x

R M

...

6313 Profile Views

About Me

..

my expertise in the industry

..

R's Recent Activity

Test post (No router re-set) Don't mind me Simon.

From: R M 01 August 2015 06:15 AM

@jon he has given up the ghost, moved to pastures new (old) he is an ex press keyboard warrior. He isn't there anymore, gone, scarpered!

From: R M 30 July 2015 13:49 PM

Looking forward to chewing the fat with EasyChris on this one! Oh wait a minute he's not there anymore. It looks like this is an online gamble he couldn't promote!

From: R M 30 July 2015 08:56 AM

No I'm not Simon, I am simply honest, fair and competitive. That might make things a little tougher and slower but the competitive advantage it gives me is huge.

From: R M 30 July 2015 06:18 AM

I'm really don't care about that Eileen I was comenting on the original story and I don't like the fact it has been so changed. The original story "rightmove figures show boost from on the market" has been overwritten and in my opinion that version of the story went to far. The fact it has been overwritten is a very poor show. A lot of what you say is spot on, I agree with a lot of your comments but with respect you are too focused on a fractional part of what is going on. Portal wars isn't portal wars it is industry wars. There is very good reason why I walked out out a very sucessful position 6 years ago, long before OTM existed, I think if you had an understanding of the whole landscape I am not sure you would be so dead set against AM.

From: R M 29 July 2015 09:18 AM

Let me go and see if Google have a cached copy of the first edition of this story, it is poor form to change the contents of a story once comments have been made Graham. If they have I will repost it so my comment is read in context.

From: R M 29 July 2015 07:48 AM

A detailed look at the figures shows that in many of the lower index areas (outside London &SE) the numbers are still below peak prices but in the high index areas the figures are well above the previous peak. It is a distorted average. Although the average is higher, being 16% over inflated in some areas and 23% under inflated in others is actually not a good situation to be in. The booming market runs the risk if bust and the bust market can look forward to windfall but only if the boom area doesn't bust. In other words it will be the early movers who get out while the going is good that will benefit. Little chance of that now the Telegraph have been telling London to sell ahead of the interest rate rises which are going to catch out those with over extended mortgages. An 80% mortgage on property over inflated by 16%? I am not sure I would be hanging about! certainly not when a 0.5% rise in interest rates mean the interest element of a mortgage will double.

From: R M 29 July 2015 06:42 AM

At Graham Norwood do you think this active campaign against OTM is actually going to win EAT an audience? The "actually there’s not that many of you" audience Simon mentioned back along isn't going to be massively swelled by this openly active campaign against an influential quarter of the industry. As a bloke who has been in charge of Sales and marketing budget selling to this audience I have to say if 29% *of my customers base started to express concern about who I was spending that advertising spend with I would tend to listen. Especially if I know how group think is influencing the thought process. ( upset one, upset all) IMO You are playing a dangerous game with your ad revenues, you have to be very confident of victory when independent journalism becomes active campaigning. That might not matter if one service provider can pick up the tab for the whole operation but then active campaigning becomes all out war and that really would not be good for anyone involved. As I pointed out late yesterday Agents Mutual Agent spend on portals shows how it actually takes more revenue in from its agent customers than Rightmove or Zoopla and what is more the OTM customers are quite happy with that portal's attitude and performance. I have to say I take my hat off to you Graham, this is a very brave stance. * 25% becomes 29% when you take out the agents who don't control where a firm buys its services from Board, brochures, software etc

From: R M 29 July 2015 06:27 AM

Like yours Simon! What puzzles me is why you haven't done something a bit more than pass comment about OTM when there is a very obvious commercial opportunity availale to a firm like yours. You are far from daft, have a great understanding of the landscape, have the techncal skills and resources to put together something a bit special. I can't for the life of me think what is to be gained for either side from anything that is going on.

From: R M 28 July 2015 21:11 PM

I am very surprised UBS are counting digital somethings, the hits, page views and click through stats when usually it is turnover and profit figures they get all concerned about The AM agents sold £4.9 billion property and earned about £58.5 million commission for the month. Combined total Rightmove and Zoopla earned between them about £3.12 million from those agents, lets guess at 60/40 split RM/Z so £1.872 million to Rightmove £1.248 to Zoopla. OTM earned £2.08 million from the same agents. Can someone from UBS please explain why they are knocking OTM when it, like for like, out performs both its main competitors? What exactly have the digital numbers got to do with it if in banking terms OTM is banking more cash. You can look at it another way AM agents aren't now spending £2.08 million with one or other of the main portals.

From: R M 28 July 2015 19:08 PM

Ex Spicer, I didn't say you had but your story has been used as such. It is the sort of story EAT used in the online Autumn (2013) ahead of Ros Renshaw's depsarture to drive up post counts. If you find a way of getting in contact and I will explain how things are a sight more complex than you have considered. You aren't daft and it was because I respect your opinion I didn't simply lay into you and show you to be wrong. That wouldn't make either of feel great. I shouldn't be too hard to find if you want to consider an opinion that is 100% neutral from both sides of this argument.

From: R M 28 July 2015 18:17 PM

"The saddest aspect of all this is the smaller agencies who have put total faith in OTM and are going to lose out as a result" not if I can help it they won't

From: R M 28 July 2015 10:07 AM

It' alright Simon I have come here to comment. I have watched that press release building day by day, watching the figures grow and grow. I am obviously not the only one to be able to do that. Not for the first time have UBS come out with a very coincidental story. At 2:30 this morning I very nearly posted "6:30 will be interesting" I had worked out from your story what was Ros was going to publish, and so it happened. Here's what I reckon, I think someone needs to sit down for a few hours with Linked in, press stories on both EAT and Eye as well as the broad sheet press in both its formats and work out as I have done the full landscape of who is connected to who, who is talking to who and what the back story actually is. It would probably help if those posting declared their own agenda rather than each playing the role of an independant commentator. Enough for now I am off to watch for the third leg of this stool to get tweeted!

From: R M 28 July 2015 09:16 AM

Cookson concludes: “It seems it will be quite hard to accurately assess actual scale of money laundering within property industry.” Errr no it won't. HMRC and OFT were told in 2004 how to assess almost to the penny not only cash being laundered but tax being evaded.

From: R M 28 July 2015 02:23 AM

By submitting content on our website or otherwise providing content to us in connection with the Services ('Materials'), you grant us a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable and non-exclusive right and license to (a) use, reproduce, distribute, display, modify and edit these Materials in connection with the Services and (b) sublicense these rights. We will not pay you any fees for these Materials and reserve the right in our sole discretion to remove or edit them at any time. You also warrant and represent that you have all rights necessary to grant us these rights. We permit you to post Materials on our website in accordance with our procedures provided that the content is not illegal, obscene, abusive, threatening, defamatory or otherwise objectionable to us.

From: R M 27 July 2015 12:17 PM

The contract doesn't have to be very long or the wording particulary small to be overlooked. Most agents don't read terms and conditions Trevor. I think a retrospective browse through T&C's would leave a few people, at best, red faced at what they have signed up to.

From: R M 27 July 2015 12:15 PM

It isn't a cartel if suddenly a group of businesses become aware of practices they don't like and stop trading with a given service supplier.

From: R M 27 July 2015 10:29 AM

Morning Andrew, can I start by asking you a question; Who are you? what do you do and where? (There is reason for asking the question; it determines the how I answer the question from yesterday about the landscape)

From: R M 27 July 2015 06:12 AM

Hello Simon Creating another Generation 3 portal like RIghtmove and Zoopla is a flawed strategy. Portals have had their day and will be replaced with something else. Digital marketing is maturing and being understood by agents and it will be early adopters who beneft from understanding that. With respect to all this whole Teapot Gale has to blow through and the industry has to resolve itself. More tomorrow I have a day off to attend to ( the second in 8 months!)

From: R M 26 July 2015 08:07 AM

Morning both, first of all Andrew I haven't said they are wrong it is opinion based on a very narrow view and almost without doubt fuelled by a cooling of the market, pressure to perform and no matter what he or his ex firm does sales aren't going to happen. The natural contraction of the market has nothing at all to do with Rightmove or OTM but might well have something to do with Zoopla. (something I can demonstrate) I do not disagree about the one other portal rule and attracted quite a lot of personal flak for saying so. The reason I disagree with it is because the portal element of the AM project is being given an artificial lead and artificial support that would not be tolerated if is was a stand alone commercial product. I am guessing you would support the affinity group if you were allowed to opt out of OTM and it's restrictions. COAR (Central office area rep) is not going to expand significantly, it is flawed Agency thinking that is popular because some big money and big names is being poured into it and it is a trending subject for lazy journalists or journalists schmoozing wealthy high profile investors. It is a vulnerable business model that can be controlled with intelligent commercial thinking. ( A point I have quietly proved) Online traditional agency is likely to expand and flourish. Niche or highly focused local agency can work and can compete. It is important to recognised the difference between those two forms of online agency. The thing about leaving portals, that's a red herring, that is spin fed to you by portal reps. It is a fear retention strategy. Please can we carry on tomorrow? I have promised to have a day away from the keyboard!

From: R M 26 July 2015 07:58 AM

I didn't say it shouldn't have been published I said "Whoever wrote this and whoever authorised its publication does not understand the full landscape of the subjects raised" that is two different things. Why I am surprised it was published is because it shows that a story by an ex employee that focuses on the wrong things to be critical of was deemed worthy of EAT. It is quite correct to be supportive of your staff but not when they let you down and on this occasion I think they have.

From: R M 25 July 2015 21:53 PM

I have a bit of experience with Estate Agency (enough to be an FNAEA time served and examination passes), I have 14 years on the IT side of Agency and have worked as consultant to 4 property portals; 29 years experience in total . There is no one else in the industry with that mix of experience. Whoever wrote this and whoever authorised its publication does not understand the full landscape of the subjects raised. It seems to me like a vexatious story designed to incite a reaction, a professional trolling of the industry.

From: R M 25 July 2015 15:37 PM

What exactly is it the younger generation are wanting or insisting on? There are 90+ property portals, the data the younger generation is after is there for the searching. I guess what they are after is that the main property portals built with Agent's data and income from agents are now shared with Agents' competitors. Do think about it! The problem with autoradification is just how many people are stealing property data and photograph that does not belong to them and using it to derive an income off the back of Agent's experience and reputation. Once Agents understand how data retention and sharing is damaging their businesses they will put an end to it. The new generation of agents will struggle for credibility and stock. In the 15 years The House shop has been operating (very well kept secret) this new generation of Agents has managed a finger tip grasp on the industry and it is only with mega money being poured into the sector is it's unsustainable presence even apparent.

From: R M 21 July 2015 10:12 AM

Simon , it is a big claim but a true one; not only did I teach the industry to fish I was the one handing out fishing rods. I am now showing them (YOU) how to divert a stream into a clay lined hollow to form a fishery.

From: R M 20 July 2015 09:07 AM

Of course I agree with you Simon but then again I would, you are now catching on to things I can prove I have been saying since 2004! Simon you are a genius, an early adopter, a man of insight. I agree with you, Compooter says no Financial advice is a nonsense and so is the whole panel surveyor, online valuation modelling that supports the dumbing down the property side of investment and financial services.

From: R M 20 July 2015 07:36 AM

The issues brought about by FSA weren't restricted to the headline cases of Northern Rock etc. What we are seeing in the both sales and lettings right now are reactions and upshots to stuff and policies Gordon Brown put in place to react to world events. In 2004/2005 I had a meeting with my sales team where I stopped what we were doing as a selling policy and implemented a strategy that saw us sail through the problems of 2007/ 2008 to the extent we were out selling our competition 9/1 with demo to sale ratio average just short of 7:10. The people who called the strategy change "MADNESS" later asked me "How the **** did you know that?" The detail doesn't matter Paul the point is regulation will only benefit the people it should be controlling, the very best way of getting the rubbish out of the industry is to compete them out.

From: R M 20 July 2015 06:16 AM

Your experience of FSA is an example of bad regulation; before FSA things were good and everyone knew who to avoid, along came FSA, we all did 'exams' all passed and suddenly everyone was the same. There wasn't good, there wasn't bad, everyone had a bit of paper that said they could flog financial services and everyone got stictched up with endowment mortgages or equity release schemes. Because they were regulated they were safe! What I getting at is that any regulation will hide the bad in with the good just as it did in FS. The last mystifying sentence, take a good firm and make it better, give someone like you, like Paul House or Paul Smith a commercial advantage over weaker competition and it works for everyone apart from those who most need controlling,

From: R M 19 July 2015 19:58 PM

If you look at what was going on between 1994 and 2009 it was our innovation that was controlling the lettings Industry. When the innovation stopped so did the control. Part of the Rummage4 project is to introduce the stuff I was working on when i quit CFP. Genuinely there is no need for regulation if you enable strong competition. Inevitably regualation ends up being achievable by everyone and so it defeats itself. Creating a system that gives commercial firms a commercial advantage works.

From: R M 19 July 2015 16:08 PM

If you remember back in F1 when Jordan appeared, innovated and were suddenly whooping Ferrari etc the rules got changed so the old guard could compete again. Same thing Paul. If you can't innovate, control. 3 or 4 months ago Simon and I had a chat about my generation 5 stuff and he poo poed what I was attempting, yet here he is 3 or 4 months down the line preaching the words I have been saying for 6 years and Glenn is nodding in agreement. It has to be said 12 months ago I was Voldermort in a lot of peoples eyes for saying things many people are now beginning to understand. Paul Smith either hasn't understood the whole landscape of what is going on or does not know how to control it. I do! I am up early again doing my data phishing examination exercise. This morning I am concentrating on Simon's business. I am looking at how the firm he supports so fervently is (inadvertently? ) giving an almighty leg up to the firms both he and Paul Smith both want to control- their respective and your competition.

From: R M 19 July 2015 07:22 AM

So a solution that takes applicants not only to the agents door but puts them within earshot of the negotiator in seconds is where it is headed, a paradigm shift away from Generation 3 portals? So seismic is the shift in what is possible when EVERYONE puts their ego to one side and works on competing with each other on service not price I have worked out a £240 branch spend plus a £125 donation to charity will mean being able to regain some of the profits agency is currently missing out on by not controlling the environment. I have done a calculation for one agent local to me; sub £8000 spend with >£2300 for Agents giving should enable £171,000 additional profit per 0.1% recovered commission. They are currently 0.43% below sensible commission levels so close to £750,000 down on profit. That puts the concerns over portal subscription rises to bed straight away. How many offices do you want to sign up Simon- £1/day per branch plus VAT – no crowd funding, no shareholders to satisfy just an honest and intelligent solution based on experience of what is required. Now you can thank me Simon! You really do need that!

From: R M 18 July 2015 10:11 AM

You know it isn't personal! This isn't a straight forward battle between portals for leads or page views, it is far more subtle than that and absolutely contrary to poplar thinking Rightmove is the most vulnerable. Had there been some ego-less thinking from both Zoopla, NAEA and AM we should have been looking at a very different outcome to what we have here and we should have had it since 2012 before AM was even mentioned. Rightmove have not been strengthened by AM, that is digital spin. As soon as you scratch beneath the figures they are complete tosh but because no one wants to appear as if they don’t understand everyone just nods.

From: R M 18 July 2015 09:15 AM

PS Like Sabine I know how to get the best out of a van!

From: R M 18 July 2015 07:25 AM

Do you remember the Wales England Rugby international, going into the last minute England had won? They lost! How about New Zealand - USA in the Americas cup? New Zealand 8:1 up, first to 9 is the winner? They lost! You were doing good till you started gloating Simon, 6 months into a 60 month project is too early to be claiming victory. If AM keep sailing along behind Rightmove and Zoopla they will stay in 3rd place and you will be proven correct, there are people who will really hate that. (Peebee....errr well, come to think of it all of them) In the same way as Larry Ellison made a decision and bought in the strategy, motivation and experience of Ben Ainslie, Ian Springett needs to do the same. Agents Mutual needs to tack into clean air and sail its own race rather getting too bogged down with matters Paul Smith’s article indicated they haven't properly understood yet. On the market is a long way behind the viewing stats of Rightmove and Zoopla, but that does not matter, it is actually a different beast; one is an entertainment and gossip channel, one is a self serving lead machine for products and services and one is a lifeboat web presence. All 3 are portals, each has its own audience aims and objectives. A sports car, an estate car and a van!

From: R M 18 July 2015 07:19 AM

Can they do that? my NAEA training said not!

From: R M 25 June 2015 12:56 PM

it is on the website, it looks like a semaphore Y (possibly U) It wouldbe great to animate that semaphore bit, waving up and down it means Attention.

From: R M 18 June 2015 06:41 AM

4 lines and a dot? Is this a magic eye thing? I am not seeing that!

From: R M 18 June 2015 06:33 AM

The record is well over 140 posts from Peebee gnawing at Peter Hendry

From: R M 17 June 2015 17:39 PM

@Algarve Investor I was replying to Rob Davies who did say that. I am on record as saying AM should have tacked off into clean air and sailed their own race. If you follow the leaders you end up where they end up only you are still at the back. I can't hide the fact I have built what should have been built and can now demonstrate a solid new way od searching for property.

From: R M 16 June 2015 12:45 PM

It isn't falling apart, in tech terms it is agile development, get some things, right get some things wrong, change things.

From: R M 16 June 2015 11:28 AM

@Daniel, there are some fervent AM supporters who are a bit disgruntled with OTM but that is part of the learning process, the proud parent, beautiful baby phase is over and the thing is now cutting its teeth and squawking through the night. The parents can see what forthright Aunt Freda was getting at when she said the child looked a bit like a monkey! This is the 4th time agents have done their own portal and there is a common characteristic that links them all. There is nothing beginning of the end about this it is merely an indication that change is necessary. There is a unique domain knowledge required to take AM and OTM forward. Only 3 or 4 people have the understanding of what is needed to compete in portal wars, of that micro group only 2 people have the mindset to help. I am not saying who the other bloke is.

From: R M 16 June 2015 10:16 AM

@Simon EAT needs the ability to reply to posts. I have to say what with yesterday and today the editorial team have got the comment worthy stories!

From: R M 16 June 2015 09:45 AM

@HarryN as a result of the one other portal rule, it is now possible to identify unauthorised data scrapping and distribution. The value of that alone is worth many times the value of controlling subscriptions.

From: R M 15 June 2015 12:45 PM

@Rob Davies What reason do landlords have for knowing about any portal? I bet if you asked them Who Robert May is you can expect a totally blank look, the fact that about 60% receive their rent through systems I have developed doesn't mean they should know who I am and it makes not a jot of difference that they don't. If you asked them which DAAS or SAAS system powers their agent they wouldn't have a clue. Sorry HarryN who is the her you are talking about.

From: R M 15 June 2015 12:42 PM

Morning Trevor!

From: R M 15 June 2015 07:23 AM

@HarryN the thing is it is their money to do with as they please. AM hasn't flopped, it is learning and evolving.

From: R M 15 June 2015 07:22 AM

Glenn asked why? Because some agents have a real problem telling the truth. Right now it is possible to find a claim by an agent who is apparently "the Best Estate Agent" that is a complete misrepresentation. Taking advantage of firms who play the game with a straight bat might be competition, but in my experience cheap is cheap for a reason.

From: R M 12 June 2015 14:22 PM

I wonder how many Agents have read that and understood the implications for their business? I have been a day 1 fan of Hometrack, the good sense they talk and the innovation they bring to the industry. They were one of the few firms who ever travelled all the way to Redruth to introduce their service, mind you the next meeting was in Bristol, the 'half way' between London and West Cornwall that favours London by a good 50 miles! That is a very thought provoking article, the best I have read in a long while! If more people were here it would make for a great debate.

From: R M 22 May 2015 07:59 AM

Get the price right and get it sold! If a competitor locally wins instuctions through consitent overpricing, track the percentage and on very valuation thereafter predict what the comp will say and detail how the property will likely sit there unsold. Word soon spreads round the town!

From: R M 21 May 2015 16:21 PM

From: R M 21 May 2015 16:14 PM

How much do you understand about who is likely to benefit from those schemes Karl? The investment yields of PRS are about 5-6%, on social housing as much as 10%. With the BOE base rate on the floor property yields with consistent population demand and immigration pressures means solid long term returns. Add to that the over 55 pension pots that have just been released and you have all the ingredients of a changed forever European style society of owners and renters. First time buyers aren’t getting a sniff at starter homes, those that hand out mortgages have investment divisions competing to get their hands on the same properties. An institutional buyer given to opportunity to buy in bulk, off plan? It is just making things worse. I might be more than a bit outspoken but only when housing, ownership and rentals becomes an apolitical department, safely protected from vested interests at both ends of the spectrum will there be any chance of a fair and equitable society that rewards the positive things in our society and protects the less fortunate.

From: R M 20 May 2015 15:33 PM

@Kelly, on the face of it the right to own a property is great for the people with the right to buy. The whole point of social housing is to house those folk who couldn't buy even given the option. Removing stock to benefit fortunate social tenants is great but it simply takes the resource away from others. There are working people excluded from social housing because of income, how is that sub set of the economy supposed to feel; excluded from unassisted purchase, excluded from assisted purchase and so trapped in rented accommodation? Our village is about to get some properties which could end up in such a scheme ; 60 properties for 60 families. In terms of our village with 3 primary schools all with full rolls it doesn’t take a genius to work out only a micro percentage of the village offspring will get to stay in the village and only a fraction will be given to chance to buy a property subsidised by their less fortunate classmates and their parents. You asked what the problem is; no-one has thought the whole thing through!

From: R M 20 May 2015 14:39 PM

Here is the flaw Kevin; flogging anything off at 35% discount will buy you a friend, you'll be happy, the purchaser will be happy, but the big unsaid here is that the Right to buy properties you are wanting to flog off are not yours to sell. The councils and housing associations doing the flogging on are effectively agents of the freeholder, in this case they are seeking to sell properties that belong to Great Britain. You are effectively giving a leg up to a minority very much to the detriment of those already house blocked out of accommodation let alone the opportunity of snapping up a bargain. By my estimation £1.26 billion is not collected each year from landlords because HMRC has neither the wit , will or resources to collect it. Instead of supporting short term popular fixes which will exacerbate social discord {benefiting a few to the detriment of many], how about you gets to grips with the whole picture, apply your fiduciary obligation to do best by the client to your role in government and question what is actually going on

From: R M 20 May 2015 07:01 AM

There is no need for this story which smacks of the old Adam from Autmn 2013; Please miss the big boys are being mean, they are not playing fair! Adam you appear to be making the transition from passive intermediary into a viable estate agency, you had started to earn some respect having come away from this sort of have a go, troll publicity. Just do the best job you can, do it well and do it honestly and you will naturally rise above the competition at the internet listing only end of the industry.

From: R M 19 May 2015 11:19 AM

I have to say Mr Riley is very fortunate I am not his competition, irrespective of being on any portal I would have a field day with any agent who effectively says he is running his business wholly reliant on the vagaries of internet applicants. Given the target client audience at that end of the market to turn to prospective and existing clients and admit that all hope of selling their home rests with the choice of portal and the marketing strategy of staff not under his direct control is at the very least embarrassing. I have to say quite what Mr Riley' qualification are in the basic of Agency are not known to me but what has been printed here says a lot about his understanding of the basics of the business; Without a known , assessable applicant data base it is not possible to value property. I am positive Mr Riley was not trying to convince us he is a little rusty on the foundation of best advice to clients but that is what he just did. If I were him I would be a bit more guarded what he puts his name to. In taking sides in a personal feud and acting as a supportive voice he leant his reputation and respect to people who are not taking best care of it. An agent who needs or uses assistance from the internet to value property is a weak agent, an agent who relies on the internet for applicants is a passive intermediary.

From: R M 19 May 2015 11:08 AM

I had a call late one night, the property management firm next door to us had been fire bombed! It seems the 'property manager' ( a baseball bat) had been applied to a tenant earlier in the day. Once out of casualty the tenant returned with a molotov cocktail.

From: R M 19 May 2015 10:31 AM

Any agent can add an out of hours recetion service (moneypenny is my favourite) and live chat (Yomdell is the best I found) and then claim 24 hour service so I am a bit puzzled about the explanation of being open 24hours. recording details of message isn't actally being open is it? I tried to take advantage of the PB 24 hour service, the live chat was switched of, it wasn't possible to have a 6 am appt and the claimed 'agency trained staff' weren't on duty 24 hours a day. My claimed as local PB rep has a local patch which is 75 miles from end to end, how is that local? I am a vendor (an informed one), I am not agency elite if I feel an advertisment is misleading I will complain to ASA. The simple solution to avoiding a complaint to ASA - just tell the truth.

From: R M 18 May 2015 22:15 PM

"So, let’s not fear future regulation – we might have no choice but to embrace it" we could also get together and drive positive change. It seems the best people to design change are those who know what they are talking about. RICS, ARLA and NAEA have had their chance ,it is probably time us little people had a say. I will happily work with Alex Hilton and Glenn Nickols to prove to the likes of Creasy and Robb that the very great majority of our industry are good honest professionals who do not deserve their antics or mud slinging and are certainly in a better position to influence positive change than the MP’s they lobbied so hard but who this week are out of work and out of influence. Housing needs to be an apolitical department away from the politics of government.

From: R M 14 May 2015 20:33 PM

With a majority government there can not be any excuses, no-one else to blame. In terms of the industry it doesn't matter that Lewis isn't in the cabinet coffee club, CLG is, as are DWP, those along with HMRC is where pressure needs to be exerted. Someone with influence needs to ask why Universal credits can’t now be the catalyst of change for the PRS expansion into the middle ground of benefits assisted tenancies. HMRC have to be pushed on why they have confirmed in writing that a scheme to highlight tax evasion and money laundering through PRS is of no interest. Kevin Hollindrake MP can’t run from what it is the industry knows and faces a difficult choice of shouting us down or being an active part of making things better.

From: R M 14 May 2015 20:21 PM

@Rob, their adverts are misleading. I complained to ASA after I was told on the telly they are open 24hours At 4:30 (am) when I get up, the Live chat was switched off and the phones were answered by an out of hours reception service. Quite how a 24 hour business can have an out of hours service still puzzles me. Cutting a long story short, I tried to book a 6 am appointment, that isn't possible! The revised advert now claims they are "local" my rep is covering a local area I estimated at about 4000 square miles! How local is that? a radius of 55 miles! We have 52 agencies within 20 miles of here, how can PB claim local with such a thin spread coverage?

From: R M 14 May 2015 17:42 PM

@ Richard, вы думаете, у вас есть проблемы !!! testing new site to see it woks with Google Chrome somehow I hit a series of kets that gave me a Russian keyboard.. It was a good job I had some practice a few years back a whole site updated in English and Russian every night for some children from Ukraine http://www.ccllbarnstaple.com/

From: R M 14 May 2015 17:31 PM

@Rob Davies, I am not sure the size of majority is any judge of anything. Ms Creasey's antics acting effectively without any form of authority as judge jury and executioner mark her out as one of the worse MP's still with a seat in Parliament. The other bad rubbish mostly got cleared out. She is very lucky no-one has reported her to the parliamentary ombudsman for acting wholly outside the authorise remit of an MP. If she doesn’t like something she should use the correct process to change it. Taking to the streets as a self appointed vigilante with a grudge is hardly becoming of anyone let alone a member of democratically elected member of parliament. The whole point of democracy is to stop people creating their own rules and taking upon themselves to apply them.

From: R M 14 May 2015 15:49 PM

That sudden rush of predictions about the demise of local traditional agents is mainly promoted by those with Crowd funding pitches on the go. Trevor Mealham totted the total to be in excess of £30,000,000 in 6 months, that is a lot of cash to have invested in a sector that has yet and will struggle to launch.

From: R M 13 May 2015 15:42 PM

"The head of a company making virtual walkthroughs for estate agents says the industry wrongly sees technology as a disruptive threat" Excuse me, they don't! Agents will jump at technology that helps them and shun stuff that doesn't. Resistance to a product by Agents isn't a luddite fault with Agents but an issue with the product or the timing of the product. Stuff I designed in and specced out in October 2001 was released as cutting edge tech in 2013, the tech wasn't wrong, the agents weren't resistant it was a problem of delivery. Get the product right for the agents otherwise, as Rick just said Agents, will not buy into it. The most important thing is to treat agents with respect and do not try to impose technology on them and never try to be superior just because they seemingly don't get what it is you are pushing.

From: R M 13 May 2015 13:11 PM

The very first thing that has to be done in my opinion is to investigate some of the cavalier abuses of position that were evident in the run up to the election. Stella Creasy? what is all that about? I have tried to rationalise her behaviour and the closest analogy I can come up with is that of an angry aggrieved 2nd year student who is mad at everyone because her digs are a bit too far out of town, the letting agent is ripping her off and she has to pay HOW MUCH! The whole malcontent, 'power to the people' Wolfie Smith bit might work (just) for Russell Brand but it hardly befitting of an MP. How and why such behaviour is tolerated probably only the parliamentary ombudsman can explain Shelter? It is a pity the LAT archive is so hard to access now, I have been banging on about their dubious data manipulations for years- quite how S21 retaliatory eviction can go from 1000 cases reported by CLG to 11,000 reported by Shelter on prime time Telly just ahead of the election is beyond me and all a bit suspect. IMO Shelter have managed t cross the lobbying guidelines set out by the Charity commission it would probably make an interesting turn of events to see how secure their position is now Ed Miliband hasn’t won the election and is no longer well placed to protect the party faithful lobby group Shelter has become. I am not saying tenants rights should be ignored or dismissed, I can demonstrate a solid 21 year history of trying to make the PRS better for everyone, the views of Generation Rent and Tenants voice should be heard but that become so difficult when the likes of Creasy and Shelter are drowning out debate with their own agendas and crusades. What we need is someone with a bit more of a stake in the industry to think none of this really adds up to the way our industry ought to be governed.

From: R M 13 May 2015 11:27 AM

Breaking News