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John's  Personal Profile View my company profile

John Durrant
John Durrant
Founder (DCTR)
2972  Profile Views

About Me

Started with Mann & Co in 1967. Been through all kinds of economic crises. 1973, 400 to 6 to 600 instructions in the space of 2 years. 1992, 15% interest rates. 37 years at the coalface. Sold my partnership in 2005 - fell out of love with my clients. Pursued a career in property marketing - photographing for Knight Frank/Savills etc. Started Doctor Photo in 2012. Tom, our son, joined me in 2015. He's now MD of Doctor Photo Ltd (DCTR.co.uk) with clients from Berkeley Homes to Anchor to hundreds of estate agents with multiple offices and others operating from their bedrooms. I've loved my involvement with property for these past 55 years. I mostly love estate agents. I think they can be amongst the most honourable, caring bunch of business people on the planet. Others can be little sh1ts and I despise those for the reputation they bring to everyone else.

my expertise in the industry

1967 Junior neg - Mann & Co. 1975 own agency in Yateley. Terrible office location, sold that to someone who wanted to try their hand at estate agency! 1978 I worked for BJ Haley in Farnborough. 1980 was head-hunted by a mortgage broker who owned an agency in Woking. Managed that for 3 years then bought it from him. Moved the business to better premises. Sold it to Prudential Property Services in 1987 for quite a lot of money. Didn't love working for them - put up with it until 1992 when they wanted everyone to work a 7-day week. Stood up to them - had a shouting match with the Regional Director. Took out redundancy insurance and sure enough, 6-months later I was on my bike. Started Waterfall, Durrant in Woking with Andrew Waterfall in 1992. Fell out of love with clients in 2005 - sold my partnership. Today I'm still on the DCTR ship, just not in the wheelhouse. I wrote the RICS Property Photography Guidance and I teach photography for DCTR and for PropertyMark.

John's Recent Activity

John Durrant
In fairness, making a very general comment and claiming no specialist knowledge, Googling the subject says that USA realtors charge (up to 6%, but they provide some legal representation) and Australia (1.5 to 4%). Both countries are lightyears ahead of us when it comes to property marketing. I suspect that their creative presentation of homes, pictures and words helps owners appreciate what they're paying for a little better. Their agents tend to look very professional compared to some of ours. HOW properties are marketed is tangible - you can see it, touch it. Sold boards are the only other tangible differentiator between agents. Everything other than property marketing and sold boards is intangible, and amounts to agents saying, 'Use me, I'm a good guy, and I advertise on Rightmove." The UK's property marketing tends to fall into three categories: the very good, the average, the bad, and the ugly - yes, that's four. I think that means that many agents feel inadequate; they're not offering much, so they drop their fees to buy business. And, looking through the portals, I'd say that many would be right in their thinking. I don't want to offend a whole industry, just the part that's letting the rest of us down in the UK. And I want to encourage them to wake up! Low fees must inevitably lead to corners being cut, or alternatively, failure and having to be sold to a rival. For how it should be done, especially for higher-value homes, see, for example, Google Ashdownjones; their approach makes a BIG difference to how houses and agency brands are perceived. It makes a massive difference to the bottom line. You would be astounded by their turnover in the second year of opening. But why push the boat out only for your dearer homes? Don't forget that the average price for homes in the UK is around £275k at the moment (depending on who you ask). That's much more than you'd pay for a packet of cornflakes that comes in a brightly coloured box rather than a paper bag. Why should smaller homes be promoted with photos that make a nice kitchen look like the lower deck of Noah's Ark following a nasty storm? Even a flat worth £70k represents someone's massive investment. that's not pocket change. All homes deserve better than many agents are providing. Only when agents do a great job will they gain sufficient self-respect to expect the commissions they will need to stay in business - especially during these more challenging times. John DurRANT (over) P.S. I needed to get that off my chest. I love estate agency and most agents, but some really get up my nose because of their lack of a sense of responsibility to their clients and to themselves.

From: John Durrant 07 October 2023 12:17 PM

John Durrant
It would be helpful to know what's meant by 'Sales values'. Are these prices at which sales have been agreed? Is it referring to prices at which lenders have valued properties? Is it, maybe, suggesting that of the houses being sold, more higher-value homes are being sold than previously, so that the average value shows an increase? Or is this just a comparison of average values, to show differences between different locations?

From: John Durrant 28 June 2023 17:32 PM

John Durrant
It would be helpful to know what's meant by 'Sales values'. Are these prices at which sales have been agreed? Is it referring to prices at which lenders have valued properties? Is it, maybe, suggesting that of the houses being sold, more higher-value homes are being sold than previously, so that the average value shows an increase? Or is this just a comparison of average values, to show differences between different locations?

From: John Durrant 28 June 2023 17:32 PM

John Durrant
There are only two tangible pieces of evidence that you're as good as you say you are: 1) Your property marketing - it's either market-leading or it isn't. 2) Your sold boards. Everything else is down to trust and reputation - but you can't physically touch either of those.

From: John Durrant 01 November 2022 17:54 PM

John Durrant
We opened our first office in 1992 when John Major's massive misjudgement over the ERM led to interest rates of 10% one morning in September to 15% by the afternoon. But I don't recall the hysteria there is around today. It was absolutely the best time to start an estate agency and it's still going strong today - just not with me involved. There will always be circumstances created by others that will give you challenges that are outside of your control. Clever estate agents will buckle down, adopt, adapt improve. Use the time ahead to sharpen everything. Your skills. Your marketing. Your property marketing. Your training. Your resolve to succeed. Get lots of sleep. Stay healthy. Love life. You were made for a time such as this.

From: John Durrant 15 October 2022 09:34 AM

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