Date Published 14 September 2012

GOOD FOR TRUE SERVICE PROVIDING AGENTS
AND..... BAD NEWS FOR PRIVATE SALES OPERATIVES
SO LONG AS GOVERNMENT AND OFT POLICE

(News item provided by INEA.) Initially we feel this is a positive move to clear the grey area agents who offer budget fees for substandard agency services. Operatives in grey area property marketing MUST NOW decide to downgrade, or raise the bar which we see positive for agents fees to now increase. Selling on Service will become a more important message for agents.

We appreciate that private sales sites exist and will now be able to provide lawfully a board. Private sales operatives will however be restricted as to ancillary services which we hope will include now not being able to offer financial services, conveyance, taking photo's of properties, offering insurance and maybe even the service of putting the board up, even though sold to the private seller.

Studies in other countries show that in general public would prefer to buy through an independent party rather than the owner direct. Some studies also show that private sales are on the decrease and that most private sales are in instances between family members or the likes off long tern tenants buying the rental home their inhabit.

With high portal costs and a opportunity to sell on service that Private operatives will no longer be able to do, other than provide a board and let a private home seller put their home on the private operatives website we see NOW as a great opportunity for agents to pull together and pool resources and redefine what a true agent is and quantify the services and skills they offer that private operatives CAN'T.

PRIVATE SALES SITES WILL BE HIT WITH RESTRICTIONS THEY HAVE NEVER FACED WHICH IS GOOD FOR LAWFUL AGENTS

From the OFT:

In-depth information can be found at the link here: 66 page consultation document http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/consultations/oft1364con.pdf