The first quarter of 2024 has, like the property market, been a little mixed business-wise and has lurched from days of great activity to days without!
On the positive front I have been working closely with two long term clients on strengthening the day to day management and performance of their businesses. Regular reviews to agree and implement operational change to meet agreed strategic objectives, including coaching the teams, is proving to be measurably successful
I have continued to run a number of successful open training courses in sales skills excellence and compliance. These courses run regularly throughout the year as well as being delivered on a bespoke basis for individual organisations. Details of all open courses – dates, times, content are on my website. Bookings can be made online and paid for securely by card. – Make a Booking - Integra Property Services | Integra Property Services (integra-ps.com)
In January I spoke at the Propertymark conference in Essex and my presentation on using compliance as a business enabler rather than seeing it as a restraining force went down well with a large audience. It was also good to catch up with so many friends from across the industry.
I keep the presentation regularly under review and updated and will be presenting next at the Propertymark conference in Birmingham on April 18th. I hope to see many of you there. Later in the year I will be speaking at the Surrey, South East and Sussex events.
Whilst talking about Propertymark (for whom I also deliver regular training courses), I am delighted to have been appointed both as a Director and a Trustee of their charity – The Propertymark Trust.
An excellent team of highly professional and committed volunteer trustees and ambassadors has been assembled and, once we have got to grips with some structural, governance and organisational aspects, we will be looking to raise our profile, raise funds and deliver assistance to those who fall within our remit.
In February I had the pleasure of visiting one of my clients – The Hogarth Property Group - at their new co-living development in Ealing that is about to come to market via their Urban Living group company.
The impressive development comprises an innovative and uniquely designed, sixty-four apartment, co-living building across nine floors with the upper floors, roof terraces and balconies enjoying panoramic views across West London with London skyline landmarks such as The Shard and London Eye being clearly visible.
The scheme, which, due to its unique design features, required considerable construction expertise, was undertaken by The Hogarth Property Group company Hogarth Design & Build and has taken around two years to complete.
The site was originally designated as Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) and planning took eighteen months, involving extensive consultations and support from Ealing Borough Council and the office of the Mayor for London, in order to satisfy Greater London Authority requirements and obtain permission.
As part of the development, a section 106 and offsite affordable payment of approaching £2.40 million is being made which will be allocated towards local affordable housing and infrastructure in the London Borough of Ealing.
I continue to provide press release content for a number of clients and have secured a considerable volume of “column inches” of coverage so far this year.
I have also had a number of articles published in my own name this year with content in The Negotiator, Property Industry Eye, Estate Agent Today, Estate Agency Network and Property Professional, the Propertymark magazine. These can be found in the news section of the website. News & Updates | Integra Property Services (integra-ps.com)
In mid-March I enjoyed recording a video podcast interview with Lorraine and Stuart at Conveyancing Matters – at the time of writing this has not yet appeared but should be out around Easter and I will be posting links on my social channels and including in the video section of the website. The main focus of the discussion was around the provision of upfront material information and the introduction (or otherwise) of ROPA which would necessitate mandatory qualifications,licensing and regulation of the estte agency sector. I have written a number of articles on the subject which can be found in the news section of the website.
I have also worked with a number of new clients in the last few weeks, producing documentation such as money laundering procedures, controls and policy documents, risk assessments, terms of business, complaints procedures etc. It may not sound terribly exciting but they are vital in both being compliant and in forming the foundations and structures for a successful, professional business.
On the negative front I have had two or three situations where clients or prospective clients have cancelled out training courses or other planned work, in most cases, booked well in advance, literally at the last minute, and often, only after I had been attempting to contact them for information (delegate names for example). This is obviously frustrating but, on a human level, also bl**dy rude!
Deciding not to go ahead with something is, of course, a perfectly valid commercial or business decision but not engaging or communicating in a professional fashion is just poor.
Anyway, not wishing to end on a negative or rant - there is much going on across the industry that is looking positively towards the future. I am a participant in the Home Buying and Selling Group and we are begining to see greater traction in areas such as digital information and in creating a more "joined up" system. Kate Faulkner OBE does a great job of "herding all of the cats" together and moving things forward.
As always, I welcome the opportunity of discussing how my experience, knowledge and skills could help you and your business - it might be the best call you ever make!
Michael S Day MBA FRICS FNAEA FARLA