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James DB

Branch Manager

2415 Profile Views

About Me

Started working as an Estate Agency in 1997 for a corporate (as most of us do), now managing a nice little independent agent and thoroughly enjoying life

my expertise in the industry

Sales. Lettings. Property Management.... WORK!

James's Recent Activity

I feel this is very much a case of "each to their own". If you are happy suited all the time, then go for it but equally, if you dress more casually, and your business levels do not suffer then, happy days. Being different from others can also include dressing differently.

From: James DB 28 February 2023 13:36 PM

Well said Sir, well said! Though if it does happen, I am hoping you will be involved in the training process.

From: James DB 10 May 2022 11:26 AM

Cant comment on the advert as I have not watched it... but when are they actually going to finish "building" their back of house hub for agents?

From: James DB 21 December 2021 12:29 PM

Excellent... Well done Sir

From: James DB 28 July 2021 08:17 AM

Surely here lies part of the issue... why would you need 12 months to complete a transaction? “We are asking for the government to allow buyers who have agreed a deal on a property transaction by certain dates - perhaps the start of March for the June SDLT deadline and the start of July for the September SDLT deadlines - to carry through whichever Stamp Duty benefit is in place at the time and be given 12 months to complete the transaction and take the benefit of the SDLT holiday.

From: James DB 24 May 2021 15:44 PM

Gents... Your comments are absolutely brilliant.. thank you for making me actual "LOL" A bit of good fun makes things so much better. Have a great afternoon

From: James DB 27 April 2021 12:06 PM

IS that the same Iain that also tried to sell EASY PROPERTY franchises to his Guild Members because it was the future? That said, I do agree with him, as an Independent agent, we are busier than ever though hard to comment on PB as they never really had a good foothold in our town anyway.

From: James DB 22 April 2021 16:03 PM

We have not had a single lead from it yet.. and as we are one of just two agents in our local area on it, I doubt it will take off in our town. Also, when searching our town, it drags in properties from 20 miles either way, which only highlights the lack of agents/properties in my eyes.

From: James DB 03 April 2021 09:27 AM

but there IS and always has been an exit plan. It has been clear since it launched that March 31st was the end date... how is that not an exit plan? Sorry - not trying to start a disagreement, just confused as to why you say there was no exit plan? I do however agree with you that there is a chance of another last minute u-turn to extend it/taper it off in some way

From: James DB 22 January 2021 12:12 PM

I suppose it depends on where you are located? My boss has taken the view to have most of us working from home, with just one of us in the office for essential visits, rental maintenance, key collection etc. however; where we are, most of our competitors are fully staffed. So what do we do Our town is very much a traditional town, mostly retired people and whist they are catching up with technology, they do still prefer the "older" ways. In time, I do believe we will go to a non-high street model, regardless of what the competition do... when that will be though, I do not know. I guess it is whatever works best for you in your location

From: James DB 13 January 2021 08:42 AM

My boss keeps saying he wants to do the same... Good luck to them, maybe this time next year I too will be selling coffee and flats!

From: James DB 23 December 2020 09:11 AM

Very well put Sir. Too many agents are completely blinded by the fees they can earn by referring clients to conveyancing firms rather than forming a good old relationship with a company local to them. Then, we all blame the conveyancing industry for not getting our sales through on time. If we just work together, surely we can all get this sorted.

From: James DB 17 November 2020 09:53 AM

I find this so frustrating... banks NEVER lose if things go south. They take back the property and sell it on, all while the poor buyers life is tuned upside down and regardless of any deposit % paid and if they do not sell the property for enough to clear the debt, then the mortgagee get's to cover that too... If we really want the market to take off, then banks need to get back to 95% LTV and fast and stop making up these silly rules about how much of the deposit came from where/who. No need to go silly and go back to the 125% LTV Northern Rock days, but 95% mortgages need to be made more widely available. It all starts at the bottom, get the FTB market going and it will help... and with their extra cash left over from not needing a larger deposit, that can be spent on kitchens, bathrooms, etc... all helping to get the economy going again. YES, I know this is an idealistic view, but it could just work!

From: James DB 18 August 2020 08:33 AM

We have added 360 tours during lockdown and, I have to say the take up has been fantastic, especially for those that are not in a position to proceed right now however... they have not replaced actual viewings. We may be a more modern World and industry now, but most of the buyers we have met still want a physical viewing of the property before they commit 100% to it. The still have an important part to play in my eyes and, we have even used them to show properties to potential buyers that previously had not considered that property... I suppose like everything, what works for one, doesnt have to work for all

From: James DB 19 June 2020 08:08 AM

Same as SIr. We are still getting leads from people wanting to view once lockdown is over. I know it will not be easy, but we could be writing business which would be good for all concerned. Stay Safe

From: James DB 22 April 2020 09:23 AM

Very refreshing reading this Kristjan. I totally agree that staff should wear what they feel comfortable in and always believe that if you feel comfortable in yourself, you will perform better and with more confidence anyway. Sadly, I still have to be suited though, ties are becoming a thing of the past... I have tried several times to introduce a new dress code but the director here just worries too much about what other people think and I am yet to fully win them over. Watch this space.

From: James DB 31 August 2019 13:44 PM

I am just not sure about videos, we have made a bucket load for our properties, about our town, etc and 75% of them get a 3 second view at best, most of the rest of our "viewers" turn off before 10 seconds with only a handful (probably staff and family) actually watching the whole thing. I am all for modern estate agency however; I am not sure that this is the way ahead for all of us... just yet anyway.

From: James DB 26 July 2019 08:11 AM

Hang on... another story about PB! Can we please have a day when we just ignore what they are doing/saying/thinking about saying. I am beginning to wonder how much PB pay EAT to publish these articles! Just saying

From: James DB 23 March 2019 09:04 AM

OTM searches are probably up because they are probably paying people to search them, much like they are paying agents to list on their site... or is this just me being cynical?

From: James DB 21 December 2018 08:07 AM

I like that they have added a bit of Chas 'n Dave to our TV screen ... Let's see if is actually drives more people to their site as we currently find that RM provide 12 leads to 1 and Zoo provide 9 to the one we get from OTM

From: James DB 10 September 2018 08:19 AM

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