High profile estate agent Chris Wood is shutting his business, PDQ Estates in Cornwall. It formally ceased trading on Friday.
He founded the business 18 years ago and has spent 30 years in the industry.
Wood, who was blocked from standing as a vice-president of the NAEA two years ago and has been vocal on a range of topics, had hoped to sell his business and had a potential purchaser lined up. The buyer is, however, “unable to commit at present”, Wood has told his customers.
Wood has cited a number of factors in his decision, with stress and depression among the reasons.
He said: “Estate agency is possibly one of the least conducive careers for anyone who needs a relatively stable, lower stress form of employment.
“The current market conditions and 30 years of fighting with lazy solicitors, ‘computer says no’ call-centre lenders, over-zealous surveyors, incompetent estate agents in chains and a small, but significant, number of buyers and sellers who believe they can lie through their teeth or change their minds with impunity despite causing incredible distress and cost to everyone around them, have taken their toll.
“My family and friends have been urging me to get off the roller coaster for some considerable time and it is high time I acted on their wise and well-meaning advice.”
Wood shut his high street office recently, ostensibly to work from home. He says he will continue to look after clients who have their homes under offer, but is recommending that all other customers contact Theresa James at PRH in Penzance, who he describes as “one of the few agents I hold in the highest respect in the area”.
Wood will be concentrating on charity work at Turn To Starboard, which helps “hundreds of service personnel affected by operations like me”. He will also be focusing on his virtual tours company Ocean3D, which uses Matterport technology.
While Wood will no longer be at the coal-face of estate agency, he says he is not going away from the property industry entirely.
Having campaigned on issues such as portal juggling, he has courted unpopularity with the likes of Purplebricks and other online firms, and never been afraid to ask awkward questions, challenge authority or see off legal threats.
He said: “I’ve racked up a few small successes but there is more to do and some big fish to fry.”
In a tweet at the weekend, the irrepressible Wood said: “I’m not going anywhere and now have a little more time for campaigning. Sorry @PurplebricksUK #purp @rightmove et al, you’re not off the hook, I’m reeling you in.”
Comments (85)
Ee by gum if anyone ever wanted a reason to leave estate agency this thread might just be it. After 30+ years in this industry at least once a week I wonder if it’s all worth all the hassle. I remember the days when I could pop in to see my competitors up at the Halifax for a cuppa and a chat. I know that times have changed and competition is fierce but until recently joining this forum I hadn’t realised quite how nasty it had become. As the owner of a business who is motivated by people and property, and likely to retire within the next 5 years I think it’s a sad state of affairs and I feel sorry for younger traditional estate agents. One popular trainer once told an apprentice of mine 8 years ago – if you’re not on Twitter you’ll be out of business within 3 years. We’ve ignored the hype about online is best and everyone selling their own houses because I’ve been in my town for 20 years and people just keep coming back – because of the service. Oh and because they know our names.
Good luck Chris. Have fun with your family and friends.
Good for you!
Bye, See Ya! You won’t be missed.
You were destined to fail, focused so much on competition that you left your business run into the ground. Good enough for you.
Idiot, not worth the air time….
Rude! Very…
Disgraceful!
First time posting numptie. Come on here at a normal time before drinking moron.
A final read over this thread today….
Summing it up for you Chris, don’t waste an ounce of energy or brainpower on the Troll Comments. Look inward at all your good points and move forward with your life.
I used to get bothered when a client chose another agent …..then one day I took a fresh approach …..it was the client’s loss not choosing me to sell their home ……I just moved forward and put my energy into the next client’s sale.
Thousands of clients/homes sold later, offices with plenty of Thank You Cards…. I smile if a client chooses another agent (very often for the wrong reasons however they fell for the “patter”/false promises).
As we know, life is not a rehearsal, this is it ……don’t waste time getting sucked down by the Negative. Look at your success and look at the positive comments here…..
To the Trolls ……if you want to Troll anyone then be brave enough to post your name, it’s the weak that cast “personal” comments from their shadow.
Best wishes for your future Chris …….wake up tomorrow and embrace the positive.
Chris devoted his life to bullying PurpleBricks.
Karma caught him.
Your version of karma is different to mine sunshine, my version would give him a twelve gun salute and a medal.
Bullying a PLC soon to be exposed as a Wonga type predator?
Diddums.
With just one more post here you’ve gone from a spoon to a tool. Well done.
And what is it you’re doing now Londonbound?
I think he’s a blogger on here.
Good luck Chris – I have always enjoyed your comments; you challenge, and you care. Rare out there.
Hi Chris
Good luck for the future and I hope you enjoy success personally and professionally.
Depression affects everyone differently and in different ways. You might be able to happily wrestle alligators but be equally unable to open an envelope for fear of what might lie inside. You can put on a great show of happiness and confidence to customers but be tied up in knots and hugely self-critical inside. If you don’t understand this (and I didn’t until I sought help), or, if this resonates with how you are feeling, take a few minutes to learn more from Mind – https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/depression/symptoms/
Thanks for all of the lovely comments on here, privately and, on social media.
I too needed to seek help with this Chris, I hope you find balance.
A thumbs down to this comment really shows PIE needs a scum filter. Appalling.
I am staggered by some of the comments on here, indeed I have reported a certain individual as I liken it to online bullying.
Some of you should be utterly ashamed of yourselves, what nerve you have calling yourselves professionals. You are an embarrassment to our industry and are a major part of the reason it has such a bad name.
I for one hugely respect Chris’ knowledge, efforts and championing good causes. I’ve never met him, but it is a sad time when an agent of his caliber decides to call it a day.
I wish you the best with both your physical and mental health Chris and all the success with your other ventures. From some of the comments above, you’re definitely well out of it.
The negative comments are not coming from estate agents who understand the industry as it is today. They’re from a ragtag selection of failed digital marketers, failed agents and other bottom-feeders leeching off the industry. They’re easy to spot.
Strongly agree.
Was going to write something similar.
What goes around comes around.
Wow, Some of the comments on here are disgusting. Its a pity PIE doesn’t have a scum filter.
True warriors are people who are prepared to lose everything for the protection of their fellow soldiers, family, friends, and beliefs.
Such bravery should never be castigated by those unwilling to put themselves in the firing line whether through war or business.
There are very few people like Chris who have the guts to openly challenge the pay anyway models and try to defend our industry from the PLC’s- whatever the cost may be to himself.
Our sector is being openly hijacked by the Government for political gain and carved up by our platforms and many institutional and other investors who have lost huge amounts of money trying to buy market share.
Sometimes it takes a warrior to point out we are at war and appeasement is no longer an option if many are to survive this unprecedented attack on service standards and our no sale, no fee livelihoods?
Anyone with the passion to voluntarily place themselves in the firing line for both business and war gets my vote.
Thank you, Chris, shame the industry do not have recognition awards for people like you.
Well said Thomas.
These comments have been interesting to read. And also very sad. He clearly hasn’t been well for a long time but has compounded his own issues.
His business has obviously been failing for a while. Its been so bad that he couldn’t give it away.
In the meantime he’s had to cut outgoings but has done so publicly with an “I see the future of the industry and am a property prophet” slant on his attempts to save his business. This was very transparent and we all knew that the closure of the business would follow very soon after.
He then releases a statement in the style of a surly teenager aiming for a tear jerker moment (much like a ‘Voice’ audition backstory) blaming everyone but himself for the failure of his business. Of course be has got much bigger fish to fry because his ego so desperately needs this. There’s even a bit in the statement mentioning a role in Afghanistan. This would be the part of the audition where we are all moved to tears. He uses this Afghanistan story a lot. The facts of his trip there are available for all to see if you want to research them.
His leaving the industry will be good for him and also the industry. It will also be good for his customers, suppliers etc. The only people it won’t be good for are the likes of PIE which will need to work harder for their stories rather than having someone hand them regular statements on a plate.
My best advice would be for him to close every social media account he owns and to drop out for a year to reassess what makes him happy.
My advice would be to completely ignore you and your inane posts.
Jim, you and a very small few above have made vile comments. I’m not quite sure how you get out of the front door in the morning.
Chris, wish you all the best. Take care of the important things in life.
Who’s offering Chris a job? None of you… sycophants.
Chris is welcome to work as a commission only bases for me. He knows how to contact me.
I dont think he would fancy the 10 hour commute every day to my offices.
I think he could work for many agents, its the industry he is leaving not the ‘Office’
He doesn’t want a job you utter spoon.
Thank you Chris for all your contributions to our industry. I also think there will be many more to come. Good luck.
Good luck, Chris.
Ignore the Ya Shi !
All the best for the future Chris. Not difficult to predict your story would feature here today. Less difficult to predict the cave-dwelling neanderthal-brained losers adding their unwanted two pennies’ worth either.
“Property Pundit
FEBRUARY 4, 2019 AT 23:00#7
He’ll outlast all the call centre shysters that’s for sure.”
And here’s your post from when he announced he was taking the estate agency world by storm through cancelling RM and working from home a month ago.
Incisive stuff as usual.
‘He’ll outlast‘ Choose your words carefully idiot.
Good Luck for the future Chris !
Good luck Chris, our careers are very similar, 30yrs in and a business owner for 20, it’s exhausting especially when you take the view that if you’ve got to be there anyway you might as well do it well, , unlike some of the chancers that comment on here.
Good luck Chris; take only the positives and leave the rest behind.
Not surprised when looking at how much time he spent on here telling everyone what’s right and wrong when he should have been out there selling property. Wasn’t there a story on here last week with him bragging about how he’d given notice to Rightmove??
I wonder if Cyberduck has room under his stone for Catty Cathy where they can toss around their vitriolic and contemptible notions to their hearts content and leave this forum for decent professionals the like of Chris Wood.
Chris, whether controversial or not, your comments have been honest, interesting and valued. Thank you – please keep contributing in whatever role you play in the future.
Stones, glasss houses…
How disappopinting that some contributors can be so damned rude!
If he’d have focused more energy on his business rather than self publicity, the story could have been so different. Legend in his own lunchtime.
Sometimes the most difficult and bravest thing is to walk away.
Lets face it, we all feel the same as Chris. I have thought many times if someone wanted to buy my business i would be happy to walk away. Not because of what i earn but because of the outside influences that makes a good deal of our days as battlegrounds. I would be hard pushed to name a more competitive industry with so many sharks and cowboys operating. This is not just agents but the other ‘Professionals’ and suppliers we are forced to deal with.
I have said it already but good luck Chris on your new adventures. Remember health and family are more important than an acrylic sign over a doorway.
Well said Smile,
Estate agency must have one of the thinnest of lines when it comes to either loving what you do or it becoming a daily grind. Those of us that are principled and uphold a standard seem to have the hardest time of it at the moment. This industry is becoming like the wild west and I don’t blame him one bit for bailing out.
Best of luck Chris.
Good luck. He’ll find a space to move again I’m pretty sure.
I have plenty of respect for those that stand up and say it how it is, where others cower and stall, no matter how controversial or despite public opinion.
To be honest I’m sure we feel feel the same and he is absolutely right. The estate agency business has been trashed by fly by nights breeding misleading practices and poor service and as a consequence increased government bureaucracy.
The industry should have been properly regulated many years ago to stop the spread.
Anyway best wishes Chris. When I’m in God’s county will send a message as you’re one man I would like to chew the cud with over a beer.
Best wishes
All the best for the future Chris.
Reading these posts show Chris, that u r still marmite, let’s hope in your new venture that everyone sees u as Peanut Butter.
Good luck
About thirty years is the max that one can be on the front line in this job before it gets to you.
Achieving ivory tower status brings some protection; but for those that remain in the trenches it can be really really debilitating.
The public don’t realise how we absorb their stress and pressures during a sale.
Agency is all about people; and little to do with taking pretty pictures.
Chris – well aware that stress has been a factor and hope you’ll find some way of contributing in a way that creates less of it. Work/life balance important so brave move, and wish you all the best.
Having met Chris on several occasions, I know him to be a good man with strong principles and an excellent estate agent. So sorry to hear he has been struggling with stress and depression and hope he gains a greater sense of achievement by supporting ex-service personnel, a cause I know he is passionate about.
Wishing him every success and best wishes for the future.
Great shame to see one of the more vocal commentators in the industry decide that “enough is enough”.
It’s very telling that Chris puts “lazy solicitors” as the first ie. most “front-of-mind” reason for walking away.
There is something fundamentally wrong with an industry where a key facilitator is not delivering. In my opinion it is the laziness of law firm owners rather than individuals that is the real issue. Laziness to push suppliers to deliver new technology, laziness to actually deploy technology, laziness that makes them sign up to panel managers for minimum wage fee scales and finally, laziness in passing on their experience to their employees to improve their service.
Problem is that in the last 10 years, I have seen precious little innovation from lawyers or drive for change.
Just a lot of bleating.
Using legal as a reason to fold, is just smoke and mirrors.
Woody failed because he didn’t concentrate on this business.
Simple.
Best of luck Chris. Time to pause and recharge.
The race to “Dumb Down” Our Industry by the Fake Onliners and others is certainly an issue however I still see a healthy percentage of clients who recognise the Bespoke Service that many Independent (and other) Agencies offer.
There are challenging times ahead however I’m confident the Bespoke Service that so many of us provide will pay dividends ……we just need to keep faith in ourselves/our local expertise and charge fairly to reflect that Our Service is what makes us real Estate/Letting Agents.
It’s up to us to keep informing/reinforcing the “real” Agency/Service message.
>He says he will continue to look after clients who have their homes under offer, but is recommending that all other customers contact Theresa James at PRH in Penzance
So those without offers just abandoned then?
He was going hybrid just 7 days ago https://www.propertyindustryeye.com/long-standing-critic-of-purplebricks-set-to-leave-the-high-street-and-go-hybrid/
“he said his current offices are simply too big for his requirements, and that Rightmove’s fee was too high for him to swallow”
“I will undoubtedly lose some business from more traditional sellers, I am confident I will be able to more than offset this in other ways.”
What about creditors? The latest published accounts for the period to 30 April 2018 show the amount falling due withing 1 year as £140,892 and a further £200,000 due after a year. Have these amounts been paid off?
For the record, the vast majority of that money is owed to me. I was medically evacuated back from Afghanistan in 2011 and spent 11 months unable to work. The Army failed to pay me which has taken 7 years for them to admit liability. The business haemorrhaged money and I used personal finances to keep my staff and suppliers paid. We’ve been profitable in some years and would have shown a trading profit this year.
If we’re to cease everything today, I’d be a tired old has been. But, better a tired old has been than a tired old never has been.
Chris,
So you’ve paid all creditors? You didn’t answer the question.
And as for being a tired old has been, I’d have to disagree. It’s clear your business has failed, Nobody wants to buy it. The hybrid one only lasted a week. The trouble is your ego is so big you can’t bring yourself to admit it.
Now it’s “My other business, Ocean3D, has been doing rather well of late and is likely to take up more of my time with, hopefully, some major contracts in the pipeline”.
A tired old self publicist more like and one found to have made misleading statements by the Advertising Standards Authority. Are you still being investigated by the National Trading Standards Estate Agency Team by any chance? Anything to do with your decision to quit?
Just abandoning your customers too.
cyberduck46 I generally read and avoid commenting, but it really shows someones true colours when they aim to publicly embarrass someone when they are down.
“Wood has cited a number of factors in his decision, with stress and depression among the reasons”
Give it a rest. Although I am not a fan of the online model I usually do enjoy the majority of your comments (when factual) but not this
BenNorth,
I’d never embaress anybody who is a humble person.
CW is a self publicist, hypocrite and general critic. Don’t give it out if you can’t take it is what I say.
Cyberduck when you step out from behind your tag and reveal who you really are then, maybe, you can attack people legitimately like this (having established your position, experience, success to date and knowledge which you appear to believe you hold)- how ‘humble’ do you think your comments look? Like Chris or not, agree with how he has conducted himself or not as a profession we owe each other a modicum of respect- if you can’t let someone retire in dignity without a nasty comment then maybe just step away from your keyboard battleground every now and then- you won’t be missed I promise. Let’s also not forget- as a traditional agent whilst clients without secured offers may be disappointed, they haven’t paid Chris anything to get to this stage- unlike those already letdown by the online ‘pay anyway’ fee model and those still at risk with multiple businesses in that sector on the verge of collapse. It is a sad day for any profession to lose someone who is passionate, principled and dedicated- I for one wish Chris every success in the future.
>having established your position, experience, success to date and knowledge which you appear to believe you hold
KByfield04,
I have been posting on here for a long time now and only recently pointed out my qualifications and experience because I was questioned over whether I was qualified to comment on rummage4property’s offering and marketing tactics.
Surely you see a difference?
And as for retiring. I don’t see it like that.
“I will continue to look after my clients who have accepted offers subject to contract”
“My other business, Ocean3D, has been doing rather well of late and is likely to take up more of my time with, hopefully, some major contracts in the pipeline”
“I’ve racked up a few small successes in that time, but there is more to do and some big fish to fry.”
Judging someone by only one quality (and one that is subjective) is a good way to despise everyone.
For clarity I would expect that because of the way Purplebricks go about their advertising you would be happy to see them fail? As they are (in my subjective opinion) hypocritical and criticising of traditional agents?
You must know very little about depression as attacking someone when they are suffering can have bad consequences.
You could take into your consideration of Chris that he has served his country as well, you should cut him slack.
>You must know very little about depression as attacking someone when they are suffering can have bad consequences.
>You could take into your consideration of Chris that he has served his country as well, you should cut him slack.
Perhaps PIE shouldn’t publish everything he says if he is suffering from depression? Ban him from making comments? He’s outspoken and if he’s allowed to post on here then you have to assume people are going to comment as you will see quite a few have.
‘Ban him from making comments?’
Yep, let’s add fascist to your pathetic CV too.
I understand and to a lesser extent agree with you; perhaps everything shouldn’t be published but it has been. What has been published should be enough for you to leave him be.
BenNorth,
CW has been referring to his mental illness for some time now.
PIE seem to know him well and publish everything he says and have allowed comments on the article when they can and do post articles where comments are blocked.
From his own statement:
“As with any major decision, there are a multitude of reasons behind this one. My other business, Ocean3D, has been doing rather well of late and is likely to take up more of my time with, hopefully, some major contracts in the pipeline and I do not feel that it is fair to my current or new customers to reduce my focus on them for my own gain. I also want to spend some time working with the charity that helped me and hundreds of service personnel affected by operations like me, Turn To Starboard”
“Additionally, I have made no secret of my depression and PTSD, and estate agency is possibly one of the least conducive careers for anyone who needs a relatively stable, lower stress form of employment.”
“Whilst PDQ Estates Ltd is ceasing trading, as an individual I am not going away from the property industry entirely. Most of my 30 years in agency has been spent both within the NAEA/ NFoPP and without, working for a change in the way we convey property in England and Wales and the enforcement of laws designed to protect consumers and law-abiding agents. I’ve racked up a few small successes in that time, but there is more to do and some big fish to fry.”
So the message I’m getting is that he is well enough to assess his own health and is capable of a lower stress job and intends to continue passing comment. So in my book, with that and the fact that PIE have left the thread open for comments then if he’s going to continue giving out criticism then he’s well enough to receive it.
There’s a massive difference between him getting involved in healthy debate over issues involving the industry and someone basically ripping him to pieces because he suffers from depression. You absolute ******* cyberduck.
I think this might be the most pathetic comment I’ve ever seen on PIE.
As someone who suffers from depression themselves I personally think your insensitive, calous, childish, ill-informed, narcissistic, fascist, un-educated comments should be banned from here. All you do is attack people.
Banning people because they are depressed? You utter worm.
Those are his better qualities.
You nasty piece of s***. Get back under your stone.
The lord sees people who kick others when they are down.
Special place in hell for creeps like him.
Crocodile tears from the usual crowd.
The simple fact is, he didn’t concentrate on his own business. He was consumed with jealousy towards online agents that eventually cost him his company – he’s simply not a nice person.
He will continue being an idiot towards online with his inane and frankly irrelevant ranting – it’s all he knows.
I know who i would have rathered on the end of the phone when my sale needed chasing.
It wouldn’t have been the uni student sat in a solihull call centre.
PB and yopa are only here from fake hedgefund money and so are the staff. Never compare success to fake investment.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Just to make you feel better about yourself. Stop with the self-loathing, it’s not a nice trait.
The industry has changed, customers haven’t, solicitors still hide behind robust secretaries and assistants.
Call centre operations have dumbed down what should be a slick and informative process, and given the people that use them a service that is priced to reflect what they get.
I’ve read with interest what Chris has commented on, it’s a shame he’s tossed in the towel, however he needs to do what he needs to do.
I’ve not met Mr. Wood, nor do I necessarily agree with all that he has said on this forum- however, for his candid reasoning behind his departure from the frontline, I believe respect is due…
The matters to which he refers as being his main motivators for taking some time out appear to be honest and certainly effect many of us in Agency.
A hostile business environment has been created, particularly for Lettings/Estate Agents (perhaps more so for Lettings Agent- but i’m bias in that respect!) and it certainly takes quite a “pair” to shovel and eat the ever increasing amount of sh*t that we agents have flung in our direction on almost a daily basis, and from many “corners”…
To all agents whom have dedicated working lives to this challenging enterprise- we salute you. It certainly isn’t easy!
Good luck with your future enterprises Mr Wood Have a successful day
Good luck Chris! I wish you all the very best in your new venture.
A personal thank you to Chris for all that he has done – and will continue to do – to make our industry a better place.
A classic case of spending too much time in the cake shop and not enough time making bread.
Superb!
oh please.
He might have more bread than you could dream of!
or perhaps his life is NOT blinkered by the obsession that making bread is a must! Not every closure is a doom and gloom story.
Good luck Chris.
When you have criminals stealing the dough and the police do nothing. This is what happens.
Scum
At best he did a great job of turning dough in to ‘doh!’
Never met you Chris. but we have spoken on the phone.
Good luck and thank you for all of your contributions on this forum and others…so far!
Can eye set up a crowd funding page for him or something? Chris was the only person who stood up to the purge of purpleshits.
Naea hang your gravytrain heads in shame .