Welcome to DHCA - Davidson-Hall Consulting
              
                "Business Growth is what we do!"


We offer discrete and dependable high level consulting advice for all aspects of your Estate Agency or Lettings business.
Our team of highly qualified consultants is available day and night to guarantee you the best possible service.

0203 927 2670

Professional Consultancy Advice for
Estate Agencies and for Letting Agencies

Better than Franchise Grade Support at a tiny fraction of the cost

You might think of us as being
"The Estate Agency Doctor"

2023 marks our founder having spent 40 years in this business. He has some strong feelings about what estate agency is likely to look like over the years ahead. If you're an Estate Agent wondering you need to change, improve or do differently then your best course of action is to get in touch.

A day spent with us could be amoung the best days you have ever spent: a day which will save you a lot of time, money and stress.

Renters Reform Bill England


What can we learn from Scotland ?

This is a subject of considerable interest to every Letting Agent in England;

in this recent Webinar we recite our sucessful experience of guiding Letting Agents

in Scotland through the most significant period of change they have faced since SAT's

came in back in 1988 and of growing their income around these changes.


LISTEN TO PODCAST
  • What changed in Scotland when the PRT came in back in December 2017 ?
  •  Remember - Market Data and Comment is all just someone else's story - what happened to them does not need to be what happens to you ! 
  • Be a Market Maker and not a Market Taker - write your own story 
  • Will the loss of Fixed Term Tenancies be disastrous ?
  • Likely impacts on Student Lets ?
  • Re-shaping your charging structure
  • Revise Tenancy Agreements and Landlord Terms of Business
  • Likely impact on average length of occupancy
  • Expect a tighter Enforcement regime and likely a requirement Letting Agents are Registered.
  • Minimum mandatory qualification for all those doing Property Management work
  • Will Landlords exit ?  Remember - Landlords exiting is only one side of the coin !

Expertise

With the ban on Tenant Fees in England. now in force and with The Regulation of Property Agents( RoPA) getting ever closer,  to say nothing about COVID, many of you will be worried about the future.

Many smaller business find these prospect daunting and are wondering how they will survive. This does not need to be so - many clients we advise say they have grown their lettings income since the ban.

We can help you and have a comprehensive 17 page plan the implimentation of which will will see your income GROW dispite the ban and after COVID.

Our proven expertise and experience in Scotland will be of considerable assistance to those worried about the likely impacts of  RoPA and preparing for the changes - we've done it all before !

The best way for us to help your business is to visit your office to conduct a one to one business review.

Our expert consultant will go through every aspect of your business in order to identify areas where improvements can be made and increase your profits.

Our business review may prove to be the best investment you ever make in your business !

Call to book your review

+44 203 927 2670

Company advice – Consultancy or Non-Executive positions

40 years is a long time in the estate agency world, the last 15 of which have been spent advising one of the best known and most successful companies in the UK agency field – The Property Franchise Group Plc.

If you feel your business might benefit from an objective view – either consistently as a Non-Executive or from a one-off Consultation visit – get in touch. +44 203 927 2670

Speaking and Events

We are often asked to talk at business events. Please contact us to talk more.

+44 203 927 2670



Letting Agency Businesses

We can help you grow despite the Tenant Fee Ban - and will show you how to make your business more profitable - without Tenant Fees !
 We will show you how to :

Earn Better Fees

Thrive without Tenant Fees

Increase Your Managed Income

Increase mark up income

Run a tigher renewals department

Retain more of your Managed Portfolio by reducing Attrition

Achieve a broader base of income

Sucessfully identify and execute on aquisition targets - acquisition can be the fastest route to growth in your lettings portfolio.

Call Now  +44 203 927 2670


Is your business ready for The Renters Reform Bill ? 

Can your lettings business take a revenue hit?

With the advent of periodic tenancies, under the
Renters (Reform) Bill proposals, renewals will be a thing of the past.

That may mean a hole in your bottom line - but we can help you patch it.

The government introduced the English Renters (Reform) Bill in parliament in  May 2023. The wide-ranging reforms set out in the Bill  are undoubtedly the biggest shake-up of the private rented sector in 30 years.

The changes proposed will impact Landlords, Tenants and also Letting Agents, which is where we come in. Perhaps most importantly for Letting Agents is that the Bill will see the end of Fixed Term Tenancies in England along with the ability of a Landlord to serve a Sec. 21 Notice to recover possession.

Are these changes the end of the world, or of life as we know it for a Letting Agent? 

In short – No. 

But and crucially they will require that Letting Agents change their thinking and modify their business model if they are to continue to thrive and to grown in the Post Renters Reform Bill world.  

Below is a summary of some of the more important changes that are set out in the Bill.

    No longer any Fixed Term for a Tenancy
    Consequently there will be no fees for renewals
    Agents will need to rethink their charges to Landlords
    Agents and probably Landlords will be required to join a new Ombudsman Scheme
    New Property Portal which will evidence property and safety compliance matters for property
    New Rent Review Mechanism
    Greater rights for Tenants around Pets
    Changes to Section 8 Rights for Landlords
    Changes around Student Lets aside from purpose-built


Future proposed changes for the private rented sector
At a later date the Government intends to go further. The following additional changes have been set out. 

    Applying the Decent Home Standard to the Private Rented Sector
    Prohibition of refusal to rent to families with children and to those on benefits

What is missing from the Bill ?

A lot in our view.  

Having guided many businesses in Scotland through broadly comparable changes back in 2017 when the Scottish PRT was introduced, it seems clear that there are many areas that will need to be clarified before the English Renters (Reform) Bill can be enacted.

Our opinion is that the final form of the eventual Act will be quite a lot different from the outline Bill, hopefully as a result of the Government having listened to the input from Agents and having taken full account of what has basically been a successful model in Scotland.

Ending Section 21 will give renters greater security but we do not believe this will fundamentally change the relationship between the vast majority of landlords and their tenants.

Other than on the basis of Grounds such as rent arrears the number of times landlords choose to evict tenants is incredibly small, so in practice little will change.

One big thing that is currently missing but that we think will be part of the final Act is Landlord Registration.  We don’t believe the Portal will be of any use but Landlord Registration would be.

What should you do to ensure your business is prepared?

Talk to us now.  Don’t leave it until the Bill is about to become law.

+44 (0) 203 927 2670

enqiries@dhca.co.uk

 

 

Estate Agency

Are you catching the "Boris Bounce" that is happening in the Sales Market since the summer of 2020 ?

Many are finding the business of selling property harder work than used to be the case.

How useful would it be if you could complete on one more sale each month ? Not just occasionally, but consistantly, 12 months of the year ? Our advice can make this possible, and more.

Our advice and coaching will help you and your team to do that and much more - you will soon be achieving more than you'd believed possible.

Our advice will include coaching on the following key areas but is not limited to :

Achieving more valuations

Converting  more of your  Market Appraisals to instructions

Imprioving your critical instruction to sales ratio

Better transaction management to reduce fall throughs

Improved fee levels and how to defend your fees if challenged

Growing your geographic trading area

Digital Marketing - increasing your digital footprint

Developing cross-selling income

Growing your profits

Business structure and staffing

Call Now  +44 203 927 2670

Fees for Business Review

Our fee for the review is £ 1,500 plus VAT and any expenses for a three day review process to include one day on your site(s), payable in advance of our attendance on site.

We allow a day on site, and two days for travel to and from site, consideration of the situation, report preparation and communication / discussion of our findings and recomendations.

This is likely to be the best investment you have ever made.

On this basis we hope to provide a cost-effective solution that is accessible to everyone.

BUT - we can't do it without YOU. 

To make this worthwhile, you will need to have the desire to transform your business results and you will need to be prepared to invest many hours of your time to implement our recommendations.

The results however can be spectacular. A rapid increase of  20% to  50 % in your turnover is likely.  Even a 100% increase in turnover is possible. Our advice could be crucial to you in terms of mitigating the advere effects of the Tenant Fee Ban. We can help you GROW your Lettings Income despite the ban.

We are certain that our advice will quickly pay for itself many times over and will be of lasting value. 

Ideally this will be the beginning of a longer term relationship, with our providing longer term advice and support as and when it is required. 

We can be your sounding board, your mentor, business  coach and your challenging friend as your business grows and prospers.

Call Now +44 203 927 2670

Dependability

One to One

In addition to business review and training courses we can offer a coaching or business mentoring service for business owners and for your senior staff, run either individually or in small groups.

Call us on  +44 203 927 2670

Thinking of selling your business ?

Looking for advice regarding selling your business? If you want to achieve the best possible price for your business then you have come to the right place. Contact us today!

Our highly qualified team will be there for you for whatever life may throw at you.
Call us on +44 20 3927 2670 

Business Sales

If you are considering selling your business then the preparation of your exit strategy and the discreet sale of your business will influence the rest of your life. Maximising the value and realising the best terms is crucial to you even though you may not be experienced in this field of business.

Our core mission is to help you at this critical time; we have many satisfied clients who have now sold and moved on.


Whatever the composition of your business currently, growth and profit must be your priority. We will work through diagnostics with you to achieve better than industry norms and at improved levels of profit.

This adds value to your business when you come to sell and until then helps you to recruit and to retain the best staff, implement the best strategies and overcome the day to day or one off challenges – such as a Tenant Fee Ban !

Our pay as you go approach means that you can have a business mentor along side you without the burden of a full time salary cost.
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