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A former healthcare executive is the latest convert to become an online agent with easyProperty, the company has announced.

Richard Ayres has purchased the licence for Grantham, Sleaford and Lincoln – he’s lived in the area for five years and has owned property there for over 13 years.

Ayres most recently worked in procurement for BUPA Healthcare but over the past three decades has worked in various positions in different sectors for companies including Morgan Stanley, Virgin Atlantic and British Gas.

“I want to bring my procurement experience to the forefront, help to change the way property is brought and sold, seek to cut out complexity and help buyers and sellers to save money on selling and buying property without compromising on high quality customer service” he says.

“I feel the cost of estate agent fees, mortgage deals and conveyancing can be the areas where we can keep it simple and really help our customers be them buying or selling, to get better lower cost deals without compromising on quality of service, so they end their transactions feeling positive and ready to re-engage with easyProperty the very next time they want to buy, sell or rent a property” Ayres adds.

The agency last week announced that it had added Glasgow, Edinburgh, Paisley and Hamilton in Scotland to its portfolio where agents operate, in addition to existing operations in Liverpool, Cheshire, Manchester, Portsmouth, Plymouth, North West London, Surrey, Lincoln, West Yorkshire, North and South Wales.

David Brierley, easyProperty chief executive officer, says: “The pandemic has seen a huge shift in consumer behaviour and our online presence is the new and only way forward.”

easyProperty has three packages which it describes as providing “a full-service experience that will benefit customers” including an upfront charge of £795, a split fee of £395 then £895 on completion, and a no sale/no fee option of one per cent including VAT.

The financial services industry’s much-hyped mortgage holiday scheme, heavily endorsed by the government, could cost home owners hundreds of pounds in extra payments it is claimed.

On average, homeowners looking for help with their mortgage payments have an outstanding loan of £136,000 according to research by personal finance website money.co.uk.

Taking a three-month mortgage holiday would see their regular monthly payments jump by £11.21 to £720.22 and based on an average 21-year term, this would cost an additional £665.08 it adds.

With the scheme now extended to six months, the additional three month period could mean that it total £1,331.95 could be added to the full amount owed.

“Mortgage holidays have proved to be a lifeline for millions of homeowners, who would have otherwise struggled to meet their payments and may have faced losing their homes” explains Salman Haqqi, personal finance expert at the website.

“However, our findings show that payment holidays should be a short term fix. It’s important to remember that you will still owe the money and interest will continue to accrue while the deferred payments remain unpaid. And in most cases when a customer takes a three month payment holiday in a 21 year or 252 month mortgage, the end date of the mortgage doesn’t get automatically extended, so the customer now needs to pay back the mortgage in 249 months” he continues.

“As the nation gradually starts to open for business and furloughed workers are brought back, restarting mortgage payments should be a priority. And, if you are still able to make your payments in full, you should continue to do so.”