to how this would work "The platform enables landlords and vendors to upload details of properties before then offering the listings to ‘winner’ agents who effectively bid for the instructions. The sellers or landlords who have created property profiles and uploaded photos and other information, then wait to receive the agents’ bids, valuations and indications of a marketing strategy. The portal charges agents only when a home is known to sell via the platform."

From: Ben J 12 October 2020 14:07 PM

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