We met with company directors ‘Grant Edward Brooks’, ‘Piers La Fosse’ and ‘Alex Compton’, to find out more about Bournemouth’s favourite, independent estate agent.
A Wealth of Knowledge
These guys bring a wealth of different knowledge to the table. Whilst they have since accumulated years of experience, they haven’t always worked within the property industry.
They have come from various different working backgrounds, gaining diverse life experiences along the way and it is these individual makings that make them such a strong team. Piers for example, spent the early years of his career training to work in the catering industry, but decided it wasn’t the life for him and whilst the world will never experience the gastronomic delights of Chef La Fosse, Edwards’ clients can expect to gain from his ability to work incredibly hard, where other agents might not be able to stand the heat.
Grant, Piers and Alex have gained valuable knowledge in their time as estate and lettings agents working at previous companies and have used this experience (along with their experience as vendors themselves) to create a brand and service that is thoroughly professional and most importantly: puts the client first..
It’s an emotional roller coaster; not just for the vendor but just as much for us. When things are going great we feel great and when they take a slight turn we are right there with them
Alex Compton
A Service an Agent Can Endorse
The team unveiled their various understandings of property as the interview went on and it was evident that they have had a lot of experience, but not just as agents, but also as homeowners and sellers themselves.
Grant spoke about their customer service and their desire to set the bar at a certain level: the Edwards’ level of service. He explained that having been in the same position as many of their customers, the team has identified where most agents fall down. By eradicating these issues and learning from their own experiences they aim to offer a service that they as a client and as an agent, would be happy with.
Everybody that works for Edwards gets trained in the same vain as the original staff. Ensuring that the level of service is standard across the different branches…
We’ve all been through the buying and selling process multiple times. So we understand the process from the side of the vendor. It also means we know where the service can fall down and get a bad reputation, so we make it our business to give a stellar customer experience.
Grant edwards brooks
Made in Bournemouth
We love screaming and shouting about companies who have originated in Bournemouth and that is exactly what these guys did. In December 2009, Grant took a leap of faith
and opened up the first Edwards branch. Having opened a year into one of Britain’s biggest property crashes, Edwards injected vibrancy back into the local market. Whilst many agents were cutting costs to recover, Edwards were investing more and more into their brand and people started to notice.
Their self-investment gave vendors a sense of security and in-turn they wanted to be a part of this buzzing new company. 7 years later Edwards have expanded to four offices, with a potential fifth on the way. Having started with only a handful of employees (and a lot of determination) they have come a very long way, with almost forty employees now under their wing.
Proactive Marketing Makes a Difference
Its no real secret that a portion of the property industry has moved online; not necessarily when it comes to the physical negotiations, but certainly when compiling initial research. We all enjoy a scroll through sites such as ‘Rightmove’, or ‘On the Market’, but have you ever thought about what goes into making those properties so alluring? The team at Edwards take time and care into creating bespoke write ups and photographing your properties finest assets, so that potential buyers can go onto these various websites and see it at it’s very best.
Edwards are also part of the award winning and unique Fine & Country network which means that your property is subject to a wider audience, when it comes to marketing your property for sale, or rent. With 275 offices in the UK and a further 50 worldwide, Fine & Country is certainly one of the largest (and arguably one of the best) network of independent Estate Agents; which for you the vendor, means that your property will be advertised in the window of one of London’s most prestigious addresses. This has opened the door to new buyers and renters, especially those who might wish to relocate to Bournemouth from London or even another part of the world.
Knowing What You Want
When looking for a place to live, we tend to have a set of property credentials in mind: ‘x’ number of bedrooms, a garden, a balcony, whatever it is we tend to create a list and stick to it. But what if everything we want doesn’t look exactly how we thought it would? During our interview ‘Alex’ explained that when a client walks in with an idea of what they want, he would often encourage them to widen their search by adding in extra property characteristics. “I’d say 9 times out of 10, people don’t buy what they said they were initially looking for”, Grant added. It is this extra care and time spent figuring out what a client is really looking for, that helps Edwards to discover people’s dream homes, even when outside of their check box.
We thoroughly enjoyed meeting the team at Edwards and have no doubt that we will be seeing more of their offices popping up in and around Dorset and who knows where else!
Contact your local branch on:
Bournemouth 01202 555550
Ferndown 01202 855595
London 0207 079 1515
Verwood 01202 829777
Wimborne 01202 842842
Visit our new state of the art website at www.edwardestates.com
www.fineandcountry.com
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