The firms have already launched a first branch in central London and have plans to launch 30 outlets around the country.
Keller Williams said the partnership with a broker firm would help understanding amongst its estate agency staff.
This week we ask our industry panel if brokers and estate agents should always work closely to provide the best service for clients?
Our panel are:
Mark Graves, director of Pink, says estate agents and mortgage brokers are best described as ‘uncomfortable bedfellows’.
Nigel Stockton, financial services director at Countrywide, believes UK consumers are more comfortable using in-house brokers.
Michael Fitzgerald, managing director of brokerage Brentchase Financial, thinks increased investment in the UK market should be welcomed.
Mark Graves, director, Pink
Despite many estate agents and mortgage advisers working together and even being owned by the same companies they often remain uncomfortable bedfellows.
There is often a conflict of interest as the estate agent typically works for the vendor while the mortgage adviser arranges mortgages for the buyer. A buyer needs to be able to tell their financial adviser confidential financial information in the knowledge it will not be passed to the estate agent.
This can cause friction with the estate agent who has a duty to their vendor to keep them up-to-date with progress.
What the two sides do need to have is mutual respect and understanding; it is very helpful if the estate agent has basic knowledge of how the mortgage process works and the challenges that a mortgage adviser faces.
Similarly the mortgage adviser needs to understand when a house sale is dependent on one party’s ability to get a mortgage they need to keep the estate agent informed on timescales.
There are always areas that we can improve upon and nobody does customer service better than the Americans, so it will be interesting to see what new ideas Keller Williams can bring to change our current working practices. We should welcome any positive training concepts as it is sadly an area that has gone by the wayside in recent years.
Nigel Stockton, financial services director, Countrywide
As activity in the housing market has picked up and the number of house sales has increased, so too has the number of new estate agents entering the industry.
There is a lot of activity at the lower end of the market with new ‘no frills’ estate agents taking advantage of positive conditions. It is hardly surprising that new estate agents and mortgage advisers are forming partnerships; given most people need a mortgage to purchase a property.
At the higher end of the market brokers such as John Charcol should give homebuyers and sellers excellent financial advice and product selection.
In the USA, realtors are not allowed to own mortgage broker services and so partnerships are more common there, with banks providing in-house services to realtors.
In the UK, consumers are comfortable with using in-house mortgage consultants and large numbers have done so for their house purchases.
Countrywide, LSL and Connells have been selling houses and arranging mortgages under the same roof for a number of years, making it easier for customers as they can deal with the same company for both services. I expect John Charcol’s partnership with an American realtor will be no different.
Michael Fitzgerald, managing director, Brentchase Financial
The news that the large USA based company Keller Williams is to join forces with UK brokers firms is to be welcomed.
In these days of ever increasing consumer awareness regarding mortgages this could prove to be an interesting business move.
In the past there has been almost a feeling of distrust between brokers and estate agents and to be quite honest it was felt that agents did not have the same high standards of many mortgage brokers.
Keller Williams has over 79,000 associates in North America and has proved they can deliver high standards in mortgages and house sales.
They now aim to build 30 super centres in the UK starting in London with the mortgage brokers John Charcol. The mortgage market in London is growing well at the moment and Charcol does have a good name in delivering high mortgage standards.
Getting mortgage brokers and estate agents to work closer in the UK is admirable and may work in large centres such as London and Manchester.
However, estate agents are in the business of selling houses and that is their number one goal. Mortgage brokers on the other hand want to sell mortgages but only if it is compliant and this is where conflict of interests may occur.
