Category: Our Estate Agents

Dark at 4.30pm. That’s the sad reality now that the clocks have gone back for the winter. And that means trying to get things done after work can be really difficult (unless you work nights of course!!)

And if you’re house or flat hunting that can make trying to view prospective properties very difficult indeed, especially with many agents closing down for most of the weekend. Looking round a property in the dark is a futile experience, you can’t make a buying decision under such conditions.

And what if you’re selling a property? Exactly the same applies. It can be difficult to find a buyer if your Estate Agent doesn’t do weekend viewings when demand is at it’s highest.

One of the reasons we are now the market leader for sales agreed in the area is our attention to details and this includes arranging and overseeing access to our properties during weekends and this includes Sundays.

So if you serious about buying or selling this winter, don’t get caught in the dark, give us a call and move a full step closer to that next home move. Talk to Coventry’s favourite Estate Agents on 02476 010105 today.

The Birmingham Children’s Hospital is very close to my heart. We promised a donation from Elizabeth Davenport after running the Coventry Half Marathon. George and I had a great day, completing the course whilst being cheered on by wonderful spectators. The Birmingham Children’s Hospital treats about 250,000 children a year and by the nature of never being good enough, they are a fundraiser in themselves. From a £5 donation for colouring books to £45,000 for a mechanical heart, the hospital genuinely believes that the families who are treated know that the care of their child is the most precious priority. We wanted to raise enough money to be able to buy a Glideaway bed. These enable Mum’s and Dad’s to spent the night next to their little ones at times when they simply couldn’t be apart. By donating from fees earned between Christmas and now, we are really pleased to have succeeded. Thank you all for your instructions. Every one of our clients has helped!

I’d also like to add that George beat me and that I am not at all bitter. I haven’t dwelt on it. Not at all. I haven’t really given it a second thought. I swear he must have jumped a hedge. Or a corner. Maybe both. Yes, that’s it. I feel much better now.

This December has seen a record amount of activity with many new properties coming onto the market. This bodes well for the New Year when buyers will re-surface from the Christmas break looking in earnest for their new homes. 

In recent years there has been a short supply of property during the New Year spell. At Elizabeth Davenport we have been putting lots of new homes on sale during December and expect the majority of these to sell during January.

We have a huge database of registered buyers waiting for the right property, so if you’re thinking of selling then now is a good time to give us a call and we’ll explain how we can find you a buyer quickly and effectively. Recent independent statistics provided by Rightmove have shown that in the majority of price-bands, Elizabeth Davenport sold more properties in Coventry than any other Estate Agency branch in the city (during 2015). Our representative will be happy to verify theses statistics during the valuation process for your property.

If you’re looking to maximise the return on your home then give us a call. As we have access to more buyers than other Estate Agents we will almost certainly be able to sell your property for more money and in a shorter timeframe. Call us today on 02476 010105.

Did you know that the last Calendar year has seen us sell more houses in excess of £190,000 than any other agent in the Coventry area. We didn’t. Not until we received communication from Rightmove directly expressing there congratulations. Our stock levels are often considerably less than our competitors but from this smaller stock we are selling a higher percentage of homes. We were delighted with this. Selling more from a smaller stock means more client care and better service. Clearly the marketing, photography, office staff and viewing representatives are all doing their job properly too!

However, this success is only is only one half of a very different story!  There is a massive market of property that we often don’t get the opportunity to work with. Market research has shown us that the reason our instruction of properties under £185,000 is a lower percentage is due to the publics perception that our agency only deal with “expensive” homes. Will our fees be “higher” than other agencies? We are pleased to tell you, they are not!

Our ethos, when we launched our business, was to provide “every seller with the opportunity to have the very best of service and presentation but with very much an “average” fee”.  

Last year one particular month saw us sell a home for £625,000 and another for £75,000. I am pleased to tell you that both sellers received the same level of service, the same quality of brochures and photography, accompanied viewings and full sales progression support. The most interesting point for myself was that the sellers of the Willenhall apartment reviewed our services on Google expressing there satisfaction.  They also stated they loved their home above and beyond that expressed by the sellers of the Detached home in Styvechale.

 

Truly every home is a castle and every seller deserves the best possible service. Nowhere does the legend state that they have to pay the most for it!

That’s it then! Summer’s over but all’s not lost and being well an Indian Summer will soon begin!

Our Warwick Row office has been open for just over 13 months now and has also seen our sales performance grow by over 150%. This cannot happen successfully without one vital and often overlooked ingredient. Staff. 

This week we are proud to have employed Georgina D’Arcy who brings with her a wealth of Estate Agency, Administration and Accounts experience. Prior to Georgina we placed ourself in the enviable position of working with Greg Irish an experienced Financial Advisor and Estate Agent who although based at our office can be made available for home visits whenever our clients require (Within reason of course, he’s got a life too you know.) Prior to Greg, another team member with Estate Agency experience, Nicki Page, had been employed to support Yvonne Haywood in one of our most important public facing roles. That’s not all. We have also commandeered the approachable and multi tasking Craig Emmerton who not only undertakes viewings in a genuinely helpful manner (Rather than with a  “just opening the door” and “feel free to have a look around” mentality which seems to be industry commonplace) but  also takes responsibility for the painting and erection of our Sign Boards. Then there’s George and Me. Elizabeth, well I’ll can tell you about her when we meet.

Please don’t just take our word for it. You can’t keep selling houses successfully without the right support and good staff are what any business needs to retain it’s quality of service. Our reviews on www.allagents.co.uk and google say it much more succinctly than we do! Please have a look when you are thinking about which agent you’d like to work with. They can be very revealing!

WINNING FORMULA:  HAPPY STAFF = PRODUCTIVE STAFF = BETTER RESULTS = HAPPY CUSTOMERS

As sales volumes increase with the ever-improving housing market, Elizabeth Davenport is expanding it’s operations and requires both new properties to sell and at the same time requires an experienced office supervisor/senior negotiator to fit into their expanding operations. The successful candidate will bring with them several years in the industry and a track record of successful sales experience.

At Elizabeth Davenport our staff are well rewarded for their efforts, meaning they are highly motivated and this leads to better sales results and more satisfied customers whose properties sell quickly and for full market value due to a combination of unsurpassed marketing material and also expert valuation processes.

Our branch at 23 Warwick Row has a happy, relaxed atmosphere which creates the perfect environment for efficiency and seamless processes. This reflects on both our staff and our customers, who continually leave positive feedback following the services they receive from us.

To arrange for a free valuation of your property or to apply for a role in our growing operation please call our Warwick Row office on 02476 010105.

 

 

 

What a week that was!

A record level of instructions and a record level of sales agreed. It seems that the Coventry buyer really has grown in confidence and together with Mortgage lending we are seeing sensible purchases facilitated by sensible lending. Let’s hope it stays that way. Last week three quarters of the new stock was sold with either asking price offers or above. Most importantly this completely satisfied our clients but it also reinforced the mentality that ” if you don’t overprice a house it will have enough interest to reach it’s own natural level”. That natural level will always be above the asking price (or as the London market now exemplifies,” The Guide Price”!).

From satisfied clients to the shocked and offended . “All fair in Love and War” and “We’ve all got mouths to feed” are just not justifiable hyperbole for ignorance and misleading information.

A potential seller requests multiple valuations or appraisals. Each agent presents their research, their service, the costs and the figure they would like to market the property for. This is how the process works. If you do the job correctly then in far more cases than not you receive the instruction to sell your clients home. We have been witness this week to our clients being approached by agents they haven’t instructed to a) “Dual Market” from day one, b) dis-instruct the chosen agent and c) be told they have made the wrong choice. These same clients have all sold through us within a few days of instruction, we have achieved a superb volume of viewings and the offers have been asking price or above. With our Click Through Rate consistently number 1 in the region and our speed of sale equal to it, I would suggest that some of these “established agents” get their own ships in order to avoid this sort of embarrassment being launched upon them. Extraordinary Practices like this only enhance the poor reputation that many Estate Agents have and that others are, unfairly, often tarnished with.

If you want to be part of a success story that just keeps on growing then selling your property through Elizabeth Davenport would be a prudent move. We have just revealed our 2013 results to October and even we are staggered at the figures. The phrase “selling like hot cakes” is something of an under-statement.

Since the beginning of this year, of the properties that we have put on the market for our clients, 79% have already been sold, 19% are currently on sale and just 2% have been withdrawn.

Needless to say our clients have been absolutely delighted with the results and many have been able to move on to pastures new without stress or delay.

We believe these results to be totally unprecedented in the Coventry area and challenge any of our competitors to come forward if they can beat our figures.

Even more amazing is the prices that our properties have fetched. Just 17% of all our properties marketed during 2013 have need an asking price adjustment, that’s less than 1 in 5, proving that our valuers always give homeowners the most accurate, professional and honest advice.

So if you want to get moving then call us now on 02476 010105. If you prefer to get snoozing then please call one of our competitors.

 

I recently arranged some viewings on a property that was one of those homes that could have attracted the attention of  anyone on the planet, or at least seemingly.

And after all, as I was tought when I studied Economics A-level, price is driven by demand.  In other words if you mange to maximise the demand for any item, commodity or service, you increase it’s value.  The higher the demand , the higher the price.

With this in mind why would it ever make sense to make a commodity or service “exclusive”  and frighten away or “exclude” some of the potential buyers. The simple answer is it would never make sense.

And when one is deciding upon which buyer to choose or indeed which supplier to choose, surely an open mind and a decision based upon merit will lead to a win-win situation, both in economic terms and personal satisfaction terms for both consumer and supplier? Surely yes??!!

Apparently not. Even in 2013, exclusivity is still alive and well. Some consumers, suppliers, buyers and sellers base their decisions not upon what would work best for them or their clients but on whose handshake fits or which buyer is on the right committee.

At Elizabeth Davenport, we don’t have any favourites or hold allegancies. We work to achieve the best results for all of our clients by bringing in the widest range of buyers and customers possible. We don’t judge applicants by their handshake or in fact by their weekend habits, or for that matter their creed, colour, sex, poitical views or indeed anything other than their ability to purchase.

We are inclusive, not exclusive and as a result we achieve the best prices and results for all of our clients.

We’ve just been instructed on a property “To Let” because the Agent didn’t do what the “Landlord” told them.

As a Property Manager I have often faced a question. “Can’t you just tell them to do it!?”

The issue may be about access to the landlord’s rented property. It may be the tenants obligation to keep the grass cut, it could even be that a “dog” has been heard in the house! As it happens the instruction was earned because I explained an agents obligations to a landlord when a previous agent had not.  We have simply made sense of the roles all parties play in a successful relationship.

Your agent is bound by regulations not of their making. It may be the Housing Act 2004, The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 or the Consumer Protection Act 1987. The role they play should be to give advice and the simplest solution to whatever problems faced. You, the Landlord, are our “Client”, the Tenant is our “Customer”. We have a duty of care to the tenant, but we work for you.  So, if you have a request to make of the tenant, or a query or concern and the request is legitimate and legal, the agent should support you because you are “The Client”. If we can help with any Property Management or Lettings issues you may face please contact us and we will be delighted to assist.

By Mark Walmsley