Agent profile Maria Kemp of Kemp & Co in Dorest

Welcome to the latest edition of Estate Agent Profiles.

Agent X had the opportunity of profiling Maria Kemp Director of Kemp & Co in Dorset. Below is how it all went down!!

Loving the blogs! The hot milk situation reminds me of a quite recent, horrific experience whereby I went out to an elderly couples flat to give a market appraisal for lettings.  I swear the wife had narcolepsy, either that or I seriously need to revamp my presentation skills!  As she was busy randomly snoring at their dining table her husband was keen to point out all the antiques in the property including the table and chairs we were sat round which they had lovingly and carefully imported back from Cyprus. After pointing out one or two things they were obviously not too happy about that they had to comply with, I got up to leave and broke off the arm of one of the chairs!!! I had no idea what to say, I just handed it to them as I walked out the door – bizarrely I still got the instruction, so goodness knows what the competition was like!

1.      How long have you been an estate agent for?

I’m in my 21st year!  (I obviously started very young ... 9.. I think, otherwise that would put me on the wrong side of forty *cough*)

2.      What's the best part of the job?

Going out on market appraisals, passing our boards along the way, meeting new people and confidently knowing you can help them. Delivering results and seeing returned business from those clients or recommendations resulting in new business that have stemmed from them. Also coming up with new ideas and new products, I absolutely love new challenges.

3.      What's the worst part of the job?

The fact it’s always with you! As a business owner you can never really just shut the door and go home.  The laptop is always on, your thoughts are always about the business, it comes to bed with you, it goes on holiday with you, I’ve even answered the phone in the bath before! Business doesn’t stop when the doors close. A lot of business is done out of office hours via personal Facebook accounts and twitter and even a trip to Tesco usually results in bumping into clients. It’s great to be busy but sometimes it would be nice to properly shut off but you can’t help but brainstorm for new ideas and look for new ways of taking the business forward. I’ve always got a notepad by my bed!

4.      What industry related qualifications do you have if any?

ARLA Level I & II Qualifications. I also started the NAEA Diploma in Residential Estate Agency, undertook and passed the first few modules but sadly didn’t get to finish it.  I set Kemp & Co up part way through and it got so busy so quickly I found it impossible to run the business and undertake the exams. It would be nice to re-sit this at some point, especially now I have a great team in place that would give me the time to do so. I always wanted to be a Fellow of both ARLA and the NAEA. I usually undertake in excess of 100 hours CPD each year, attending many seminars and training courses.

5.      What made you become an estate agent?

It kind of just happened! I had studied Business and Finance for three years, then started a family.  My first job was as a Sunday assistant working for a corporate agent as I didn’t have to worry about childcare on the weekend. I was gradually given more and more hours, I went from part-time to a full time Administrator, Administrator to a Negotiator, Negotiator to a Lettings Manager, Lettings Manager to a Branch Manager.  I finally set up on my own in 2007, initially working from my dining room table. I had my first premises within a year, then went into Partnership with former colleagues. We have grown every year, have since moved to larger premises and there are now 8 of us that make up the team!

6.      What do you prefer sale or lettings and why?

I enjoy both but I have to say I enjoy a good lettings challenge! I really enjoy situations that aren’t the norm, and I’ve encountered many via my role as Chairman of West Dorset Landlords Accreditation Scheme. I find it really interesting when I come across old protected tenancies and also trouble shooting problematic tenancies.  It’s not something you come across on a day to day basis, and I have been able to help out many Landlords that have found themselves in sticky situations and resolve their tenancy issues. I love the research involved and it’s enabled me to work with different organisations and has not been without its dramas, which have included death threats, but it’s so satisfying when you finally get a successful end result – although I’ve got to say the team aren’t quite so enthusiastic when I’ve taken on this type of work!

7.      What estate agency software is your favourite?

Jupix! I’ve used a variety of software packages over the years but I’ve got to say this is one of the most easiest, straightforward packages to use.  The team behind Jupix are great and you can’t fault the support that comes with it.

8.      What car do you drive?

Do I have to answer this? It’s a Ford Galaxy – I have a husband, three kids, a dog and whoever else the children decide to invite over! In an ideal world it would be a two seater sports car with just enough room for me and my shopping!!!

 

9.      What would you change about the industry?

Mandatory Licensing for all Letting Agents!  It’s really hard to remain competitive with the number of agents popping up all over the place under cutting on fees, not holding Client Money Protection and who have a complete disregard to safety and compliance. I’ve walked away from numerous properties where there has been safety issues or the Landlord has been declined consent to let the property by their mortgage company only to see it advertised elsewhere. Safety, security and best practice should always come before profit!

 

10.  Why should people use your estate agency?

We are a team of highly experienced individuals, in fact we have well over 100 years of combined experience between us! Our Sales team have specialised in Sales, our Lettings team have specialised in Lettings – we don’t have one core business that dabbles in another, each team is dedicated and trained in their own roles and are experts in their own fields.  We have all worked in the local market for numerous years, through the highs and the lows, and we know our area inside out.  Being a small, independent agent means that we can quickly adapt to changes in the market place, change strategy, launch new products and ideas without being caught up in corporate red tape. We are not a sideline to any other business, we’re not targeted on financial services or any other industry related products, we concentrate on selling or letting your home. We work as a team and your business matters because our business matters, there’s no large company behind us, financially backing us, our survival is based purely on results and happy clients.  We care about our clients and we care about our own reputation within the industry.

You can follow Maria Kemp on twitter - @mariatkemp 

Thanks for reading!

The dodgy private sale

Diary note 11/11/12

The private sale.

One thing that infuriates me in this industry is the fact you can do all the work, the advertising, the viewings, the chasing viewers and then in one simple swoop the vendor can take the house off the market. No fees payable.

That is annoying however when you find out later on down the line that the vendor has done a private sale with a person you booked in to view the house that really p****s me off.

Here's a prime example and a true story.

We were marketing a property for a good 7-8 weeks, we had 8 viewings but sadly no offers. The property was a character full cottage, feature beams, large solid wood front door, oak flooring, sash windows it was lovely. We booked the ninth viewing with the applicant and the vendor and as you do in this industry 24 hours later we made the follow up call. The response from Mrs F (name changed to comply with my no names policy!) was that it was "too small" for her. We reported this back to the vendor and continued to market the cute cottage.

2 days later we receive a call from the vendor who informs us that due to family circumstances we had to stop marketing, they were moving a family member in to rent it for 6 months but they would come back to us to sell it in 6 months time. We did as we were told and removed it from the market.

9 weeks later one of the girls in the office sent a bulk email to our database with our new instructions. We then receive an email from Mrs F stating that she was buying a property privately and provided the full address. This full address was indeed the house that she had viewed through us. We got hold of the original vendor and advised them that we knew they had done a private deal and we would be collecting our commission when it completes. They initially denied it.

The next day they vendors called the office and told us that they had done a private deal but it was Mrs Fs idea and it would save them our fee. It turns out that during the private sale both parties had  a huge fall out with each other (which is why Mrs F responded to our email). It was her way of getting back at the vendors. The problem was that it backfired on her. The vendors insisted that because it was her idea to do the sale privately if she wanted the house she would have to pay extra to cover our fee.

The end result was that the house did complete and Mrs F did buy it. Because of the massive fall out the vendors dropped the keys at our office.(typical involve the agent when the shit hits the fan) 

We gave out the keys on completion day to a fuming Mrs F who was now accusing us of over charging HER!

We then encountered a barrage of calls once she arrived at the house because the vendors had removed all the light bulbs, extracted every ml of oil from the tank, didn't leave the garage key and to top it off left a rather nasty 'present' in the gas meter box.

The end result was that we got our fee. 

The moral of the story is karma is a bitch and don't do dodgy deals!

 

The serial viewer. Diary entry 28/09/12

Serial viewer 

I think most people in the Uk are interested in property. However there comes a time when you need to establish a difference between looking for a house to buy and just looking at houses for a hobby.

Over the past 6 months I must have shown one particular lady around about 30 houses. She has never made an offer, never booked a second viewing and never took any of these viewings any further.

I often ask myself, "why do I do it? Why do i keep showing herround these houses when I know that he wont offer, she wont buy the house??" But I still carry the slight belief that the next property I show her  she will fall in love with it and make an offer and buy the house. UNTIL

Yesterday after having a nice conversation with the lady at the property she was viewing she said and I quote " Ive been looking for 3 years now, and im also looking at houses in Liverpool, Manchester and Scotland"  My reply was...." You must have seen a fair few houses then," to her reply "302 and I have them all on a spread sheet with pros and cons against them all"

Needless to say after this comment I quickly finished off the viewing, Locked up the property and dashed back to the office vowing I will never waste anymore of my time with this person.

She has booked another viewing for tomorrow. And yes you guessed it, I will show her the House in the hope that this will be...............THE ONE!!..........

 

A typical Saturday in my world. Diary entry 14/07/12

A usual Saturday in the office including numerous WOFT's

I hate working on a saturday, I can think of a million and one things I would rather be doing but, for us estate agents, Saturday's can be the busiest day if the week.

Saturday starts with my 9am appointment to sign a tenancy in the office. Shame the tenants didn't arrive until 9:30 with not so much as an apology. Great start to the day!! 

I go on to the first of the 2 valuations of the day. Valuation 1. Despite providing the owner with documentative evidence of how I came to the valuation price including recent sales of similar properties in the same location, they seem to think that I'm way off the true price of the house and because there 'friend' knows about property and he told them it was worth at least £190,000 then my valuation was way off the Mark and were actually quite offended by the price I had said. Oh well never mind, there's another valuation this afternoon so better luck with the next one, or so I thought.

Valuation number 2. 

It's 3pm . I'm bang on time. Full of confidence because I have done lots of research prior to attending, I knock on the door and wait, and wait, and wait. So I knock again, and wait. Next thing the door opens, big scruffy dog flies out and jumps up on my nice clean suit!!!!! Followed by the owner who comes to the door in a pair of really old baggy grey jogging bottoms, and nothing else!! So there's me all professional in my suit, there's him with his beer belly hanging out. The house wasn't great, the owner didn't care, he didn't want to sell but his ex had arranged the valuation so he had to go along with it. He openly tells me that the ex needs a price so she can buy him out.

Now bearing in mind that my estate agency is actually a business that needs to make money just like every other business out there, if I give a valuation and they use it to settle a split up, then how do I earn any money out of this?? what is the point of me wasting my petrol, my time and my resources to provide this person with a valuation??? So I go on to give them a verbal price and tell the if they want it in writing then it would be £99 plus vat.

Needless to say I didn't last long at valuation number 2. A genuine WOFT

The day ended at 4:15 with a negotiated property sale, a realistic vendor with a realistic expectation