Archive

In a welcome return to a favourite series of mine - and a timely one at that, given the current back...

The latest White Paper from the Institute of Residential Property Management (now part of The Property Institute) has called for customers...

What do Tilly Ramsay and Kim Kardashian have in common? Other than both having well-known fathers, they’ve both also mastered the art...

Homes that agents are putting back on the market after a fall-through are being relisted for as much as £21,000 cheaper,...

You may be thinking that cost and hassle outweighs the benefits of outsourcing, but read on, you may be surprised! The last...

A client called asking for advice on their social media marketing strategy. They’d thrown a lot of budget at it, but...

Unless you have been living under a rock since the end of last year, you won’t need to be told about...

Purplebricks has pushed back the publication of its annual accounts. The online agent’s full year results were due to be published on...

Many people in recent years will have become familiar with challenger banks such as Monzo, Starling and Atom. Many will have...

London accounted for almost half of million-pound plus property sales over the past 12 months but the most active borough at...

In this guest piece, Colum Smith, a property expert at law firm Taylor Rose MW, sets out why speedier transactions could...

You will hopefully have seen that the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 has now received its Royal Assent, meaning it...

The property recruitment market seems to be moving as fast as house prices. Here are some of the latest moves that took...

Accountancy terminology can be a turn off to many business owners, understandably so given that the majority aren’t working in lettings...

A former agency apprentice has worked her way up to a qualified accounts technician in under a decade. Carrie Howcroft joined Preston...

PayProp’s recent Rental Confidence Index survey polled property professionals about their biggest concerns for 2022. Unsurprisingly, new regulations were a top...

In a new column, solicitor Colum Smith, an expert in combating fraud at Taylor Rose MW Solicitors, explains why those looking...

The Skipton Building Society, which owns Connells estate agency, says the house-selling arm helped it reach a record profit pre-tax profit...

An analysis of anti-money laundering compliance shows the estate agency industry as one of the UK’s worst performing sectors. And the expert...

Some agents say they have as many as one in 10 vendors taking their properties off the market and seeking to...

In the last two years digital Property Logbooks for our homes have moved from concept to reality with almost a quarter...

The UK property industry has long been a target of fraudsters due to the low levels of transparency and the fact...

The estate agent known to his thousands of followers on Twitter as Mayfair Guru is predicting a ‘Roaring 2020s’ for the...

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, wants the government to put a stop to the capital being used for international money...

With the drastic changes enacted on the industry over the past two years thanks to the pandemic and political events such...

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on all aspects of our lives, but undoubtedly one major negative side effect...

While the Christmas season is usually heralded by an influx of terrible Christmas adverts, the launch of Starbucks’ gingerbread lattes, Adam...

In this op-ed, Warwick Haycock, accounting software specialist at The Access Group, looks at how the use of tech can empower...

The Nested online agency, which recently revamped its business model to attract more self-employed agents, is expanding outside London for the...

EweMove - the hybrid brand owned by The Property Franchise Group - says its operating model effectively solves a reported staff...

An alert has gone out to sales and lettings agents to be more diligent with their checking of data, and to...

The total value of homes in Britain has risen 20 per cent - that’s £1.6 trillion – in the past five...

The Modern Method of Auction (MMoA), also known as Conditional auction, can sometimes get a bad rap. However, much of the...

Luke Thirkettle heads up the lettings division at Stratfords, a single-branch lettings and sales agency based in Milton Keynes. Here, he speaks to...

As we move into the autumn of 2021, what the coming year has in store for estate agents is something we...

A new survey shows that there’s just a 1.7 per cent house price premium on homes with EPC ratings A or...

Admin teams in most businesses are often the lynchpins that ensure compliance and deal with issues in order to keep the...

Trust the process: subscribe your landlords and tenants to Task Plans and receive automated prompts when it’s the right time to...

The Covid-19 crisis has been marked by so-called high-wealth households amassing savings and benefitting from rising house prices far more than...

There is growing criticism of Savills on social media following the controversy over a racist tweet apparently sent from the personal...

At first sight it’s a tough ask to defend holiday homes when there’s evidence that many who want to buy can’t,...

Around 18 months ago, just a few months before the pandemic hit, I did a Natter with the team at software...

The MP who chairs one of the most important committees in the House of Commons has urged the government to increase...

Brexit means that the UK’s anti-money laundering laws are no longer governed by the European Union (EU), but any estate agents...

Rightmove is to roll-out two-factor authentication within Rightmove Plus to try to protect agents against attempts by fraudsters to steal leads and...

Who are you and what does it say on your business card? I am Mark Armstrong, and my business card says...

Two property directors have been banned from holding company office for a total of 25 years after abusing £7.7m taken from...

The UK is only the eighth most popular country for Asian investment buyers, and accounts for just three per cent of...

Rightmove has promised to keep its restrictions on access to Rightmove Plus under review - and says it’s aiming to help...

A high-profile London agency is asking the police and property industry bodies including Trading Standards to investigate a fake company posing under...

Estate agents might be expert at advising on buying and selling properties on their books but when it comes to buying...

It’s now more than a year since the government offered an additional £4 million to councils to combat rogue landlords. At the...

Today’s the day when Parliament debates a possible extension to the stamp duty holiday beyond its March 31 cliff edge deadline...

Here’s hoping you managed to have as good a Christmas and New Year as Covid rules allowed. Journalism in early January is...

Firstly, Happy New Year – here’s to 2021 being less chaotic than the last! In the final part of our series on...

MPs want the government to publish the names of estate agencies and other companies claiming furlough funding. The all-party Public Accounts Committee of...

Many independents will be based in the capital, but given its size and breadth they may get drowned out even more...

Start-up letting agents looking to enter the market are finding it increasingly difficult to set up in business as banks point...

A scathing document produced by MPs slams the government for its “deplorable” housing policies which are "invented, abandoned and reinvented" -...

Who are you? Hi, I’m Richard Price, Managing Director at Dezrez. Who are Dezrez and what EACRM do you provide? At Dezrez we’re on...

A five-branch agency in the westcountry is the subject of a management buy out by two directors. Westcoast Properties - with branches...

According to the annual Property Week PropTech survey, almost 48% of property businesses had tested new technology because of the COVID-19...

Firstly, let’s get the obvious out of the way. Lockdown 2, as it’s being known, is now with us, but fortunately...

The UK lettings market is no stranger to technology. But only a few of the early initiatives have remained, and landlords...

Letting agents and landlords have faced huge change and uncertainty this year, with Covid-19 the major driver. But even before the...

The announcement of the Renters’ Reform Bill in the Queen’s speech last December caused a collective groan across the country from...

The property market, and therefore, estate agents have been accused of being the 'weak link' in the UK’s money laundering defences. This...

It’s a given these days that your business needs to be on social media. Consumers spend a large portion of their...

Tenant enquiries and property viewings unsurprisingly slowed this spring, due to the necessary government restrictions brought in to manage the pandemic....

Sales of £1m-plus homes have surged since lockdown as affluent buyers seek more space and lifestyle changes.  An average of 868 £1m-plus...

How to stay on top of arrears during a global pandemic Many have speculated, though much of it is anecdotal – how...

A businessman with links to serious criminals has lost his vast investment property empire worth nearly £10m after a National Crime...

As the review of the recommendations of the Regulation of Property Agents Working Group continues, Emily Hawthorne, mio Account Manager and...

Are agents swimming upstream against the Electrical Safety Regulations? 3 months on from the introduction of the ‘Electrical Safety Standards in the...

The letting industry has come a long way over the past few years, embracing regulation and taking pride in doing good...

Letting agents are struggling to open new bank accounts and even large established letting agents with a long history of trading...

One of Countrywide’s biggest shareholders has written a second letter to the company to demand bold action to save the agency...

Following the easing of lockdown restrictions on England’s property market in May, NAEA Propertymark reported a sharp increase in business for...

Agents now have a chance to say what they think should be in a new Code of Conduct being discussed following...

With the UK housing market now largely open - there are still restrictions in some areas on home moves to occupied properties...

Businesses across all sectors have struggled to adapt to the changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. One group that have bucked...

Most letting agents don’t set up a business to become accountants but losing control of client money poses serious risks for...

OnTheMarket is to issue its annual figures next Thursday, June 11. The report only covers the portal company’s financial year which ended...

Over the last few years, there have been a number of high-profile court cases in which renters took action against letting...

Letting agents up and down the country have undoubtedly felt the financial strain added by the outbreak of COVID19. Whilst this will continue,...

The announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer that he was extending the furlough scheme until the end of October appears...

The Agents Here To Help initiative, launched recently by Kristjan Byfield of The Depositary, is now developing fast and becoming a...

The Say No To Rightmove campaign has started buying social media advertising space in a bid to recruit agents. In a ‘promoted’...

Lockdown measures are still in place for another two weeks, at least, with the possibility of them being extended beyond that....

If there are agents still uncertain as to whether their company or themselves as individuals are claiming the maximum business support,...

Aside from the obvious health crisis, the current pandemic is proving difficult for the business worldwide. However, despite the increasing contact...

You know the old saying - a dog is an agent’s best friend?  Well that’s clearly true for this trio of agencies...

Industry operators who receive dividends as part of their monthly income are pressing the government to include this in its financial...

Trading Standards says agents must include more “material information” in property details even if this may not be a wholly positive...

A woman claims she had no idea that her husband stole almost £1.5m from two high-profile employers - one of them...

Who are you? Jed Topping, Business Development Executive for Virgin Media How can sales and letting agents work with Virgin Media to earn extra revenue?...

Hello and welcome to the latest PJT - your regular Monday fix of who’s moving where in our industry. As ever, a...

Welcome to the first February PJT. As the year progresses the industry embarks on more appointments, especially with a market that’s...

Hello and welcome to a new week, and a new edition of PJT. If you’re on the move or your firm has...

First things first, a big happy New Year to everyone. Welcome to 2020! It looks set to be another interesting year...

It's been two years since the SDL Group launched its franchise block management business, SDL Property Partners, the first of its...

A tax expert is urging owners of second homes, as well as property investors and existing landlords, to seek independent financial...

Countrywide has this afternoon released a statement suggesting it has, in its eyes, settled the controversy over unclaimed lettings funds being...

Hello, welcome to another Monday and the latest PJT. As ever, a brief reminder to please let us know your appointments new...

Purplebricks' senior management avoided a shareholder revolt yesterday during the company's Annual General Meeting (AGM). Last weekend, it emerged via the Sunday...

We know that the tenant fee ban has cost letting agents dearly, with an estimated loss of £300 million paid to...

In a previous Natter, I promised to talk more about CRMs – and here I stick to that promise. Following on from...

‘Workers of the world, unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains’. So is written on the tombstone of the father...

A report by the influential Public Accounts committee of MPs has been highly sceptical of the effectiveness of Help To Buy. It...

Professional client account solutions for modern letting agents Letting agents will need to come up with new ways to manage client money...

The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS) keeps deposit money safe for letting agents, landlords and renters during the course a tenancy....

A new PropTech product uses WhatsApp to communicate within agency teams as soon as a lead is received from a portal. However,...

Have you asked yourself why technology is so important in letting agency today? Just look around and you will know why. Almost...

The government has published proposals for far-reaching changes to the way estate and letting agents are regulated, trained and licensed. The proposals...

Facebook is set to enter the cryptocurrency business with the big reveal of its formal plans scheduled for some point this...

It’s easy to understand why people are hesitant towards processes becoming digital. It is the fear that the digital world is...

This article was originally written for City AM in response to an article it published attacking letting agents. See more here.  A...

The Secretary of State for Education has written to the head of an online estate agency to ask him to share...

The topic of introducing rent controls in London crops up time and time again in our industry. But it’s been hitting...

Here’s an unusual story, describing the work of one of Purplebricks’ Local Property Experts who was with the company for around...

Nobody likes change. It makes people feel threatened, undermines their confidence, and makes them worry about the future. But regardless of...

It’s been a theatrical week in Westminster with talk of defections and duplicity worthy of Shakespeare. Yet the estate agency world has...

A husband and wife pair of directors at a property valuation and surveying company have been ordered by the courts to...

To a sales-focused agency, having a lettings department can sometimes feel like losing control of the business. Recent cases of property management...

As an estate agent, you need to be ready to cater for the specific requirements of buyers and sellers, tailoring your...

Hello and welcome to this week’s PJT.  Everyone here let us know about their jobs news by emailing press@estateagenttoday.co.uk - please do...

An estate agent who stole per £300,000 from an estate agency spent the money on designer goods and expensive holidays -...

A statement this morning by franchise agency Winkworth says lettings and property management now accounts for 50 per cent of its turnover. The...

There may be a cloud over the economy right now but growth of 2.7 per cent in house prices last year...

Are you a real Doctor? Not in the conventional sense no, sorry to disappoint! I’m Tom Durrant and I’m the Creative Director...

Rightmove has taken steps to improve its email security and accuracy through the adoption of what has been called a “machine...

More speculation has swirled around the future of Emoov as it appeared that company chief executive and founder Russell Quirk had...

I’m spending a lot of time in airport terminals waiting for flights. They’re not the most comfortable of surroundings, but at...

Hello and welcome to the latest Property Jobs Today - the last one in November. Career moves tend to slow this time...

New figures from the British Independent Retailers Association suggest that there are now 135 fewer independent estate agency branches than at...

When Professor Andrew Baum’s PropTech 3.0 report was first published, a small event was held to celebrate the very first academic...

Agents have continued to express their shock and opposition to the announcement by the government that it wants a stamp duty...

Who are you and what does it say on your business card? Marco Ferrara, Director of Tili What is Tili and what does...

More than 420,000 people have now used the government’s Help to Buy schemes to get themselves on to the housing ladder...

Hello and welcome to the regular Monday feature, Property Jobs Today. There’s plenty going on despite the summer holidays beginning for many...

Auction House says the number of lots it sold in the first half of 2018 was some 3.8 per cent up...

Letting agents are being advised to think seriously about how they can recoup costs to help compensate for the introduction of...

Russell Quirk, chief executive of Emoov, says his agency is now one of the top seven in the UK following its...

An outspoken estate agent has given the government a clear message - get off our backs , ease the red tape...

I have sold hundreds of lettings businesses over the last twenty-five years. Based on this experience, these are the mistakes that you...

‘Respect’ is the new mantra for politicians: whether it’s about street gang leaders, social media trolls or those on either side...

Firstly, a huge thanks to everyone who shared and commented on my first blog and for all those that emailed me...

Coming into force on May 25, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - which replaces the Data Protection Act 1998 -...

Welcome to the latest Agents Do Charity - your opportunity to let the rest of the industry know exactly what great...

The Property Franchise Group’s trading statement this morning reveals a huge 23 per cent rise in revenue for 2017 - £10.2m...

What do you need to know if you are considering selling your sales or lettings business?  Here’s ten top tips to think...

Bitcoin has smashed into the headlines again recently with major news outlets describing the ever increasing worth of this wildly volatile...

Outspoken estate agent Chris Wood has criticised the Advertising Standards Authority for its succession of ‘informally resolved’ judgements on complaints against...

The spread and sophistication of financial crime in the UK in recent years has been unprecedented.  Figures from UK Finance show that...

ZPG - which already owns and operates Zoopla, PrimeLocation, Hometrack and the price comparison website uSwitch - has acquired the financial...

A think tank says the penalties now levied against second home owners - such as the stamp duty surcharge and phasing...

An insurance provider says small estate agencies are peculiarly vulnerable to cyber attack yet are amongst the least prepared amongst their...

Agents’ Mutual (oops, that name might need to change…read on) has been touting its recent legal victory and is about to...

The accounts for Agents’ Mutual, parent company of the OnTheMarket portal, show that revenue for the year ending January 31 was...

Foxtons has reported its half-year figures for the six months to the end of June and, as expected, they show how...

High end estate agency Savills says the credit crunch - roughly 10 years old next month - is still having an...

Estate agents complying with new anti-money laundering regulations introduced this week are unlikely to avoid falling foul of terrorists and criminal...

Since we last spoke, the ESTAS – the biggest and best property awards ceremony in the UK – has been and...

The number of new homes built in London will reach record levels in 2017, according to high-end agency Savills - but...

An estate agent will be sentenced next month after pleading guilty to 76 fraud offences.   The Get Surrey website reports that Ayodele...

The chronic shortage of housing supply in the UK relative to demand has been a national issue for decades. The Government...

The Adam Smith Institute, a right-wing think-tank, has blasted the campaigning charity Shelter over its allegations of land-banking by house builders in...

We’ve spotted a video from our friends at Kings Group which impressed us with its mix of acting and fun -...

In the world of property and estate agency, competition is always fierce. It’s the same when it comes to your website....

The government says its latest release of figures from its various Help to Buy schemes show that over 185,000 people have...

Harmony – it’s not always a word that springs to mind when thinking about the world of work. But if you think...

The Daily Telegraph appears to have exposed the government’s much-vaunted Buy To Let ISA scheme - billed as helping first time...

It’s easy to forget, but there was a time when the internet didn’t exist. When the idea behind the world wide...

House prices in Scotland rose 0.9 per cent in May, taking the average value to £172,119 - still down on a...

The joke doing the rounds last week still seems to be just as relevant this week: “the only man with a...

With the new Formula One season now well underway, we delve into the fast lane to take you on a whirlwind...

No fewer than 555,000 would-be first time purchasers have opened Help To Buy Individual Savings Accounts - HTB Isas - since...

Brandon Lewis, the housing minister, is backing Theresa May as a crowded field of candidates begin seeking support to become leader...

An estate agent is complaining to Rightmove about what he says is its ‘misleading’ method of calculating and publicising leads.  Like many...

When you're on the hunt for a new job, once your diary is starting to get booked up with interviews it's...

I want to take this opportunity to share some findings from the National Landlord Association’s latest Quarterly Landlord Panel. The first is...

Predicting ho­­w the housing market might play out over the next few months is incredibly difficult. There are a significant number...

The prospect of quarterly tax returns being imposed on some businesses - including small estate agencies and other small firms servicing...

Growth Schedule is incredible FREE software very simple to use that enables Estate Agents to manage their social media accounts from...

There are fears that a little-publicised proposal could mean some of the country's smallest estate agencies would have to file tax returns...

This week’s final batch of photos come from agents and other property professionals who have taken a personal approach to the...

An interesting story caught my eye a few weeks ago. A man from Lytham St Annes in Lancashire attempted to sell...

A conveyancer who swindled his clients and HM Revenue and Customs out of almost £352,500 in stamp duty land tax, has...

Jon Hunt, the property billionaire who founded, ran and then sold Foxtons, is worth a cool £1.186 billion - yet is...

A new online service claims to protect agents and others working in the industry from the threat of cybercrime.  The service, called...

A sales director of a branch of Humberts has resigned after being found guilty of stealing £2,500 from a charity. Jane Hale...

Public relations is big business these days. Whole companies are set up purely to provide this service. Major corporations have in-house...

Eighty branch agency Andrews & Partners has reported a 12.9% rise in revenue, representing the company's highest ever turnover figure and...

Last month it was announced that the CHAPS payment system will be extended by one hour and forty minutes from summer...

A London mortgage broker who lied about his company profits to evade almost £115,000 in corporation tax has been found guilty...

I recently visited Life Residential at their bright and modern West London headquarters. I carried out a quick interview with Joint Managing...