As many of you will have already noticed, we have refreshed the catalogue cover as well as launched a completely new website which, we hope, will be easier to navigate and even more user friendly.
The phrase “if it ain’t broke – don’t mend it” has to be tempered with continually keeping ahead of the game. In my view, complacency and the fear of going forward can stifle a business and that is why we have fresh young blood on the Board to ensure that new ideas are brought to the table and new technology is fully embraced.
Another result of such a strategy is the decision to add an online auction facility to the services we offer our Clients. The new initiative will give buyers and sellers outside our current operational area the opportunity to benefit from the professionalism which has become synonymous with the Clive Emson brand – ‘selling with skill, speed and efficiency – openness and honesty’. It has taken several months to develop and hone the programme, further details of which are explained on the new website.
I have been writing this introduction for 26 years (189 editions). When I hit three score years and ten I thought it was time to hand over the baton, but the feedback is that many readers enjoy my comments on current affairs. Mainly, I reckon, because I say what so many think but, due to the political correctness brigade, are scared to say it! Had the person who said conkers are “dangerous in playgrounds” been told to “get on your bike” it may have all stopped there, but no, they were encouraged, and therefore thought up more ridiculous rules to save us from ourselves – but it hasn’t really worked – A&E are busier than ever!
Such a view could be considered the ramblings of a cantankerous old git, or is it that people of a certain age remember the times before wholesale litigation (promoted by ambulance chasers) and ridiculous legislation which has diluted the respect of the law. In our day the law was for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men. A time when people in authority could use their expertise and initiative in interpreting the rules. We have lived through a period when schools have gone from brutal beatings on a daily basis to teachers being told not mark scripts in red ink in case it upsets the little darlings they have to try to teach. As always, whether with education, employment, banking or landlord and tenant laws, the pendulum swings too far from one side to the other. So when we comment on the “new thinking” are we cantankerous or just realistic in seeing how standards have been allowed to slide?
However, it is not good to dwell on the past, so please secure your future by perusing the following pages where there is an abundance of opportunities – especially when interest rates are so low. The threat of disallowing tax relief on the interest incurred on small buy-to-let landlords is not that significant if you are paying little interest in the first place. Whether building land, investments, refurbishments, vacant plots or unusual properties there will be something for everyone.
Good hunting and I bid you well
Clive Emson
FRICS FNAEA (Honoured) FNAVA
Chairman
About the Author:
Sam Kinloch
Sam’s career in the dizzy world of property auctions began when he hung up his chainsaw and headed in from the forest. Joining the team in 2003 Sam now sits on the Board of Directors and has been instrumental in the adoption of online auction services. Out of the office you can find him flying around the velodrome or sipping coffee at a local café.