The Intermediary – July 2025 - Flipbook - Page 3
From the editor. . .
lot of the conversations we have
at The Intermediary are about
trust, fairness, geing the best
outcomes for customers – and
we’re all oen on the same
page about the importance of
these things, albeit not always on the methods
to achieve them. This is not just about increased
and ongoing regulatory scrutiny – although it
would be naïve to say that isn’t a driving force –
but genuinely a motivation behind good business
for many of the key players in the property
market, whatever their particular sub-sector.
It’s a stark wake-up, then, when we are
reminded that this is not the prevailing thought
process in every part of the market. I am talking,
of course, about Panorama’s recent investigation,
which uncovered alleged conditional selling at
two major estate agents. I hardly think I’m being
overly pessimistic when I express my deep doubt
that this is an isolated issue.
It is sometimes easy to forget, working as we
do in a heavily regulated and scrutinised part of
the market, that estate agencies are something
of a Wild West in comparison. They don’t need
to be licensed or qualified, and while the Estate
Agents Act 1979 and Consumer Protection from
Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 go some way
to providing structure, there is no overarching
statutory regulation of private sector leing or
managing agents in England.
Having had my own negative experiences,
ranging from incompetent to outright malicious,
it shows. Mentioning no company names, of
A
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course, but my bet is almost everyone has their
own to contribute.
While the regulator is casting its all-seeing
eye across the property buying process, perhaps
the time has come to overhaul a key part of the
market that has so far been allowed to run free.
I don’t doubt that some of the people involved
in the alleged poor behaviour discovered by
Panorama’s Lucy Vallance were unaware that
they were doing anything wrong, and were
simply doing as they were told by their superiors.
But as we know, ignorance is no defence. For
people in a position of such importance for
customers making the biggest purchase of their
lives, education, awareness and qualifications
should be paramount.
This is true, of course, across the property
finance market, and is particularly important
when discussing the topic of this month’s Special
Focus: later life lending. This month, we deep
dive into this market – from product innovation
to changing client demographics.
The real takeaway, overall, is that later life
products are no longer a last resort, and nor
are they a niche product that can be ignored.
Retirement planning, the use of assets and
managing of debt, and the dynamics of
intergenerational wealth, are all factors that
should be front of mind for any broker wishing
to provide clients – age regardless – with a fair,
trustworthy and beneficial service. ●
Jessica Bird
@jess_jbird
@IntermediaryUK
Contributors
The Team
www.facebook.com/IntermediaryUK
LATER LIFE
FOCUS ISSUE
INTERVIEW ⬛ Pure
Retirement on the rise
of ‘fringe’ cases
OPINION ⬛ The latest on
later life from Air, ERC, MAB,
Phoebus, Hodge, and more
The
Intermediary.
www.theintermediary.co.uk | Issue 30 | July 2025 | £6
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