Tag Archives: industry
Survey reveals 88% of people in London have had a bad time from estate agents
Over 4.4 million in the UK feel that an estate agent had broken promises with more people in London having a bad experience than any other part of the country, new research has found. Indeed, in London 15% felt an estate agent broke their promises and 88% said they had a bad experience with an estate agent, more than any other region in the UK. While, overall 9% of the UK felt there was a lack of transparency from estate agents. The research by estate agency, Strawberry Star, also found different age groups experienced different issues. For example, 8% of 25 to 34 year olds felt pressured into buying a house by an estate agent, twice the national average. It also found that the top frustration for just over 7.5 million people across the UK is ‘the agent’s overriding interest’ in commission rather than concentrating on finding the right property for their client, with 18% of respondents in London stating so. Strawberry Star said it is offering a new approach and clients will able to choose how much of the commission fee they pay, depending on their experience of the service from the pre-sale stage to post sales service. Dorian Beresford, the firm’s chief executive officer, said the aim is to place an overriding level of attention on the relationship value behind the sale or purchase of a property, as opposed to purely the transactional value it holds. ‘Consumers both at home and overseas continue to be dramatically underserved by their agents. The level of unsatisfied customers here in the UK is astonishing and representative of the frankly abysmal service delivered by many in the industry,’ said Beresford. ‘We feel it is our obligation to redress the balance and put the power back into the hands of the public by literally putting our money where our mouth is. No tie-in periods, no false promises and if the client is not delighted by our service they get to choose how much of our fee to pay,’ he explained. The firm has a headquarters in central London, offices in Singapore and Hong Kong and plans for a further 25 UK offices are in the pipeline with expansion into India, China and the Middle East also on the cards over the next five years. ‘We put people over property and ensure every single one of our clients, whether owners, occupiers or investors from the UK and abroad, feel that they are receiving a personalised service and are dealing with people that genuinely care about what matters to them. This commitment stands throughout every stage of the buying, moving, selling and letting process,’ added Beresford. The firm believes that the UK will continue to be popular amongst Asian real estate investors with Singapore and Hong Kong based investment now accounting for 90% of international purchases in the London new build market alone. Continue reading
New accreditation standard for London lettings hailed a success
More than 115,000 rented homes across London are now badged under the Mayor's Rental Standard accreditation system launched last year to improve the experience of landlords and tenants. Less than a year since its launch in May 2014, the London Rental Standard is going from strength to strength with 307 letting agent firms signed up and eight accrediting bodies licensed under the scheme. It has been adopted by 10 of the biggest names in the lettings industry, including Spicerhaart, Andrews, CBRE, Chestertons, Douglas and Gordon, Savills, Knight Frank, Leaders, Foxtons and Stirling Ackroyd. Londoners either letting or renting through every London branch of these firms are assured that they, and every landlord or agent displaying the London Rental Standard badge, have met the Mayor's set of core commitments and training levels to offer tenants a better, more professional service. These include transparent fees, better property conditions, better communications between landlords and tenants, improved response times and repairs, and protected deposits. Some 30% of London's households now live in rented homes, and by the middle of the 2020s the number of renters is predicted to overtake the number of home owners in the capital. In the last 10 years the number of families with children renting in London has risen 10% to almost a third yet 85% of landlords are not aware of core legislation that protects renters and 61% have no professional management training. The London Rental Standard is fast becoming an important feature of London's lettings industry, helping Londoners to pick between the huge array of landlords and agents on offer in the capital. It helps landlords and agents to understand their responsibilities to their tenants and to equip them with the knowledge they need to protect themselves from mistakes which can incur hefty costs and leave tenants disgruntled. The standard is one of a raft of measures the Mayor Boris Johnson has supported to improve the experience of London's two million private rented sector tenants. This includes successfully lobbying for legal changes to make it compulsory for letting agents to join an independent consumer complaints scheme to help protect tenants and landlords, and banning retaliatory evictions. He has also created a search engine where Londoners can compare average market rents, secured significant sums from the Government to help provide greater enforcement against criminal landlords including those who rent out beds in sheds, and pioneering thousands of new high quality, purpose built homes to rent with large scale schemes on public land in Elephant and Castle and the Stratford, supported by long term institutional investment. The Mayor is also helping renters who want to buy through his First Steps scheme, with more than 46,000 Londoners already supported to buy their home through shared ownership and other products. The Mayor is now calling on all remaining letting agents and landlords to sign up to the London Rental Standard, and help to stamp out rogue agents or landlords in every corner of… Continue reading
UK set to see more transparency on mortgage fees and charges
The Council of Mortgage Lenders and consumer organisation Which? have published a joint progress report on how to help people understand mortgage fees and charges. The aim is to improve the information given to consumers so that they can also compare the overall cost of borrowing. It says that organisations have made good progress, and most of the industry will have made the necessary changes by the end of the year. Meanwhile in July the CML and Which? will publish firm proposals and a timeline for implementation. The report calls for the introduction of a common approach by lenders to make their tariff of fees and charges available to customers to avoid confusion and make it easier to find information about mortgage costs. It also wants to see a wider use of consistent terms to describe the same types of fees and charges that currently have an array of different names and better explanations of whether fees are compulsory or avoidable and when they will be charged. It says there needs to be clearer ways of presenting information to help borrowers compare the cost of particular mortgage deals over specific periods, not just the upfront costs. ‘This collaboration with Which? has helped lenders focus on practical and simple ways to help customers by making information more transparent and consistent. We hope customers themselves will find it easier and less daunting to make informed choices about their mortgages as a result,’ said CML director general Paul Smee. Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said it is good news for thousands of consumers who supported the organisation’s call for an end to the confusion about the full cost of taking out a mortgage. ‘Which? has been working with the CML to simplify the wide range of complicated fees and charges in the market so people don't pay over the odds on their loan. We look forward to all mortgage providers making these changes so that people can get the best deals more easily,’ he added. Continue reading
