As loyal members of our industries only regulatory body that ensures a minimum standard in business practice and consumer protection,
The National Association of Estate Agents NAEA,
OliverFinn were delighted to hear the words of wisdom from some truly' headline' speakers.
Greg Hands, MP for Chelsea & Fulham and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer spoke for close to a hour on what this country should expect in the next five years whilst battling the deficit. Some very interesting points raised including why the Government had ignored the suggestion of Land Stamp Duty review. Mr Hands suggested that ‘now is not the time to talk about tax cuts but I will raise the question as to why the review has not materialised’. He appeared to be in agreement that a review was required with the slab tax in the medium term.
Helen Ratcliffe of Bircham Dyson Bell then delivered an excellent 20 minutes on methods and structures for how overseas clients could buy London property whilst perfectly legally becoming more efficient with UK tax obligations. This struck me as somewhat ironic following Mr Hands suggestion on how we all need to pay more to solve GB plc’s problems. I am sure that the wealthy overseas clients were pleased that Helen spoke after Mr Hands had left the building as I fear he would have been making scrupulous notes so as to close the doors on such practice in next weeks budget. I wonder how much potential tax revenue is being saved per annum by our overseas London property owners
Michael Jones, President of the NAEA followed with a quick and well rehearsed speech on the future plans of the NAEA Licensing scheme. It was a breath of fresh air that finally the NAEA have realised that they need to let the consumer know what the letters NAEA even stand for. They plan to heavily invest in a campaign that targets the consumer along the lines of ‘You shouldn’t be using an agent unless they are licensed’. I can only hope that they do employ a professional to do the marketing and the image of Lord Kitchener is not involved in the campaign!
Peter Bolton King, CEO of NAEA finished the meeting with some advice on legislation changes and potential changes that may occur in the future regarding the Property Misdiscriptions Act. It sounds like the ‘light and airy’ or ‘I am delighted to present this rare to the market’ are finally going to disappear from our vocabulary.
Greg Hands, MP for Chelsea & Fulham and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer spoke for close to a hour on what this country should expect in the next five years whilst battling the deficit. Some very interesting points raised including why the Government had ignored the suggestion of Land Stamp Duty review. Mr Hands suggested that ‘now is not the time to talk about tax cuts but I will raise the question as to why the review has not materialised’. He appeared to be in agreement that a review was required with the slab tax in the medium term.
Helen Ratcliffe of Bircham Dyson Bell then delivered an excellent 20 minutes on methods and structures for how overseas clients could buy London property whilst perfectly legally becoming more efficient with UK tax obligations. This struck me as somewhat ironic following Mr Hands suggestion on how we all need to pay more to solve GB plc’s problems. I am sure that the wealthy overseas clients were pleased that Helen spoke after Mr Hands had left the building as I fear he would have been making scrupulous notes so as to close the doors on such practice in next weeks budget. I wonder how much potential tax revenue is being saved per annum by our overseas London property owners
Michael Jones, President of the NAEA followed with a quick and well rehearsed speech on the future plans of the NAEA Licensing scheme. It was a breath of fresh air that finally the NAEA have realised that they need to let the consumer know what the letters NAEA even stand for. They plan to heavily invest in a campaign that targets the consumer along the lines of ‘You shouldn’t be using an agent unless they are licensed’. I can only hope that they do employ a professional to do the marketing and the image of Lord Kitchener is not involved in the campaign!
Peter Bolton King, CEO of NAEA finished the meeting with some advice on legislation changes and potential changes that may occur in the future regarding the Property Misdiscriptions Act. It sounds like the ‘light and airy’ or ‘I am delighted to present this rare to the market’ are finally going to disappear from our vocabulary.
