Pictured above: Victoria Jeffs with Steven Baker of
Lodders and Mark Bullock of Murphy Salisbury
Presentation, presentation, presentation is as important as
location, location, location, according to Warwickshire's newest
estate agent.
Victoria Jeffs Estate Agents has opened in Stratford-upon-Avon
and is up and running with the help of fellow members of the town's
athletics club.
Business owner Victoria Jeffs is social secretary of Stratford
Athletic Club and she chose Lodders lawyer Steven Baker and Mark
Bullock of accountants Murphy Salisbury as her "running mates" when
she set up the business.
The town's newest estate agency opened for business in September
with four staff in a landmark Grade II listed timber framed
building at 35-36 Guild Street, which is known in Stratford for its
spiral staircase.
Lodders advised on the assignment of the lease for the 1,600 sq
ft of offices and Murphy Salisbury advised on setting up the
business and accounting issues.
Victoria describes the difference that Victoria Jeffs Estate
Agents brings to the property marketplace as "presentation" and
"professionalism" in all that they do.
"We provide professional photography, professionally drawn
floorplans and professionally printed brochures for our clients as
we feel this makes a significant difference in selling your home,"
she said. The right photographs and accurate floorplans are
the cornerstone of any marketing programme - if you don't get this
stage right then you have no chance of getting the right buyers
through the door.
Plus her background as an interior designer before she became an
estate agent means that clients of Victoria Jeffs Estate Agents can
tap into a wealth of experience and advice on how best to present
their homes."This can make all the difference when it comes to
getting people through the door."
With free parking at her offices for clients and a no-nonsense
approach to selling property, it has not taken the Stratford public
long to find the new business and Victoria and her team are already
receiving a steady stream of inquiries for valuations and
instructions to sell as well as buyers registering to find their
new property.
Her background has been in selling residential property with 14
years in estate agency previously with Knight Frank in
Stratford-upon-Avon and latterly with Savills in both Beaconsfield
and Stratford-upon-Avon. When Savills closed its Stratford office
in January 2009, she had an interesting decision to make - join
another corporate or go it alone.
With the help of a local Stratford team of professionals, she
chose to set up her own business and is now confident that her
team's presentation skills can make the difference in finding the
right property for buyers and helping home owners to sell their
properties successfully.
"We believe that the people and houses of Warwickshire deserve
so much more. Many people are surprised that I have opened an
estate agency office in Stratford at the bottom of the market, but
my attitude is 'what better time could there be'," she said.
"We are seeing a return in confidence which is reflected in
instructions and and demand from buyers, we are predicting a busy
autumn for house sales in Warwickshire."
Lodders partner Steven Baker said: "We are really pleased for
Victoria and her team as I know how much hard work she has put in
throughout the summer to get the business ready to open in the
autumn.
"She has demonstrated real entrepreneurial spirit in choosing to
open a new estate agency in Stratford when others have been closing
offices or contracting and we wish her every success."