Diary of an Estate Agent
Diary of an Estate Agent: Stars and Sundays
Monday
Gym, coffee, feedback. Before the sun comes up Paul and I are halfway through our regular Monday morning workout at the Hogarth Health Club: weights and sauna followed by breakfast to forward plan the week that lies ahead. I firmly believe that if you have a great Monday you’re going to have a fantastic week so Monday always gets the attention it deserves. The coffee is hot and the phone is cold but that’s about to change. First thing’s first on a Monday morning – every buyer I’ve met over the weekend is called so I can gather, collate and communicate their feedback to our sellers. Every seller has already been contacted so I could relay my impression of how the viewings went, but the buyers’ feedback trumps my gut instinct. An offer comes in (these phone calls are always lengthy as there is a lot of due diligence on our part) and I discuss it at length with Paul before putting it forward to our client for their consideration. Then it’s swiftly on to the new enquiries that have filtered through over the weekend.
Tuesday
Diary day. Monday’s offer is still being mulled over both by our client and our team so I spend the day generating first and second viewings and then coordinating them with our clients and buyers. We are selective with our buyers, working only with the very best and – in our jargon – ‘proceed-able’ purchasers. Our monthly Negotiator Magazine landed on my desk and our Artists At Home sponsorship board has been featured! A brilliant surprise for the whole office! We’re gearing up for the 10th annual Negotiator Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Friday. Paul has been shortlisted for Rising Star of the Year but it’s a crowded shortlist with 19 other incredible agents so we’re tempering our excitement… for now…
Wednesday
Sales progression. Between us, Paul and I speak to every solicitor, mortgage broker, surveyor, client and buyer to ensure each of our 14 agreed sales are coming along swimmingly. Appointments are put in the diary and missing paperwork (not in our office as we are paper-free!) is sourced so all is running smoothly. Each bit of progress is then fed back in real time to our sellers. We often say a ‘sale agreed’ is not a ‘sale indeed’ and our work really begins when the public often believe it ends! Progression, which is an absolute minefield of a process, is such an important part of what we do. This is where we earn our fee and when most sellers begin to rue the day they instructed an online agent or the cheapest agent to manage their sale. This is where the value of Horton and Garton Chiswick is felt by our sellers. Our sellers have decided to reject the first offer from Monday morning so it’s back on the phone straight away to the buyer to guide them on where we go from here. It’s open mic night at the George IV, one of my favourite pubs in Chiswick, so I’m popping along for a cold pint and a warm welcome.
Thursday
Final push. Today we push for an extra round of weekend viewings and focus on our strategy for managing Saturday and Sunday. Once every relevant buyer has been contacted we step into strategy, planning and marketing ideas for 2019. Our brainstorming session is interrupted by a call requesting a valuation. Eighty percent of our new listings come our way via word of mouth but this gentleman has read a commentary on the W4 property market by Paul and wants to meet him at lunchtime today which is, of course, perfect with us. If you can’t rearrange your diary to accommodate a first meeting with a potential client at their preferred time, that first point of contact won’t accurately tell the story of our service. After a brilliant valuation in the Glebe Estate, we’re back in the office for a flurry of creative thinking. We loved using humour in our Halloween campaign, which was well received by both Chiswick locals and property press, and are wondering if we could integrate some more fun into our plans for 2019.
Friday
Ready to launch. We have arranged five off-market viewings for a property that won’t officially come to market until January. I’m readying myself for a weekend packed with meeting brand new buyers and carefully gauging their responses. This is one of the best bits of my job. I love meeting our buyers so I can get to know their exact requirements and source their ideal home. For us, agency isn’t a numbers game. We look after our buyers and sellers for life, truly getting to know each of them. We change into our black tie and head to the Grosvenor House Hotel for the 10th annual Negotiator Awards. Paul brings home Silver in the Rising Star category – we couldn’t be prouder!
Saturday
Best day of the week! I love Saturdays. Not because it’s a day off (it never is!) but because I’m meeting new people and making new friends. (I pray for sun to showcase our properties at their very best.) Two of the lovely buyers I met last weekend will be, I’m certain, my friends for life. We’ve already put a dinner in our diary and I couldn’t be happier to be handling their purchase. The day is always so packed that I’m rearranging viewings on the fly and working from either my bike or car… and there is never time for lunch! There is lots of mad scribbling in my diary which I then decipher after the fact and a flow of instantaneous feedback that is sent through to sellers as the viewings are taking place. Those client feedback conversations go on well into the evening…
Sunday
Reserved. Sunday is – officially – my day off. However. I do reserve the occasional viewing for the most important and serious buyers. There is a very high chance of a very good offer if buyers are requesting a Sunday viewing. My second ever sale in Chiswick was agreed on a Sunday for well in excess of £2m. This taught me the value of a Sunday viewing… a lesson I won’t soon forget!
