Why they came to Stacks
The couple lived in an apartment close to Canary Wharf where the wife worked. The husband worked in Colchester. They had had a bad experience with an estate agent in London and came to Stacks to help them find that perfect property. Also both had very limited time to search.
What they were looking for
They were quite specific as listed below.
With regards to location, they wanted:
The property had to be no more than 15 minutes drive from Colchester station.
With regards to the property they were keen to find:
- Their budget was £700,000 but could go a little above.
- A minimum of 3 bedrooms and have a good sized garden.
What the local area could offer
The husband had family in a specific village and it soon became apparent that the property needed to be in that area.
How Stacks helped
We narrowed down the search by viewing a number of properties, most of which we discounted as being totally unsuitable. We finally came up with just 3 properties which matched the clients’ criteria so a viewing day was set up. The wife who had very little spare time, because of the constraints of her job, was the one leading the search. Therefore email and phone contact were imperative.
Initial Investigation
On the viewing day it became very clear that the property they were falling for was in many ways the least practical, as is often the case. This was an old converted chapel with 7 bedrooms which appeared to be in excellent order. However it followed their criteria in that it was 15 minutes drive from Colchester station; was detached and the brother of the husband lived in the same village.
Negotiations were initiated on behalf of our client
The property was on the market for over their budget but after some negotiations we managed to come to a halfway agreement which everyone concerned was happy with.
Resolving issues highlighted in the survey
The survey came up with nothing untoward. Our clients did however have some issues which needed addressing. This was a property dating from the 1700’s and old properties always require regular maintenance. Before our clients were prepared to exchange they wanted these issues addressed. Work replacing velux windows and some roof tiles were just two of the smaller problems along with checking out the boundary limits and the fact that the chapel was situated next to a graveyard!
The happy outcome
Our clients are now very happy in their Grade ll listed renovated chapel. They are hoping to start a family but I don’t think they intend to utilise all 7 bedrooms!
How Stacks made a difference
The vendors would have lost patience and sold to another buyer. The village is a popular one and there is a shortage of properties for sale. We brought:
- Our determination to get things right on their behalf.
- Our time to chase people down, source suppliers, resolve issues.
- Our local knowledge to recommend the best location to meet our clients’ needs.
- Our technical knowledge to liaise with the estate agent, specialist suppliers, insurers and solicitors.
- Overall we saved the clients time, stress, lost sleep and disappointment. It gave us great pleasure to hand the keys over to them for the purchase almost certainly would have fallen through without our input.
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Others say, ‘location, location, location’. We say, ‘location, purpose, price, capital growth, rental returns’… the list goes on. Knowing the market is critical. Local knowledge is key. We ensure all aspects of your investment decision are addressed. Finding, analysing, negotiating, and completing… it’s what we do.
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Stacks Head Office
Old Severn Bridge House
Purton, Blakeney
Gloucestershire
GL15 4AX
+44(0) 1594 842 880
