| The Negotiator Magazine

MORTGAGE UPDATE: the inflation-base rate balancing act

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Inflation is the talk of the town as market spectators watch with wonder about its future impact on Bank Base Rate.

MORTGAGE UPDATE: the base rate guessing game

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The latest report from a leading economic think tank claims the Bank Base Rate will stay at 0.5% until 2014, while the government's own Office for Budgetary Responsibility suggests that rates may rise next year.

EMERGENCY BUDGET: implications for the property sector

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Many will have been dreading chancellor George Osborne's first Budget but, overall, it proved less damaging than was feared for the property market.

DILEMMA: Creating an event-linked ad campaign

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The World Cup is finally here, and I know I've missed an opportunity to exploit it to my business advantage. I know there is the potential to integrate such major events into my marketing strategy, but I'm just not sure how to go about doing so. Can you help?

MORTGAGE UPDATE: Fixed rates maintain sex appeal

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The Council of Mortgage Lenders has revealed that gross mortgage lending declined 12% to around £10.2bn last month compared with March, which is the lowest April total since 2000.

MORTGAGE UPDATE: The rates game

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To fix or not to fix? That is the question, as Andrew Montlake of Coreco explains.

Getting more from your website

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Technology holds the key to your future success, with your website proving one of your biggest lead generators. Here, Google's James Bacon explains how to maximise your web offering with a few simple tweaks.

DILEMMA: Lettings

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We are a small but growing lettings and property management firm with plans to increase our managed portfolio. We have a number of landlord clients who instruct us on a tenant find-only basis to whom I want to cross-sell our fully-managed proposition to, as I don't think it's a service we've been exploiting enough in the past. But how do I start?

Blooming Chelsea

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The Chelsea Flower Show is one of the most popular Summer society events in the capital's calender. Here, Foxtons' Ian Brownridge explains the impact on the local property market, and the features in demand.

MORTGAGE UPDATE: Lloyds caps interest-only deals

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Lloyds Banking Group has put the cat among the lending pigeons by announcing that it will no longer provide loans on an interest-only basis above £500,000.

The government's CGT plan explained

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The newly-formed coalition government has proposed to bring Capital Gains Tax in line with Income Tax. Here, Clare Hartnell, global head of property with tax specialist Grant Thornton, explains the implications.

Watt engineering

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He’s not called Bob and he’s not a builder, but former Countrywide managing director Alec Watt claims to have just the answer for fixing your furnishing dilemmas, as he explains to Clare Bettelley.

DILEMMA: Complaint handling

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Customers are becoming more demanding about the service standards they expect from my staff, and a number have written in to complain. Dealing with complaints takes time and is non-productive. What can I do to minimise the problem?

The Tesco factor

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Tesco was recently rumoured to be entering the house builder market. Here, Clare Bettelley talks to the supermarket giant to discover the truth behind its housing development strategy.

MORTGAGE UPDATE: The return of the fix 'n' mix

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Despite some paralysis in the market in the immediate run-up to the general election, mortgage product launches have been progressing rather nicely.

MORTGAGE UPDATE: Why fixed is the new black

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In the wake of the general election becoming a three-party race, there have been some interesting movements in the mortgage and property markets, as Andrew Montlake explains.

ALAN'S ANGST: The frustration of progress

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In this weekend’s Guardian magazine, the entertaining Oliver Burkeman comments on the preposterous way we spend vast amounts of money attempting to make rustic the things on which our ancestors spent vast amounts of time trying to gentrify.

ALAN'S ANGST: Say no to agency puff

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As part of our new e-newsletter series about agency angst, Alan Howick, director of Harlow-based Howick & Brooker, explains why agency jargon makes a mockery of the profession.

ALAN'S ANGST: Wave goodbye to double standards

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In the first of a new e-newsletter series about agency angst, Alan Howick, director of Harlow-based Howick & Brooker, shares his frustration with local touting practices.

LETTINGS UPDATE: London market view

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The lettings market has been hit with a raft of changes over the last few months. Here, Silvia Eldawi, lettings director for Northfields Estates, shares her views on their impact.

RECRUITMENT UPDATE: Agency pay gathers momentum

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Agency salaries are increasing as firms realise that quality candidates require more money and benefits, according to the latest market data from Dove & Hawk, as James Huntly explains.

Riding on the crest of an agency wave

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Wilf Lewis' true love may be surfing, but he's determined to persuade a greater proportion of the agency market that there's much to be loved about IT providing you maximise its potential, as he explains to Clare Bettelley.

Much HIP ado about nothing

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US screenwriter William Goldman could easily have been talking about the Home Information Pack market when he decried Hollywood as an industry in which no-one knows anything.

Agency hope springs eternal

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Mergers and acquisitions and expansion plan launches are inevitable after a recession, and agency is no exception.

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