MOV8 Real Estate, Estate Agents and Solicitors was delighted to open its new office at 77 Renfrew Street, Glasgow, on August 3. Robert Carroll, Managing Director, says: “As a company that buys and sells properties for clients across Scotland, the areas around Glasgow and Edinburgh are our largest markets, so it was really important to us to have a permanent base in the West of Scotland alongside our Head Office in the north west of Edinburgh.
“Of equal importance was our ability to tap into the huge pool of talent that exists in what is perhaps the largest job market in Scotland. We expect to settle around 2000 private client conveyancing transactions this year and closer to 3000 in 2020.
“We want every single one of those clients to have a 5-star customer service experience and that can only happen if we have the very best people working for us.” Combining marketing-leading salaries and benefits in the estate agency and conveyancing sectors with modern, high-amenity office space will help MOV8 to attract the most talented and ambitious people in the industry.
Robert is no stranger to challenging convention in the residential property sales industry in Scotland. He launched a highly innovative estate agency model in 2009 that offered an affordable, high quality and results-focused estate agency service to property sellers after the financial crash. This led to the business rapidly becoming the largest estate agency business in East Central Scotland both for the number of properties coming to the market and the number of sales, a position it has held every year since 2014.
MOV8 offers estate agency and conveyancing services under one roof. This means whether you’re buying your first home, purchasing a buy-to-let or selling one house to buy another, all of your needs can be met by one company.
Robert says: “I’m convinced this cuts down on communication issues and means property buyers and sellers are more likely to see their purchase or sale complete successfully.”
MOV8’s innovative approach has continued with the business shutting its estate agency branches in 2017 and 2018 and consolidating 60-plus staff into one large head office before opening the Glasgow office. Robert is convinced the age of branch-based estate agency is over.
“People increasingly live their lives on smartphones and tablets and that trend is only heading one way,” he points out. “They buy their weekly shop from their sofa and find their dream house when they are in bed. They expect to be able to access their data 24 hours a day. And they expect businesses to be open seven days a week.
“The majority of people, however, still want advice and support throughout their property sale or property purchase. I believe the best approach is to have large teams of very talented individuals all working together in modern, fit-for-purpose offices and to continue to invest in people and technology that give modern customers and clients the level of service that they expect in 2019.”
The traditional solicitor estate agency model, with high street branches, is under pressure throughout Scotland from hybrid estate agencies and Robert says: “What really differentiates solicitor estate agents from a hybrid estate agency is that we offer a far superior service by recruiting the best professionals in the industry who deliver better results at competitive prices. As a hugely important part of that, solicitor estate agents can offer an end-to-end service that includes both the estate agency and conveyancing work.
“One of our biggest challenges is hiring people in the legal sector who are able to provide the level of customer service that the company demands. The financial crash led to very few law firms investing in training new solicitors and paralegals, so there is a shortage of candidates in this sector.
“To overcome this, in the short term we continue to recruit very carefully and only to select candidates who have a real focus on customer service. For the longer term, we have started hiring and training our own trainee solicitors so that all they know is ‘the MOV8 way’. This should help us to create a strong base of the best solicitors in the industry for the coming years.”
MOV8 is looking to fill a number of roles, including all levels of solicitor, paralegals and legal admins to work in its Glasgow and Edinburgh offices.
“We’re also delighted to announce Tracy McAlpine has joined the firm as Head of New Build,” says Robert. “She brings several years of experience of specialising in new build conveyancing work and has developed strong relationships with the country’s leading homebuilders.”
MOV8 aims to be the Estate Agent Solicitor of choice for the whole of Scotland by 2025, selling more homes than any other agent, achieving the best possible sales price and offering superior client service.
Robert concludes: “In terms of best places to work, MOV8 benchmarks itself not against other law firms or estate agency firms but against companies in all sectors. We truly strive to be one of the best employers in Scotland.”
