Into the EYE inbox yesterday came two separate press releases, both talking about the self-employed/franchise/hybrid model of estate agency.

Each of the releases is promoting a particular brand but the perspectives are very different.

Readers may make up their own minds about how much they agree or disagree with what is said by the companies and individuals. We have only lightly edited the texts.

The first one is on behalf of Ewemove:

Hybrid’s Claim to Solve Industry’s Staff Shortage Crisis

One of the UK’s leading hybrid agencies claims to have solved the staff shortage crisis affecting the estate agency industry.

According to leading recruitment consultant Josh Rayner, the number of available positions in our industry is now 82 per cent more than a year ago. [Rayner actually said their company has 82% more vacancies, not the industry]

Award-winning national agency franchisor EweMove believes it has a way to make ambitious agents lives a lot easier and solve employment issues.

Managing Director, Nick Neill, said: “Traditionally, you need several people to set up an agency successfully. In addition, you need support with accounts, marketing, compliance, training, and many other aspects.

“And to keep it running, you need to ensure you have the right people in the right places.

“Our model removes that reliance on staff, especially when starting out. That’s because we provide all the marketing expertise, financial nous, compliance experience, and business generating know-how as part of our package.

“This has helped many of our franchisees grow their businesses without incurring larger employment fees and experiencing the recruitment headaches many in our industry are currently facing. Having a good team with you has never been more important, but also, it’s never been harder to build that team yourself. With EweMove, the team is already there for you.”

Several current franchisees have moved their previously independent agency under the EweMove umbrella to benefit from the staff and resources available and ultimately make more money.

One such franchisee who has done it this way is Paul Bottomley, who owns the Cleckheaton territory. He said: “My previous agency profit margin was 20%. When I moved over to EweMove, that increased to 45%. And you don’t need a huge amount of transactions to earn good money.”

Rates of pay and other opportunities outside the industry are said to be playing their part in the staff shortage crisis.

And this one is on behalf of David Lee Estate Agents:

Self-employed Estate Agency. A Different Perspective. Life as a ‘hybrid’ estate agent from the viewpoint of the family.

In the ever-hotter recruitment race to be seen as the self-employed estate agency brand of choice, we hear of big commissions, bumper earning months and new cars purchased. In just about every press release from the big ‘hybrid’ agencies, especially those from across the pond, there’s a financial aspect at the core of all their messaging.

But is it all about the money?

What about quality of life as a reason to make the move from the shackles of employment to the freedom of being self-employed? Furthermore, when do we ever hear the views of the partners and families of estate agents that have jumped from corporate life to one of ‘doing their own thing’? Not ever, it seems.

Craig Armstrong is a veteran estate agent and has plied his trade via Countrywide, Kings Group and Spicer haart since as far back as 2007. In August 2020 he upped sticks and became a self-employed associate at David Lee Estate Agents, the boutique hybrid agency.

But this press release is not about Craig.

2007 was a big year for Craig. Not only was it the year that he entered the world of property sales for the first time, but he also married Katie.

Katie is the long-suffering partner of an estate agent. This is her account of life married to someone that has now taken the step to own and operate his own agency business. It’s a revealing account of the other side of the current ‘money, money, money’ narrative.

Katie works full time and Craig and Katie have two young children.

“When Craig worked within corporate estate agency the kids and I hardly ever saw him’ says Katie. ‘He would leave our house in Harlow to travel to Leytonstone often at 6am and wouldn’t get home until 8pm or 9pm. By that time, the kids were in bed. He worked like this for years”.

“Parents evenings, sports days and family parties were always missed and I can’t remember a time when he didn’t work on Saturdays – because of course he had to” she adds.

“How has life changed now that Craig works for himself? How has it not changed?’ she remarks. ‘Family life is very different, in fact things are far less stressful and I don’t feel like a single parent anymore. The kids love that Craig can take them to school and watch them playing sport and can have days off when he wants. But the most important things now are the simplest for example actually being able to eat dinner together as a family around the same table”.

And there is one other aspect that Katie raises as pivotal to her family’s decision to ‘go self-employed’. And that is this….

“Craig and I spent years riding the ups and downs of the property market and decided that we may as well take the risks of an ebbing and flowing industry ourselves given that in the corporate estate agency world, 90% of the upside is taken by the company not the individual” says Katie. “Now, busy times such as we’ve seen over the last 18 months are ours to benefit from entirely” she adds.

Finally, and this is telling. Would you ever encourage Craig to go back to corporate estate agency?

“Absolutely not ever’ says Katie.

And what if someone were to call him tomorrow and offer more money than Craig is currently earning or even more than he may do in a year’s time?

“Still no” snaps Katie. “Money is not the most important thing in life. Life is”.

Lee O’Brien, Director of David Lee Estate Agents says “Many agents are working with a corporate handicap, tied to their roles as they are their desks and watching life pass them by, especially family life, and which they won’t ever get back no matter how high up the greasy career pole they manage to climb.

“Is it worth it? Of course not – and now there is an alternative career path that more and more agents are choosing, not because of the money necessarily – but because they value quality of life”.