Why You Need Cyber Insurance
Almost every day I read a story about an organization that has been the victim of a cyber-attack. One of the UKs largest conveyancing solicitors suffered such a devastating attack last year that it virtually closed down their business for many weeks. One of the London boroughs was unable to provide property search information to…
Read MoreDon’t Forget The Customer
I don’t usually write about the same subject twice but this subject is an important one which is very relevant to letting agents and a lot has changed since I wrote about it last year. The topic is the rapid consolidation of the veterinary sector. Over 50% of all veterinary practices are now owned by…
Read MoreThe ULEZ Threat
I keep reading articles about the desperate shortage of rental accommodation in London and the spiralling rents. This is of course caused by the usual issues. Increased mortgage costs for landlords, new compliance legislation, savage fines for minor breaches of the compliance rules, the ending of Section 21 and the huge cost of complying with…
Read MoreThe Impact of Higher Interest Rates
Interest rates are now at their highest rate for 15 years and the whole country is reeling from the impact. So far, letting agents have been relatively unaffected. Some landlords are leaving the sector because they cannot afford the increase in their mortgage payments but increased rents have more than compensated for the lost fee…
Read MoreWill The Buy to Let Sector Survive?
Our government seems to be intent on destroying the buy to let sector. Changes to taxation have made it far more difficult for landlords with mortgages to make a satisfactory return on their investment. Frequent changes to legislation have imposed huge extra costs on landlords and have left them in fear of being hit with…
Read MoreCrucial Skills For A Successful Business
There has been a lot of publicity recently about Rishi Sunak’s attempt to make school leavers better at maths. I use maths in my job every single day but it is addition and subtraction and ratios and other simple mathematics, all of which I had learned to do by the time I left primary school.…
Read MoreWhose Side Is Your Agent On?
A few years ago we saw a spate of estate agencies charging fees to their buyers rather than to their sellers. They were able to win instructions by offering to sell houses free of charge but of course this wasn’t really true because the buyers would simply deduct the agent’s fee from the price that…
Read MoreWhat Does a Good Letting Business Look Like?
We are achieving all time record prices for letting businesses at the moment but the buyers are becoming increasingly choosy about the sort of businesses that they want to buy. As a consequence, the price differential between the best letting businesses and the rest is wider than it has ever been. So, what constitutes a…
Read MoreBe Prepared for the Worst in Business
Unfortunately, I am often asked to sell businesses for people who are seriously or terminally ill. I am also regularly asked to sell businesses by the relatives of people who have died. These situations are always harrowing to deal with but a recent case was particularly difficult. The owner of a small letting business passed…
Read MoreSolicitors and How to Love Them
The relationship between solicitors and estate agents has always been a difficult one. Estate agents often get very frustrated by what they see as unnecessary delays and poor communication. Solicitors often get frustrated by unnecessary calls from estate agents asking for updates and many agents’ lack of understanding about the conveyancing process. Relations have become…
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