The chairman of an online agency faced jeers at the ARLA Propertymark conference after she questioned why agents needed to charge fees to landlords or tenants.
Speaking during a panel discussion, Gillian Kent of online letting agent Howsy which was formerly called No Agent, was responding to a question as to whether landlord charges would be hiked as a result of the fees ban.
Fellow panel members Paul Chapman, chief operating officer at Countrywide, and John Paul, managing director of the Castledene Group, acknowledged that landlord fees would rise but said their service would also be boosted.
However Kent – who once headed up Propertyfinder, now morphed into Zoopla – said it was a shame that this was the only way of challenging the fees ban.
She was then asked how Howsy makes money without charging fees, saying: “We have lower overheads and more efficiencies.
“We don’t drive around in branded Minis.”
Her comments drew jeers from the crowd, prompting her to quip: “I know it is an unpopular opinion, someone did offer me a bodyguard for coming here.
“It is about providing customer service.”
She said that online agents offered “far better” customer service than traditional firms.
Comments (48)
Wish i had have bought a ticket…
Calum, for me the economics look very poor unless there are considerable upsale revenues involved. You’re offering full tenant find and management for £35 per month . Strip out the VAT and this equates to £350 per annum per property. Direct costs for referencing, boards and two inspections per annum I’d estimate at £100 before any overhead or viewings cost, inventory, deposit registrations. According to “weworks” website your offices cost £82,200 per annum for 10 staff. Add in Rightmove and Zoopla at a minimum of £20k, CMP, business insurance and other subscriptions for IT etc for 10 staff and for a total overhead of a further £20k then before you even discuss staff costs and most importantly marketing you’re burning through £125k requiring at least 500 properties. Ten staff in London cost a minimum of £350,000 (and given Gillian Kent routinely earns £50,000 for each of her other four non-exec roles I’m sure she isn’t cheap even without a branded mini) so now you need to have a further 1,400 properties. All this before marketing which as an online agent you’ll need to spend at least £50k per month, I just cant see how you make it work?
You are not alone, I think the whole country is wondering where they get the money from …. h’mmm sort of activity that would raise a few eyebrows at HMRC for starters?
Companies House confirm they put No Agent into mothballs May 2018 and Howsy is not registered.
You really are quite a nefarious chap aren’t you woodentop? you are leaving misinformation everywhere. check here /beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/08845607 They are still trading. Howsy is clearly the brand name, please google if you are unable to distinguish the difference. They are also on seedrs being funded by excited investors, who tend to do a great deal of due diligence before they commit the sums that are mentioned there.
Honestly, you are such a classic example of why this industry is failing, I will remain at home, (thank you for your suggestion) and you can polish your shinny shoes, whilst driving around in your branded mini. Let the customers decide what they want.
You need to get your facts right. They filed as a dormant company. If Howsy is the brand name why is your web site not complaint with Company Law? I don’t have a mini, I have a Mercedes and hard earned. The one that is all wrong is you and clearly got your nickers in a twist when pulled up on some very serious legal issues and you call yourselves professional. You are so naïve and just what the industry doesn’t need, people professing to be professional alternative … don’t make me laugh and your customer reviews seem to suggest you are rouge agents…. with comments like
“DO NOT USE these Cowboys”
“UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES DO ANY BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY. I WOULD GIVE 0 STARS IF IT WERE POSSIBLE”.
“Anywhere else will serve you better”.
Your customers are saying this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My website is Wooden top, theirs may need an update, although as I seem to recall it only went live this week according to the owner in an earlier thread. They are not dormant if you are unable to read/ understand how Companies House works, get someone to show you. If you look at any agencies customer reviews there is an interesting selection. The mistakes they made with the initial FAQ’s were rectified immediately, something that I found impressive. It’s less about my naivety and more about your obvious fear of being usurped / put out to grass. As I say, let the customer decide, you drive your nice little car and enjoy life more. Your blood pressure must be horrific. Have a wonderful day. I think I’ll remove myself from this little diversion for now, and focus on making sure that my customers are happy.
Oh dear touched a nerve, afraid of the facts so lets sling some mud. Haven’t found a single on-liner that can stand on their own two feet, just slag off the real competition and mislead the public to win business. About par for the course. Having been on the board of many successful companies, my legal background, I think my knowledge is just fine, as is my blood pressure. As to being upsurped/put out to grass …. lol, err no, not in your wildest dreams.
And “No Agent Limited” is dormant. “No Agent Technologies Ltd” listed as a sole software publishing company was served notice to be compulsory struck off by Companies House 8th January 2019 later recinded and is not listed anywhere where it is legally obliged to be linked with Howsy.
But the jist of all this is Gillian Kent did an own goal and now raised the public awareness of how they behave and short comings.
Wow, this lady clearly touched a few ‘well padded’ nerves. The traditional letting agent has had its day, as with any outdated service. Both tenants and landlords deserve better than being overcharged and underserviced. If you can’t compete, or have been relying on overblown tenant fees to fund your holidays then sorry. It’s a new world.
Has nothing to do with not being able to compete or over charging but with the fact that they are advertising their service cost on the website and the info being given contravenes current legislation. If they cant even get that part right why on earth would you trust them with your investment worth 100s of thousands.
Where are they wrong?
See above for an example of how their knowledge of gaining possession s is woeful .
Taken from the Howst website
https://www.howsy.com/faqs/When can I give notice to my renters?
If you have a fixed term tenancy agreement, you must give two months notice in line with the end date of your agreement. For example: if you fixed term tenancy is due to end of the 15th May 2018 and you want your tenant to vacate on this date. You would need to provide written notice to all named tenants on or before the 15th March 2018. If you are on a periodic tenancy then please provide one month’s written notice in line with their rent payment date. For example, rent due on the 1st June 2018 – notice would need to be received on or before the 1st May 2018.
99Home
Allowances that can be set against Rental Income are: –
10% of gross rent as depreciation where the property is furnished.
All agents’ fees and charges including VAT.
All maintenance and servicing costs carried out whilst the property is let.
House and Contents Insurance.
The cost of telephone calls and correspondence to the agents.
The cost of visiting your property, on necessary occasions, e.g. preparing and serving Notices to Quit can be claimed for, providing they represent sensible costs.
A landlord hasnt been able to claim this for the best part of 3 years
Things that you can’t claim as allowable expenses include:
the full amount of your mortgage payment – only the interest element of your mortgage payment can be offset against your income (more on this later)
private telephone calls – you can only claim for the cost of calls relating to letting property
personal expenses – you can’t claim for any expense that wasn’t incurred solely for your rental business
From April 2016, the long standing 10% Wear and Tear Allowance for furnished rental property was replaced by Replacement Relief. This means that instead of claiming a flat rate for wear and tear, landlords can deduct the actual costs of replacing furniture, furnishings and kitchenware.
As I said if they cant get the basic right why would you trust them with your investment
Calum here, CEO at Howsy.
This section on our website was launched last night and was provided by our marketing team as opposed to one of our ARLA advisors. This has been quickly rectified. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
I don’t understand the 99 reference. Is that a different company @simon? @calum I must have seen the updated version which now reads correctly. Its wonderful to have a company that puts up its hands and then corrects mistakes. Totally refreshing, especially in this industry. @legal_landlord it appears that is no longer the case, Like i said, refreshing in this industry, which traditionally tends to be woefully misleading as a matter of course.
The S21 notice advice is still wrong.
Sorry if I confused anyone with referencing 99homes on a Howsy thread – I was just making the point that onliners generally don’t seem to understand the law
I don’t believe it is @legal_landlord. My point is that the traditional model is no longer customer focused (if indeed it ever was). The reality is that the industry has been milking the market for long enough and with the advent of new technology and a fresh perspective, the customer (being both tenant and landlord) now has a choice. I believe, looking at it that they don’t tie people into long complicated and unwarranted terms either so I guess the onus is on them to provide a decent service, and as they are still going after 3 years and apparently well funded then it seems to be working.
It definitely is. This is what is still wrong
“ You would need to issue Section 21 notice to all named tenants on or before the 15th March 2018.”
It should say on or AFTER the 15 March 2018 as a S21 Notice can’t be issued until 4 months have elapsed of a 6 month tenancy contract.
You still need to allow a few days for service of the notice , unless delivered by hand , so the 2 month’s notice won’t expire until a few days after the tenancy end date. The notice doesn’t guarantee possession but is just the start of the Court possession process.
I think you are being a little disingenuous @legal_landlord the example given is an end of AST date I believe that means it implied to be 6 months and they clearly state an end date to an agreement. In addition, the government site advises a MINIMUM of 2 months notice so on or before is accurate, by serving I would assume that they mean that they mean the tenant is in receipt of the notice.
You don’t know what your talking about on just about everything you have posted. Go and do some homework and save yourself the embarrasment.
If Howsy don’t know the date requirements, when they get to court it will be mandatory dismissed. That means the landlord is back to square one with another minimum 2 months notice, possibly 3 and several months before the next court hearing is scheduled … meanwhile the tennat isn’ty paying rent. Great service (I think not) for the landlord who wanted their property back.
Homeprovidor123 The reason I reverenced 99Home was to just provide another example of how on liners fall down. The web agents constantly come out with the same old, “they are the way forward”, they can do it better and lets be honest they aren’t and they don’t. Again if they cant get the basic right why would you trust them with your investment, you haven’t answered that yet. My business is very customer focused and we strive to always give the best we can.
No… sorry, you are quite offensive and wrong. A stereotype if you will.
So how am I offensive, I have pointed out some quite major wrongs on their websites which also happen to be legally incorrect. I haven’t resorted to name calling but you have and you call me offensive.
Sorry @simon i was referring to Woodentop
missunderstandings happen, unfortunately when it comes to online vs High Street it always becomes heated. I dont personally care how an agent works online or shop I just care about it being done correctly and lawfully thats not to say i am perfect and i do make mistakes. competition is healthy and the market place as a whole needs to evolve Tech prop is a reality and is becoming more widespread
If they are in charge of a lettings business … shouldn’t they know themselves what is what? Some serious failings and would fail licensing standards required to operate in some parts of the UK, so don’t try and go nationwide, you are in for a shock.
The cheap onliners often get the Law wrong
This is from https://www.99home.co.uk/letting-terms/
Allowances that can be set against Rental Income are: –
10% of gross rent as depreciation where the property is furnished.
All agents’ fees and charges including VAT.
All maintenance and servicing costs carried out whilst the property is let.
House and Contents Insurance.
The cost of telephone calls and correspondence to the agents.
The cost of visiting your property, on necessary occasions, e.g. preparing and serving Notices to Quit can be claimed for, providing they represent sensible costs.
As we all know the 10% wear & tear allowance for furnished properties was scrapped by HMRC in 2016 .
Going to need a bit more than 60 properties on the market if they intend to make any money
ARLA Propertymark didn’t do there homework I see (about parr). Not really respresentative of a letting business that one could say has a clue of what they are doing, let alone be allowed to preach on a panel. I would suggest the majorty of the audience are more qualified.
Howsy of course have less overheads. Their call centre is in the Philippines!! They also dont drive round at all. They use Access 2 View to do majority of their work. They are basically a middle man! Classing them as a letting agent is quite insulting to hard working letting agents!
What you mean is they don’t manage and do very little else?
Calum here, the CEO at Howsy.
Your comment is partly true. We have two contact centres. We have a UK based team in Coventry (open 8am-9pm) for our landlords, including ARLA account managers. We then also have a 24/7 operation in the Philippines for issues that can be resolved quickly. This means our response times are great for our landlords and renters, no matter when they call.
With regards to boots on the ground we do use a network of third-party viewing reps (also used by large corporate agents and individuals), I am told mostly traditional agents use these third parties. We also have an extensive network of direct “Howsy Hosts”. Great letting agents, who want the freedom to conduct viewings and inspections in their own time around their own hours should contact us for a chat!
All the best,
Calum
You don’t do HMO’s then ?(your web site says you do!!) and believe that being on the end of a phone is lettings management! No wonder you are so cheap and NO most agents do not use third parties … got that one massively wrong, to add to your list!
Would you also like to amend your web site “high street agent comparison”. Wrong content, so very wrong and in breach of ASA rules. Another breach of legal requirements!!!!!!!!
Oh and why is it you ask people to agree to your terms and conditions, which are not visible? and they have to give their personal details.
Why are these rats even invited? Like asking tommy Robinson to speak at a Muslim festival.
Why are you members of propertymark? They seem to be part of the problem not the cure.
Wow. The irony of you labelling her a rat while seeking to take the moral highground. I think we can see that you’re the scumster here.
Why were these people ever invited … they have clearly demonstarted they haven’t a clue about lettings basics.
Whoever drafted the Howsy website FAQ’s section clearly doesn’t know the Law !
https://www.howsy.com/faqs/
When can I give notice to my renters?
If you have a fixed term tenancy agreement, you must give two months notice in line with the end date of your agreement. For example: if you fixed term tenancy is due to end of the 15th May 2018 and you want your tenant to vacate on this date. You would need to provide written notice to all named tenants on or before the 15th March 2018. If you are on a periodic tenancy then please provide one month’s written notice in line with their rent payment date. For example, rent due on the 1st June 2018 – notice would need to be received on or before the 1st May 2018.
You get what you pay for – in this case S F A apart from a lawsuit!
Oh so very, very wrong Howsy. This is basic lettings knowledge.
They will be next to go under, just as another one did yesterday. These on-liners are falling like a pack of cards and I see PB have come out back tracking that the money they say they would make this year …. will again not happen … how many years now!!!!
Apparently section 21 is an eviction notice
Disliking the comment won’t make Section 21 an eviction notice,
Calum here, CEO at Howsy.
This section on our website was launched last night and was provided by our marketing team as opposed to one of our ARLA advisors. This has been quickly rectified. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
Sorry to say Calum it has not been rectified
“What is a section 21?
This is the official court title for an eviction notice. It’s used in England & Wales by landlords to evict tenants and to gain possession of a property that is let under an assured shorthold tenancy. You can download a section 21 Template”
The section 21 notices are the notifications of a contract to occupy a property is coming to and end. There is a big difference between a notice of possession and an eviction notice. Your marketing team and ARLA advisors are causing you substantial trading embarrassment by allowing this stuff to go live.
So both CEO and Chairwoman don’t know the basics of lettings and used someone else to get it wrong to, give me strength.
A pattern has eveloped as to who the 3 dislikes are coming from!
Quote their web site …
“Our advanced technology makes sure your tenancy and property are kept compliant with the sector’s many laws and regulations. Howsy tracks licensing regulations affecting the private rented sector across the UK, automatically monitoring compliance requirements in real time”.
Do they now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Say bye bye to unexpected repair bills. Howsy Protect covers you when you need it most, from major issues such as heating system failures and unwanted pests to more minor grumbles such as a leaky tap or broken cupboard door. We’ll sort it straight away and keep you and your tenants informed as we go”.
Not according to “Google review” who warns people to stay away from you!!!!!!!
2019: Unprofessional illegally holding my deposits and keys 7 months after I sacked them for being rubbish.Let an AST lapse with the tenant in the property leaving me exposed.DO NOT USE these Cowboys.
2018: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES DO ANY BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY. I WOULD GIVE 0 STARS IF IT WERE POSSIBLE.I cannot emphasise how poor this company is. They have rebranded, but do not be fooled. Landlords, if you are considering using this company, do not unless you want angry tenants. Prospective tenants, do not use a property under this letting agent. Anywhere else will serve you better.
There are others but along similar lines of sub standard service, all one star.
What a joke. she hasn’t a clue how a lettings business is run correctly, head stuck firmly in the sand of cheap, cheap, cheap.
Who?
the April FOOL theme continues…