July, 2018
Previously we discussed what we do at Northamptonshire’s newest and most innovative agency. This time we take a closer look at our ‘all under one roof’ style of agency, and why this way of doing things offers our customers so much more.
An all-in-one process
Typically, people will be pointed in the direction of conveyancing firms, independent financial advisers, insurance specialists and mortgage experts by their estate agent, or left to find these services off their own back.
At Oscar James, though, we prefer an all-in-one approach, which is why we provide Financial Services as part of our roster of offerings. We have an expert team of advisers on hand to offer essential, independent mortgage and insurance advice, with clients pointed to the right products for them from a ‘whole-of-market’ product selection. You can contact us for a free, no obligation quotation here.
Conveyancing, meanwhile, is one of the most important and integral parts of a property transaction, and buyers and sellers alike need reliable solicitors to ensure the sales process goes off without a hitch. With this in mind, we’ve teamed up with BHW Solicitors (one of the top 200 law firms in the country) to ensure we have our own team of dedicated in-house qualified property lawyers, acting solely on our transactions.
This helps to make sure the whole process is quicker, smoother and more efficient, with a more joined-up approach between agents and conveyancers. One of the biggest complaints about house purchases and sales is the frustrating delays during the conveyancing process, and the lack of correspondence offered up throughout. By having agents and conveyancers work together (in the same office, in fact), the potential for mixed messages, confusion and hold-ups is drastically lowered.
Combining the expertise of our conveyancing team with our in-house financial services team can help to ensure our clients are put on the fast track to a swift, hassle-free move.
Professional photography
Another vitally important consideration when it comes to selling a home is photography. The more professional your photos are, the better your chances of selling. In fact, research has shown that professional photography can increase click through rates by 61%.
Bad photos with poor lighting will only serve to put would-be buyers off and deter interest from your home. As such, you shouldn’t underestimate the importance of quality photos – and we certainly don’t.
To get your property sold, your home needs to stand out from the competition. To help achieve this aim, we have a brilliant in-house photographer – Thomas – to help you show off your home in the best possible light. He will sit down with you and go through each picture before leaving your home, ensuring that you are totally happy with the photographs he’s taken.
Boards
For Sale and To Let boards still have their place, even for a modern agency. They are a vital part of any agents’ toolkit – backed up by the fact that some 68% of buyers still drive around the area where they want to live seeking out boards. It’s still a great way of instant exposure, of getting your property seen, and of attracting instinctive, impulsive buyers to your home.
Floorplans, too, are now a necessity rather than a ‘nice to have’ luxury. People like to know how large the space they’re looking to buy is, to give themselves a feel of the dimensions of the home and how much room they have to play with.
Having detailed floorplans also helps to reduce the risk of timewasters, as people will know what to expect – having seen the floorplans and the photos – and will be heading to the viewing with some idea of the size and layout of the home.
A rounded approach
As well as conveyancing, financial services, photography, boards and floorplans, we also offer quick routes to market - using intelligent platforms to match our pre-qualified database with properties of interest, allowing us to instantly communicate with our clients across multiple platforms at the push of a button.
What’s more, we’re keen on taking a digital savvy approac, reflecting the increasingly online world we now all inhabit. As well as getting your property seen on Rightmove and OnTheMarket, we also offer premium listings at no extra cost. This can help your home achieve 30% more exposure, drastically increasing the number of possible eyes on your property.
Your property will also appear on our modern, user-friendly website, and we place a big emphasis on the power of social media – so expect to find us tweeting, instagramming and facebooking on a regular basis.
Always available
We also live in an increasingly switched on, 24/7 world. To cater towards this, our phones automatically divert to our mobiles when we are closed, giving both buyers and sellers access to us whenever it is convenient to them.
In addition, we work hard to accommodate viewings in the evenings and at weekends to offer buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants added flexibility.
At Oscar James we have three offices in Northamptonshire – in Burton Latimer, Kettering and Northampton – where we aim to do things a bit differently from the norm.
To find out more about what we offer, and our all-in-one approach to house moves, please get in contact with us at one of our branches.
We also offer a free and instant online valuation if you are eager to know how much your property is worth in today’s market.
