Neil Patel returns to estate agency market – complete with social conscience

Some names never quite disappear from the property industry and we were intrigued to get an update from Canada, where Neil Patel now lives.

Patel, a former estate agent, operated a business called OneMove in the UK, but left these shores owing money to a number of people, including his own staff, cleaners, a video company which helped him with his OneMove TV, at least one trade newspaper, and his public relations firm.

Despite the involvement of an international debt collector, and promises by Patel to return and tidy up his affairs, and at least one county court judgement ordering him to pay a member of staff, people are still waiting for their money so far as we know.

Agents who had signed up to OneMove – an e-conveyancing firm which dished out BlackBerries and promised to pay agents’ weekly advertising costs to the tune of £50m if they subscribed to his services – reminded themselves of the adage about something that sounds too good to be true.

Patel did not take long to resurface in Canada, running something called Webidiotz.

We don’t know how that particular business is going. However, someone who contacted Estate Agent Today this week said they had done work for it and are still owed money, and wish they had read this site before they had dealings.

Hopefully, Patel has now settled this particular bill – although not by yesterday morning when we last checked.

However, it is intriguing to see how Patel has moved back into the property world and is now running Property Deal Today, and its holding company Property Beacon.

Apparently, if you read his explanations on Property Deal Today, the collapse of OneMove was entirely due to the UK property market crashing and Patel himself seems to have been the biggest victim.

Anyway, all that is now behind him, and Patel now steers a company described as “becoming the trusted community of real estate agents, property service providers and skilled traders in communities across North America”.

Furthermore, it has a social conscience and a very charitable 10% of revenues is given to local good causes. Indeed, “it is the only way to do business”, says a smartly-suited Patel on television (see the first link).

If Neil Patel is reading this, we do of course give him full right of reply. He may well have settled up his debts in the UK – although not all of them.

His former PR company, based in Surrey, told us it remains unpaid for its work, and added: “I wonder if we could count as a good cause?”

https://www.btwinnipeg.ca/videos/2737435346001/

https://www.propertydealtoday.com/Winnipeg/Team/#&panel1-1&panel2-1