x

Andrew Ireland

Director

5133 Profile Views

About Me

Chartered surveyor and former agent

my expertise in the industry

Construction and surveying

Andrew's Recent Activity

Daft idea that will only further increase property values.

From: Andrew Ireland 04 July 2022 10:11 AM

Peanuts and monkeys, No such thing as a free lunch Pay for what you get All that glitters … I could go on, ….. How much is Ms Marston being paid to do the obvious?

From: Andrew Ireland 02 July 2022 14:28 PM

This isn’t really news.

From: Andrew Ireland 23 June 2022 13:17 PM

It is precisely because local busy bodies were let into the planning system that development came grinding to a halt. The bill shows a lack of understanding of the process of development, it’s risks and returns.

From: Andrew Ireland 12 May 2022 07:42 AM

For all the urgent concern we hear about housing, it’s never translated into action. The post appears to be a token for arse lickers

From: Andrew Ireland 08 February 2022 15:17 PM

We’ve been here so many times, sellers don’t have the money for up front selling costs. But, the government may decide that agents do. I would say be careful what you wish for

From: Andrew Ireland 20 January 2022 07:47 AM

Does a Godfather “ice” people he doesn’t like? Anyway we have Godladies down here in Devon

From: Andrew Ireland 06 January 2022 07:59 AM

Excellent that would stop the market in its tracks. Never unpopular for lefties to suggest taking away from those that have worked hard, held down jobs, and looked after their families .

From: Andrew Ireland 09 December 2021 07:51 AM

How did Elizabeth Smith ever think she could cover it up? Probably thought poor old Mrs Cannon would pass away before anyone noticed. What a horrible thing to do

From: Andrew Ireland 10 November 2021 15:49 PM

About time! The RICS needs to dig very deep. For those that don’t know the RICS has borrowed millions to create a world brand and have long ignored it’s core membership at home rewarding them with high costs and layers of admin. It’s got to stop before the RICS busts itself

From: Andrew Ireland 14 October 2021 07:58 AM

The government have no actual control over the planning process, your Local authority does together with Parish councils in the form of the Neighbourhood plan. The hoops and daft regulation that has to be dealt with seriously hinders development. Boris cannot change a jot even if he wants to, planning isn’t down to him.

From: Andrew Ireland 06 October 2021 15:35 PM

No comment from the National Association, how pathetic. When will someone from our profession stand up and publicly say that this form of behaviour is completely unacceptable, or perhaps it doesn’t matter

From: Andrew Ireland 02 July 2021 13:37 PM

Someone in the industry should publicly state that our profession has no place for people like this and in my view they should never work as agents again….ever.

From: Andrew Ireland 01 July 2021 07:38 AM

Well, I am a small developer having to contend with daft regulation which means that a planning application has turned into a rudderless process threatened at any point by a busybody with attitude. Planning officers no longer have the courage to make pro development decisions. Residential construction is the one part of the whole process to include transport which central government has very little control over mainly because Cameron involved himself in creating Neighbourhood plans, he was truly a dreadful Prime Minister

From: Andrew Ireland 03 June 2021 07:55 AM

There is always money in peddling doom. The Government now control the property market, I would ask if it’s in their interests to see a crash? No I don’t think so.

From: Andrew Ireland 13 May 2021 07:36 AM

Drawing attention to yourself is a necessity if as a celebrity you need to refresh your media presence. Some will do anything, the infamous naked CHEGGERS COMES TO MIND. Being a celebrity is no passport to business success ask Jamie Oliver, so my advice is treat any advice from a celebrity with caution unless of course you are happy to be the source of other people’s entertainment.

From: Andrew Ireland 18 February 2021 07:53 AM

I'm sure Mr Bowcock knows everything about the 2.20 at Doncaster but I wouldn't want him to sell my largest lifetime investment, my house. As for the two going or not going as the case may be, I would ask them to consider all those whose mortgage payments and employment prospects hang in the balance following years of mismanagement at Countrywide of which they have been no small part.

From: Andrew Ireland 24 November 2020 10:13 AM

Yes, Yes, Russell speak ?

From: Andrew Ireland 09 November 2020 10:50 AM

Ha Ha Ha!! They had an offer for the business and didn't even bother to consult share holders but announce it anyway to bounce every one along. Ha Ha Ha!!

From: Andrew Ireland 22 October 2020 11:28 AM

Hang on, I haven't spotted any "profitable" growth with Country wide, lots of closed offices though. And I hardly think that giving away 70% of the shares to pay off the overdraft is a cost free re capitalisation. But I would say the chairman has failed in his self appointed objectives. The brand and sub brands have value but the business model is the Morris minor v the Tesla. Pound to a penny Alchemy asset strip and clear off with a profit of double the investment.

From: Andrew Ireland 22 October 2020 10:59 AM

When I was a director of JDW in the early nineties we had a perfectly good profitable Country house department. Country wide in their great wisdom dumped the Country house department or to be more accurate let it go until it fell over. In fact CW will now be competing with the very people who moved on after that time as most are now to be found working for Savills, KF, Jackson stops etc. I suppose its only taken them 30 years to realise that they made a mistake.

From: Andrew Ireland 12 October 2020 10:19 AM

The definition of an agents responsibility to a client is to express opinion being economical with facts. I don’t think it’s got worse recently but the withdrawal of the Estate Agents Act has changed ea’s particulars for the worse

From: Andrew Ireland 09 October 2020 08:54 AM

If I were a member of staff and given £600 worth of shares I would sell them straight away before they plummeted. Anyway that’s not radical, it’s been done before. Break the company up, sell it off. I’ll buy one of its brands and who knows they buy it back off me in ten years hah

From: Andrew Ireland 12 July 2020 10:51 AM

Like sitting in a Ferrari on a farm track, no where to go

From: Andrew Ireland 15 June 2020 14:47 PM

How come we all made those decisions weeks ago? It’s a tired brand borrowing money to stay afloat, crunch will come next year.

From: Andrew Ireland 30 April 2020 10:02 AM

I am guessing their burn rate is £2 million a month.

From: Andrew Ireland 20 March 2020 10:04 AM

Advertising standards authority if anyone has the time. When will we drive the crooks out of our business which has such huge control over people’s Financial health Probably never, if we don’t stand up to this sort of thing

From: Andrew Ireland 23 March 2019 06:52 AM

I understand that it's the Law to maintain an entry on the register but this appears at first site a bit of a heavy handed move by HMRC. Money laundering is a complex crime which I don't believe estate agents are experienced to identify and so its unreasonable to expect them to hold the front line. Just obtaining a Gas bill and driving license is hardly going to be a barrier to this form of crime. The source of funding together with the legal process is surely a better place to start? Anyway why aren't building contractors obliged to verify who their clients are, refurb and construction is a major part of the ML crime.

From: Andrew Ireland 04 March 2019 16:39 PM

PB has only been around for five minutes compared to most estate agents, time to sell!!! Well I suppose its one way to get rid of creditors.

From: Andrew Ireland 27 February 2019 09:51 AM

In scientific analysis of any hypothesis, in this case underlying hypothesis that estate agents provide poor service, the researcher testing the hypothesis must first devise a way of objectively selecting agents on a range of common selection parameters . This precludes simply applying ones own judgement that of course might be rubbish at selecting an estate agent and therefore from drawing the wrong conclusion.

From: Andrew Ireland 25 February 2019 08:25 AM

He who wields the knife rarely wears the crown to misquote Shakespeare. There is a demand for low cost property agency and the internet facilitates free open access to data base material. Sorry everyone, I disagree, Online is here to stay in a form as yet to be defined. The board,telephone and office form of house agency aimed at geographical brand domination on every high street is over for good.

From: Andrew Ireland 22 February 2019 09:23 AM

Ouch. The couple sound more clueless than greedy, silly and a seriously bad idea to insult the Receiver by not turning up in court.

From: Andrew Ireland 15 February 2019 07:58 AM

Russell Quirk is a thinker, and I would say has definite entrepreneurial abilities and vision. He wanted to be an industry game changer and to make supernormal profit for himself in line with other Tech entrepreneurs, i.e. millions. No one would blame him for that. He was given, by extremely good fortune, the financial means to achieve this. It was a highly trusted and privileged position to be in. Unfortunately his efforts failed, not unusual, not unexpected, most start ups go out of business, and I'm sorry for that. BUT, he must also take some responsibility (not all) for the failure of emoov and reflect that his judgement and perspective on the residential property market in the UK is connected to that failure. A lot of money was lost. A public apology is the usual route to go down and then I would advise he corrects what went wrong the first time and gets on his feet and tries tech again if he can find people to trust him. By dumping his tech credentials now in favour of becoming an industry guru surely cannot succeed, his emoov governance has put paid to that. Graham, I don't really understand why this forum is giving so much space to Russell when the reaction above speaks for itself and surely devalues the platform ?

From: Andrew Ireland 28 January 2019 09:05 AM

OK, right, well the market won't look so cool a place to invest post Brexit, no auto, aero or farming industries, Corbyn or Boris as PM.

From: Andrew Ireland 25 January 2019 09:51 AM

Unfair contract terms Act, Limitations Act, Common Law concerning the basis of a Contract, i.e. agreement between two parties for a service, action or an item etc in exchange for consideration, so where's the service delivery............all legal bars to a successful remedy for the agent in this case. If the storey were accurate , then the agents would have been uncommonly thick, with no thought to future reputation and or flow of future instructions. I agree with Tony and Mr Road, basis of the storey doesn't stack :(

From: Andrew Ireland 25 January 2019 09:45 AM

Founded in 2000, Right Move provided a major shift in the transfer of information between buyers and sellers. Unfortunately it homogenised any differences between one estate agent and another, at least to many people. We all appeared like budgies on a perch and all looked to be offering the same service. So how would some one wishing to sell their house differentiate between agents? Amount of commission appears to be the measuring tool currently in current use. On line agents evolve and take significant market share for now. But a data base connected to the web can't sell a property to a nervous buyer, or work through difficult legals or persuade a lender to provide funding. All these skills come around on a cyclical basis when the market dips. On line agency has a limited business model, its can't adapt, offer one to one advice or do that most human of all things, make 2 and 2 make 5. Sorry Russel, I disagree with your analysis, its more than mere level of commission. We as agents offer extraordinary expertise in a spectrum of professional disciplines and we will be here for many years to come.

From: Andrew Ireland 23 January 2019 10:29 AM

There are a number of ways of drawing attention to yourself, picking fights, urinating in public together with other gestures of immorality, or even become Boris Johnson. I don't think being an estate agent and threatening to wear high vis does it really. As for the comments offered by the selected property royalty, yup we know the weather is pretty rubbish in January, clouds are generally grey or white, cars have tyres and one tends to put on weight over Christmas.

From: Andrew Ireland 16 January 2019 08:14 AM

Look, fair play to Russel he doesn't give up. He has a number of issues to confront however, credibility and reliability being uppermost and probably hasn't slept properly for a while so probably not in the best frame of mind to advise others right now! I have two degrees, a higher degree in Land management specialising in UK property economics, I am a valuing surveyor for the retail banks, I have good political contacts at the top of the tree and I don't know WTF is going on or the likely outcome for values this year. No one knows. The past is rarely a good predictor of the future, Macmillan had it right, life is determined by "events".

From: Andrew Ireland 09 January 2019 10:30 AM

The housing market is a calculus of three fundamental moving parts. 1. The slow and inevitable inheritance of wealth by descendants of those who owned houses enabled to bid property prices up. 2. Very low interest rates which permit large capital sums of money to be borrowed at an affordable monthly outgoing. 3. The shortage of housing supply almost entirely due to a sclerotic ridiculously risky planning process which is managed by unaccountable bureaucrats with no interest in planning outcomes. Restrict the first two and open the flood gates on the last, problem solved. Trouble is what would become of all those with super large mortgages, wealthy parents and no pensions? Guess they would vote that one out straight away. :(

From: Andrew Ireland 02 January 2019 15:52 PM

Mm I think I would be sweating a bit if I was Mr Quirk! Interesting to see what happens to the Countrywide boys when their chickens come home to roost. A few red faces I bet!

From: Andrew Ireland 10 December 2018 11:00 AM

Hang on what happened to Sarah Beeney? Did she ever get onto the Board of directors? If she didn't, bet she's glad now :)

From: Andrew Ireland 03 December 2018 13:56 PM

Eh, and I'm really sorry not.

From: Andrew Ireland 03 December 2018 13:53 PM

I bet they have forgotten to factor in the long term standard deviation in movement of the property market, i.e. 10/20 year shocks. If they have, the model won't work because vendors wont want to take the hedged price for their property. If they have the model will work until the next downturn, which will wipe them because collapse is very difficult to identify long range. Good luck guys, glad its not my money.

From: Andrew Ireland 12 November 2018 08:46 AM

The general deal with WW is that they take 10% of turnover. Most agencies make about 20% on turnover, it varies of course, which means the brand will cost you half your net profit. So what happens if the market slows say by 20%. Not unheard of, well as I understand the deal, you still hand over the 10% of turnover, ouch!! Double kill for those in the know. There may well be more WWs going to the wall any time soon, some of their country offices are very vulnerable right now, I know of at least two who are struggling and I haven't even researched it. It was a great brand when agency was all about flags on hilltops, and empire building. Web driven agency will reduce the appeal of buying into a brand I think.

From: Andrew Ireland 19 October 2018 09:02 AM

Or they could say, we recognise that tec will eventually make us all look silly for going to work in an office. We have a cunning plan to avoid that, lets dispose of all our offices in an orderly fashion. Trouble is what do we do then? When I was a plod negotiator on Nottinghill a very long time ago, I had a client weary of Foxtons who used to refer to them as " di fox ". Probably right, lets see what they do next.

From: Andrew Ireland 10 October 2018 10:17 AM

How much does he cost? For Heavens sake are we estate agents too thick to know our own business to the extent we have to hire some bloke who's good with phones? Won't make any difference, in two years he'll be gone. But I tell you what would make a difference, get that Board of directors out on the street talking to customers and listening to their staff or perhaps they need someone else to do that too?

From: Andrew Ireland 04 October 2018 09:20 AM

Its going to happen quite quickly now, I think. Besides which as an applicant its virtually impossible to park outside an agents office these days.

From: Andrew Ireland 28 September 2018 07:45 AM

Suppose those attractive fund raising instruments with benefits for board members had the last word. Anyway who ever heard of doing 2 jobs at once really well, that is unless you are an MP like Boris.

From: Andrew Ireland 19 September 2018 12:57 PM

It's the first time in my career in more than 30 years associated with agency that the law has finally caught up fraudulent practise which is probably still rife in almost every market area you look in. From failing to remove sale boards and listed instructions from Right Move long after a sale has completed, to over valuation to gain an instruction in the first place. Its all crookery.

From: Andrew Ireland 28 August 2018 10:55 AM

Look Guys its not about clever capitalisation its about earning money. Put a decent strategy in place to shift the focus of the business model away from loss. This will have to be strategic, office and board agency has run its course. Sell the new model into the capital markets. Fund short term cash flow with asset sales and interim deals with lenders. Simples really !

From: Andrew Ireland 16 August 2018 16:11 PM

Asking other people for their money because you have run your business with epic arrogance and inefficiency is not a business solution.

From: Andrew Ireland 29 July 2018 08:15 AM

Raise funds and react defensively by: Sell John D Wood brand. Sell stake in Right Move if you still have one. Consider closing offices that produce a return of less than 7% of turnover (future proof against economic uncertainty). Re-brand to walk away from poor current perception of the business or client base will evaporate over night. Then Decide who you are and who and what markets you want to serve. What are you doing wrong or right, do others agree? Consider radically changing the suite of external to agency services currently offered, i.e. legals insurance etc. Extensively gather intelligence on rivals. Decide who's making money and how? Short term Plan for the late rally in the market this September with a fresh sell-able strategy to future clients that differs from the competition so increasing market share. Medium term Drive towards hybrid agency using gig economy rationale for recruitment. Reduce full time staff. Make connections with emergent institutional buy to let partners desperate to find sites, modular build and identify agents capable of professional management. Look to strengthen relationships with lenders to seek new market opportunities. Whitbread no longer make beer. Rolls Royce cars made engines for Spitfires now the Germans make Rolls Royce cars. You can change too and will be very successful in the future. Andrew Ireland MRICS (former director John D Wood)

From: Andrew Ireland 18 July 2018 08:57 AM

Looks like its time to sell off some of their more valuable brands and downsize. Half the successful independent agents I know at one time worked for CW, they were hopeless at keeping good staff. All those layers of management area, regional etc and all the form filling and other services you were obliged to sell, sort of text book how to trash a good company really

From: Andrew Ireland 25 June 2018 14:18 PM

Firstly, well done Sarah Beeny for the entrepreneurial guts to get Tepilo off the ground during a crash. Secondly, given that so many negotiators are women; why aren't more women on the boards of our great real estate companies? I well remember one of the toughest interviews I ever had was with Victoria Mitchel, the driving force behind Savills in the early days and look what she achieved for that particular brand? (Yes she did offer me a job). That said, as a plod bank valuer; I get to hear all horror stories from vendors concerning bad agency practice. Tepilo doesn't get many plaudits shall we say, in fact most of their clients have to be gently peeled off the ceiling after recalling their experiences. What the online sector has to square is the issue of service provision and achievement of full market value without the boots on the ground. So far they appear to be visibly failing in that respect. So 70% market share for on line agency? Well not any time soon; rather like the coming of the driver-less car.

From: Andrew Ireland 05 June 2018 14:01 PM

Hold on a minute, I’m seeing buyers interested but not prepared to commit because of the Brexit shambles, anyway I would expect a late bounce in applicant registrations given the extended winter cold weather in March. So I think it’s a case of the measuring actual exchanges come later in the year which will be the lead statistic, I think it may well turn down, we shall see!

From: Andrew Ireland 30 May 2018 09:25 AM

Good luck Matt, “can do” usually wins, getting those that work with you to take a stake in where you are going is as you know, is the hardest part.

From: Andrew Ireland 30 May 2018 09:19 AM

What a fantastic offer. SDL group have a broad based property services business focused on mortgage valuation work. Their contacts are wide ranging and solid. If you want an immediate brand platform to start your own business this is a good way to start. I should declare an interest in that I undertake valuation work for SDL and can’t fault them as a small businessperson.

From: Andrew Ireland 18 May 2018 08:09 AM

The switch to online may be driven as much by shifting demographics I.e. the next generation of house buyers preferring an mobile online solution as it it is driven by customer demand for lower transaction costs. These things take time, the race has only just begun so plenty of time to invest in the most profitable runner. Service will be in the mix for at least another ten years, I would invest in Savills and hedge my bets.

From: Andrew Ireland 18 May 2018 08:02 AM

Agree with Dominic, similar seen at the top end of the market in the West Country. It will settle in time. I feel sorry for agents as the World Cup looms, only thing worse is a general election for business.

From: Andrew Ireland 17 May 2018 08:41 AM

How many complaints have we heard about Purple bricks from clients and applicants alike. He who wields the knife rarely wears the crown. The market is still undecided so there’s all to play for

From: Andrew Ireland 17 May 2018 08:30 AM

Wonder how much the 'star'agent cost them. Different ownership I know, but they tried to buy me out some ten years ago and I asked to see the balance sheet. When I saw they didn't have any money and pointed this out, they withdrew! Estate agent's 'Puff'.

From: Andrew Ireland 01 May 2018 09:02 AM

I was an agent for 20 years, I am a building surveyor and accredited valuer. Like the universe, property values keep expanding, generation after generation. This reduces accessibility over time and the fall in households owning property is set to accelerate in my view. The main causes, 1. Inherited money from property sales reinvested causes house price inflation. 2. The low level of interest rates and the function between the amount of capital can be borrowed for the roughly fixed average monthly mortgage outgoing of £1,000. 3. The current over financial verification for new mortgage applicants is locking out so called more risky borrowers, namely the self employed. 4. The high cost, risk of failure and period of time it takes to make a successful planning application also reduces supply. I could go on for hours! Gavin Barwell the housing minister does not show a good grip of his brief as he simply doesn't understand the economic calculus of the residential market. Further the government's thinly veiled vicious campaign against private landlords has only just begun and won't help future housing supply of cheap lets and may even lead to a banking crisis. Some one should be doing something about all of the above.

From: Andrew Ireland 08 February 2017 10:43 AM

Plate spinning is bad enough in agency without making life difficult for oneself. He'll be selling applicants coffee and sandwiches next, hang on where have I seen that done before?

From: Andrew Ireland 25 November 2016 10:26 AM

Ah Alison must have read my rather patronising advice of yesterday on this slot and taken immediate overnight action. However as my old boss George Pope used to say 'you cant run with the fox and hunt with the hounds'. In business there is nothing worse than brand confusion. Still if retail banks can transition then why can't Country wide? Go for it Alison time is of the essence, get the knife out now. Identify your flagships, big them up, shut the hangers on and don't apologise, its business.

From: Andrew Ireland 25 November 2016 10:21 AM

The lettings agency market model is based on some agents taking a greedy double helping in terms of fee from both sides. I thought the definition of an agent was to act for one side only and hence take a fee from one side only. Still a good conflict of interest does not stop some of our keener brethren. Also it seems to me that some agents offer landlords a unique selling point based the ability of that agent to deduct as much as possible from the deposit at termination by way of spurious claims for damage when in fact the deterioration is due to legitimate wear and tear. This retention of deposit monies amounts to a an undisclosed rental premium therefore. I dont buy the argument that the DPA stops all that, cos it doesnt. How banning agents upfront fees to tenants is either a fiscal or monetary measure relevant to be included in an Autumn statement, I dont know. A bit of pathetic political posturing I think.

From: Andrew Ireland 24 November 2016 11:42 AM

Hey remember Kodak? In 20 years time the same question will be asked of CW. Excepting John D Wood, CW don't deliver service to clients. They are overly concerned with monthly returns and dubious referrals to in house service providers. They are in effect a giant listing agency with shops and people hence massive uncontrollable fixed overheads. The business model is now 30 years old and lacks flexibility to respond to market conditions. In my opinion revenue will halve before it recovers, question is can they cut overheads fast enough before they go out of business. So far as the estate agency is concerned; if I was Chair I would want to model the UK property market so that I understood the current dynamic, calculate in the light of Brexit where to cut offices and differentiate a spectrum of on line brands from the posh to the bucket shop. Second part, identify other related markets into which to diversify.

From: Andrew Ireland 24 November 2016 09:46 AM

Totally agree Simon; agency is at its core about people not brand. However price does come into it today with the internet offering sellers a real chance at reducing the cost of a sale, e,g Purple bricks. The question is how long will Right Move remain exclusive to agents only?

From: Andrew Ireland 17 November 2016 10:11 AM

Apologies to Shakespeare but he who wields the knife rarely wears the crown. I think the Savills effort Yoga or Yoda whatever its called is the one to be scared of. They should know what they're doing anyway perhaps more than a former director of 'Confused'. com

From: Andrew Ireland 26 July 2016 09:24 AM

Interest rates reflect risk, the high the one the higher the other. Interest rates affect asset values and returns, usually the higher the the lower the other. Poor market knowledge increases risk which increases interest rates. The BOE cannot and never will control the All risks yield demanded by investors because it doesn't take risks, investors do that. Expect higher rates and falling values.

From: Andrew Ireland 27 June 2016 09:32 AM

Sorry chaps, its going to be a hard one, 5 to 10 years grind min. It feels like black Friday in 1987 all over again. It got so bad then that a third of Chartered surveyors lost their jobs and agents like Knight Frank were charging for viewings. Should be a good time to set up in 3 to 5 years time to catch the wave. Good luck everyone

From: Andrew Ireland 24 June 2016 11:49 AM

Breaking News