Are you looking to stay ahead of the competition and ensure compliance with upcoming changes to the UK property market?

Join Ed from https://viewber.co.uk/ for the latest episode of Ed Talks where he speaks with two experts in their field, Alexander Ali from Finch and Tim Main from Property Information Products.

They discuss strategies for staying on top of changes and how Listing packs can help you do so quickly and efficiently. 

Subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell to stay updated with more insightful interviews and industry-related content.

🎧 Available to watch at your desk! Find us on the Viewber YouTube Channel

Ed: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-mead-frics-48232325/
Alexander: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderali-finch/
Tim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-main-mrics-2aabb72b/
Finch: https://www.finch-app.co.uk
Property Information Products: https://www.piphome.co.uk/

Meet Rebecca Marsh: The Property Ombudsman with a Remarkable Journey

In the latest episode of Ed Talks, Ed sits down with Rebecca Marsh, the remarkable figure behind The Property Ombudsman, and delves into her extraordinary career spanning multiple sectors. Join us as we uncover fascinating insights into her journey and gain valuable perspectives on resolving disputes in the world of property.

Rebecca plays a pivotal role in ensuring fairness and resolution in the property sector. However, did you know about the intriguing journey that led her to this position? Join us as we uncover her career, which has spanned the Nuclear, Police, Legal, and Parliamentary sectors.

Rebecca sheds light on the significance of her role as The Property Ombudsman, sharing her passion for what she does, and the essential role redress systems play in resolving disputes between consumers and property agents. She also provides valuable insights into the challenges facing the property industry and offers practical suggestions on how to enhance property services.

If you're interested in the world of property, and dispute resolution, or simply enjoy hearing from accomplished professionals, this interview is a must-watch. Don't miss out on the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and inspiration from Rebecca Marsh's remarkable journey.

Subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell to stay updated with more insightful interviews and industry-related content.

Getting real in this episode of Ed Talks – a new solo episode where Ed reveals more of his extensive career as an estate agent 😲

Being an estate agent can be seriously tough. It’s constantly changing and there are always competitors looking over your shoulder, ready to “eat your lunch.”

Perhaps you are already an estate agent learning the streets of Britain, at the very beginning of your property career or applying for jobs - or you might simply be curious.

Whatever your situation, this episode is sure to inject some motivation into your day. Ed talks about the importance of finding what you are good at, running an office, what it was like being an agent throughout the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s and more.

Sharing TOP advice to get you moving in the right direction, explained from his own experiences and how to differentiate yourself.

*hint* how can a red fleece can change the game?

📧 If you have any questions or would like to chat to Ed directly, do get in touch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-mead-f...

🎧 Listen to other podcast episodes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast...

👀 Watch this episode: https://youtu.be/-B_PIiIkq88

Jonathan Hopper is a key insider on the buying side of property with unrivalled knowledge of this growing and often misunderstood sector. The buying side of the market has expanded over the last 20-25 years in a meaningful way as Jonathan explains. 

Jonathan is Chief Executive of National buying agent Garrington and co-founded advice platform MoveiQ with Phil Spencer. He’s also been a stalwart at The Property Ombudsman ensuring the buy side is represented.  

In this episode Ed and Jonathan dive deeper into the buying agent side – what it takes to be a professional buying agent, fees and some great career advice. They also ponder what makes for a good, trusted buying agent to hire? 

So, what do buying agents do? Where are the problems? Where does the future lie?? Lots of rarely answered questions come to the surface. 

Teams across Viewber have come together to create a brand new, customer centric website: https://viewber.co.uk/

Here is Viewber co-founder, Ed Mead's thoughts on the new website...

Sorry for the rant...
1. Does the public even know what SSTC means??!
2. Should it be illegal to put SSTC (sold subject to contract) in tiny letters - on boards etc.??
3. Should we go back to u/o still showing and u/o not showing?
4. Is it a tool for agents to pump up listings at the expense of wasting buyer time?
5. Is it not endemic of the whole system being out of kilter?

News article:
https://propertyindustryeye.com/eye-newsflash-leaving-sstc-properties-live-on-portals-is-almost-certainly-a-criminal-offence-says-lawyer/

What you think 🤔

#soldproperty #soldhome #sellingrealestate #sellinghouses #sellingproperty #sellingyourhouse #sellinghouses #estateagents #estateagentsuk #estateagent #propertymarket #propertynews

In this episode, Viewber co-founder Ed Mead talks to an insider, and important team member. Chris is a key member of the business development team and talks with clients daily. Many of you might be familiar with him now, so do let him know you’ve listened to this episode, and of course make your comments!

What is Chris’s background? Career journey? It started in South Africa in the fast-paced, banking and property world. Full of interesting facts and knowledge

Want to hear more real ‘behind the scenes’ stuff from Viewber? Here is your chance.

Trading Standards (NTSELAT's) research showed that >90% of those going on portals wanted to see detailed info about a property. So I'm not sure I understand why there should be any backlash at all against such info being mandated?! I've seen solicitors and agents worrying about it - why?

Interested to hear what James Munro, Head of the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team thinks about this 🤔

One of many news articles about it: https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2022/2/lawyer-says-some-agents-wont-cope-with-property-listings-regulations

Ed and Angus knew each other as teenagers, from when Angus was behind the tables doing discos, so there’s a bit of nostalgia here – inclusive for the over 50s.

Angus has become an expert in putting high-end audio and visual into high-end houses (and yes, he’s worked for some big names in the industry) *cough* Rolling Stones *cough*

In this fun episode, Angus teaches us more about the history of audio visual and gives advice on kit, costs and more.

He even reveals some of the biggest mistakes he’s made.

Ed perfectly describes this episode as:

“People will like listening to this episode because it’s a little bit of history. Everyone has seen old high-fi stuff lying around their parents houses and probably wondered, how do I get the best audio for my house? Odd thing is music from that era still dominates and everyone’s talking about ‘vinyls’ - or LPs to those old enough to remember”

Starting off 2022 with Ed doing a special solo episode. Ed reveals more of his true thoughts and feelings on working in the property industry.

As we all know, working from home is STILL a hot topic.​

Ed has lived both lives, as a fast paced, face-to-face London property estate agent surrounded by fellow colleagues, and the complete opposite working solo from home on his own business ventures. He's gone from being an 'insider' in the estate agency world to an 'outsider' running a company that services estate agents.

He is ready to report back and spill some of his secrets to help others that are on their own property journey.

This is very open, very honest episode from Ed and some things may certainly surprise you.
"There is no excuse these days for people not to improve the service!"

Modern estate and letting agents are now called upon to provide a bewildering array of services to cater to modern consumers. With that in mind Ed was very pleased to be able to talk to flexible training provider, The Able Agent's director Charlotte Jeffrey-Campbell.

Like Ed, Charlotte's been an agent and has seen the changes in demands on agents, lettings and sales, over the last twenty years. Hopefully our perspectives will prove useful for anyone in the industry as they try to work out what best to concentrate on and how to best use and train staff for the future!

Visit their website: www.theableagent.co.uk

Ed welcomes social housing expert and consultant, Jonathan Gregory to the podcast.

Plenty to learn about the sector in this very open and honest chat between the pair - one experienced in the private rental sector, the other in the social rental sector.

Jonathan has a background in social care and managing children’s homes and is well-known as a part of the social housing, maintenance and repair side of the industry. He also provides coaching/advice to organisations and is a consultant at sector expert Campbell Tickell.

Ed admires what Jonathan has achieved, not only for himself and building up his businesses but for what he has done for other people.

Differences between the Social Housing and Private sectors is an interesting point that comes to the fore.

This is exactly why Ed invited Jonathan on the show – we can all gain something and learn!

They talk about differences, challenges, life-long relationships between tenants and landlords, what the future holds and more.

Before you tune in, we’ll leave this fact with you – there are around 5 million houses in the social housing sector, an enormous number. There are big issues with positive changes happening and MOST IMPORTANTLY we are beginning to talk about it.

Enjoy the episode.

You may have read about how a trial in Cheshire was dramatically cutting property fall throughs and completion times - Ed talks to Phil Priest (founder of 4Corners Property) and is the man behind it all. Plus, see how you can join in with the trial.

The trial has conclusively shown that simply asking buyers to pay for an upfront search reduces fall throughs to zero and takes weeks off completion! Here he explains what he’s doing and adds in a free PIP vault data room.

Given the paucity of progress from the recent Digital Property Market Steering Group meeting, it perhaps reminds us that in a largely analogue world, keeping it very simple helps.

Watch the video version here.
Contact Phil about joining the trial here.

The famous App that divides the world into 57 trillion, 3x3 metre squares and each having a unique code of 3 words – what3words. We are delighted to have what3words head of UK partnerships, Luis Galdino-Glaeser on the Ed Talks podcast.

“Co-ordinates are not very easy to communicate human to human.”

Our new safety app, ViewBuddy, uses what3words and helps anyone in the property industry on property appointments alone. It lets others know where you are and alerts them in emergencies with a simple reverse PIN. The what3words app allows your 'buddies' to pin-point your exact location at anytime, anywhere.

We are excited by this collaboration - what3words is an incredible concept and a successful business already used in 85% of emergency services.

HUGE thank you to Luis for being on the show.

This episode is packed full of interesting stories, light-bulb moments and examples of how what3words is increasingly helping property agents.

Viewber co-founder, Ed, has recorded episode two of what we are calling ‘The Ed Mead Diaries’ – a solo series, revealing more about his property career, personal stories, wins, losses – with a whole lot of honesty thrown in there too. 

This time, Ed talks about renting. 

Lately, we’ve been researching this topic in more detail. It can be a touchy subject and there are LOTS of opinions about renting vs buying – take our latest blog post for example, ‘Why are Brits hung up on homeownership?’ - https://viewber.co.uk/news/why-are-brits-hung-up-on-homeownership 

Everyone’s experience is different, but we want to know more about why Ed went down the road he went down (*hint* he would rather rent than buy) – surprising? 

Thinking about starting a career in the property industry or know someone who is?

Would REAL insight into Estate Agency help?

Or might you just like to know a bit more, have a refresh, learn some new tips and tricks from a long term, successful player.

We've started a new series with Viewber Co-Founder Ed Mead - it could be time to reeeeally find out what Ed's journey has been like.

With 40 years in this industry, he has some salient knowledge to pass on (plus a few amusing and rather honest tales!)

If you have anything in particular you would like Ed to cover, or maybe you have a specific question - fire them over to Ed at: emead@viewber.co.uk

Visit the Viewber website: https://viewber.co.uk/

Usual Ed Talks form is to chat with someone industry based – different this time as Ed talks to Iain, a Viewber based in the Gloucester area. 

The perfect chance to dive a little deeper into what being a Viewber is really like, the sort of people who are carrying out various property appointments on behalf of our clients and how these appointments happen – what better way than to bring a REAL Viewber onto the show?! 

Before we begin, this statement in particular means a lot, as Iain says “Viewber helped me with headspace during Covid as everything else dropped off.” 

Not only has Viewber proved to be helpful for our clients during this tricky period when it comes to keeping businesses running, but it has also helped our Viewbers when it comes to mental health and providing something to focus on – its great to be able to help. 

So, who is Iain the Viewber? 

Iain is based in the Gloucester area and covers Cheltenham, Tewkesbury, Stroud, Forest of Dean and Swindon – even as far as North Bristol, Worcester and Hereford.

Iain has an impressive background as an actor, working in live TV, website design and management – he’s even been a life-guard! It’s safe to say that Iain is a very self-motivated individual who likes to mix it up. 

The whole point is that Viewber appointments fit into a busy lifestyle, around the Viewbers’ schedule - a perfect role for Iain. Now he’s completed his 200th appointment since 2019 there is no stopping him! 

Iain is just one of your local Viewbers – vetted, trained, professional and based anywhere the UK, ready to help with a variety of property needs. 

A fantastic episode, with lots of ‘behind the scenes’ insight. 

This time, it's Ed's turn to be in the hot seat and we really wanted to share this with you.
Viewber co-founder, Ed Mead was invited onto David Sandeman’s new series – ‘Dialogue with David’

David is head of the Essential Information Group and has been watching us grow the business at Viewber since 2016 

David IS Mr Auctions and is so full of knowledge. 

This is a relaxed and honest chat between Ed and David, the two share snippets of their personal journeys in property – both very different (ex-estate agent vs auctioneer) and we start by jumping straight it with ‘what gave you the idea to set it (Viewber) up in the first place?’ 

Longevity works?

Ed talks to London based Ludlow Thompson MD, Alexander Rawlinson in this Lockdown edition episode.

Alex has been part of the company for a long, long time (unusual these days) and is partly why Ed wanted to talk to him.

Alex reveals that typically, Ludlow Thompson mainly deal with more lettings properties than sales, but Covid has levelled that up.

Ed: “Why are you experiencing more lettings and sales at the same time now?”

Alex: “We’ve not experienced this before. Both lettings and sales are seeing inflated numbers because of changed circumstances”

Short lets are out the window. Those Landlords have looked for longer, more traditional rents – or are putting them up for sale.

An interesting episode, a first-hand perspective from a long-term agent reporting on what changes are REALLY happening on the agency front line – it’s definitely got us thinking!

Instead of pointing out deficiencies, Ed Mead, as an ex estate agent and now Proptech Founder at Viewber, started a discussion recently looking for solutions to speeding up the home buying and selling process.

Peter Ambrose, a principle at The Partnership - a team of property solicitors - has joined that discussion so have a look at their video session to see what they think!

Watch the chat here: https://vimeo.com/484496228

This week Viewber co-founder, Ed Mead caught up with CEO of Prospect Engine, Ishmael Herrera-Lee.

Prospect Engine is a clever lead management outsourcing outfit.

As Ishmael describes his company, it’s a white labelled outsourced prospecting firm, working predominately through historic data i.e. previous appraisals, landlords, listings, withdrawn stock, applicants with properties to sell on the market selling privately. They also manage and handle any type of lead source, giving a response within minutes – extremely efficient.

Ishmael bought some thought-provoking topics to the table – not just to get Ed thinking, but maybe for you too.

Ishmael’s company, Prospect Engine and Viewber work in sync with each other at different points in the customer journey – Proptech, two for the price of one.

We will let the podcast do the rest of the talking...

Another positive collaboration that’s come from Viewber co-founder Ed’s lockdown…

Rupert Bates has spent his career in journalism with a property background including twenty years at The Telegraph covering property and sport.

He's now editorial director and owner of industry bible Show House Magazine and B2C portal Whathouse.com. Anyone familiar with his Social Media feeds will understand his passion for Rugby and Wolves(!). He's also fearless about wandering out of his comfort zone.

Show House is the go-to publication in the housebuilding and development arena and Rupert realised that many of his readers might struggle post Covid with understrength staffing and booming demand. Thinking practically, he figured Viewber's last mile services could be a perfect fit for their readers’ businesses and the upshot is a thoroughly modern partnership between his magazine and the flexible Viewber services.

If you are connected to the housebuilding industry see if you agree with what they say...

As the world came to a Covid halt, Viewber co-founder Ed turned lockdown around and used it to positively listen to a variety of industry experts.

If you don’t know Richard Rawlings, founder of Estate Agency Insight already, he is an award-winning estate agency trainer and sought-after coach and always at top-industry gatherings.

The reason Richard is here is because Ed was trouble shooting with the team on why all high street agents don't at least use Viewber occasionally – Ed knew exactly who would tell him how it is.

Richard’s insights into the industry and how it's changing are worth listening to, his seminars are always targeted at generating income and maximising profits and they have 70 years of property experience between them.

They also talked about something Ed used to do a lot during his time at Douglas & Gordon - acting for buyers. At uncertain times it's clearly a source of income that benefits from your local expertise and requires no extra set up costs, it’s very interesting to hear what Richard has to say about that too...

Speed of transactions has been a hot topic for years and Ed first talked to front line practitioner Peter Ambrose in Dec 2020. So what has changed, if anything, in three years from a conveyancing perspective?

As CEO of The Partnership, with 48 lawyers and assistants, as well as a software business Legalito (making tried and tested conveyancing software available to all), Peter is well placed to comment and usually doesn't hold back.

There's some good empirical data in this discussion, as well as some home truths. Given the substantial amount of hot air delivered on the subject, an objective overview of what's REALLY happening 'behind the scenes' is overdue.

Property Industry Eye article Ed refers to at the beginning: https://propertyindustryeye.com/would-no-sale-no-fee-conveyancing-help-speed-up-housing-transactions/

Welcome back to ‘#EdTalks’ the property podcast!

Ed has invited an old friend into the recording booth this time (a familiar face to a lot of you), Phil Spencer.

In this open and honest episode, Phil talks more about his journey, starting work as an estate agent at 23 and learning the hard way, especially when recession hit the property market! He has developed quite the career for himself in the property industry, seemingly mostly on the buyer’s side, so it was a fantastic opportunity for Ed to delve a little deeper into finding out more.

Ed asks more about filming on his hit TV shows such as ‘Location, Location, Location’ and ‘Love it or List it’ and uncovers more of what goes on ‘behind the scenes’.

We also learn more about Move iQ – Phil’s business that has just turned 2 and is based around guidance and advice for buyers, which is certainly growing at a rapid pace.

Grab your headphones and tune in!

(Watch the video recording of this podcast episode over on the Viewber YouTube channel)

Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) used to be a dirty word in Ed's day, but are they now a passport to better yields.

Do you worry about keeping up with lettings legislation in general and should you be actively thinking of turning your existing rental into one for a better return?

Do you even know if that rental you own/manage even IS an HMO and requires licensing?!

With over 300 authorities in the UK to understand and stay compliant with, how do you keep up to date?

Ed's guest this month has been working with some of London's top names for three years to manage compliance in this area. Let someone else keep up with constantly changing legislation and avoid headline grabbing and eye watering fines!

Hear how Paul Conway, owner and co-founder of HMO Services London, has been taming this fast growing area, is trying to rebrand HMOs as ''Co-Living" and how he can connect you with experts nationally who'll give simple on demand advice.

A great discussion - see what you think...

Welcome back to Ed Talks, the property podcast.

In this episode Ed talks to Vice President of sales at OneDome, Tim Price, also in charge of business development and partnerships.

If you are an Estate Agent you have probably already heard of OneDome but you might not necessarily know what they do.

Tim describes OneDome as ‘the gear box’ that connects consumers, buyers and sellers, estate agents and conveyancers/ mortgage providers. There are LOTS of moving parts when it comes to selling a property, it can be overwhelming for consumers and there is a lot to tick off on the to-do list. OneDome has been built, adapted and is now succeeding in enabling the consumer to manage the entire process from start to finish.

As if that wasn’t enough they have used the nous they’ve gained to launch a next generation 'free to list' portal which now lists over 400k properties.

OneDome has some fascinating people behind it and Ed finds out more about how they’ve evolved.

Whether you’re a property investor/landlord/owner, an estate agent keeping up to date with what’s happening in PropTech or an entrepreneur building your own business this is a great episode for you as Ed looks under the bonnet to uncover more.

Everyone coming on the #EdTalks podcast series has something to say, they're also increasingly listened to as our figures show. This month, however, Ed's guest is not only Chairman of one of the UK's biggest agency groups, but is also MP for Thirsk and Malton. 

Kevin Hollinrake MP talks to Ed about Affordable Housing, Stamp Duty, Regulation vs beefed up Redress, Hunters and much much more.

If you want to listen to someone who actually has a voice and a say in YOUR future, this is your chance.

The perfect commuting listen and if you have any comments to make please let us know or go to Kevin's own website - www.kevinhollinrake.org.uk

Happy listening...

Ed tries to bring guests onto the property podcast who have good ideas for the future, but also like to try and open the door to some people that you may have heard about and may not know much about.

So, on this latest episode of Ed Talks, he has invited two guests – one with a healthy and longstanding auction background, the other with an eye on using tech from auctions to improve private treaty sales.

David Sandeman, MD of The Essential Information Group (does what it says on the tin and has been providing data rooms and data for well over 20 years) and Tim Main, an RICS qualified Estate Agent and also Director and Founder of PIPs Ltd – a new PropTech company designed to speed up the buying process.

They are now working together on something new and exciting.

Please join in and listen to this discussion as they delve deeper into the alchemy that is the Property Auctions. A lot of humble agents, like Ed (who was a successful estate agent for quite some time) simply don’t have a clue how on earth people at auction sell a property on the fall of a hammer…

As always, do let us know your thoughts on this episode and if you would like to be a guest on the show, or if you perhaps know someone you think should be!

You can listen on the Viewber website or find us on Spotify (search 'Ed Talks Property')

Enjoy!

Rajeev is someone Ed asked for advice, in the early days he said to Ed, “don’t try and do too many things well, just do one or two things well.”

Fixflo is a system to help people deal with maintenance and repairs in properties… and helps tenants just as much as Landlords.

As a tenant and landlord, Raj saw pain in the property repairs and maintenance process and that it was broken.

Lots of you will have now heard of Fixflo, almost 40% of resi agents use their software - it’s mostly white labelled. They're also in 10 countries.

Rajeev is a true entrepreneur with the right attitude and full of great advice. You’ll find some of his tips useful whether an agent or starting up your own tech business - so buckle up and listen to Ed probing him a bit. You might be surprised by some of it!

“What we like to do is get out there and meet landlords face-to-face. Property is a people’s business.” – Tom Tennant, Chief Executive of successful family-run, Somerset Estates Residential Buy to Let REIT.

In this podcast episode, Ed invites Tom back into the recording studio to follow up on some important topics that they touched on in their previous episode. 

Tom is someone who has been at the forefront of what’s happening with changes in buy-to-let legislation and trying to adapt to them.

Ed really makes use of Tom’s expertise and advice as they delve deeper into Real Estate Investment Trusts.

Interesting fact: Tom’s business, Somerset Estates Residential Buy to Let REIT was the last listed REIT – another good reason for you to tune in for Tom’s first-hand experience.

Landlords and property investors, you won’t want to miss this conversation – even Ed was caught by surprise from some of the things he found out… “I’ve had an unusual insight into what the difficulties have been for you. I think it’s extraordinary that no one else has done it.” – Ed Mead.

'Is it the people coming into the agency that are changing it, or the other way round?' is this episode of Ed Talk's hot topic!

In this episode: Ed's guest Josh Rayner began his recruitment career at the young age of 17 and really hustled and worked his way to the top. Having dabbled in estate agency for a brief period, then a large recruitment agency, he left and began building up his own business. Rayners Personnel is now a successful franchise business, working with the 'super brands' to one-off independents.

Josh brings great energy to this chat with Ed. He is full of interesting stats and insights (did you know that someone changes their job in the property sector every 18 months?!) and he has some excellent advice when it comes to recruitment... like, really, how important are your social media profiles when it comes to employment?

Enjoy!

In this episode, Ed talks to someone he's been wanting to chat to for a very long time... Iain White!

Iain has huge experience in the estate agency field, and describes himself as a 'thoroughbred estate agent', starting his career as an estate agent in 1987.

From working in the entrepreneurial side of estate agency, building up a business with Romans, to the more corporate side and becoming a subsidiary MD at Countrywide. This experience has given Iain the chance to see both sides of how it all works... and he confirms that they are both very different. He also talks about various threats to the industry and how those working in it have changed over the decades - it's not all good news.

Now Iain works with a number of independent agents, mentoring owners and helping grow their businesses. Iain is also a key member of the 'Innovation Collaboration Group' - bringing tested and 'best in class' proptech solutions to agents.

Independent estate agents - this podcast is definitely one for you!

In this podcast episode, Ed talks to Matt Gilpin CEO and founder of one of the internet's most transparent and comprehensive property data platform, Sprift.

Matt has been investing and developing properties for 20 years, since the late 90's.

Over that period he has transacted many properties but it got to the point where he felt frustrated by the slow services he was provided.
Matt took it into his own hands and made it his mission to find the information that was delaying property transactions - not only for his own benefits, but for the benefit of others too and bring that data into one place... the data that you actually need to assess buying a property!

It's a hot topic - the private rental sector and what is happening with landlords?
In this episode Ed talks to Ben Beadle, CEO of The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA). The largest membership organisation for private residential landlords in England and Wales, supporting and representing over 100,000 members.

Ben reminds us first that he's a landlord himself with a strong background in housing and property management, so plenty of insider knowledge to draw on.

Interestingly - Ben actually met up with Ed to record this episode straight after speaking with Government about issues and changes happening in the PRS! So fresh from the big meeting, he was ready and open to discuss pressing topics such as Section 21 - at the end Ben is asked what he thinks being a landlord will look like in 24 months time.

🎬  Available to watch on YouTube.

Ed talks to a very special guest and someone that is he has known throughout his property career, James Evans - CEO of Douglas & Gordon.

In this episode, James shares some very knowledgeable advice on business mindset from his own experiences.

Good, solid branding is a key part of James's advice for success and talks about how a great company needs to be trusted and liked. Discussing Douglas & Gordon, he mentions "I like the fact that it's privately owned, yes I like the fact that it's big enough to cope, but small enough to care for all of it's clients, and that makes a big difference..."

Overall James is fully aware that the property market is changing, being in this industry no longer runs in the same way and is a strong believer that the way the world is going is now very much digital, instant, flexible and above all, needs to be simple.

Welcome back to Ed’s Property Podcast!

In this episode, we are joined by Richard Blanco – A successful Landlord himself with properties/shops across 6 London boroughs, and also the London representative for the National Landlord Association (NLA)

He began his career in Theatre and Dance, set up and ran an agency, became an arts consultant and also studied an MA in Theatre – Meanwhile, with all of this going on Richard decided to start investing into property, buying property at auction and building up his portfolio.

Find out how Richard found his confidence for buying and letting, his thoughts on what is going on within the Landlord community right now and also, most importantly, how being a Landlord has changed and is changing.

If you are thinking about whether to get into ‘Buy to Let’, then Richard's personal advice will be very useful.

In this episode, Ed is joined by Bob Scarff. Together they have a vast history when it comes to working as Estate Agents.
Bob went straight from school into the Estate Agency world and Ed wants to delve a little deeper, learning more about Bob and his path to success, and of course his thoughts on Corporate High Street Agents.

Ed invites hugely successful James Dearsley into the recording booth this time to find out about his great knowledge and passion for all things PropTech and technology in the property world, and also about his new business!

Property Expert Ed sits down with Vanessa Warwick who is an Ex-MTV presenter, now professional landlord, property consultant/speaker and founder of hugely successful 'Property Tribes' to discuss her story of investing into property, how she has made a booming business out of it and some great advice to landlords and investors.

Property Expert Ed sits down with Henry Pryor and Tom Tennant to discuss the key issues impacting the property lettings and rental market with detailed insight and opinion.

A reflective episode from Ed in this solo episode. Ed spent many years as part of the Douglas & Gordon family so is understandably sad to see the company end this month. 

Ed explains how D&G stood for strong, old-school values. 

We hear about fond memories, mentors and legends who impacted Ed’s career journey and even how some of his biggest competitors at the time turned into life-long friends. 

Estate agency life was certainly very different back in the late 70s, 80s and 90s. 

Did you work as an estate agent during that time, in the ‘golden era’? We’d love to hear some of your thoughts on how things have changed - if you think they have?

📖 Read Ed's article: RIP Douglas & Gordon

🎧 Listen on your favourite podcast platform 🎧
Apple podcasts

In this episode Ed talks to the original property auction expert, David Sandeman. David is the founder of the Essential Information Group aka. ‘The only place you will find virtually every property auction in the UK’. THE go-to place for auction data: www.eigpropertyauctions.co.uk

David’s advice is who you need when considering taking the still somewhat esoteric leap into buying or selling at auction. With over 30 years' experience and insider knowledge, he certainly has a comforting way of explaining complicated legal processes and methods into something much simpler and less daunting, with examples. Covering controversial topics such as ‘Modern Method of Auction’, what to look out for and what not to miss… or as David explains, “ALWAYS check the clauses and for missing paperwork in the legal documents, there may be a vital page or two missing.”

If you are considering entering the world of property auctions, or would like to expand your knowledge, don’t miss out on this.

Watch the episode here: https://youtu.be/oR04LtQ7r5o

Does the British public need to understand the process of buying, selling and owning a home better? A big yes - knowledge is power!

In this episode, Ed talks to Paula Higgins - CEO of The HomeOwners Alliance (A solid place for trenchant advice on buying, selling and owning a home) https://hoa.org.uk/

With 10 years of experience and a background as a civil servant, Paula knows her stuff and has an eye for detail.

Ed and Paula dive into what it takes to be a buyer or homeowner these days, reflecting on how previous generations had such a different experience, compared to both Ed and Paula’s children’s realities when navigating property in today’s era.

They both bring strong points to the table, discuss current government/property policy and address the elephant in the room – is The HomeOwners Alliance up against Estate Agents? For instance – they point out Estate Agents don’t like talking about certain things up front, like fees.

As always, Ed is keen to gather the best nuggets of advice from his guest and bring them to you. If you own, buy or sell property, this will be helpful.

A big thank you to Paula for taking the time, it’s been insightful and important to lift the lid on this topic.

🎧 This episode is also available to watch to on the Viewber YouTube channel here.

No one knows the answers (and problems) better than Vanessa Warwick. As a portfolio landlord, media personality and founder of well supported landlord forum www.propertytribes.com, she's uniquely placed to give a succinct and salient view.

Landlords have witnessed extraordinary times in the last 2 weeks when it comes to Tax, Legislation and Regulation.

Vanessa confesses, “it’s the first time I’m starting to feel buy to let is becoming unviable. What has happened in the last 2 weeks has sent shockwaves through the Buy to Let community. A roller-coaster and I’m seriously thinking about jumping off.”

Not only this, but landlords have dealt with incredibly tough challenges with Covid, Brexit, energy crisis and the Ukraine/Russian war impacting the sector.

There are solutions and better options though - Vanessa explains what is best to do during these times if you are thinking about investing.

Shortly after this episode was recorded, Vanessa attended and voiced concerns to the Ministry of Housing, Community & Local Government at the Tory Party Conference, which she discusses during the episode.

An educational, insightful and honest episode. We will all learn a thing or two.

Watch the full episode here: Brutal times for landlords. An unmitigated disaster. Why? - Ed Talks to Vanessa Warwick - YouTube

Ed talks to someone he’s been very impressed with – James Tickell, Founding Partner of Campbell Tickell (https://www.campbelltickell.com/) 

Campbell Tickell is a multi-disciplinary management and recruitment consultancy focusing primarily on the public and not-for-profit sectors. Ed’s interaction with James has been on the property side with particular emphasis on Social Landlords and Housing Associations.

Established for over 20 years, they have worked with more than 900 organisations throughout the UK, Ireland and beyond, with central and local government, housing associations, care providers, sports and leisure bodies, charities, and commercial organisations such as housebuilders and developers, contractors and legal firms.

During this candid and insightful conversation, James leans into the social housing sector in detail. We learn more about how it works, is different from the PRS, challenges they face daily and how the more pressing issues post pandemic, Brexit, the Ukrainian invasion and even global warming are affecting social housing. 

James tells it how it is – something you don’t often hear.

One thing shines through, when things get tough this sector pulls together.

The episode has been one of the most eye-opening and important conversations to date on EdTalks. We thank James for taking the time to share his knowledge.

Despite upfront information already being mandatory for agents, enforcement is going to get meaningful from June 2025. Making the move to provide upfront information can only improve the process of selling and buying property, and being seen to be moving in the right direction will likely mean you won't be in a beefed up Trading Standard's crosshairs 🤔😬

The advent of tech solutions to help means, for agents... 💡🏠🔑
- Faster transactions
- Less fall throughs
- Quicker payment of commissions

These tech solutions also pave the way to sell data storage and Searches to both buyers and sellers, opening up new income streams.

In the round this has to be one of the biggest win/wins agents have seen in the recent past, with zero conflicts and every reason to pursue.

Watch or listen and see two suppliers providing simple solutions, right now, that'll earn you money and keep Trading Standards from your door.

Viewber Co-Founder Ed Mead discusses with Tim Main from Property Information Products (PIP) & Hussain Somani from Homey...

👉 PIP: https://www.piphome.co.uk/
👉 Homey: https://www.homey.co.uk/
👉 Ed: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-mead-frics-48232325/