Archived Letting Agent Industry News - July 2010
Tough times ahead as property market dips on all fronts
An arid August looks set to lie ahead for agents, with the latest data – from a variety of sources – showing prices, transaction levels an...
30-Jul-2010
Countrywide man joins Ombudsman scheme
The former national sales director of Countrywide has become vice-chairman of the operating company that runs the Property Ombudsman Scheme.
G...
30-Jul-2010
Lawyers turn screws on mis-selling of mortgages
A law firm has started taking on mortgage mis-selling cases, saying that there are 'millions' of people who have been mis-sold mortgages...
30-Jul-2010
Councils told to stop charging for search access
Local authorities have been told they must stop charging for access to local search information.
The current charge is £22 to allow a persona...
30-Jul-2010
Britain's ugliest buildings– have your say
As Building Design magazine reveals its shortlist for Britain’s ugliest buildings, we thought agents should have their say.
Four out of the s...
30-Jul-2010
Letting agent 'to consider rental prices for Olympic Games'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software.A letting agent has stated that it will consider changing the rents it...
30-Jul-2010
Letting agent 'delighted' with award win
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software.A letting agent has expressed its delight at winning an award for its ...
29-Jul-2010
Mortgage lending could fail to hit target this year
The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has warned that mortgage lending this year could fail to meet its previous forecast of £150bn.
The...
28-Jul-2010
Zoopla gears up to tackle new homes market
Property website Zoopla is now targeting the developer sector of the property market and has appointed Chris Browne as head of new homes.
With over...
28-Jul-2010
Fraud case man who targeted agents is held in custody
Sean Hickey, who ran a firm called Agent Serve that set out its stall as delivering website and marketing services to estate agents, is in police cust...
28-Jul-2010
Rightmove introduces new drawing search tool
Rightmove has introduced a new search tool, Draw-a-Search, to its website that means home hunters can search for property outside conventional postcod...
28-Jul-2010
MPs urged to liaise with landlords
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system.MPs going on their summer break have been urged to spend some of the...
28-Jul-2010
Letting agent: Rents are rising in London
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software.A letting agent has told how rents are rising in London due to a stead...
27-Jul-2010
Lending levels fall to four-month low
Lending fell sharply in June, with the British Bankers Association reporting that the number of mortgage approvals for house purchase fell to a four-m...
26-Jul-2010
House not selling? Call in a healer!
This could be a silly season story or one that Jules in mystic Glastonbury will immediately take very seriously indeed (perhaps he could let us know)....
26-Jul-2010
Public still confident about house prices
Four in ten people who are planning to move home believe that buying now makes financial sense as they are confident house prices will rise over the n...
26-Jul-2010
'Ultimate'iPhone app is launched by Zoopla
Property portal Zoopla has launched what it calls the ultimate iPhone app.
It gives free instant value estimates on every single home in the countr...
26-Jul-2010
London property company collapses into administration
A London property business selling and developing overseas homes has collapsed into administration.
It is thought that creditors could include man...
26-Jul-2010
Rent arrears figures 'horrendous' for landlords
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software.The number of landlords who are facing problems with rent arrears is "...
26-Jul-2010
Let's do it for Sean: a national dress-down day
Do you fancy joining in a national estate agency dress down day next Thursday to help Sean Newman ‘complete the journey’?
The idea come...
23-Jul-2010
Home buyers to pay the price for energy guzzling properties
Home buyers could be forced to pay a higher rate of Stamp Duty if they buy a home with a poor EPC.
The proposal would be introduced alongside the G...
23-Jul-2010
Deadline nearing for individual nominations in ESTAs
As announced in a previous story on EAT, the ESTAs are introducing individual categories highlighting the efforts of staff at the agencies who take pa...
23-Jul-2010
New global listing tool launched by ex-Propertyfinder boss
ListGlobally, a new global marketing tool for agents, has just been released.
It is the brainchild of Simon Baker, former managing director of the ...
23-Jul-2010
Google Maps fails to make any impact, beyond the hype
The jury remains out on Google Maps, with property portals around the globe uncertain as to its impact on their businesses.
Seventy international d...
23-Jul-2010
Rent arrears 'are a serious problem for landlords'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software.One in five landlords have experienced problems with rent arrears, acc...
23-Jul-2010
Letting agents to 'definitely' see rents rise
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management softwareLetting agents will "definitely" experience an increase in rents over t...
22-Jul-2010
Agent's anger at Making Money from Property seminar
An estate agent who went to a ‘Making Money from Property’ seminar designed by a TV property expert has spoken out against the advice give...
21-Jul-2010
Lending up 15% but'housing market going nowhere'
News that mortgage lending went up 15% in June has failed to spread even a glimmer of happiness.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders said gross mortga...
21-Jul-2010
Tenant demand at all-time record high
Rocketing demand for rental accommodation has prompted the UK’s largest letting agent to call for more incentives to encourage buy-to-let landlo...
21-Jul-2010
Lenders set to crack down on suspended possession orders
A housing market recovery may lead to an increase in the number of repossessions as lenders enforce suspended possession orders after previous lenienc...
21-Jul-2010
Restructure for Daily Mail's digital property businesses
The Daily Mail group is dissolving its stand-alone digital arm, Associated Northcliffe Digital (AND), of which FindaProperty, Primelocation.
The bu...
21-Jul-2010
MPs concerned about regulation of letting agents
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management softwareA significant number of MPs have signed an early day motion (EDM), whic...
21-Jul-2010
Letting agents say stock is at all-time low
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management softwareLetting agents have told Arla that rented accommodation stock is lower ...
20-Jul-2010
Bloated listings as buyers can't find funds, say Rightmove
New sellers now outnumber new mortgage approvals by 5.2, Rightmove reported this morning, while the number of unsold number of properties sticking on ...
19-Jul-2010
Take cover– agents'customer from hell on rampage
Here is an urgent SOS to all estate agents in the South-West: leave right now, as the world’s worst customer from hell is on the loose. Do not u...
19-Jul-2010
Berkshire agent killed in tragic accident
A retired estate agent who founded his own firm in the Thames Valley has been killed.
Michael Hardy launched Michael Hardy Estate Agents in 1985, s...
19-Jul-2010
Success at property auctions wilting away
Auctions held last month in the UK achieved a low rate of sales at 61.4%, Essential Information Group has reported.
The sales rate was 71% for the ...
19-Jul-2010
Doom, doom and more doom (but don't worry, it might never happen)
Doomsters Capital Economics made big headlines at the weekend with their forecast that house prices will crash more than 20% over the next two years a...
19-Jul-2010
Letting agents 'to see demand for rented property increase'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management softwareLetting agents and landlords could see rents rise over the coming month...
19-Jul-2010
iSold addresses listed on Rightmove did not exist
A Bristol agent has reported iSold to Trading Standards after finding that addresses listed for iSold branches in the city either did not exist or wer...
16-Jul-2010
Child Commission causes house sale to collapse
Sales fall through for all sorts of reasons, but this is a new one for agents to be aware of: in the first case of its kind, the Child Maintenance and...
16-Jul-2010
Buyers'agency chain builds to 22 high street offices
A buyers’ agency chain has revealed that it has built up to 22 high street outlets in the last three months, and plans to double its size by the...
16-Jul-2010
Private lets service is NOT on Rightmove, says portal
The claims of a new private rental website, letpropertyrentproperty.co.uk, that it lists on Rightmove have been dismissed by the portal.
The site c...
16-Jul-2010
Wallets out, please, for'Complete the Journey'
We’d like to thank all those who have so far donated or pledged to support the “Complete the Journey” appeal.
But more, please!
...
16-Jul-2010
Landlords told to take out insurance
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management softwareLandlords have been advised that they should take out insurance in orde...
16-Jul-2010
EAT TV Weekly round up
Check out this weeks headlines from EAT:TV presented by Lucia.
Article courtesy of Estate Agent Today Sign up for EAT newsletter...
15-Jul-2010
London agent calls for boards to be licensed
A leading London agent has called for licence fees to be payable in return for being allowed to use boards.
Richard Barber’s comments follow ...
14-Jul-2010
Connells bring in ex-Nethouseprices boss
The Connells Group has brought in Paul Betteridge as its new head of online operations.
He joins from Nethouseprices, a free property information ...
14-Jul-2010
Awards will recognise individual team players
The ESTAs organisers have announced that they will highlight the efforts of individuals within agencies that compete for the Estate & Letting Agen...
14-Jul-2010
Half of mortgages provided without affordability test
The Finncial Services Authority has outlined proposals to ensure all borrowers are carefully assessed to make sure they can afford to take out a mortg...
14-Jul-2010
House prices'might not recover for another 10 years'
PricewaterhouseCoopers has warned there is an even chance that house prices will still not have recovered by 2020 and that bricks and mortar are no lo...
14-Jul-2010
'Complete the Journey'appeal as Newman undergoes surgery
More details have emerged of the catastrophic road crash in America which nearly killed UK agents Sean Newman and James Golding as they tried to compl...
14-Jul-2010
Daily Mail adds Mouseprice to its stable
The Daily Mail has bought the Land Registry consultancy firm Calnea Analytics, better known as its trading name of Mouseprice.
A beneficiary of the...
14-Jul-2010
Letting agent advises homeowners to consider renting out property
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management softwareA leading letting agent has advised homeowners who are struggling to se...
14-Jul-2010
NEWSFLASH: UK agents in horrific 70mph crash in America
Disaster has struck the 3,500-mile charity cycle attempt by Sean Newman and his colleague James Golding.
The pair, pictured, from Midlands-ba...
13-Jul-2010
Finance for landlords 'is relatively affordable'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management systemLandlords seeking finance in order to make more buy-to-let purchases ...
13-Jul-2010
Asking prices stick as 43% more homes flood market
There are now 43% more houses on the market than at the start of the year – but asking prices are still not coming down.
According to FindaPr...
12-Jul-2010
Tenancy deposit law should be totally revised, says expert
A lettings industry consultant has called for the existing law on tenancy deposit protection to be revoked, with totally new measures put in place.
...
12-Jul-2010
Transactions still 22% down across London,says agent
Transaction levels are still 22% lower than the peak of 2007, London agents Douglas & Gordon have reported.
This is despite supply being 50% hi...
12-Jul-2010
Auction House nets sales of£42.7m in six months
Auction House – a network of local auction houses run with local estate agents who take out licences – has published its results for the f...
12-Jul-2010
Worrying discrepancies in latest housing market reports
Sales volumes up – prices down: that appears to be the story for June.
However, there are puzzling discrepancies in the two latest housi...
09-Jul-2010
Calls for ban on agency boards right across London
Estate agency boards have returned to the streets of conservation areas in London’s Kensington and Chelsea after a 15-year ban expired.
The r...
09-Jul-2010
Seats on board at Zoopla for big three agency chains
The UK’s three largest estate agent groups – Countrywide, LSL and Connells – have signed up their long-term support to Zoopla.
In...
09-Jul-2010
Rightmove scores new goal in UK's top 10 domains
Rightmove climbed into the top ten web domains in June alongside the BBC website, Google and Facebook.
The latest statistics were produced by web m...
09-Jul-2010
Letting agent to sponsor football club
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. An estate and letting agent has signed a sponsorship deal with a foot...
09-Jul-2010
Shock as Belvoir founder Goddard stands down
Mike Goddard, founder of lettings franchise chain Belvoir, is standing down as CEO with immediate effect.
A surprise announcement last night said...
09-Jul-2010
Landlord 'embarrassed' by state of neglected property
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. A landlord has admitted that he is embarrassed by the state of one of...
08-Jul-2010
EAT TV Weekly Round Up
Check out this weeks headlines from EAT:TV presented by Lucia
Article courtesy of Estate Agent Today Sign up for EAT newsletter...
08-Jul-2010
Agency group getting 500 job applications a month
The parent company of Townends and Regents estate agents, Badger Holdings, has increased its staff by one-third so far this year.
The ongoing recru...
07-Jul-2010
Energy assessor scheme turns to inventories
Elmhurst Energy, an energy assessor accreditation body, has launched an inventory service.
All its inventory providers work to a code of practice a...
07-Jul-2010
LSL joins with Academetrics house price index
The house price index produced by housing market consultancy Acadametrics will from now on be a joint enterprise with LSL.
From this week, it will ...
07-Jul-2010
Anxiety on lending and job cuts could threaten market
Indicators are suggesting a market buzzing with activity – but while home-owners are increasingly keen to move, there is growing anxiety among t...
07-Jul-2010
Estate agent apprentice academy takes shape for launch
The new apprenticeship academy for trainee estate and letting agents has come a step nearer to launch this autumn.
The Bloom Academy has appointed ...
07-Jul-2010
Inventories cost landlords millions each year
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. Poorly-prepared inventories could be costing landlords millions of po...
07-Jul-2010
Banned estate agent 'able to continue being a landlord'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. A man who has been banned from being an estate agent will be able to ...
06-Jul-2010
Agent who hid criminal past is banned from industry
The OFT has banned a Middlesbrough estate agent after learning that he hid his extensive criminal record, which includes violence.
It has also revo...
05-Jul-2010
Countrywide snaps up south east letting agent
Countrywide, the UK’s largest property chain, is continuing its expansion plans with the purchase of the Letmore Group, a specialist lettings ag...
05-Jul-2010
Landlords 'may have to cut rents'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software.Cuts in people's housing benefits could force many landlords to re...
05-Jul-2010
Simply HIP went into liquidation owing AHIPP£9,000
Creditors of Simply HIP include the Association of Home Information Pack Providers, of which Simply HIP boss Ashley King was chairman. His firm owed A...
02-Jul-2010
Housing ministers have yet to meet estate agency representatives
Nearly two months in, the Coalition Government has yet to meet with anyone from the estate agency industry.
We’re not sure whether this is a ...
02-Jul-2010
iSold rolling out in three locations
iSold, the cut-price estate agency operation owned by Spicerhaart and run in partnership with Tesco, has been rather quiet since its launch.
But i...
02-Jul-2010
Five-a-side football competition for agents
The Estate Agency Foundation charity has the perfect remedy for agents suffering from football blues – the first-ever EAF Property World Cup.
...
02-Jul-2010
Our site traffic? Not a clue, say half of agents
Nearly half of agents (49%) do not know how many people visit their websites.
Research by movewithus questioned over 200 agents across the UK.
O...
02-Jul-2010
Landlords 'not paying as much capital gains tax as feared'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software.Landords in the buy-to-let market are not paying as much capital gains...
02-Jul-2010
Letting agent takes NLA award
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software. Claire Empson has won a letting agent award at a ceremony held by the...
01-Jul-2010
EAT TV Weekly round up
Check out this weeks headlines from EAT:TV presented by Lucia.
Article courtesy of Estate Agent Today Sign up for EAT newsletter...
01-Jul-2010
