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Tim Gorgulu

Owner, Courtneys Estate Agents

5802 Profile Views

About Me

With over 15 years experience in the estate agency field, I am always seeking to enhance the customer service experience for all our customers and to give them good honest advice to enable them to be more efficient and well-informed as they make a decision in the real estate market in London.

my expertise in the industry

Brand development, Sales strategy development, Staff recruitment, Advising clients on real estate growth prospects, Marketing and Selling Development Buildings and Land.

Tim's Recent Activity

High volumes of transactions are a thing of the past for the foreseeable near future. So it goes that every sale for a high street agent now has to be worth more in commission. Customers are a lot more savvy so a one size fits all strategy won't work anymore. You have to justify your higher fee to the customer. That means streamlining processes, offering a concierge style service, communicating promptly and regularly and....turning down instructions from unrealistic vendors who want a top price and a top service but are only prepared to pay peanuts..

From: Tim Gorgulu 14 May 2018 23:02 PM

Classic Foxtons. Of course its founder wanted to build an unnecessarily large and extravagant basement to cater to his classic car collection. Foxtons is renowned for its excessive and indulgent business attitude, you just have to look at their plush offices to see that.

From: Tim Gorgulu 30 November 2015 17:30 PM

Fantastic to hear that the number of valuations for first time buyers are on the up, I can see we've definitely seen an increase in our estate agency in Hackney.I wonder if the buy-to-let sector has steadied due to the recent tax cuts? Interesting to see how that plays out over the coming months.

From: Tim Gorgulu 13 October 2015 12:29 PM

This all seems a bit vague if you ask me, which isn't surprising, how exactly doe he propose to 'promote longer term, stable tenancies?'

From: Tim Gorgulu 17 September 2015 15:00 PM

It seems common sense really -if a buyer is inexperienced and really wants their first property, they are far more willing to pay top dollar than someone who is more confident on filtering through the property market!

From: Tim Gorgulu 07 September 2015 17:18 PM

I agree John -there would be a lot less room for debate if they were both using the same data house. It seems as if both sides are fighting a propaganda war more than anything else!

From: Tim Gorgulu 07 September 2015 17:14 PM

Wow! Only in Mayfair…

From: Tim Gorgulu 27 July 2015 15:14 PM

@Jon Tarrey – Agreed Jon. In this day and age agents need to be more careful when it comes to handling data. In fairness though TEAL was said to have taken appropriate steps before this, so a particularly forgetful or distracted agent is probably the one at fault!

From: Tim Gorgulu 27 July 2015 15:14 PM

@Jonathan Rolande - at least Supermarket Sweep was entertaining. This programme won't be remembered 12 months from now, let alone 12 years in the future.

From: Tim Gorgulu 20 July 2015 15:52 PM

Steer well clear of ITV during the daytime otherwise you may come across half-hearted, half-baked dross like this. Seriously, who wants to watch a couple guessing the prices of houses? Once, at a push, it might be entertaining, but after that it surely becomes tedious, repetitive and extremely dull. No, not for me.

From: Tim Gorgulu 20 July 2015 15:51 PM

Yes, Jeff, I'd be inclined to agree. Making it news just makes eMoov look a little bit petty and easily rattled. If they are doing as well as Russell regularly tells us they are doing, this should be water off a duck's back to them. I do get the impression sometimes that Russel and eMoov are a little too sensitive for their own good. They don't mind dishing it out, but they're not so good at getting it back in the other direction. I like Russell. He is, if nothing else, a very entertaining and divisive figure, but I think this news would have been better off kept buried.

From: Tim Gorgulu 20 July 2015 15:49 PM

From: Tim Gorgulu 16 July 2015 15:38 PM

Yes, glad to see action being taken. But I also agree with the consensus that something should have been done much sooner. If this had been done before, we might not have seen the issues raised in the programme coming to fruition.

From: Tim Gorgulu 16 July 2015 15:37 PM

'Making June the strongest month for house purchase loans since January 2014' This is fantastic news for buyers and the industry overall. Considering the close proximity to the past election it is somewhat surprising that it has picked up so rapidly.

From: Tim Gorgulu 10 July 2015 14:20 PM

Are agents a target for this sort of thing? I'm not sure...maybe it's just a coincidence.

From: Tim Gorgulu 07 July 2015 14:47 PM

Good to see a boost in the figures. But again it looks like the BTL sector is the big winner, something which doesn't help the thousands of young people who are struggling to save for a deposit - tomorrow's budget will certainly be interesting for property I think.

From: Tim Gorgulu 07 July 2015 14:46 PM

All eyes are on Mr Osborne in the coming days, no pressure! I'll be interested to discover what the deal will be for the housing sector and the future for potential landlords now that their tax breaks could be cut.

From: Tim Gorgulu 06 July 2015 12:46 PM

Hardly surprising. RM have always been the biggest portal and will continue to be so by some margin. Zoopla have always been second place, substantially behind RM but well ahead of everyone else. I think that will stay the same, although Zoopla was temporarily dented by the arrival of OTM. I don't think the headline is anything new - it's what many of us in the industry could've told you months ago. I just don't know what is going to happen with OTM given their apparent failure to force themselves into the nation's psyche in the same way as the big two.

From: Tim Gorgulu 29 June 2015 14:44 PM

No surprises here. Portals are only part of the sales process, but they are a very big part, especially in London and its suburbs. To say otherwise is just being naive. Of course agents offer a service that is much more than just being a presence on the major portals, but their reach is phenomenal and they should be embraced rather than bemoaned.

From: Tim Gorgulu 23 June 2015 09:28 AM

Hmm, not sure there is enough demand for a channel entirely dedicated to property. If it follows the trend of other satellite channels, it will be packed full of adverts and repeats. I'm not sure there is much demand for five year old repeats of Location, Location, Location, is there? Even on the channels dedicated to sport, films, drama, motoring, etc, etc, there is as much dross as there is good stuff. I definitely think there is a gap in the market for property-based shows, but not an entire channel.

From: Tim Gorgulu 16 June 2015 13:11 PM

This doesn't look great for OTM and I fear we are not being given the whole picture. I agree with the more general points made below the line that their product didn't offer enough of an alternative, it was merely a copycat version of RM and Z. Plenty of agents were never going to take the risk of coming off the major portals, which made the one other portal rule totally redundant. Will be interesting to see how this plays out over the next few weeks. I think AM/OTM have some questions to answer, and these broad, generic statements they're coming out with don't really answer those questions.

From: Tim Gorgulu 16 June 2015 13:05 PM

Certainly a promising sign for sellers. I think this trend will continue for a while yet.

From: Tim Gorgulu 15 June 2015 16:20 PM

I think those ringing the death knell for OTM are being a tad premature. I don't think their impact has been anything like they hoped, but they should be given at least another six months before we judge them as a success or failure. I'm not fan of OTM, and they've made quite a few mistakes along the way, but their product is decent. I just don't think, as AlgarveInvestor alluded to above, their product is different enough to make a difference. People trust RM and Zoopla, and I don't think they really care if the portals charge fees that are too high. Why would they?

From: Tim Gorgulu 15 June 2015 16:15 PM

@Jon - you can't rate estate agents in the same way you can a hotel or restaurant. You're entrusting your estate agent with a your main investment - that level of commitment and risk can't be conveyed in a review. If you go to a bad restaurant or hotel, it's not going to affect your life. You might have a rant about it online, but it's not going to leave you out of pocket to any considerable degree. Choosing an estate agent is a whole different ball game. You can't make a major decision off the back of a comparison site. And what if you have clients who aren't necessarily the sort of people who are inclined to leave reviews? Not everyone is. In fact, the people who are more likely to leave reviews are the ones who have something negative to say. So a firm could have many satisfied customers and one or two who aren't happy with the way things have gone. That firm's reputation is then unfairly sullied by two negative reviews, which, no matter what you say, do hold more sway than positive ones. That's the way our minds work. If we see a bad review, we get edgy and suspicious and start questioning things too much.

From: Tim Gorgulu 10 June 2015 14:15 PM

Really don't think the property industry needs another one of these sites. Isn't there enough of them already?

From: Tim Gorgulu 10 June 2015 14:09 PM

"On both buying and selling sides they have been civilised" Well, thank you, Lucy Kellaway. High praise indeed. I wonder what she was expecting - a load of half-clothed reprobates unable to string a sentence together? It's almost like she was expecting a scene from Lord of the Flies and was disappointed when that wasn't the case. Glass houses and stones spring to mind. Maybe Ms Kellaway should be having a look at her own profession - which hasn't exactly covered itself in glory in recent years - before having a go at others.

From: Tim Gorgulu 09 June 2015 14:13 PM

Interesting to see the criticisms made by Agent Centric. These things definitely need to be taken into consideration when it comes to these sorts of apps/virtual tours. It would appear they will be divisive for a few years to come - some will praise their innovation and interactivity, others will be sceptical of their usefulness. I'm still on the fence, to he honest. I like the idea of it, but cost, ease of use and reliability would all need to be guaranteed. It does, as Karl Knipe says, seem more like a fancy little gimmick at the moment.

From: Tim Gorgulu 09 June 2015 14:06 PM

No idea who the mystery woman is, but makes for a great anecdote.

From: Tim Gorgulu 08 June 2015 11:43 AM

I think that's the issue, though, Trevor, it's not common practice in the UK so people see it as an underhand tactic to make estate agents more money. Again, perception trumps reality.

From: Tim Gorgulu 08 June 2015 11:42 AM

No, it won't level out anytime soon. The government need to deal with this long-standing issue, but given their record in the last five years I don't see that happening somehow. While I agree with you about RTB, Jon, I think Help to Buy has actually been a success. We've had clients who have benefited from it. It's not without its flaws, but in the main it's done what it said it would.

From: Tim Gorgulu 05 June 2015 09:38 AM

Sounds like a good idea. The more the industry can self-regulate, the better the relationship will be between the public and agents. This stigma has built up over the last few years - in most cases unfairly - and it will take a long while to repair the damage. But transparency, and allowing those not in the industry to see that most agents just want to provide the best possible service for their clients, will both go towards improving things.

From: Tim Gorgulu 05 June 2015 09:35 AM

Good news. Can't really argue with findings such as this.

From: Tim Gorgulu 04 June 2015 11:14 AM

I'm not on OTM and have no particular love for them, but I can't understand the cartel allegations. Members know what they're getting into when they sign up, they know about the one other portal rule and the ban on online agents. No-one is forcing these agents to sign up, are they? You could argue the one other portal rule discourages competition, but only once people have joined. And even then, there is no obligation to be on OTM. You could remain on RM and Zoopla or the other smaller portals out there. I can't really see how they're restricting competition. I can understand Mr Quirk's grievances, but because online agents aren't allowed on OTM doesn't mean they're not allowed on other portals. If OTM was monopolising the market, then the anti-competition rhetoric might carry some weight. As it is, I just don't see it.

From: Tim Gorgulu 04 June 2015 11:11 AM

Can't see what Foxtons are hoping to achieve with this endless expansion. All they're doing is making themselves more unpopular. Maybe, you know, if it can't be put back into use as pub, it could be turned into housing instead. We're a bit short of that at the moment, especially in London.

From: Tim Gorgulu 03 June 2015 17:03 PM

If I'm being honest, the adverts really annoy me too. They attempt to be tongue-in-cheek but just come off as try-hard and naff - bit like, as Richard says, something David Brent would do to sell his 'vision' of Wernham Hogg. Ads aside, I really have no clue how well they're doing. Serious investment behind them, but we don't seem to know for sure whether that's having any impact. We won't probably be able to gauge that until they float. Will be a tad embarrassing, given all the hype and PR fluff, if they're not performing quite as well as they'd have us believe.

From: Tim Gorgulu 03 June 2015 16:51 PM

Well said, Kelly. Seems more like a PR gimmick to me. I don't question their good intentions, but this makes it seem like every other estate agency out there is unethical, which patently isn't the case.

From: Tim Gorgulu 02 June 2015 15:44 PM

This top-end housing activity doesn't surprise me in the slightest. While growth is undoubtedly vital, this does seem a little ridiculous considering the property remains unmodernised!

From: Tim Gorgulu 02 June 2015 13:07 PM

Interesting article, Rob. Will be fascinating to see how they get on.

From: Tim Gorgulu 01 June 2015 13:28 PM

Isn't a bit disingenuous to say they have branches if that's not the case?

From: Tim Gorgulu 01 June 2015 13:25 PM

Haven't they already had enough time to prove themselves with their lettings business, Tom? No, you can't argue with the financial muscle they have on board. But unless there's something they haven't been telling us - and I'd be surprised if something with the "Easy" brand attached to it would be so humble if they actually had success to crow about - then their venture's so far have been distinctly underwhelming. Unless, as I said, they have been doing a roaring trade and have just been keeping very quiet about it.

From: Tim Gorgulu 29 May 2015 16:38 PM

I'd say the mansion tax was a major factor, it's too big a rise to just be explained away by election uncertainty alone. Policies which would have had a dramatic impact on wealthy overseas investors - which, by the way, didn't just involve the mansion tax - were bound to scare people off investing until they knew for sure who would be forming the next government.

From: Tim Gorgulu 29 May 2015 16:34 PM

Does seem excessively harsh. Wasn't he just stating the truth? Like Trevor, I look forward to Paul Smith retracting his words when his premonition is proved wrong.

From: Tim Gorgulu 28 May 2015 14:09 PM

Some good, some not so good. But until we actually see these policies being enacted we can't really judge their success. I have my doubts about the 200,000 new starter homes - the intention is good, but the reality of achieving it is much harder - and the government's record on housebuilding doesn't fill me with confidence for the next five years.

From: Tim Gorgulu 28 May 2015 14:03 PM

@ Jon Tarry, just because you think virtual tours isn't right for your business, doesn't mean you're some sort of Luddite. I keep an open mind about all new technology. I think this is a good idea, but I'm not sure how cost-effective or efficient it really is. These are the things I most have to take into consideration, for mine and my customers sake.

From: Tim Gorgulu 27 May 2015 17:30 PM

Totally agree, Richard. If the virtual tours don't add anything to your business then it would be foolish to take something on just because it's seen as the modern and forward-thinking thing to do. Then it just become a gimmick.

From: Tim Gorgulu 27 May 2015 17:28 PM

I'll give them a bit of time before I judge. Could be brilliant, could be a disaster. I certainly like the idea, and the price is far from eye-watering, but there are reasons to be sceptical too.

From: Tim Gorgulu 26 May 2015 17:57 PM

Yes, it's very hard to predict when a crash comes - it usually smacks you in the face from out of nowhere. For example, who anticipated the 2008 global financial crisis? And I'm not really sure where Mr Hussey is getting his info from. There is no evidence to suggest that a 15 year boom is in the offing - how does he know that unless he is in possession of a magic crystal ball?

From: Tim Gorgulu 26 May 2015 17:30 PM

Lack of supply is definitely an issue. Until more affordable housing is built, house prices will remain high. That's not a problem if people are willing to pay the prices. The problem comes, as Karl Knipe points out, if not enough people are buying/able to buy. And if more and more existing mortgaged homeowners stay put, thereby further reducing supply. The market seems fairly stable at the minute, post-election. Prices haven't been volatile in recent years, they've been on a general upward trend for a while now. I can't see them swinging from low to high to middle of the road and back to high again, so I'm a little bit sceptical about that side of Hometrack's argument.

From: Tim Gorgulu 22 May 2015 16:07 PM

Might be something in that, Rob. More likely, though - and as the article points out - is people getting in early before Scotland's new Land and Buildings Transaction Tax comes into force.

From: Tim Gorgulu 22 May 2015 15:57 PM

It's always deeply frustrating when a sale falls through, and these stats would suggest it is happening with alarming regularity. But it's also important to bear in mind that for every sale that falls through, there is one that completes successfully. It's vital to keep a sense of perspective in the face of figures like this.

From: Tim Gorgulu 21 May 2015 13:22 PM

@Karl Knipe - it is indeed promising. A post-election bounce was always inevitable - it happened in 2010 despite their being a hung parliament - but now we have a majority government confidence has returned to the housing market much sooner than expected. And yes, John, house price growth needs to happen all over the country. But growth tends to feed out from London. If growth in London is positive, as it is at the moment, it will spread to other areas.

From: Tim Gorgulu 20 May 2015 19:02 PM

Agree with the general consensus here - a horrible, vindictive and potentially very dangerous act of violence. Who cares what his political persuasions are? That's absolutely no excuse for this.

From: Tim Gorgulu 19 May 2015 17:08 PM

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