News

Are sales falling through common place in this market?

November 2011

We were talking to a potential buyer this morning whose own sale had fallen through via another agent last week. The buyers had been procrastinating since agreeing to purchase over three months ago, finally giving the reason that they didn’t like the location. Well the house hadn’t moved in those 3.5 months!

In the current challenging market it is all too often the case that buyers are ‘shoe-horned’ by some agents into agreeing to buy something they don’t really want, the end result being the inevitable fall through costing time, money and upset.

The buyer we were talking to this morning said their agent had told them fall throughs were common place. Here at Zone we totally disagree! Zone’s last sale to fall through was in July when it was our sellers who changed their minds on a buyer who was so keen they are now in rented waiting for something else!

Along with the usual checks to qualify a buyer make sure your agent has the experience to market your property to the right people, at the right price and use good judgement in agreeing a sale in the first place. Our valuations and market appraisals are free of charge, even if you are on the market with another estate agent, why not call us for some advice? Zone: 01243 776700, we believe all agents are not the same!

The Power Of The Internet Plus Your Local Experienced Estate Agent…. Chichester £595,000 SOLD BY ZONE Number 7, St Martins Square Chichester was on the market for many months with a local traditional estate agent based in central Chichester when the sellers were recommended to change to ZONE. The property had belonged to the same family for around 25 years and was situated in a premier location with the unusual advantage of car parking. However it needed someone with a little imagination to update this lovely Grade ll listed building with its period features. At ZONE we tailor the sale to each individual vendor and property! We took prospective buyers round at the time of the day to suit them and spent time allowing them to visualise themselves living there! The sellers tell us they were very pleased with the job done and particularly happy that the ‘right’ buyers were found who would love this elegant home! If you are thinking of selling why not give us a call? We like to think ‘out of the box’ and come up with helpful marketing plans to suit you. The days of needing high street agents with shop windows have gone. Your ‘shop window’ now needs to be terrific online marketing with an agent that has a passion for property and is genuinely interested in what they do….ZONE! 01243 776700 or e mail us at sales@zone-properties.co.uk SUCCESS STORIES! CHICHESTER – SOLD FOR £800,000 Coachmans House in East Pallant, one of the most prestigious locations in central Chichester, was on the market with a country homes style Estate Agent for some months before the sellers were recommended to change to Zone. We sold the property to someone who had decided against it in the past because they felt it did not work for them as it had lots of small rooms. Zone took them to view it and this time they were accompanied by an experienced Estate Agent who helped them work out how the house could be changed to suit their own needs as they loved the location. A sale was quickly agreed. WESTHAMPNETT, Nr CHICHESTER – SOLD FOR £435,000 This charming old village school closed around 1967 and was converted into a characterful dwelling. It was on the market with a large estate agency chain for around 10 months before the sellers changed to Zone. Zone saw that although it needed some work, it had great potential (possibly as a bed and breakfast) and found a buyer within two weeks! Zone hope these two examples show that not all estate agents are the same! For advice about your property why not call us on 01243 776700 or e mail us on: sales@zone-properties.co.uk Zone put their clients in the Picture! Estate Agency introduces new ‘PicturePlus’ Floor Plans to help attract more interest from potential buyers Local estate agency, Zone, has introduced yet another dimension to its property marketing portfolio in the form of state-of-the-art interactive floor plans. The industry has been aware for some time that properties marketed with a floor plan attract 30% more interest from buyers than those without one, and more recent research has revealed a growing demand for floor plans that incorporate photographs. The PicturePlus technology developed by Zone’s floor plan provider allows buyers browsing its website (and property portals such as Rightmove and Globrix) to view a clear representation of the layout of the property on the floor plan and then, by clicking onto a camera icon with a room, to view a corresponding high resolution photograph of the room. Zone is one of the first estate agencies in Chichester to offer this innovative marketing approach to its clients. Karen Jones of Zone said: “We pride ourselves on our customer service and listen to the needs of both our clients and prospective purchasers. We know that buyers today expect to have access to a floor plan when comparing property particulars. Going the extra mile by introducing the innovative PicturePlus floor plans not only delivers a better experience for buyers, but we know that it gives our properties the best possible exposure which is, after all, what our clients deserve.” For further information on Zone telephone 01243 776700 Equestrian Zone! Zone are pleased to announce the opening of our new Equestrian property division. With many years experience of selling properties and looking after horses we decided to combine the two! We also noticed that many of the current specialist agents in this area do not make full use of the internet, with some not even advertising on Rightmove! We feel that there is a real gap in the market for services in marketing equestrian properties and showcasing them to their best with use of stunning photography and interactive floor plans to make sure that the right buyers see the property. We can cover anywhere in West or East Sussex, Hampshire and Surrey. Our valuations are free and without obligation and more importantly they are in total confidence. Why not take advantage of our initial very low selling fees which are, of course, no sale, no fee? Please telephone 01243 776700 for an informal discussion. (Pictured here is much loved Strathmore Hot Toddy age 30 and still going strong!) ZONE - TOP RATED AGENT IN CHICHESTER* Zone would like to thank all their customers in 2009 who completed a questionnaire on behalf of The Property Ombudsman making us the top rated Estate Agent based in Chichester with 100% of buyers and sellers that responded saying they would recommend Zone. These are random independent surveys carried out by The Property Ombudsman and we are delighted to have scored an overall rating of 9.6 out of ten (we are working on the other 0.4 %!).  Karen Jones, proprietor of Zone says: “We are thrilled with this rating.  Most of our instructions come from word of mouth or people who have previously used our services and I believe it is because of the values of customer care and tenacity that we hold that we have achieved this.  However a big thank you to our customers for all their kind comments.  We hope this proves that all Estate Agents are not the same!” Anyone who would like to find out more about selling through Zone should contact Karen and her team on 01243 776700 or e mail sales@zone-properties.co.uk * Source:  The Property Ombudsman’s Website for ratings on estate agents in Chichester correct at time of going to press 14/01/10