There’s plenty of industry chatter about what needs to change in the world of conveyancing - the legal side of buying and selling property. But here’s the issue: while most people in the industry speak the lingo, those with the power to demand change often don’t... and are (often unintentionally) kept in the dark. That’s why this conversation between Jamie Cole, Co-Founder of Conveynext, Sail Homes & Sail Legal, plus Jade Lacey, Director of Partnerships at Viewber, is well worth a listen. Th...
Jul 28, 2025•44 min
A message from Ed - Build to Rent is a tiny sector at the moment - with perhaps c.150k units in a vast sea of property. However, with private landlords (sadly) exiting the sector, and some developers struggling to sell stock, the ability of an experienced operator to manage large numbers of units by taking a chunk of a development is increasingly attractive and one way to maintain a sufficient flow of rental properties. However, with pension funds always looking for long term safety and returns ...
Apr 28, 2025•27 min
Despite upfront information already being mandatory for agents, enforcement is going to get meaningful from June 2025. Making the move to provide upfront information can only improve the process of selling and buying property, and being seen to be moving in the right direction will likely mean you won't be in a beefed up Trading Standard's crosshairs 🤔😬 The advent of tech solutions to help means, for agents... 💡🏠🔑 - Faster transactions - Less fall throughs - Quicker payment of commissions T...
Feb 25, 2025•17 min
Are you looking to stay ahead of the competition and ensure compliance with upcoming changes to the UK property market? Join Ed from https://viewber.co.uk/ for the latest episode of Ed Talks where he speaks with two experts in their field, Alexander Ali from Finch and Tim Main from Property Information Products. They discuss strategies for staying on top of changes and how Listing packs can help you do so quickly and efficiently. Subscribe to our channel and hit the notification bell to stay upd...
Nov 23, 2023•18 min
Meet Rebecca Marsh: The Property Ombudsman with a Remarkable Journey In the latest episode of Ed Talks, Ed sits down with Rebecca Marsh, the remarkable figure behind The Property Ombudsman, and delves into her extraordinary career spanning multiple sectors. Join us as we uncover fascinating insights into her journey and gain valuable perspectives on resolving disputes in the world of property. Rebecca plays a pivotal role in ensuring fairness and resolution in the property sector. However, did y...
Oct 19, 2023•30 min
You may have read about how a trial in Cheshire was dramatically cutting property fall throughs and completion times - Ed talks to Phil Priest (founder of 4Corners Property ) and is the man behind it all. Plus, see how you can join in with the trial. The trial has conclusively shown that simply asking buyers to pay for an upfront search reduces fall throughs to zero and takes weeks off completion! Here he explains what he’s doing and adds in a free PIP vault data room. Given the paucity of progr...
Sep 21, 2023•13 min
Speed of transactions has been a hot topic for years and Ed first talked to front line practitioner Peter Ambrose in Dec 2020. So what has changed, if anything, in three years from a conveyancing perspective? As CEO of The Partnership , with 48 lawyers and assistants, as well as a software business Legalito (making tried and tested conveyancing software available to all), Peter is well placed to comment and usually doesn't hold back. There's some good empirical data in this discussion, as well a...
Aug 20, 2023•26 min
It's a hot topic - the private rental sector and what is happening with landlords? In this episode Ed talks to Ben Beadle , CEO of The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) . The largest membership organisation for private residential landlords in England and Wales, supporting and representing over 100,000 members. Ben reminds us first that he's a landlord himself with a strong background in housing and property management, so plenty of insider knowledge to draw on. Interestingly - B...
Apr 27, 2023•36 min
A reflective episode from Ed in this solo episode. Ed spent many years as part of the Douglas & Gordon family so is understandably sad to see the company end this month. Ed explains how D&G stood for strong, old-school values. We hear about fond memories, mentors and legends who impacted Ed’s career journey and even how some of his biggest competitors at the time turned into life-long friends. Estate agency life was certainly very different back in the late 70s, 80s and 90s. Did you work...
Mar 09, 2023•15 min
In this episode Ed talks to the original property auction expert, David Sandeman. David is the founder of the Essential Information Group aka. ‘The only place you will find virtually every property auction in the UK’. THE go-to place for auction data: www.eigpropertyauctions.co.uk David’s advice is who you need when considering taking the still somewhat esoteric leap into buying or selling at auction. With over 30 years' experience and insider knowledge, he certainly has a comforting way of expl...
Feb 08, 2023•25 min
Does the British public need to understand the process of buying, selling and owning a home better? A big yes - knowledge is power! In this episode, Ed talks to Paula Higgins - CEO of The HomeOwners Alliance (A solid place for trenchant advice on buying, selling and owning a home) https://hoa.org.uk/ With 10 years of experience and a background as a civil servant, Paula knows her stuff and has an eye for detail. Ed and Paula dive into what it takes to be a buyer or homeowner these days, reflecti...
Dec 14, 2022•30 min
No one knows the answers (and problems) better than Vanessa Warwick. As a portfolio landlord, media personality and founder of well supported landlord forum www.propertytribes.com , she's uniquely placed to give a succinct and salient view. Landlords have witnessed extraordinary times in the last 2 weeks when it comes to Tax, Legislation and Regulation. Vanessa confesses, “it’s the first time I’m starting to feel buy to let is becoming unviable. What has happened in the last 2 weeks has sent sho...
Oct 10, 2022•28 min
Ed talks to someone he’s been very impressed with – James Tickell , Founding Partner of Campbell Tickell (https://www.campbelltickell.com/) Campbell Tickell is a multi-disciplinary management and recruitment consultancy focusing primarily on the public and not-for-profit sectors. Ed’s interaction with James has been on the property side with particular emphasis on Social Landlords and Housing Associations. Established for over 20 years, they have worked with more than 900 organisations throughou...
Jul 22, 2022•24 min
Getting real in this episode of Ed Talks – a new solo episode where Ed reveals more of his extensive career as an estate agent 😲 Being an estate agent can be seriously tough. It’s constantly changing and there are always competitors looking over your shoulder, ready to “eat your lunch.” Perhaps you are already an estate agent learning the streets of Britain, at the very beginning of your property career or applying for jobs - or you might simply be curious. Whatever your situation, this episode...
Jun 22, 2022•13 min
Jonathan Hopper is a key insider on the buying side of property with unrivalled knowledge of this growing and often misunderstood sector. The buying side of the market has expanded over the last 20-25 years in a meaningful way as Jonathan explains. Jonathan is Chief Executive of National buying agent Garrington and co-founded advice platform MoveiQ with Phil Spencer . He’s also been a stalwart at The Property Ombudsman ensuring the buy side is represented. In this episode Ed and Jonathan dive de...
May 09, 2022•24 min
Teams across Viewber have come together to create a brand new, customer centric website: https://viewber.co.uk/ Here is Viewber co-founder, Ed Mead's thoughts on the new website......
Apr 19, 2022•2 min
Sorry for the rant... 1. Does the public even know what SSTC means??! 2. Should it be illegal to put SSTC (sold subject to contract) in tiny letters - on boards etc.?? 3. Should we go back to u/o still showing and u/o not showing? 4. Is it a tool for agents to pump up listings at the expense of wasting buyer time? 5. Is it not endemic of the whole system being out of kilter? News article: https://propertyindustryeye.com/eye-newsflash-leaving-sstc-properties-live-on-portals-is-almost-certainly-a-...
Apr 06, 2022•4 min
In this episode, Viewber co-founder Ed Mead talks to an insider, and important team member. Chris is a key member of the business development team and talks with clients daily. Many of you might be familiar with him now, so do let him know you’ve listened to this episode, and of course make your comments! What is Chris’s background? Career journey? It started in South Africa in the fast-paced, banking and property world. Full of interesting facts and knowledge Want to hear more real ‘behind the ...
Mar 10, 2022•25 min
Trading Standards (NTSELAT's) research showed that >90% of those going on portals wanted to see detailed info about a property. So I'm not sure I understand why there should be any backlash at all against such info being mandated?! I've seen solicitors and agents worrying about it - why? Interested to hear what James Munro , Head of the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team thinks about this 🤔 One of many news articles about it: https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking...
Feb 23, 2022•2 min
Ed and Angus knew each other as teenagers, from when Angus was behind the tables doing discos, so there’s a bit of nostalgia here – inclusive for the over 50s. Angus has become an expert in putting high-end audio and visual into high-end houses (and yes, he’s worked for some big names in the industry) *cough* Rolling Stones *cough* In this fun episode, Angus teaches us more about the history of audio visual and gives advice on kit, costs and more. He even reveals some of the biggest mistakes he’...
Feb 04, 2022•30 min
Starting off 2022 with Ed doing a special solo episode. Ed reveals more of his true thoughts and feelings on working in the property industry. As we all know, working from home is STILL a hot topic. Ed has lived both lives, as a fast paced, face-to-face London property estate agent surrounded by fellow colleagues, and the complete opposite working solo from home on his own business ventures. He's gone from being an 'insider' in the estate agency world to an 'outsider' running a company that ser...
Jan 18, 2022•16 min
Modern estate and letting agents are now called upon to provide a bewildering array of services to cater to modern consumers. With that in mind Ed was very pleased to be able to talk to flexible training provider, The Able Agent's director Charlotte Jeffrey-Campbell. Like Ed, Charlotte's been an agent and has seen the changes in demands on agents, lettings and sales, over the last twenty years. Hopefully our perspectives will prove useful for anyone in the industry as they try to work out what b...
Dec 01, 2021•19 min
Ed welcomes social housing expert and consultant, Jonathan Gregory to the podcast. Plenty to learn about the sector in this very open and honest chat between the pair - one experienced in the private rental sector, the other in the social rental sector. Jonathan has a background in social care and managing children’s homes and is well-known as a part of the social housing, maintenance and repair side of the industry. He also provides coaching/advice to organisations and is a consultant at sector...
Nov 01, 2021•19 min
The famous App that divides the world into 57 trillion, 3x3 metre squares and each having a unique code of 3 words – what3words. We are delighted to have what3words head of UK partnerships, Luis Galdino-Glaeser on the Ed Talks podcast. “Co-ordinates are not very easy to communicate human to human.” Our new safety app, ViewBuddy, uses what3words and helps anyone in the property industry on property appointments alone. It lets others know where you are and alerts them in emergencies with a simple ...
Sep 06, 2021•28 min
Viewber co-founder, Ed, has recorded episode two of what we are calling ‘The Ed Mead Diaries’ – a solo series, revealing more about his property career, personal stories, wins, losses – with a whole lot of honesty thrown in there too. This time, Ed talks about renting. Lately, we’ve been researching this topic in more detail. It can be a touchy subject and there are LOTS of opinions about renting vs buying – take our latest blog post for example, ‘Why are Brits hung up on homeownership?’ - https...
Jul 27, 2021•2 min
Thinking about starting a career in the property industry or know someone who is? Would REAL insight into Estate Agency help? Or might you just like to know a bit more, have a refresh, learn some new tips and tricks from a long term, successful player. We've started a new series with Viewber Co-Founder Ed Mead - it could be time to reeeeally find out what Ed's journey has been like. With 40 years in this industry, he has some salient knowledge to pass on (plus a few amusing and rather honest tal...
Jul 05, 2021•3 min
Usual Ed Talks form is to chat with someone industry based – different this time as Ed talks to Iain, a Viewber based in the Gloucester area. The perfect chance to dive a little deeper into what being a Viewber is really like, the sort of people who are carrying out various property appointments on behalf of our clients and how these appointments happen – what better way than to bring a REAL Viewber onto the show?! Before we begin, this statement in particular means a lot, as Iain says “Viewber ...
Jun 09, 2021•23 min
This time, it's Ed's turn to be in the hot seat and we really wanted to share this with you. Viewber co-founder, Ed Mead was invited onto David Sandeman’s new series – ‘Dialogue with David’ David is head of the Essential Information Group and has been watching us grow the business at Viewber since 2016 David IS Mr Auctions and is so full of knowledge. This is a relaxed and honest chat between Ed and David, the two share snippets of their personal journeys in property – both very different (ex-es...
Mar 15, 2021•9 min
Longevity works? Ed talks to London based Ludlow Thompson MD, Alexander Rawlinson in this Lockdown edition episode. Alex has been part of the company for a long, long time (unusual these days) and is partly why Ed wanted to talk to him. Alex reveals that typically, Ludlow Thompson mainly deal with more lettings properties than sales, but Covid has levelled that up. Ed: “Why are you experiencing more lettings and sales at the same time now?” Alex: “We’ve not experienced this before. Both lettings...
Feb 24, 2021•29 min
Instead of pointing out deficiencies, Ed Mead, as an ex estate agent and now Proptech Founder at Viewber, started a discussion recently looking for solutions to speeding up the home buying and selling process. Peter Ambrose, a principle at The Partnership - a team of property solicitors - has joined that discussion so have a look at their video session to see what they think! Watch the chat here: https://vimeo.com/484496228
Dec 01, 2020•13 min
