Martin, not sure if your post is a comment on my status as an Adviser? 

If no, then .. oh, well, but if yes....

For the record, and if necessary I will make myself known (rather than using a forum pseudonym), but for the past 11 years I have built a portfolio of properties and I own a boutique lettings agency as well, so my Clients benefit from someone who not only talks the talk, but has walked the walk for more than a decade too.  I also have pension policies, life assurance plans, critical illness cover, savings, investments as well as loans, debts, overdrafts, a business with staff, I have JV's with selected partners and arrange insurance for portfolios, single properties, and even have many new FTB BTL'ers now developing their portfolios with my advice too (yes, BTL mortgages are available for them as well)..

My advice, therefore, is educated, experienced, qualified, without complaint or question, and my compliance department (who checks our advice and proposition regularly) has never failed us over many years of scrutiny.

Do I tick any more boxes?

I look forward to hearing from you - mark@property118.com

OK so if I used you as a LA would you charge tenants anything.
If so I wouldn't use you
If you refused to subscribe to LRS and tenantid and use them ; I wouldn't use you.
All I would require you to do is provide the tenant.
If the tenant passes MY RGI check and I accept them I would then pay you about £450.00

If I wanted you to source a mortgage and you wanted to charge me commission I wouln't use you.
Life insurance , Cavendish offer about the best deal with rebating
Pension policies; not worth the paper their written; rip of charges.
ISA's far better solution
Critical illness; probably Cavendish again but internet  for sourcing
Debts. overdrafts  mmmmm I was rolling £300000.00 through numerous bank accounts every 3 months via credit cards before you even started in business.
My problem was instead of possibly unlike you I stupidly lent those monies to idiots who chose not to pay me back.
Otherwise I would have been sitting on about £9000000.00 of equity
So more fool me.
I reckon nobody was working the credit cards like I was; and me not being a professional.
Indeed I had occasion to discuss with advisors what I was doing and they just couln't work it out.
It was simple really you just had to read the terms and conditions and it was easy though time consuming; but I had no choice as I was not being repaid by idiots I lent to.
Insurance; easy to find it cheap on the internet.
Portfolio advice; no don't need that
It's pretty basic stuff you just need to buy property BMV if you can; get cheap mortgage deal, and have a decent deposit ideally.
Source tenants via an online LA
Do an RGI check and use  LRS, job done
No advice needed.
So as you can see I would not need your educated , experienced, qualified personage to manage my circumstances.
But I do appreciate that there will be people who do not wish to do the donkey work themselves; which is fine.
That being the case there will hopefully be a continuing amount of income generating work for you.
However I will not be one of those people.
That doesn't mean you are not needed for the services you provide; just that I can do my own donkey work and come up with the same answers as you without paying commission and in most cases receiving rebates over coming years etc.
More people are comfortable with making their own financial enquiries with the advent of the internet.
As a consequence there is less need for advisors as people are now more confident in carrying out their due diligence at their own speed in an unpressured environment.
You could say the internet has democratised advice so that we don't need to pay for it anymore.
I think that is now the way of the world and you can't put the genie back in the bottle now.

Not sure if you were doing the credit card thing before I was in business as I actually started my first Company in 1985.  If you were indeed doing it then, then well done.

The reason my Clients work with me regularly and repeatedly (and yes, I do charge a professional fee for my advice - not 'commission', but a structured fee for professional advice provided) is that they recognise the value on buying products not just on price but much more importantly on features, flexibility and the ability to add, deduct, amend or adjust the terms when necessary.  My Clients typically own 200+ properties and even though they can intelligently go out and source their own insurance off the 'net - just like you can do so cleverly - they choose (funnily enough)  instead to work with a team of professional advisers who can secure best value deals (usually tailored and built behind the scenes with product manufacturers and underwriters) which not only achieve the answers which you truly cannot come up with as I do ("without paying commission" - it's so not just about cost as you'll learn through my posts) but about managing without issue the changing face of their portfolio's cover and financial structures at short notice as and when necessary, and sometimes at very very short notice.

There will (hopefully) indeed be a continuing need from the vast majority of investors who properly want due diligence carried out (by professionals who really know the underwriters, systems, procedures, features and who have the buying power to secure best value deals) and I too hope that my business will continue to be sought and instructed by our large loyal Client bank.  One never knows of course, however the true "donkey work" that we do is borne out by our service showing all of the above issues are more than just laymens "donkey work", which you have clearly convinced yourself is all that us Advisers do ... for a commission.

The debate about the 'genie' was closed years ago when it was proven without question that people who simply want a cheap policy or loan or mortgage (without any true care for the terms, flexibility, etc) can buy a product that way, and good luck to them.  We call these people "policyholders".  People, however, who understand the need for proper financial planning, the need for professional 3rd party due diligence, the essential requirement for fund/portfolio/investment management by active managers, the realworld view that true Advisers do not not work in - or implose -  a "pressurised environment" and their desire to achieve through considered and joined up thinking, we call "Clients".  Policyholders are commonly deemed to be a danger to themselves (hence so many IFA's, networks etc refuse to work on an 'execution only' basis as these  buyers are deemed far too high risk to themselves and the Companies) whereas Clients are a joy to work with and we have no worry that the 'genie' was, is  or will ever be a true threat to professional Advisers.

"You could say the internet has democratised advice so that we don't need to pay for it anymore." - oh yes you do pay for it.  Usually by buying products with higher rates, fees or by spending efforts, energies and wasting your own valuable time in protracted application processing, when for a relatively small investment, a true knowledgable Professional would take away the stresses, frustrations and issues, whilst at the same time presenting far better products which are not even found on any sourcing systems or comparison websites.

Mr Barrett, I think that with us there will be the issue of "ne'er the twain will meet", so I will not comment further and so I will allow you to have the last word, which you will no doubt be champing at the bit to have.

No fair enough I started working the system about 15 years ago so you have been in business longer than me.
And no I think there is always needs for people such as you; it is just that not all people will need advisors/salesman such as you.
That is not to denigrate what you have achieved.
I would conjecture that there will always be people that would wish to use your services and all power to you.
It is just that you are not vital for everybody as it is possible to achieve what you may achieve but at considerably less cost.
That is the simple reality of the situation.
There is no right or wrong way; people will always choose what suits them and in most case with advisors they will have to pay dearly for such advice.
I see nothing wrong with that; it is their choice.
You clearly fulfill a need and have clearly managed and are managing such circumstances and making money to boot.
Which is great.
But as I have said it is horses for courses.
I am jusrt onne of those people that recognises I can go a different course without detriment to what I may achieve compared to to what you may achiev.
That is my choice and perogative..
I don't think there is any right or wrong way it is just what a person is comfortable with.
You clearly provide a level of comfort to your clients.
Personally I find I am able top manage without that comfort level.
That is not to say I would adhere to maintain the way I do things.
So I would never say never when it comes to possibly using an advisor.

@ea5142ca7d0f484968554866f7b417c6:disqus  - please see the comment I've provided a link to below and my response to it. Would you care to chip in?
http://www.property118.com/index.php/london-council-opens-letting-agency/24014/#comment-429019954