Archived Letting Agent Industry News - June 2010

Ex-President elect resigns from NAEA

The agent who was due to have been NAEA President last year has resigned from the Association. Chris Wood, a Cornish agent, was president-elect unt...
30-Jun-2010

Rightmove boss's wife swoops on shares purchase

Shortly after selling nearly half his shares in Rightmove, netting himself £8m in the process, managing director Ed Williams has revealed that h...
30-Jun-2010

TDS bring back external adjudicators to cut dispute time

The Tenancy Deposit Scheme has brought back some of its external adjudicators in order to improve turnaround times for disputes. It axed about 70 o...
30-Jun-2010

Sales nudge up but volumes still staying very low

The climate of low house sale transactions is continuing, the Land Registry has reported. Separately, this morning Nationwide reported an influx of pr...
30-Jun-2010

Tough times but sky will not fall in, says Shapps

Housing minister Grant Shapps has made his most important speech to date, to social housing practitioners at the annual conference of the Chartered In...
30-Jun-2010

Letting agent: UK on cusp on housing market revolution

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. A leading online letting agent has stated that the UK's housing m...
30-Jun-2010

Student letting agent scoops award

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. A letting agent has been honoured with a prize at a national annual a...
29-Jun-2010

ESTAS awards launched today: the ones that really matter

 Today, we're proud to announce the official launch of the Estate & Letting Agent Awards 2011 – the awards with a real difference a...
28-Jun-2010

Buyer demand shrivels to a standstill in summer heat

Demand from buyers is like the weather: drying up. Since March, supply has grown three times faster than demand, with new buyer registrations grind...
28-Jun-2010

Here's one to take your minds off the World Cup

Estate agents who turned on the TV were astonished to see Prince Harry wearing one of their football shirts. The prince, along with brother Willia...
28-Jun-2010

Agent tells it like it is, Roy Brooks style

Roy Brooks lives again – this time in Dorset, where Mr Green estate agents have a bungalow on their books. The particulars tell it like it is...
28-Jun-2010

Time to tune into EAT TV

If you haven’t seen our very lovely presenter, Lucia Coward, on EAT TV yet, then use the link below. There’ll be another programme alo...
28-Jun-2010

Budget 'includes landlord-friendly measures'

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system. Landlords may be pleased by the results of last week's Budget s...
28-Jun-2010

Wanted: agents for the Weakest Link

If your idea of a good time is being ridiculed by an ageing dominatrix, then read on. The BBC’s Weakest Link is looking for estate agents to ...
25-Jun-2010

EAT news makes it on to TV

Watch this space – EAT is busy producing our very own TV news channel. Presented by our lovely new colleague Lucia Coward, you won't want...
25-Jun-2010

ARLA ups the ante on regulation of lettings industry

An Early Day Motion calling for the full regulation of the letting industry was instigated after lobbying by NFoPP – and ARLA in particular &nda...
25-Jun-2010

Board erectors get busy after HIPs abolition

In the four weeks following the abolition of HIPs, 20.8% more For Sale boards were put up compared with the four weeks beforehand. Board erection f...
25-Jun-2010

Letting agent: Budget will be received well

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system. A letting agent has stated that the Budget will receive a good reac...
25-Jun-2010

Employee of UK's top agent took keys for burglaries

An employee of an award-winning agent used keys held by his firm to enter tenants' homes and steal laptops, mobile phones and jewellery. Gibbs ...
25-Jun-2010

Arla: CGT rise does not consider needs of landlords

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system. Arla has criticised chancellor George Osborne's Budget, stating...
24-Jun-2010

MPs call for regulation of letting agents and landlords

More than 25 MPs have so far signed an Early Day Motion calling for the private rented sector to be fully regulated. They include Andrew George (Li...
23-Jun-2010

How to find property prices– on the ground

An ‘augmented reality’ iPhone service has been released that gives sold price data for properties. No ordinary app, the data is made av...
23-Jun-2010

FindaProperty claims success for its relaunch

FindaProperty.com says its recently relaunched website has already yielded positive results.   It says an 84% boost in agent email inquiries r...
23-Jun-2010

Consumers lose the urge to move . . .

Online searches by consumers for mortgages and other loans nosedived by 63% in March and April compared with the start of the year. A report by Gre...
23-Jun-2010

. . . as FSA records 22% fall in mortgage lending

There were 22% fewer new mortgages lent in the first quarter of this year, compared with the last quarter of 2009. The Financial Services Authority...
23-Jun-2010

Rightmove founder raises£8m in shares sell-off

Ed Williams, founding managing director of Rightmove, sold almost half his ordinary shares in the company the day after Google Maps launched their fre...
23-Jun-2010

Property industry escapes lightly in Budget

The property market was both a winner and a loser in yesterday’s Budget, with most estate agents breathing a sigh of relief that it could have b...
23-Jun-2010

Letting agent sets up train line advice service

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. A letting agent has announced it is to launch an advice service for t...
22-Jun-2010

Asking prices are way too much, says Rightmove

Asking prices for houses edged up just 0.3% over the last month, Rightmove reported this morning, and will have to be slashed – not merely trimm...
21-Jun-2010

Digital says Google poses no threat to paid-for portals

Digital Property Group – which, like Rightmove, is not uploading its property database to Google – has said that its reason is that custom...
21-Jun-2010

Automatic upload service to Google is free for all agents

Following the launch of Google’s Map Search, software provider thebu2iness.com has announced what it claims is the only completely free automati...
21-Jun-2010

'Don't mess up rental sector', Chancellor is told

Ahead of tomorrow’s Emergency Budget, a group of housing experts has written to Chancellor George Osborne telling him that if Capital Gains Tax ...
21-Jun-2010

James Huntly blog: agents wonder about quitting the business

Chancellor George Osborne is set to deliver his emergency Budget at 12.30 tomorrow. We wait in anticipation as to how it will affect the property empl...
21-Jun-2010

CGT rise 'leads to landlords considering selling'

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system.The expected increase to capital gains tax has resulted in many land...
21-Jun-2010

Northfields win UK letting agent of the year

Congratulations to Northfields, which won the title of best small lettings agency and overall letting agent of the year at this week’s Lettings ...
18-Jun-2010

Sarah Beeny private sale site goes on Google

Sarah Beeny’s private sales website Tepilo is to list its properties on Google’s new service as from today. Beeny tweeted the news on T...
18-Jun-2010

Countrywide confirms Hamptons deal as outright purchase

The deal between Countrywide and Hamptons International was an outright purchase, a Countrywide spokeswoman said yesterday – and is likely to be...
18-Jun-2010

Spicerhaart in more trouble with advertising watchdog

Industry watchdog the Advertising Standards Authority has upheld yet another complaint about Spicerhaart. The group has had six other complaints up...
18-Jun-2010

Shapps poised to overturn Labour's HMO rules

Housing minister Grant Shapps is to amend Labour’s highly controversial change of planning rules for Houses in Multiple Occupation. It is tho...
18-Jun-2010

Software company gives letting agents Google uploads

CFP, a supplier of software to the lettings industry, has launched a fully automated service which gives letting agents the opportunity to upload prop...
18-Jun-2010

Government 'understands landlords' contribution'

The government has shown it understands the contribution private landlords make to society by abolishing shared housing planning regulations.According...
18-Jun-2010

Property Ombudsman: Letting agent regulation decision is disappointing

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. The decision by the coalition government to scrap plans to introduce ...
17-Jun-2010

NEWS FLASH: Countrywide buys Hamptons

Countrywide, the UK’s largest estate agency and property services Group, has today announced the acquisition of Hamptons International, and ri...
17-Jun-2010

Two agents in court on fraud charges

Two agents appeared in court yesterday, charged with fraud. Brandon West, 41, founder and former proprietor of Premier Places in Worcester, faced t...
16-Jun-2010

Reminder for letting agents on TDS'snapshot'day

Letting agents who are members of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme are reminded to check their tenancies registered with the Scheme before June 27. All tena...
16-Jun-2010

iPhone takes over as Hamptons throw out old boards

Hamptons are jettisoning all their sales and lettings boards to replace them with new ones that show the firm’s iPhone app in a prominent positi...
16-Jun-2010

Apprenticeship scheme going live

For those interested in the new apprenticeship scheme for estate agents and letting agents – reported in EAT on Monday – the website is no...
16-Jun-2010

House prices not budging, says RICS, amidst the nonsense

Here we go again: our old friend the monthly RICS report is out, plumbing such depths of mystification that it makes the off-side rule look simple. ...
16-Jun-2010

Tenants 'should be able to make LHA payment to landlords'

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system. Tenants should be given the option to make Local Housing Allowance ...
16-Jun-2010

NEWS FLASH: Google's free property search launches today

The long-awaited Google mapping property search launched across the UK today, the internet giant announced this morning. The service is free and will ...
16-Jun-2010

RLA: It is vital people can rent from landlords

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system. It is vital that people who are priced out of the housing market ar...
15-Jun-2010

New apprenticeship scheme set to launch for agents

A new apprenticeship scheme for estate agents and letting agents is launching and is due to accept its first intake of students in October. The Blo...
14-Jun-2010

Thousands of deposits transferred to DPS

An extra 10,000 deposits were transferred from the TDS to the DPS totalling £8m, it has emerged. The transfer followed the hike in subscripti...
14-Jun-2010

Free website launches for student property listings

A new property website has launched called let4students.com

It focuses on student accommodation, and allows agents and landlords to list properti...
14-Jun-2010

Homes for sale at highest level for over two years

The number of properties for sale in the UK has reached the highest level since January 2008. Stock increased 9% after the election between May and...
14-Jun-2010

Paragon: Letting agents must be regulated

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. Letting agents must be regulated in order to protect their clients, a...
14-Jun-2010

Agent named in Parliament says his conscience is clear

An agent who was named – and apparently shamed – by an MP in the House of Commons has said his conscience is crystal clear. The debate,...
11-Jun-2010

Nationwide wields axe over Cheshire estate agents

Eleven branches comprising the entire estate agency operation of the Cheshire Building Society are to close on July 9. The resulting job losses wil...
11-Jun-2010

Join EAT's own fantasy World Cup competition TODAY!

Everyone seems to be going football crazy (apart from the EAT editorial office junior who insists we are in the middle of the cricket season). Howe...
11-Jun-2010

Shapps accused of reneging on HMO planning rule

Housing minister Grant Shapps has been accused of reneging on pledges to ditch new rules on House in Multiple Occupation. The rules were rushed thr...
11-Jun-2010

Arla 'disappointed' with no letting agent regulation

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. Letting agent body Arla has voiced its disappointment at the governme...
11-Jun-2010

Shapps ditches'red tape'regulation of letting agents

Housing minister Grant Shapps will not license either letting agents or private landlords, promising them ‘no more red tape’. Speaking ...
11-Jun-2010

Landlords blasted for rubbish outside student homes

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. Landlords in York have been criticised for failing to ensure the stud...
10-Jun-2010

Licensing of agents'will not happen', says Carsberg

Sir Bryan Carsberg has called for all estate agents to have to belong to a recognised body before they are allowed to practise. The author of the 2...
09-Jun-2010

Spicerhaart and Tesco's iSold could force agents to chop fees

Two-thirds of estate agents believe that iSold, the cut-price estate agency offering from Spicerhaart operated in association with Tesco, will have an...
09-Jun-2010

Thunder cloud of distressed sales'hangs over market'

An increasing number of chartered surveyors are predicting a rise in distressed properties coming on to the market in the UK. A global survey by th...
09-Jun-2010

LSL launches new asset management business

Property giant LSL – parent company of Your Move and Reeds Rains –  has launched a new nationwide asset management business. St Tr...
09-Jun-2010

Landlords hit by soaring rent arrears

A quarterly survey of 500 private landlords has shown that rental arrears have reached their highest level since the research began in 2006. The s...
09-Jun-2010

Home ownership must be encouraged, says Shapps

Aspiration to home ownership will be encouraged, says housing minister Grant Shapps. In his first speech as housing minister, he said that the age ...
09-Jun-2010

NLA: Government is pushing people into home ownership

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system. The government is forcing people into home ownership despite many b...
09-Jun-2010

Letting agent: Void period is landlords' worst nightmare

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. A letting agent has advised landlords how to avoid their properties g...
08-Jun-2010

Rightmove becomes the word for property

Here is proof that Rightmove has taken over the world – not that you needed it: ‘Rightmove’ has become a more frequently used search...
07-Jun-2010

Zoopla listings to go on eBay and Gumtree

Property portal Zoopla has partnered with two of the UK’s largest websites, eBay and Gumtree, to provide wider distribution of its agent members...
07-Jun-2010

Post Office launches insurance policy for agents

The Post Office has launched a specialist business insurance tailored for estate agencies.   The policy can be accessed from any one of the 12...
07-Jun-2010

Use of floorplans doubles

The use of floor plans by estate agents has doubled in 18 months, according to a survey by Metropix   The research, which sampled 250 propertie...
07-Jun-2010

Leaders expands to 44 branches– and wants more

Leaders have made three more acquisitions, bringing branch numbers up to 44. The company has acquired the lettings businesses of Indigo House in Oc...
07-Jun-2010

Letting agents 'face prostitution problem'

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. Letting agents have been warned to look out for signs that the proper...
07-Jun-2010

AHIPP to fold by the end of this month

AHIPP is to shut up shop and the Federation of Property Information Providers, its newer umbrella body, is also to wind down. AHIPP members are, ho...
04-Jun-2010

TDS launches search for£90,000 chief executive

The Tenants Deposit Scheme is advertising for a chief executive. The post will pay around £90,000 a year plus a bonus. Strictly speaking,...
04-Jun-2010

Industry watchdog raps Spicerhaart yet again

The Advertising Standards Authority has yet again rapped Spicerhaart – this time over the use of personal information on its database for m...
04-Jun-2010

Ruby Wax to host new lettings event

Ruby Wax – probably the funniest woman on the planet –  has been announced as the compere of Lettings LIVE, the first event for the l...
04-Jun-2010

Tax hike 'could persuade landlords to sell up'

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. Letting agents could be about to see landlords drop out of the privat...
04-Jun-2010

Tragic death of Cumbrian agent

The 23-year-old letting agent who was one of the victims of Cumbrian gunman Derrick Bird, had his life ahead of him and was happily making plans to ...
04-Jun-2010

Letting agent Leaders expands portfolio

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. Letting agent Leaders has expanded its business by taking control of ...
03-Jun-2010

CGT hike could'devastate entire housing market'

Proposals to hike Capital Gains Tax could devastate both the house sales market and the private rented sector, a leading figure has warned. He said re...
02-Jun-2010

Rules should be relaxed for letting agents, says insurer

Letting agents should be given a looser rein to discuss insurance with landlords, a specialist insurer has said. Currently, the only agents allowed...
02-Jun-2010

Widowed home-seller denied a HIP refund

A 71-year-old widow selling her property has been told that the £299 she paid upfront for a HIP will not be refunded – even though the HIP...
02-Jun-2010

KFH expands across London in£8m investment

London estate agent Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward has opened two new branches and is refurbishing and in some cases increasing the size of existing o...
02-Jun-2010

Savills and New York estate agents join forces

The number of Americans buying property in the UK has increased by 65% since 2008, according to Savills. The company has linked up with New York re...
02-Jun-2010

Landlords 'could save money by compromising on rent'

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system. Landlords could find that they are better off long-term by charging...
02-Jun-2010

HIPs suspension triggers flood of properties on to market

A flood of new properties has come on to the market since HIPs were scrapped on May 20, giving estate agents their busiest week in nearly three years....
01-Jun-2010

Rent collection software yields 'will remain steady'

This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. Lettings revenues processed using rent collection software will remai...
01-Jun-2010