An Interview with Roger King, Yealmpton Office
1. What geographical areas do you work in and what are your specialities?
I’m based in Yealmpton, the village where I have lived for the past 35 years. The area in which I operate radiates out from here to the fringes of Plymouth, down to Wembury, round to Holbeton, Ivybridge and to the edge of the Moors at Cornwood.
2. When did you first think of yourself as an Estate Agent?
I’ve never really thought of myself as anything else!
3. What other jobs have you had and were they relevant to this career?
I started training in a general Practice firm of Estate Agents and Surveyors in Buckinghamshire, initially as tea boy/photocopier then moving through various departments including surveys, valuations, residential and commercial sales and lettings and chattel auctions.
4. How do you compare yourself now, as an Estate Agent, to when you first began?
Now I am much more specialised only dealing with residential sales and valuations.
5. How has the job itself changed over the years? Can you give a couple of specific examples?
The improvement in technology has made a huge difference. Sales particulars used to be printed on Gestetner or Roneo machines an awfully messy process with ink everywhere. Things progressed to Xerox photocopies on which one glued a miniscule photo and now we have full colour laser printing with as many photographs as we can fit in. The other massive change is of course the internet which is the first starting place for virtually all house hunters these days.
6. What is it about the job that keeps you doing it after all this time?
It is still hugely satisfying to conclude a deal and help both buyer and seller to achieve their aims. It’s also fun now when the same people come back to me after many years and sometimes I even find myself selling to or for children of previous clients.
7. How will the cuts that we expect the Government to make in 2010 affect the housing market, in your opinion?
I can’t see prices rising dramatically in the foreseeable future but people do have to live somewhere and we are a nation whose culture is generally home ownership so I expect houses to continue to sell despite the tough times we all face.
8. Best moment? Most embarrassing moment?
I think my best moment is yet to come! I could make a long list of embarrassing incidents mostly involving finding people in houses which I thought were empty but I think the worst was when showing a lady round a property. She was a compulsive cupboard opener and insisted on opening every possible door in the house. When we were in the master bedroom she opened a cupboard above a wardrobe and was hit by an avalanche of glossy magazines. These were not the sort of publications you can buy in your village shop and appeared to cater for all possible tastes! She insisted in helping pick them all up which we did together in total silence but it did seem to take an age. The good news is that she subsequently bought the house anyway!
9. Do Estate Agents deserve the bad reputation that they sometimes have?
Some undoubtedly do but most are honest and professional people. There’s a lot to being an estate agent that most people never see.
10. What would you change about the housing market if you were Prime minister?
I would have said abolish HIPs but he’s already done that. I would like to see Stamp Duty calculated in a fairer way with a sliding scale rather than the quantum leaps we have at £250,000 and £500,000 at present.
Roger King is Luscombe Maye’s Office Manager (Residential Sales) at our Yealmpton Office. You can contact him on 01752 880044 or by email: roger.king@luscombemaye.com