Trust!

I recently stumbled across the latest Veracity Index which is a long-running poll of the most trusted professions in Britain, not unsurprisingly nurses, doctors and teachers came out as the most trusted but as I scanned down the list I found estate agents hovering just above politicians and journalists as some of the most untrusted individuals working in the country.

I appreciate not everyone plays by the ‘Marquis of Queensbury’ rules, but I was somewhat surprised to see our industry so low down the list. At Barbers, we made the decision many years ago to become regulated and accredited members of the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) and The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). 75% of our staff have studied and gained an industry recognised qualification to ensure we operate above the level expected and to help gain TRUST in all our clients. If you are a landlord, you need a professional service and confidence that we will manage your investment, in your best interests. As a tenant, you need reassurance that maintenance issues will be dealt with promptly and your tenancy will run smoothly. Landlords and tenants suffer when dealing with agents who are inexperienced or do not adhere to the law. Thankfully this situation will change as our industry is soon to be brought into line by a new independent regulator that will improve landlords and tenants’ experience of letting as well as the buying and selling process.

The Regulation of Property Agents (ROPA) working group has published its recommendations for a new regulatory framework that will cover estate and letting agents in England. A mandatory qualification, code of practice, and a licensing regime will be brought in to ensure that people working in our industry have passed a ‘fit and proper’ test. This is something that will drive the more nefarious characters out of our sector and leave behind only agents who can be trusted and hopefully push us up the Veracity Index! This is something that has been given priority within government and has cross party support so will happen!

In Newport we had a busy end to 2019 and 2020 looks like being just as hectic with plenty of tenant demand. Recent lets include; a five-bedroom detached house in Outwoods for £2,100 p.c.m, a four-bedroom detached house at Moreton for £1,300 p.c.m, a new build on The Persimmon Homes development off Audley Avenue for £750 p.c.m and a good number of two and three bedroom houses in the town renting from between £650 and £800 per calendar month. The demand we are seeing is clearly having an impact on rents as I have calculated an increase of 3% on properties we have let in the last twelve months. If you have a property to let or would like to discuss the letting process please drop me a line on r.heath@barbers-online.co.uk or call our office on 01952 820239.