10 questions for Graeme MacLeod of Cumberland Estate Agents

1. What is your name? Graeme MacLeod

2. What is the name of your company? Cumberland Estate Agents

3. What is your job? Managing director

4. How long have you been in business? I’ve been an estate agent for 20 years and I’ve managed networks of branches all over the north of England in Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, York, the North East and now happily back in Cumbria with the Cumberland.

5. What are the strengths of the area’s property sector? Diversity – from terraces in industrial towns to pads in the heart of the national park.

6. What are its weaknesses and how would you overcome them? It comes down to the local economy and attracting businesses and people to our brilliant county.

7. What’s your favourite place in Cumbria? I was brought up in the South Lakes area and having returned home after many years away, I spend as much leisure time as I can in it.

8. What differentiates you from other Cumbrian agents? There’s no doubt that we are radically different. Our sales and lettings team is based centrally and ready to take customer inquiries across Cumbria up until 8pm on weekdays and 4pm on weekends including Sundays. Our valuers also offer market appraisals on evenings and Sundays too. And our high street presence is huge - the footfall through our building societies is measured in thousands of customers a week rather than the dozens that visit a traditional high street agency office.

9. What one thing would you change about your industry? There is a whole lot that needs to change to improve customer outcomes by delivering more completed sales and better value for money fees. The industry sector is at the beginning of a huge change and agents that don’t adapt will ultimately lose their customer base.

10. What was your best Cumbrian sale? Actually, it’s the sales we didn’t make last year at the time of the floods where the Cumberland worked with the owners of our vacant unsold properties who offered up their homes for rental to the flood victims. Our customers could have hiked their rents to take advantage of the situation but they didn’t, despite delaying their chance of a sale. Really inspiring.

Contact details: graeme.macleod@cumberland.co.uk, tel. 01228 403222