The College of Fellows, the membership body to which NAEA and ARLA luminaries are elected in recognition of their achievements in the sector, is set to be disbanded.
Although the move is still officially in consultation, a letter from the College of Fellows’ chairman Ian Potter to members, seen by EYE, said Propertymark “appear to have made their minds up about the proposal”.
The letter said: “For those of you in attendance at the College AGM you will recall that Chris Hamer, chairman of the Propertymark board, outlined that future of the College was being considered by the board with a view to it being disbanded.
“Many of us are very concerned about the loss of this honour to be a part of the College so in accordance with the last AGM it was agreed that as your chairman, I would with Geoffrey Ashworth (a former College chairman), arrange to meet with Chris Hamer and Mark Hayward, chief executive of NAEA Propertymark.
“An initial brief meeting has been held with a further audio meeting recently.
“Those meetings were largely to understand the thinking behind the proposals and it is disappointing to report that they and the boards do appear to have made their minds up about the proposal.”
“You might not be surprised to learn that quite a few members of the College have expressed their considerable concern about the College being disbanded.”
Potter said in his letter that Propertymark was proposing to introduce a new grade of membership, currently called ‘Emeritus’, however he relayed concerns from some members that it was an “inappropriate term” because it “does not illustrate the level of honour bestowed upon them by the College”.
There may be some membership benefits to holding the ‘Emeritus’ title but they have not yet been approved by Propertymark’s board, he continued.
Potter appeared to hold out some hope that the College could continue in its current form with an increased level of participation from members and is asking them to undertake a survey to see what skills and interests members can offer to the Propertymark board.
When asked by EYE for further comment he said: “It would be inappropriate to comment whilst it is still a consultation.”
A Propertymark spokesperson said: “As Propertymark continues to adapt to reflect the needs of members, we are reviewing the current formation of the College of Fellows.
“Whilst this will only impact fewer than 100 of our 17,000 members we think it’s important to consider its role. We intend to update on progress later in the year.”
It was the discourtesy, contempt and disrespect shown to the College of Fellows at the AGM that was partly behind my decision not to renew my membership of NAEA.
“THAT Robert May” (To explain this; Mr Savage did not realise the bloke he was bad mouthing in a heated arrogant and aggressive way was sat quietly eating his lunch next to the bloke he was arguing with. It was only the wonderful intervention of the legend, Patrick Bullick that prevented an incident. “Err… that’s you he’s talking about isn’t it?.. Embarrassing!”
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There is nothing worse than hearing people b#tch&£# about other people you know…..it always makes you feel that when you are not there, they will be having a go about you!…….but to actually be present when it’s going on….that’s just a whole new ball game.
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After all that has happened over the last few years, with the NAEA standing by and watching their new Call Centre Lister members ridicule the businesses of the majority of their members, and the Chris Wood chance of election denial debacle, what does anyone feel they get from their membership?
I would be really interested to hear some opinions from people about the benefits of their membership?
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No knowledgeable benefit whatsoever in my opinion! Not one client has ever asked if I am “propertymark protected” on a valuation, you have a bunch of ex club promoters with no experience of estate agency over valuing properties by £50,000 winning initial instructions! The NAEA *NEED* to start making waves into govt about standardising the industry like US/AUS, only then will members feel an actual benefit of passing our multiple choice exams.
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Like any organisation of this type there will always be questions as to whether membership fees are worthwhile. I only joined, many years ago, to get some initials after my name but have realised over the years that the memberships has been very worthwhile. I don’t think this is the place to go into all the whys and wherefores but I and many other members have benefited hugely.
However………… NAEA and ARLA were great instituations as separate entities but are now being governed in a very irresponsible way by poor management and a completely invisible board. This change to the college of fellows is just another example of the way this new propertymark is going.
I see people leaving on a daily basis and don’t blame them one bit.
It is a great shame to see, what once were, two excellent industry leading organisations, going fowl.
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The current executive team have presided over a litany of questionable activities, allegations of bullying are rife and vast sums of members money being paid to silence former employees. The attack on the College of Fellows (and attempts, no doubt, to acquire the sizeable bank balance it has built up) should be a further source of shame. To have shame, however, requires morals and integrity.
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As a long term member – almost thirty years on and off, I am curious to learn more about the vast sums paid to employees – what has been the culture at Arbon House?
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These will be the huge redundancy payments made to outgoing members of staff who didn’t “fit in”.
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This member will not be renewing the membership of himself or his employees this year. Not because of this College debacle (Not my concern, never had any insight into what it does), but due to the complete lack of support for the industry from NAEA/ARLA. They have just become interested in their own position, not the industries and the way they have stood on the sidelines in regard to the online agents claims demonstrates that they are scared that the onliners will become dominant so better not upset them and lose out on possible membership fees! It demonstrates the complete lack of leadership and awareness of what they should be there for.
As far as I am concerned, goodbye NAEA/ARLA, I suspect that you will not be with us for very much longer.
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Careful, you resign and you’ll lose your membership grade when the new quango is formed , then you’ll have to prove, presumably by examination you’re more qualified and experienced than a neg with an NVQ in public service, 3 months experience as a trainee negotiator who bestows upon themselves the title expert!
Propertymark is no longer a members’ body. It looks and sounds like it’s being positioned to win the tender to be a non- government, for profit, regulator that profits from redress, insurance, licensing and compulsory training.
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After many years of proud membership i left ARLA after a telephone discussion with David Cox over client money protection in which we were told if our company failed to use ARLA’s approved scheme they would not allow the company membership we do of course hold CMP through UKALA which is a government approved scheme but not good enough for them, TBH after 2 years of non membership it has not impacted our business in any way shape or form, and as discussed above 95% of the general public have no ****** idea who they are. As my gran used to say (if you have no teeth you can only suck eggs).
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Did ‘ARLA’s approved scheme’ pay ARLA an introductory commission?
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Almost certainly!
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I had exactly the same conversation with Propertymark. They asked for me CMP half way through my years membership renewal and informed me my CMP protection wasn’t good enough and had the check to send me an invoice for new CMP attached. Told them to stick it. No refund though on membership fee.
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Absolutely, I totally agree – we have had exactly the same experience. Left NAEA joined NALS and Safe Agent, this has worked perfectly.
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It is a pity that this is being aired in public at this stage.
To people not in the know, the College can sound like a collection of old f….s who meet once a year for a grand meal and to exchange reminiscences. But it is actually a collection of experienced NAEA and ARLA practitioners, some of whom are still working, and whose knowledge and expertise should be of benefit to Propertymark. Many “honoured” members have worked their socks off for the Association for no reimbursement save accommodation and travelling expenses at the actual expense of their own businesses. Their collective knowledge should be invaluable and it is more than a slap in the face to extinguish what should be a positive asset.
Unfortunately, a proportion of College members, mainly retired, have been fighting tooth and nail against the reforms that have been put in place over the last few years which, whilst having reduced accountability, have increased membership, particularly in the NAEA sector. Young people don’t like branch meetings and the traditional set-up of professional and industry organisations. They’d much rather be force fed information by e-mail and Facebook and attend Masterclasses and Conferences a couple of times a year and that is why the reorganisation has proved successful in the large part. These “dinosaurs” have not let it drop and that is what is causing the demise of what should be a very useful body and one which recognises past service.
Propertymark is heading in the right direction generally, but continues to ignore the fact that it is a membership organisation representing all members and it is flying along a fast track with dodgy brakes. It should be using the College to help it keep to a safe speed and to help it look more laterally at what it is all about, otherwise Propertymark is likely to end up careering off at the next bend with terminal consequences.
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I’d be interested to know if the membership surpassed an all time high or has it recovered from an all time low.
To suggest it is the College’s fault is exactly the tone of the AGM. To travel from all over the country to attend the AGM of an association they built means they deserve more courtesy than being described as dinosaurs because they have one principle objection; handing of all power to the executive board and that the members’ only representation on that board was in a non voting capacity.
Their hard work, their subscription their commitment built the association and they have a right to represent both themselves and other members who don’t agree with fundamental changes to the association.
It is not a pity this is being aired publicly this is the only place it is being aired where members and ex members can discuss this topic without the sort of closed door, backstabbing, nastiness I’ve encountered.
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Didn’t hear much from the Fellows when Chris Wood was disbarred from standing for election. That episode was and is a total disgrace. Great shame the NAEA lost its democracy years ago. So it comes as no surprise that it is not the members who are deciding to do away with the College – just the rulers of the organisation.
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