Archived Letting Agent Industry News - September 2010
Foxtons sues ex-director over database theft claims
Foxtons has filed court papers against a former senior director and his partner, amid claims that they stole its database.
The firm claims that Ti...
29-Sep-2010
Market'less weak'than thought over summer
House prices in August edged up just 0.3%, according to the Land Registry, suggesting the market may be stronger than otherwise reported.
The aver...
29-Sep-2010
ESTA awards ceremony moves to the London Hilton
The Estate and Letting Agent Awards, better known as the ESTAs, are moving to grander surroundings.
The 2011 event will take place on Friday...
29-Sep-2010
Buy-to-let lender Paragon re-opens its books to business
Specialist lender Paragon’s sudden return to the buy-to-let market could invigorate the entire sector.
Yesterday, it re-opened its books to n...
29-Sep-2010
TDS on firm financial footing, Partington tells agents
The Tenancy Deposit Scheme is on a firm financial footing and will continue to offer the most cost-efficient deposit protection for agents and their l...
29-Sep-2010
Paragon to target professional landlords with buy-to-let return
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system.Paragon Mortgages has announced that it is to move back into the buy...
29-Sep-2010
Profits up at London letting agent
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system.A London letting agent has revealed that its profits are significant...
28-Sep-2010
City banks predict double dip in UK housing market
Global banks have expressed their concerns over the British housing market. US investment bank Morgan Stanley has said that Britain’s housing ma...
27-Sep-2010
Knight Frank partners pick up£600,000 bonuses each
Partners at Knight Frank have helped themselves to bonuses of an average of £600,000 each after posting strong results for their last financial ...
27-Sep-2010
Estate agents go on trial in money laundering case
Two estate agents have gone on trial accused of laundering hundreds of thousands of pounds for an international crime gang.
The two men, plus a thi...
27-Sep-2010
Bleak Disney where prices come crashing down again
The going might be tough but British agents can thank their lucky stars, not to mention stripes, that they’re not trying to sell real estate in ...
27-Sep-2010
Landlords 'getting closer in age to tenants'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system.The gap in age between landlords and tenants is narrowing, according...
27-Sep-2010
Estate agents to be offered shares in regional newspaper
Estate agents whose advertising has been keeping a newspaper afloat are to be offered shares in it, in a last-ditch bid to keep it in business.
Ch...
24-Sep-2010
Mortgage reform proposals could rip housing market apart
Proposed reforms to the mortgage market could devastate the housing industry from top to bottom.
The warning came from Michael Coogan, director gen...
24-Sep-2010
No more boom and bust for housing, Shapps declares
Well, it didn’t take long, did it?
A few months into office, and already the housing minister is saying: “There will be no return to th...
24-Sep-2010
Rightmove crack down on properties past their'sell-by'
Over 80,000 properties are to be removed from Rightmove, the site announced today in a harder crackdown on out-of-date properties which agents have no...
24-Sep-2010
Sequence set to expand via more acquisitions
Under its Allen & Harris trading name, Sequence estate agents – part of the Connells group – has announced the purchase of a...
24-Sep-2010
RLA unhappy with proposed credit controls
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system.The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has voiced its displeasu...
24-Sep-2010
Completions still bumping along at half 2007 levels
Completions fell to an estimated 77,000 last month, according to HMRC.
The estimate follows the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ news that mortga...
22-Sep-2010
Fine&Country blames pundits for talking market into double dip
Prestige estate agent Fine & Country blamed property pundits for trying to talk the market into a self-fulfilling double-dip recession, after one ...
22-Sep-2010
Warning over job losses after'train crash'lending figures
Frustration and dismay has greeted the news that mortgage lending levels last month were the lowest in ten years, with the Business Secretary Vince Ca...
22-Sep-2010
Capital news as movewithus says it's time2change
movewithus has rebranded – to Move with Us. Hurrah!
The firm describes the switch as making it more consumer-orientated.
We have a feeling...
22-Sep-2010
Zoopla named a top ten tech company in UK
Zoopla been named as one of the top ten tech companies in the UK on Guardian’s Tech Media Invest 100 list 2010, sponsored by Kemp Little and Pri...
22-Sep-2010
More tenants struggling to pay rent, says LSL
Tenants are increasingly in difficulties after rents rose at their steepest rate for two years.
Landlords hiked rents in August by 1.4%, according...
22-Sep-2010
Co-landlords fined for gas safety problems
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software.A husband and wife team of co-landlords have been fined after they adm...
22-Sep-2010
Landlords 'must wait for competitive mortgage rates'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system.Landlords who want to expand their property portfolios have been adv...
21-Sep-2010
OFT set to fine agents on money laundering
The OFT is to clamp down with fines on estate agents who have failed to sign up to its money laundering register.
It has been illegal since January...
20-Sep-2010
Here we are again!
We’re back!
We would like to apologise most sincerely for our absence since about noon last Friday, and in particular for the very nasty warn...
20-Sep-2010
Rightmove and FindaProperty go head to head with TV ads
Rightmove and Findaproperty have launched fresh rounds of autumn TV advertising campaigns to calm down their fee-paying agents …whoops, w...
20-Sep-2010
BC Partners in bid to buy back controlling stake in Foxtons
BC Partners is in talks to buy back some debt in Foxtons, the firm it bought at the height of the property market in spring 2007 for £360m.
I...
20-Sep-2010
Void periods down, letting agents told
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system.Letting agents and landlords have been informed that void periods ha...
20-Sep-2010
Asking prices take another tumble
Asking prices for new properties listed on Rightmove tumbled 1.5% over the last month, the site reported this morning. At the same time, the Council o...
20-Sep-2010
House seller lay dead as agent showed buyers around
A woman lay dead in the sitting room of her house while an estate agent showed prospective purchasers around.
It happened in Notting Hill, West Lon...
17-Sep-2010
How one three-letter word caused havoc over new law
A tiny, three-letter word – ‘new’ – is thought to have been accidentally left out of regulations when they were formulated to ...
17-Sep-2010
Labour's buried HIPs research shows buyers never trusted them
Research into HIPs that was commissioned well over a year ago by the Labour Government has finally been published.
It found that while most buyers...
17-Sep-2010
More people than ever dream of owning a home
CML director general Michael Coogan has attacked financial policy-makers for making it more difficult for people to get on the housing ladder.
He s...
17-Sep-2010
Winkworth opens its 88th office
Several property firms are reporting expansion.
Among them is Winkworth, which has opened its 88th office, in Lewes, Sussex.
This is the sixth n...
17-Sep-2010
Recession 'could lead to more reluctant landlords'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the rent property management system.A new survey has predicted that a double-dip recession would result in ...
17-Sep-2010
Landlords 'want more information about benefit cuts'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the rent property management system.Landlords have stated that they want the government to provide them wit...
16-Sep-2010
Foxtons gets set for major expansion
Foxtons is to launch another 20 offices in London and Surrey, despite possible black clouds over the market and losses of £900,000 last year.
...
15-Sep-2010
UK facing double dip threat, warns Woodford
Star hedge fund manager Neil Woodford has said that the UK could slip back into recession, with property prices to fall hard.
Woodford, manager of ...
15-Sep-2010
Four charged after buy-to-let property fraud probe
Four men have been charged with participating in a fraudulent business after the collapse of a property development business in York.
Two, aged 46...
15-Sep-2010
Thousands of agents breaking privacy protection law
Thousands of estate agents and letting agents are unwittingly breaking the Data Protection Act and could face prosecution, the official privacy watchd...
15-Sep-2010
Tenants 'not aware' of landlord regulations
This article was brought to you by Rentman the rent property management system.Tenants are not aware of the regulations their landlord and letting age...
15-Sep-2010
Mortgage market remains'very weak', say lenders
Demand for mortgages in July was weak in what is traditionally a strong month, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
There wer...
15-Sep-2010
It's that time of the month again (oh no, not the RICS!)
It’s that time of the month again – the RICS survey.
Yesterday’s effort gave Estate Agent Today our usual blinding headache.
H...
15-Sep-2010
All agents'boards to be banned in most of West London
Agents’ signs have been banned from much of west London after 23 conservation areas have been declared board-free zones.
Two councils, Hammer...
15-Sep-2010
Letting agents 'can help with property management'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software.Landlords have been advised to think about renting out their propertie...
14-Sep-2010
Rightmove shares hit feverish high in takeover speculation
Rightmove shares went through the roof on Friday amid speculation that it could be the target of a takeover bid by one of the big media houses.
Sha...
13-Sep-2010
Concern as mortgage lending activity plummets 12%
Mortgage lending activity fell 12% in August, compared with the month before.
The Mortgage Advice Bureau said the fall could not just be explained ...
13-Sep-2010
East of England agents outshine the rest
Estate agents based in the East of England provide the best level of customer service in the UK, according to data from the ESTAs (Estate & Lettin...
13-Sep-2010
Use only ARLA, RICS or NALS agents, Shapps tells tenants
Housing minister Grant Shapps has urged prospective tenants to use only agents who belong to accreditation schemes.
His comments follow a report by...
13-Sep-2010
Zoopla reports record traffic after first TV advert
Three property searches are being made every second on Zoopla, with ten leads delivered every minute to agents, the site has reported.
It says it i...
13-Sep-2010
More landlord education required, says NLA
This article was brought to you by Rentman the rent property management system. The National Landlords Association (NLA) has stated that there should...
13-Sep-2010
Housing market is dysfunctional, says agent, as sales tumble
The UK housing market has not functioned ‘normally’ for five years, a leading estate agency has said. Meanwhile, the LSL Acadametrics repo...
10-Sep-2010
Chaos at CLG over tenancy deposit change
An extraordinary behind-the-scenes uncertainty at Communities and Local Government has emerged over new rules on tenancy deposit protection, with the ...
10-Sep-2010
Landmark victory for developer after buyer could not complete
A property developer has won the right to get the full sales price from a buyer who did not have the funds to complete his purchase.
Anthony Finlay...
10-Sep-2010
Taxpayers to help fund developer's rental deal
A landmark deal has been struck that will deliver 555 new private rented homes by June 2012, funded by British taxpayers.
The Berkeley Group ...
10-Sep-2010
Thanks, says the seller who wasn't even a client
As we all know, estate agents often get it in the neck – so how nice to hear of one grateful person who wasn’t even a client.
The man s...
10-Sep-2010
NLA welcomes regulation changes
This article was brought to you by Rentman the rent property management system.The National Landlords Association (NLA) has stated that it agrees with...
10-Sep-2010
NLA calls for rogue landlords prosecution
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system.The National Landlords Association (NLA) has called for rogue landlo...
09-Sep-2010
Massive rise in traffic to Digital property portals
Primelocation and FindaProperty both set new records for monthly visitors in August, the Digital Property Group has reported.
FindaProperty attract...
08-Sep-2010
Expansion for Estate Agent Today
Angels Media, the company that publishes Estate Agent Today, has announced big expansion plans.
More titles, all to be produced on-line, are to be ...
08-Sep-2010
Shelter says rogue landlords are threatening rental market
An investigation by the homelessness charity Shelter has found a number of rogue landlords who treat their tenants appallingly.
It says that...
08-Sep-2010
Confusion after Coalition back-tracks on HMOs
Landlords and agents in different parts of the country will face different regulations about whether planning permission will have to be sought to cha...
08-Sep-2010
Letting agent launches mobile site
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system.One of the country's leading letting agents has launched a mobil...
08-Sep-2010
Rightmove launches new mobile website
Rightmove yesterday launched a new mobile internet website.
The site enables Rightmove to target the rapidly growing smartphone mobile internet ma...
08-Sep-2010
NEWS FLASH: Letting agent stole£143,000
A letting agent who was a franchisee of Belvoir has admitted stealing £143,325 of client money.
David Sole appeared at Norwich Crown Court, whi...
08-Sep-2010
Most squatters 'do not object to paying landlords rent'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software.Most people who squat in empty houses do not object to paying landlord...
07-Sep-2010
National Landlords Association moves in on agents
The National Landlords Association looks set to be mounting a challenge to become a professional body within the lettings agency market.
The larges...
06-Sep-2010
Landlords up in arms over plans to shut county courts
Landlords are up in arms over plans to close a large number of county courts as part of the Coalition’s austerity plans.
The Residential Land...
06-Sep-2010
Could estate agent have the ultimate X factor?
Fresh from discovering that the delightfully named Sunny Brar has quit Foxtons in order to try for an Olympic gold in weightlifting, it is entirely po...
06-Sep-2010
Lack of new homes at crisis point, say builders
The shortfall in new homes being built has reached crisis point, the House Builders Federation has said.
It said that nearly one-third of me...
06-Sep-2010
Nationwide to shut up shop in estate agent branches
Nationwide is poised to shut its network of 150 agencies, most of which are based in estate agents.
The Nationwide agencies operate under the Natio...
06-Sep-2010
Letting agents 'to see no change in market'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system.Letting agents have been told not to expect any change in the rental...
06-Sep-2010
'Computer says no'culture blights housing sales
The ‘computer says no’ mentality is blighting the mortgage market and holding back house sales.
New research has revealed the startling...
03-Sep-2010
London agents launch their own portal today
A consortium of agents in London is behind a new lifestyle and property portal, Fabricproperty.com, specialising in luxury homes in North and We...
03-Sep-2010
Foxtons agent slings her job for Olympic dream
We’d like to wish all the best to Sunny Brar (yes, honestly), who has given up her burgeoning job as an estate agent at Foxtons to concentrate o...
03-Sep-2010
Auction group attracting more estate agent members
Since their last auction in July, when property worth over £ 3.5m was sold, Network Auctions have added three more members to their organistion....
03-Sep-2010
Record number of tenants entering market
The lettings market is looking strong, with record demand from tenants and rising rents.
Countrywide Residential Lettings reported an unprecedented...
03-Sep-2010
Landlords 'tripped up by complex legislation'
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium property management system.The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has pointed out that it ...
03-Sep-2010
NLA finds landlord confidence drops
This article was brought to you by Rentman the rent property management system.The National Landlords Association (NLA) has found that landlord confid...
02-Sep-2010
House prices fall or rise (take your pick)
House prices went up slightly – by 0.4% – in July, the Land Registry has reported. It brings the average property value in England an...
01-Sep-2010
Knight Frank stay quiet after conman is jailed
A tenant who faked his identity when renting through Knight Frank has been jailed for three years after he went on to pose as its owner and sold the p...
01-Sep-2010
Rich overseas buyers keep prime London market aloft
Chinese buyers are expected to replace Russian investors as major players in the prime central London market, says London agent CB Richard Ellis.
...
01-Sep-2010
Moving occasion: today's the day!
The most popular moving date is today, September 1, the Post Office has revealed.
The two next busiest moving dates are August 28 and July 31.
I...
01-Sep-2010
Prospective first-time buyers sink to new low
The proportion of buyers expecting to buy for the first time in the next 12 months has sunk to a new low.
A year ago, 31% of people expecting to bu...
01-Sep-2010
New boards unveiled by letting agent
This article was brought to you by Rentman the premium rent management software.A nationwide chain of letting agents has unveiled the new boards it wi...
01-Sep-2010
