16th January 2018
Devon estate agent reviews are plentiful, with glowing client testimonials, so how do you decide which agent to use? We hope that the first of our longer case studies demonstrates the high level of wise and professional guidance and counsel we offer alongside exceptional marketing and a seamless, friendly service.
“They acted throughout with a perfect combination of professional expertise, finesse, kindness and a sensitivity of understanding. We remain immensely grateful to Richard and his excellent team for making a potentially stressful exercise as simple and pleasurable as possible.”
Choosing Richard Addington and Jackson-Stops Exeter to sell our home was the best decision we made. Their insight and advice were invaluable, they thoroughly understood our requirements and we are immensely grateful to them all for making a potentially stressful exercise as simple and pleasurable as possible.
Having been resident in their family home for more than 40 years, the owners of an elegant Georgian property in Devon wanted to sell the property and build a new, modern home within the surrounding land owned by them. Much of the land had been acquired over the years with advice and negotiations undertaken by Richard Addington. Realising that the overall exercise of dividing up the properties ahead of any sale of their property would not be without its own particular issues, they instructed Richard Addington to visit at the outset of the exercise, some years before their home was placed on the market.
Invaluable guidance from the outset
“Richard’s advice was absolutely invaluable and as a direct result we changed the prospective boundaries of our new home, planting appropriate hedging and trees and repositioning fences. As with all of his previous dealings, his sensitive and practical advice was brilliant and he mapped out our boundaries and negotiated with local farmers, such was the extent of his knowledge about what we required and considerations we needed to think about carefully as a result of the property split.”
Professional counsel
Building a new home in the grounds of an existing property threw up issues around boundaries and mutual covenants, but the owners knew that Jackson-Stops was on their side. “They offered wise and experienced professional counsel on technical aspects, including structuring the sale and extent of land to be included, to protect our remaining adjoining properties. Richard is in a different category to other property agents: a real professional and a real gentleman and that shone through.
Marketing
From early preparation of draft particulars, sensitive oversight of the final sale plans, photography and pricing strategies, the owners felt they could trust Jackson-Stops. “Their friendly, sensitive, approachable and courteous manner throughout meant we felt confident that the Jackson-Stops team were 100% on our side and available throughout.”
Accurate advice
“Richard’s initial assessment of the optimum structuring of the property to be offered, and his appraisal of the likely market price, turned out to be both successful and uncannily accurate.”
Seamless service
The team at Jackson-Stops Exeter was primed to deal with every eventuality. Our service ensures that clients are able to contact anyone in the team for full details of progress, rather than having to wait to speak to a specific person. “The whole team is so lovely. Emma and Mike also came to see our property in order to understand our position and requirements and to allow the team to vet potential purchasers for us. As a result, the viewing exercise turned out to be a pleasant experience every time and, in fact, Emma accurately predicted which viewers would make an offer!”
Potential purchasers
Astonished by the number of potential purchasers that came to view the property, the owners were thrilled that the Jackson-Stops team had managed to organise so many viewings. “All were genuine individuals and the viewings were always arranged with great consideration to our other commitments and the realities of this particular sale. There were so many over a short space of time; we’ve never kept the house so tidy!”
“When the first serious purchasers were unable to proceed due to an issue on their side, we received a lovely letter from them wishing us the best of luck with the sale. Interestingly, when the person that bought our property first came through our door we knew that we had met our buyers, and a delightful neighbour. These, and others, are testament to the thorough vetting process undertaken by Jackson-Stops.”
Keen negotiating skills
With an acceptable initial offer on the table, Richard utilised his experience and skill to personally handle the negotiations, remaining sensitive to the needs of the current owners. “Throughout the entire process, Richard and his team were always immediately available to us, all completely up-to-date with the latest position and all giving similar wise counsel. Their anticipation of pitfalls was carefully covered in a courteous and professional manner and their problem solving skills were very much in evidence – any issues were passed to us with sensible solutions; we had no worries at all on this account throughout the whole sale process.”
A final word
When asked what stood out for them, the owners commented: “everyone in the office knew exactly what was going on – we never had to remind them. Everyone was rooting for us and understood exactly how the sale should proceed. We received a very personal, individual, friendly service and that makes all of the difference.
“They acted throughout with a perfect combination of professional expertise, finesse, kindness and a sensitivity of understanding. We remain immensely grateful to Richard and his excellent team for making a potentially stressful exercise as simple and pleasurable as possible.”
We believe that our service – from beginning to end – gives our clients a clear advantage when it comes to selling their home. If you’re thinking of putting your home on the market this year, contact Richard Addington on 01392 214222 or email our Exeter office.
