Practical notes on AI automation
What we are seeing across UK estate agencies, law firms and accountancy practices — where automation earns its place, and where it does not.
The Fence-Sitter Who Booked Anyway
“Just exploring” is a phrase I heard plenty of times in my ten years on the agency floor. It didn’t mean “never call me again”. Often it meant, “I’m not ready to be sold to, but I might be ready later.” The trouble is that “later” rarely arrives neatly between the morning meeting and the […]
Leave at Five Without the Guilt List
It’s 4.18pm on a Thursday. The last viewing has run over, a buyer has come back with a question about the survey, and a vendor is expecting an update before the day ends. Your negotiator is trying to remember which solicitor promised to call back, while the branch manager is asking what needs picking up […]
The Buyer Who Stopped Calling the Office
Tuesday, 11.26am. The buyer rings again: “Sorry to bother you, any news on the searches?” Your negotiator checks the file, sees a note saying “solicitor chased”, and promises to call back. The vendor is waiting for the same update. The sales progressor is tied up with a chain problem elsewhere. I know that call. In […]
Sunday Evening: What the Weekend’s Valuation Enquiries Told Us
It’s Sunday evening. The branch is quiet, but the weekend’s valuation enquiries are sitting in the inbox: a homeowner who wants to move before Christmas, someone weighing up whether to sell at all, and a request that gives little more than a postcode and a phone number. In my 10 years on the agency floor, […]
A Quiet Sunday Morning Before a Busy Week
On Remembrance Sunday, I find myself thinking about the people who carried on with ordinary responsibilities through extraordinary times. At 11 o’clock, many of us will pause to remember those who served and those who never came home. The silence asks nothing of us but attention. The Royal British Legion explains the tradition of the […]
The Document That Arrived on Saturday and Waited Until Monday
Saturday, 3.18pm. A buyer emails over the proof-of-funds document your negotiator asked for. The branch is shut, the sales progressor is away from their desk and nobody is expected to review it until Monday. By then, the attachment is buried beneath weekend enquiries, the buyer is wondering if it arrived, and the team has to […]
Saturday’s Valuation Call and the Diary It Fills
Saturday 7 November, 9.18am. A homeowner calls while your negotiators are out at viewings and the valuer is on the way to an appointment. They want to know whether their two-bedroom house is worth putting on the market, and they can meet next week. If the call goes to voicemail, they may try another agent […]
What the Vendor Hears When the Offer Comes In
Saturday, 1.18pm. The office is open, the phones are ringing and a buyer has just made an offer. The negotiator has checked the basics and now needs to call the vendor. After ten years in UK estate agency, I know that moment is about much more than saying a figure. The vendor wants to understand […]
What a Good Valuation Brief Actually Contains
Friday, 6.18pm. The branch is quiet, the last negotiator has left, and tomorrow’s first market appraisal is in a Victorian semi on the other side of town. The vendor booked after work. They’re hoping to move before the new school term, have an offer accepted on a house already, and another agent is coming round […]
Two Valuations, Three Days Apart: How One Agency Lost the Instruction
Tuesday, 3.40pm. A valuer has just left a vendor’s home with the comparable evidence, the suggested asking price and a clear view of what needs doing before launch. The vendor thanks them at the door. They say they’re speaking to another agent too. That’s ordinary. In my 10 years in UK estate agency, I learned […]