Plan C

[DimPrawn]

Plan B is going along nicely.

Plan C may or may not involve the running of an online and call centre based estate agency giving 24 hr access to a human and full property details online at a fixed cost.

Can someone in the know tell me:

1. Is there any legal requirements in running an estate agent in the UK or is it all "voluntary code of conduct" or "self regulated industry" bollox?

2. How highstreet estate agents in the UK have the gall to charge like 2% to advertise a home which equates to around £4000 for the average home and as much as £15,000 for a large property?


I think the whole estate agent model is ripe for a rethink.

[XLMonkey]

1. Is there any legal requirements in running an estate agent in the UK or is it all "voluntary code of conduct" or "self regulated industry" bollox?

2. How highstreet estate agents in the UK have the gall to charge like 2% to advertise a home which equates to around £4000 for the average home and as much as £15,000 for a large property?

1. No, any idiot can set themselves as an estate agent and nob around in cheap H&M suits and alloyed-wheeled GTi's.
2. Because the world has a surplus of idiots, and most of them become estate agents.

I could bore you with a spreadsheet explaining the economics of an estate agency. They're not much different from those for a contract agent. But I can't be arsed.

The real question is, do you really want to buy a cheap suit and a GTi (and earn the general contempt of all your friends -- I've never met an estate agent who could get respect from anyone, even his mum)?

[NickIT]

Plan B is going along nicely.

Plan C may or may not involve the running of an online and call centre based estate agency giving 24 hr access to a human and full property details online at a fixed cost.

Can someone in the know tell me:

1. Is there any legal requirements in running an estate agent in the UK or is it all "voluntary code of conduct" or "self regulated industry" bollox?

2. How highstreet estate agents in the UK have the gall to charge like 2% to advertise a home which equates to around £4000 for the average home and as much as £15,000 for a large property?


I think the whole estate agent model is ripe for a rethink.

Been there done that and saw the company fold

[ladymuck]

My Dad's best friend did a stint as an estate agent (he could sell sex to nuns!) and offered a fixed price service. This was over 20 years ago though. His company folded not because the business model was screwy but because people thought he was too cheap, of all things. Also, the area he covered was somewhat down market shall we say.

If you set the price too low, people will see it as one of those 'it seems too good to be true, so it probably is' type scam and won't take it up. I'm sure you've thought about the pricing carefully anyway.

As an aside, quite a few estate agents will actually negotiate a fixed fee anyway. I was supposed to pay something like 1.5% when I sold my last property but instead negotiated a fixed fee of £1000 + VAT and saved myself around £750 (+VAT!).

[sasguru]

Hey DimPrawn, surely your plan C should be to become part of someone's Prawn Cocktail.
OK OK I'll get me coat ....

[bogeyman]

Plan B is going along nicely.

Plan C may or may not involve the running of an online and call centre based estate agency giving 24 hr access to a human and full property details online at a fixed cost.

Can someone in the know tell me:

1. Is there any legal requirements in running an estate agent in the UK or is it all "voluntary code of conduct" or "self regulated industry" bollox?

2. How highstreet estate agents in the UK have the gall to charge like 2% to advertise a home which equates to around £4000 for the average home and as much as £15,000 for a large property?


I think the whole estate agent model is ripe for a rethink.

So dear Prawn,

Why(TF) are you asking a bunch of computer contractors about the legal rules for estate agents?

5 minutes Googling would give you enough info to make a start. You could also find a bunch of estate agent's forums.

If this is how you research your plans (A, B or C) then you're nothing but a barbecued shrimp.

[Clog II The Avenger]

So dear Prawn,

Why(TF) are you asking a bunch of computer contractors about the legal rules for estate agents?

.

Who would trust asking estate agents?

[DimPrawn]

I thought some of the pimps here might be failed estate agents.





HTH

PS. Sorry in future I'll only post stuff about Israel, religion and other relevant IT contractor stuff.

[NickIT]

I thought some of the pimps here might be failed estate agents.





HTH

PS. Sorry in future I'll only post stuff about Israel, religion and other relevant IT contractor stuff.

In my case I was running their IT dept...so not an Estate Agent! LOL

[sasguru]

Already been done, sort of.

http://www.halfapercent.com/