Comment
Senior industry figures sound off about topical issues affecting the world of estate agency.
- It’s tough at the top…
- by
- Only six firms could be short-listed for each of the 18 categories in The Negotiator Awards 2008. In this issue we take a look at the successes of a further six categories.
- Trading Standards sends a clear warning about substandard HIPs
- by Tom Horrocks
- A recent investigation by Trading Standards revealed the quality of five out of six randomly selected Home Information Packs to be unsatisfactory. Tom Horrocks, director of legal services at Simply HIP, investigates.
- Fraud: are you protected?
- by Eddie Goldsmith
- Bradford & Bingley is the latest lender to have been aff ected by fraudulent activity in the housing
market, but what does it mean for agents?
- Rescue remedy fails to address industry woes
- by Russell Jervis
- The Government's rescue package for first-time buyers sorely lacks the gravitas needed to kick-start the housing market.
- New kids on the block
- by Kirstie Ayres
- The property portal market is growing thanks to a number of new entrants, but how do they compare
to established models? The marketing manager at Badger Holdings provides an insight into her experience of the portal market.
- Portal partnerships
- by Gillian Kent
- Agents should ensure that portals are maximising the flow of consumer traffic to their sites.
- The Carsberg Review
- by Phil Bowden
- The Carsberg Review lists a number of recommendations for improving the house buying and selling process, but it’s up to the industry to now develop these wisely.
- Buy-to-let remains strong
- by Jonathan Cornell
- The credit crunch has decimated competition among lenders in the buy-to-let sector but the resilience of the market remains as does the longevity of professional landlords.
- The Foxtons' case & the implications for terms & conditions
- by Jonathan Smithers
- Foxtons' recent fee case defeat raised serious questions about agents' T&Cs. Attention to detail is crucial as is client understanding explains solicitor Jonathan Smithers.
- New-build property sales
- by Jonathan Pearson
- The downturn is challenging for agencies specialising in new-build properties but at least it means that they can fight for fees
- Energy performance certificate
- by Hilary Grayson
- The Energy Performance Certifi cate can off er agents a great deal of value if they choose to join forces with energy assessors and improve their grasp of what EPCs have to offer
- The only way the personal data impasse will subside is fair play
- by Fiona Hoyle
- Local authorities and personal search firms remain at loggerheads over personal data access. Until the Government intervenes, agents will have to wait for their Home Information Pack providers to deliver.
- Implications of the Foxtons' case
- by Eddie Goldsmith
- Agent A introduces a seller to a buyer and fails to close the sale. Agent B is appointed and succeeds, so should agent A get a fee? The Court of Appeal says no, but what are the implications of its decision?
- It is time to establish fixed fees
- by Tony Addinall
- Agents who raise their fees in the downturn are, in the eyes of the public, exploiting it rather than responding to it with legitimate concerns, so the industry needs to reach a consensus.
- Money laundering
- by Emma Oettinger
- Joined-up thinking can help agents and solicitors avoid being branded criminals for failing to spot the manoeuvrings of unscrupulous clients.
- The upside of the weak dollar
- by Craig Studnicky
- Foreign investors are taking advantage of falling real estate prices in the US and will continue to, so long as the dearth of liquidity there persists.
- Speeding up energy assessments
- by Vanessa Blount
- While domestic energy assessors find themselves tested by a tough market, growing competition is fuelling demand for those at the top of their game.
- Making HIPs more innovative
- by Gerard Buckley
- A tougher property market requires a more innovative approach to HIPs, which is why agents should be devising ways to make them more commercially viable.
- Why agents can buy conveyancers and lawyers together
- by Eddie Goldsmith
- The process of buying and selling houses requires both conveyancers and lawyers. But who best to bring them together? Estate agents, of course.
- Controlling unruly agents
- by Ed Mead
- The Tories want to issue controls on the unpolished young guns, out to make a fast buck, who are tarnishing the industry’s image. A noble goal, but it will take more than soundbites to realise it.
- HIPs now ready for the taking
- by Paul Broadhead
- HIPs require all professionals involved in the house buying and selling process to pull together to minimise the chances of a transaction fal ling through.
- Mortgage advice could be a lifeline
- by Mark Graves
- Agents have tended to shun their mortgage broker colleagues as poor cousins of the industry, but now their input is crucial to many agents’ survival.
- Why lawyers can be lucrative partners
- by Viv Williams
- Lawyers are in pursuit of suitable agency partners, so agents should consider joint ventures to stave off unnecessary competition.
- How to choose a partner, not a business liability
- by Tim Jones
- When so many Home Information Pack providers are after your custom, how should you select the one that is right for your agency?
- Challenges of selling the most unusual homes
- by Dawn Carritt
- Unusual properties can command the highest prices and most prestige. But they also require extensive research
