ARLA agent is new head of Experts In Property

It’s all change for a regional agents’ group which has announced a new chair and new directors.

Cornwall-based former estate agent Steve Moir has stepped down as chair of Experts In Property and Bristol property specialist Andrew Simmonds is his successor.

The network of south west independent agents was established in 1980 with member offices across Cornwall, Devon and West Dorset. In 2013, it launched its Distinctly Westcountry brand and expanded into Somerset and Bristol. 

Now it has member offices as far north as South Gloucestershire and eastward to Ringwood and Christchurch.

Moir actually retired from the industry in 2018. Simmonds is a working agent and qualified surveyor, a RICS registered valuer and member of ARLA, NAEA, NAVA and the IRP. 

He has spent more than two decades working in the property sector and co-hosts a monthly property podcast.

He says: “We will of course be reviewing the range of benefits for members and looking to expand them even further, making membership to the network an even more compelling proposition for independent agents across the region and beyond.”

The non-profit making organisation describes itself as being “run by the agents, for the agents, supported by one paid member of staff.”

Most member offices are family-run.

The group says one of the most valuable benefits of membership is the network’s extensive training programme. 

Arranged, hosted and subsidised by the Experts in Property with a wide range of courses, the programme is designed to ensure principals and their staff stay apace with legislation and market conditions.

Members also receive a range of HR, PR, social media and marketing services, ready-made marketing campaigns and promotions, back-office support, supplier discounts and business cost savings as well as additional revenue streams, regular exhibitions in London, use of the Distinctly Westcountry brand, a dedicated south west property portal, and the opportunity to network with peers.

Honiton agent of more than 30 years, Roger Hemming has also joined Okehampton-based James Stevens and the long-standing Andy Pounsberry on the board of directors.