letting agent franchise - estate agent franchise

It is well known that if you want to be your own boss and start a low risk business, one option is to buy a franchise from an established business with a track record of success.  Franchises can be bought for concerns as diverse as burger bars to estate agents to oven cleaning services.  But is a franchise the right choice for you?

In the property industry there are a plethora of estate agents offering franchises to people who want to learn how to become an estate agent. They effectively sell a ‘territory’ version of their own business, but like any franchise offering there are often hidden and significant disadvantages, some of which do not become apparent until well after you’ve started.

First off is the cost – a letting or estate agent franchise doesn’t come cheap. You will typically spend thousands of pounds JUST on purchasing the right to operate under the franchised business name in a defined territory. Then once you’ve put in all the hard work to get the business up and running, you will pay a fixed percentage of your monthly turnover in commission or ‘royalties’, and often for further costs such as ‘group marketing’ fees. These can be a real drain on your bottom line profit and limit the potential for extraction of funds from your business for yourself, thereby limiting your salary. 

‘As a franchisee, after a while you might start to question your sanity!’

Secondly, when you purchase a franchise you are locked in for a lengthy period, and are forced into an onerous full-time commitment, where your work-life balance is of low priority to the franchisor. Once that period is up, you will be obliged to pay a further fee to renew your licence and continue trading. Most franchise companies also insist on an unnecessary and expensive high street office, which adds significantly to your costs. With 90% of lettings and estate agency business conducted online, provided you have a professional estate agent website your small business will be as visible as a major franchise outlet. 

Thirdly, across the UK there is no single brand of letting or estate agent franchise provider who stands head-and-shoulder above the rest.  So doesn’t this negate the whole purpose of a franchise?  For example, your agency could be called ‘London Residential’, and this would have equally as much chance of gaining clients as anyone else, even the big agencies.  You can test this by simply searching for properties in your area on Zoopla – if you find a property that you like, why would the name of the agent make any difference to your decision to view it, rent it or buy it? 

We firmly believe that if you’re looking to start a letting agency, you should not spend a penny on a franchise.  If you value flexibility and independence, and the opportunity to truly be your own boss, you should be looking at the Southcourt Business Package to start an estate agency.

With 45 years combined experience under our belt, we know the property business inside out.  Our business start-up package provides step by step estate agent training and takes you carefully through the various processes involved in running your letting agency. We reveal tricks of the trade and clever ways to acquire new business, as well as providing the essential tools you will need, including software and a modern letting agency website.

‘The benefits are clear.  With our business package you receive expert guidance and support at a fraction of the cost of a franchise…’

We show you how to operate your business either full time or part time, from office or from home. In our Agent Support Centre, in addition to our telephone and email support, you will be able to utilise the services of our chosen trading partners, including tenant referencing, EPCs, rent guarantees, deposit replacement warranties, PAT testing, inventories, furniture pack suppliers, and much more.

In fact, we provide everything you will need to start, grow and run an estate agency business from scratch. What’s more, our business package costs just a couple of hundred pounds including your own fully operational property website. Compare this to the cost of an estate agent franchise and you can see why the Southcourt Business Package has gained so much popularity in recent years.

Above all setting up with our low cost business package will give you freedom of choice.

Freedom to operate your business how you choose, either part or full-time, and from home or office.

These are options you simply do not have as a franchisee.