David Goldsworthy works from the small office of independent estate agent David Charles in Pinner, a leafy suburb of north London. Born in Harrow, now living in Pinner and well known in The Queen’s Head pub across the road, he is a local man through and through. Jovial and expansive, his tastes encompass a broad spectrum. He enjoys travelling in France and likes French food and wine, particularly the Dordogne and Periguex style of cooking. But, after a hard day on the road and in the office, his needs are simpler.
“When I get home at night I like to put my feet up and watch Prisoner – Cell Block H. The scenery and acting may be bad, but the plots are different from the ordinary soaps.”
But from next Saturday David Goldsworthy will be constructing his own plot as he takes office as president of the National Association of Estate Agents. As head of the 10,000-strong organisation he will become one of the country’s senior spokesmen on housing at a critical time for the property market and the profession.
Goldsworthy goes with the consensus that the recovery has finally arrived, but that it is fragile and any knock to confidence could snuff it out. “If the Government does nothing then the housing market will recover on its own, but even the threat of an increase in interest rates would be very damaging. I don’t foresee another boom for some time.”
Estate agents, along with journalists and high court judges, are often among the most reviled people in the land. Questionable standards among a few, and a widespread public perception that they can be economical with the truth, have led to Government legislation covering property descriptions – or misdescriptions as the Government would have it – on top of the Estate Agency Act which was put together by the last Labour Government and still remains only partly implemented.
Goldsworthy puts raising standards at the top of his list of priorities for his year in office. “I would like to see section 22 of the Estate Agency Act implemented,” he says. “Every estate agent who starts his own business should have been trained to minimum standards. They should have been working for an approved firm for at least three years. “At the moment, someone can be working as a used-car salesman one day and set up as an estate agent the next. For some reason the Government seems to regard it as a restrictive practice. I believe that it would help to raise standards.”
Goldsworthy has followed his own advice during his 27 years in estate agency. After seven years spent working as a Lloyd’s broker, at the age of 23 he joined a small firm of north-west London estate agents as a junior negotiator. From there he moved to Morrit Homes before joining Stickley & Kent in the mid-1970s, where he spent the next 14 years. During this time he opened offices in Hatch End, Ruislip and Pinner. In 1988 he left to become a consultant advising small firms on agency matters. His latest consultancy role is with David Charles in Pinner.
His crusade to raise standards reaches beyond contact with customers into the heart of the profession and particularly in the way that estate agents behave towards one another. Goldsworthy believes that there is a need for agents to look very carefully at some practices which became commonplace in the cut-throat 1980s and recession-plagued start to the 1990s. One activity which he wants to see stamped out is that of touting for other agents’ business, which he regards not only as unprofessional but also as a sign of incompetence.
“Let’s face it, people tout because they cannot drum up business any other way,” he says. “Sending out general canvassing letters asking if people are thinking of selling is fine. What I want to see an end to is the practice of phoning up people who are already marketing their property with one agent in an attempt to take their business. I believe touting is no better than stealing.
“The association receives calls from members who have been told by their boss to tout for another agents’ business. They have a choice – to obey their boss or break the association’s code. The only way to stop this is from the top. Managers of independent agents and directors of corporates have a duty to make sure the practice is stamped out.”
Goldsworthy would also like to see closer communications with the RICS and the ISVA. He says relations are already good and it is through co-operation with the RICS and the ISVA that intensified lobbying could enable section 22 of the Estate Agency Act to be implemented.
In another bridge-building exercise this year he would also like to see better communication with the corporate estate agents. Although one in four of the NAEA’s members is a corporate, there is a feeling that the association is more at home with independents. “I want to meet the directors of the corporates and bring them closer into the fold. They set the policy for their branch networks and it is important that we can adopt a joint approach to the important issues.”
Despite his eagerness to talk turkey with the corporates, Goldsworthy remains a firm believer in the importance of local knowledge if an office is to be successful. He cites the example of one corporate which had a very successful office in his area.
“Instead of leaving well alone, they split up three people who had been used to working together in this area, believing they would take their success with them. But, without their local knowledge and without having each other to spark off, none was successful and the offices were sold.”
He takes his local knowledge and community role very seriously. “I use the local shops to buy my food. It may cost a few pennies more, but it is important to help local businesses. When I worked with Stickley & Kent I insisted that we use the local stationer rather than ordering through the corporate office.
“That stationer’s father was with the local round table. When they moved they might both sell their property through us and recommend us to their friends and relatives. Estate agency is a local business, it demands local knowledge and relies on the support of the community.”
Goldsworthy says the secret to running a successful estate agency is to stick to your core business. He is not a supporter of the one-stop property shop selling insurance, property and legal services – an idea, he says, which should be consigned to the 1980s. “I have always believed that an estate agent’s role is to sell his client’s house. I have never collected money for any building society as an agent, neither have I sold insurance or endowment mortgages. I have a preference for seeking out those people that can offer independent professional advice.
“An agent can only become credible with the public when he has no other axe to grind. I am against selling add-on services because our job is to sell a home.”
It is unlikely that Goldsworthy will win all his arguments in the next 12 months, but that will not stop him trying. And, if all else fails, he can always console himself with a glass of 1988 Bordeaux and a plate of brie as he puts his feet up in front of the TV.
