Stewart Lilly, President of the NAEA 2007-8 has suddenly resigned from the Board of the National Federation of Property Professionals (NFOPP) and from the Board of its estate agency division, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA).

Stewart tells Propertydrum that his growing concern over the way the organisation has developed in the last two years has caused him great anxiety and frustration. Having joined the NAEA in 1968 he says its status is now diluted:
“Of those 42 years, for 33 of them, I have held some form of office, either at branch level or national level, culminating in becoming President for 2007/8, for which I am quite proud. I have donated a few dozen hours to this Association. However, I was the first President to encounter and experience the newly created Board of Directors (that I was part of) called the NFOPP. It is my view that, sadly, I have witnessed the NAEA's status diluted, as members and the public alike struggle sometimes with recognition of what is NFOPP-vs-NAEA. The Board's overseeing role was to be for Budgetary, Policy and Strategy only, it would not be the public face. We were assured that the NAEA & ARLA would, therefore, dominate and that no real difference would occur.”

Stewart says that this is no longer the case and that members need to be aware of the changes at Arbon House. “I remain concerned that some recommendations to the Board from the NAEA Council have either been rejected or over-ruled… it is all down to control. An expensive new management team has been set up with control of finances, of the management, staff; it has got out of hand. We had an impressive surplus, cash in the bank, 18 months ago. Now we are way off budget and we (the board) have very little say in the way the money has been spent. Presidents are now only allowed to take office for one year, meaning that it is almost impossible to create change.”

The response to Stewart’s resignation was swift and heartfelt; comments from fellow members included: “I thought that mine was a lone voice saying the emperor has no clothes” and “MAF (the Members Advisory Forum) is now a meaningless group whose comments are seldom listened to or acted upon.”

Peter Bolton King, CEO of NFOPP and the NAEA, is on holiday this week but he told Propertydrum’s editor: “Stewart has been involved with the NAEA for many years and I am grateful for all he has done. Clearly everyone should have the opportunity to say what they feel and sometimes one person will not agree with the others. As I travel the country and talk to members the general feeling appears to be very positive and, as I have said in the forthcoming magazine, we will continue, as always, listen to members and react accordingly.”