Archived Letting Agent Industry News - May 2010
Mydeposits scheme says it's a profitable business
Mydeposits, the insurance-backed tenancy deposit scheme, made around £600,000 profit from a £7m turnover in its last financial year.
It...
28-May-2010
HIPs suspension gives agent its busiest week ever
A London agent says it is having its best week ever for instructions, following the suspension of HIPs.
Eric Walker, managing director of Bushel...
28-May-2010
Are women better than men at estate agency?
Here’s today’s talking point: are women better at estate agency than men? And yes, we’re talking estate agency, not lettings, where ...
28-May-2010
Over my dead body– don't mention the graveyard
Today’s prize for the best property details go to Chappell & Matthews who, with a name like that, were the obvious choice for a vendor selli...
28-May-2010
Rightmove launches iPad app
Rightmove today launches an iPad app on the day the Apple device hits the shops in the UK. The app will be available to download free from the Apple s...
28-May-2010
Employing letting agent 'is an economical choice for landlords'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system. Employing the services of a letting agent to rent out properties ca...
28-May-2010
Landlords 'set to receive increased rents'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. Landlords and letting agents could receive increased amounts of rents...
27-May-2010
New portal lands firmly on agents'radar
Six months after it launched, agent-friendly Radar Homes looks like being a serious contender in the property portal stakes.
It has recruited 450 m...
26-May-2010
AHIPP decides against legal challenge
The Association of Home Information Pack Providers has decided not to mount a legal challenge to the suspension of HIPs.
Government lawyers ...
26-May-2010
HIP providers set to seek administration
HIP providers may go into administration to help them mitigate the financial aftermath of the suspension – which has left them with bills to pay...
26-May-2010
No welcome in hillsides for HIPs suspension
A Welsh MP has blasted the Government for failing to consult over the suspension of HIPs – not because of HIPs themselves, but because of devolu...
26-May-2010
EPCs to last ten years
Energy Performance Certificates may not be required each time a home is sold in future.
That is because the shelf life of an EPC has now been exten...
26-May-2010
Student landlords told to use neutral decor
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. Landlords hoping to rent their properties out to students through a l...
26-May-2010
Letting agent: Tenant demand is increasing
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system. A letting agent in Yorkshire has stated that tenant demand is incre...
25-May-2010
TDS will employ'draconian'steps to keep going
The new chairman of The Dispute Service – which runs the Tenancy Deposit Scheme – is to call on the Government to change the rules under w...
24-May-2010
Foxtons are back in profit again
The strong housing market recovery in London has helped Foxtons get back in the black.
The firm has reported a profit of £16.7m for last year...
24-May-2010
Six in ten tenants would prefer to be buyers
Six in ten tenants would like to buy, but cannot afford to, Rightmove reported this morning. The movement from the rental sector on to the housing lad...
24-May-2010
Call for laws on leasehold to be simplified
The Master of the Rolls, Lord Neuberger, has called for the law on residential leasehold to be consolidated and simplified.
At the annual conferenc...
24-May-2010
Landlord fined for breaking occupancy laws
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. A landlord in Essex has been fined £6,000 after it was found he ...
24-May-2010
Sellers return after HIPs suspension
Agents enjoyed a sunny weekend as sellers who had waited for the suspension of HIPs finally placed their instructions – and more new sellers app...
24-May-2010
Rightmove on buying spree– of its own shares
Rightmove has been busy buying its own shares in the past month.
The company has spent around £10m purchasing some 1.5m shares through broker...
21-May-2010
Letting agent: Rents forced up by lack of property
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system. A letting agent has stated that rent prices for rental accommodatio...
21-May-2010
NEWS FLASH– HIPs suspended
Home Information Packs have been suspended with immediate effect pending primary legislation for a permanent abolition.
CLG Secretary of State Eri...
20-May-2010
Letting agent body appoints new president
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system. Letting agent body Arla has appointed Sue Hughes-Thomas as its new ...
20-May-2010
TDS boss to leave his job
The boss of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme is to quit.
Lawrence Greenberg – whose official job title is Independent Case Examiner – will le...
19-May-2010
Complaints to Ombudsman soar– but why?
The Property Ombudsman, Christopher Hamer, has revealed a large and unexplained rise in the number of complaints about sales agents in the first three...
19-May-2010
Team recruits McClintock to new business venture
Industry veteran Bill McClintock – who is also chairman of the board for the Property Ombudsman – has been appointed chairman of a new ven...
19-May-2010
Housing costs could become part of inflation measure
Chancellor George Osborne wants to include housing costs in the measure of inflation.
In a letter to Bank of England governor Mervyn King, Osb...
19-May-2010
Don't invest in property, says credit crunch guru
The American who forecast the global credit crunch, Black Swan author Nassim Taleb, says people should not invest speculatively in property.
He als...
19-May-2010
Letting agent helps catch drug dealer
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. A letting agent in Ireland has helped to jail a man who was producing...
19-May-2010
Landlords receiving close to peak rents
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. Landlords could soon be receiving record amounts of rent, according t...
18-May-2010
Housing market is broken, says Rightmove
A surge of new sellers coming to the market and a crippling of demand due to the mortgage drought has led to agents being stuck with more unsold prope...
17-May-2010
Estate agent that sets amazing example
Here’s EAT’s gong for amazing customer service – and it goes to Brewer & Brewer in Dorset.
When their sellers, a family of fi...
17-May-2010
Fears mount over fire sale of rental properties
Concern is mounting over the Government’s plans to hike Capital Gains Tax to the same levels as income tax – effectively, a 22% rise for m...
17-May-2010
Do property journalists really know their stuff?
Agents are often given a very hard time by the consumer media, so it’s nice to be able to lob something back over the fence from time to time.
...
17-May-2010
New free jobs service looks set to be a hit
Just two weeks after launching, free jobs service Vizzijobs says it already has over 20 companies listing vacancies.
The spin-off from Vizzihomes ...
17-May-2010
Letting agent: Enquiries increasing 'significantly' during 2010
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system. A letting agent in Staffordshire has stated that enquiries about le...
17-May-2010
Tax hikes could kill off rental sector, say critics
Moves by the Coalition to raise Capital Gains Tax could decimate the buy-to-let market, with fears of a fire sale as landlords rush to dispose of thei...
14-May-2010
Shapps named as new housing minister
Grant Shapps, the former shadow housing minister when the Tories were in opposition, has been appointed as the coalition Government’s new housin...
14-May-2010
Hunters notches up more Personal Agents
Hunters Property Group, the northern-based estate agency looking to roll out nationwide through ‘Personal Agent’ franchising, has seven ne...
14-May-2010
Move to bring institutional landlords into letting sector
With collaborative politics the name of the game, a coalition of large landlords, lenders, property investors and surveyors has formed.
It is campa...
14-May-2010
Expansion for block management firm
Cambridge-based Encore Estate Management has expanded into London with the acquisition of JP Management.
Encore, part of the Chard Robinson ...
14-May-2010
Letting agent body warns of Capital Gains Tax threat
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. Letting agent body Arla has warned of the potential threat to the ren...
14-May-2010
NEWS EXTRA: Don't go breaking the law warning
Agents have been warned not to break the law – even though the Coalition has confirmed it will abolish HIPs – and SPLINTA founder Nic...
13-May-2010
Rental market 'hard to call for letting agents'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. Many letting agents are finding it hard to judge the right price to r...
13-May-2010
No backing from industry bodies but Register goes ahead
A compulsory register of all individual estate agents is a step closer to reality – despite no backing from NFoPP and RICS.
The Reg...
12-May-2010
RICS anticipates'post-election bounce'
We loved yesterday's real corker from the RICS in the form of its latest housing report.
You know, this is the one where more surveyors t...
12-May-2010
Super-rich tenants shell out thousands per week
There we were, worrying ourselves sick about Britain's budget deficit, when we came across this ‘how the other half live’ story. But s...
12-May-2010
Spicerhaart staff tune in to World Cup draw
Hundreds of Spicerhaart employees across the UK will be linking up online this Friday to watch their company’s World Cup draw take place.
At ...
12-May-2010
New notebook computers for every Westcountry Team agent
Each office in the Westcountry Team network has been given a new notebook computer, which combined with the latest version of Team’s software, w...
12-May-2010
New landlord advice website launched by NLA
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system. The National Landlords' Association (NLA) has joined forces wit...
12-May-2010
NEWS FLASH:HIPs face certain death
Home Information Packs are definitely to be killed off, says the Coalition Policy which has just been released.
The document stipulates that ...
12-May-2010
Landlord jailed after house fire
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. A landlord who failed to ensure his property had a working fire alarm...
11-May-2010
TV looks for new property presenting star
Fancy a career in telly as the new Phil or Kirstie?
The hunt is on for a TV presenter who understands the property market and who could fron...
10-May-2010
Foxtons mortgage business loses£1.1m
Foxtons’ mortgage arm, Alexander Hall Associates, lost £1.1m last year as mortgage business dropped by 56%, according to its annual report...
10-May-2010
RICS puts a restaurant on the menu
The RICS has a new project on the menu and it’s nothing to do with valuations. Today, a new Roux restaurant opens at the RICS headquarters in Pa...
10-May-2010
Letting agents to benefit from housing market
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. Letting agents and landlords could be set to benefit from first-time ...
10-May-2010
LSL expands by buying huge mortgage firm
LSL Property Services has become one of the largest distributors of mortgages in the UK after buying mortgage network company Home of Choice.
...
10-May-2010
Agent who diverted rival's website to porn must pay up
A falling-out between former friends and colleagues has resulted in one firm of estate agents being ordered to pay a competitor £15,000 in damag...
10-May-2010
Fifth slap for Spicerhaart from advertising watchdog
Yet another complaint against Spicerhaart has been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority.
It is the fifth complaint upheld against the agen...
07-May-2010
Agents reject the idea of a hung parliament
With the prospect of a hung parliament looming, the property industry has made its own feelings clear in our EAT polling survey: an overwhelming Tory ...
07-May-2010
Polar challenge won by team from London estate agents
Congratulations to agents Rupert Nicholson, Stephanie Brimacombe and Tom Williams who formed a team to take part in the 2010 Polar Challenge – a...
07-May-2010
Nearly 3,000 landlords tune in to industry first webinar
The UK has no place for amateur landlords, a highly successful ‘avoid the voids’ webinar concluded.
The event, an industry first, was h...
07-May-2010
Patchy regional picture for rents, says Paragon
An uneven set of rental statistics has emerged as Paragon Advance, a provider of products and services to the lettings industry, has released it...
07-May-2010
Landlords 'unconcerned about energy efficiency'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system. Landlords are not considering upgrading their properties to make th...
07-May-2010
Letting agent charges 'are an unfair tax'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. Letting agent charges have been described as an "unfair tax"...
06-May-2010
Take part in EAT's election poll this afternoon!
Have you taken part yet in Estate Agent Today’s election poll?
It will take you just seconds to complete and we’ll bring you the result...
06-May-2010
Crucial voting time for the property industry
The results of the election are as unpredictable as ever and yet could prove a real turning point for the property industry.
So, we’ve put t...
05-May-2010
Thousands of court cases in pipeline against RICS valuers
There have been 25 High Court cases brought by lenders against RICS valuers in the last year, with several thousand more cases pending. Firms are in s...
05-May-2010
Poetry in motion? It fails to move us!
We do hope that London agents Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward did not pay former poet laureate Andrew Motion too much for his contribution to their mag...
05-May-2010
DPS launches text messaging service
The Deposit Protection Service has introduced instant text messaging contact for landlords and tenants to speed up the repayment of tenant deposits.
...
05-May-2010
House prices will grow 5% this year, say economists
UK House prices will grow 5% this year and average mortgage rates will fall from 4% to 3% by December, according to a new report.
The Centre for Ec...
05-May-2010
Rightmove grabs 83% slice of market as more agents join
Rightmove today revealed that it has had its busiest period ever, leaving other property portals trailing as it grabbed 83% of market share.
This ...
05-May-2010
Landlords 'must be legally responsible'
Landlords have been warned that they must remain legally responsible at all times, as there is no place for amateur landlords in the property market.T...
05-May-2010
Landlords 'could save on their tax bill'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system. Landlords have been told that there is a possibility they could sav...
04-May-2010
