All comments below have been taken from emails, cards and letters sent by clients. The related transaction is displayed at the end of each comment. Our listing on http://www.thebestofbath.co.uk also carries independently checked testimonials from other clients.
"It's a credit to your presentation that what was basically a property that we would've binned off in a few minutes, had it come from Allen & Harris et al, took the best part of an hour for us to reach the 'probably no' conclusion. Somehow you made it look *very* tempting...
I'm afraid we had to say no... but you nearly had us there! I was very tempted by the garden(s), and the trees and vines mentioned, and the views, and the solar panels, and, and, and.... :)
Plus the historical paragraph really does (at least for geeks like me) put it into a context that I simply hadn't considered before. Quite amazing, really, what a bit of juicy 'background' can do, to make a property seem more aspirational than maybe it really is! Without actually lying, or over-egging it at all, really. A pinch of history goes a long way, obviously!
The overall effect is luscious. Very aspirational, extremely well-presented, and a care-and-attention level that is simply a zillion miles away from the bucket-shop mentality seen elsewhere. It is exciting and enthusiastic without being 'gushing', and whilst it is (and has to be) a form of 'shopping list' in places, it also manages to come across as being HONEST, too. The mention of the restricted height in the undercroft and the broken back-boiler - it all comes over as very 'trustable', and I for one welcome that as a breath of fresh air. Like you said on the phone, it's the difference between being a 'Realtor' in a neighbourhood whom people trust, and an old-fashioned 'Estate Agent', churning and banging 'em out the door." Mr J (Johnstone St)
"You gave us excellent service in every way, nothing was too much trouble for you, all the questions we asked & your help to us on the day before we moved was brilliant. You cannot improve on the service you provide." Mr & Mrs L (Thornbank Place)
"..your details are miles better than any others I have seen." Mrs P (Triangle East)
" I have been asking xxxxxx agent why on earth they don't provide floorplans at all and they can't even be bothered to answer. Yours are not only very comprehensive but beautiful as well. It makes so much difference to be able to sort through houses using plans and saves me time when deciding what to view."
Mrs S (Triangle North)
"Easy to make an appointment, low pressure sales approach - i.e not having to listen to lots of typical estate agent rubbish about there being 20 buyers coming round tomorrow." Mr P (Thornbank Place)
"I really enjoyed the newsletter, I regularly check property listings on the NY Times website and always check the floor plan first because it is a true indication of space, windows, etc. However they have yet to set up pictures to accompany each room, I was really impressed!
As a property owner myself with an apartment that hasn’t worked out for various reasons, I am particularly interested in the state of the market and your comments about what is really happening with it as well as a timeline do a great job of translating the numbers and trends into layman’s terms. I wish there was something like that here." Miss M (New York)
"gave highly professional advice on marketing and selling our house. Carey Gilliland has been instrumental in successful sales of a number of our properties. His knowledge of the property market in Bath is unsurpassed. Always attentive and client-motivated." Mr & Mrs M (Combe Down)
"Madison Oakley offered a refreshingly open, unpressured, friendly and professional service that made buying our first home very easy." Ms S (Bannerdown)
"Thank you so much for all your hard work, patience and help." Mr S (Batheaston)
"I thought I would drop you a line to thank you , Wilum and your team for smoothing through the recent sale! I will make contact with you on my return to Bath at the end of the month and hope we could get together for a beer or four!" Mr N-F (Faulkland)
"my final offer for the freehold was accepted! Yippee!! Many thanks to Carey for his help in that."
Mrs G (Park St)
"You have done a grand job here. You have really brought out the beauty of the house - and arranged some sunshine. That's impressive!" Mrs E (Beaufort Place)
"Dear Carey
Thank you so very much I am truly delighted.
You have been fantastic and I am thrilled with the way you have handled everything." Ms C (Dubai)
"In relation to the service, it has been nothing but brilliant, especially as I live so far away. At all times I have felt reassured with regards to the property sale, but above all you have been exceptionally helpful, professional and approachable, so a massive thank you, your help has been much appreciated !" Mrs B (Melcombe Road)
"Excellent communication, good understanding of client requirements, speedy results in tenant finding, brilliant follow up finalising details/deposits/contracts. Very professional, friendly and genuine service - would highly recommend." Mrs S (West Avenue)
"I love the history of owners - such a nice touch!" Ms G (Third Avenue)
"I also think you guys are true industry pros and location wise I think you could really make a dent in main/upper Market sector. All the best and thanks for great sale in Ringwood rd." Mr & Mrs W (Oldfield Park)
"Thank you for your letter of 21st July 2011 congratulating us on the sale of the above property. I really think the congratulations is entirely yours as your persistence and patience during the ups and downs of this sale have been remarkable.
It was truly our lucky day when you persuaded us to engage you to sell our late Mum’s house. As I live next door to the property, you immediately took on board the sensitivity needed to help us through this transaction. What initially seemed an easy and quick sale turned into somewhat of a challenge but you handled every twist and turn with patience and efficiency, personally keeping us informed of each issue as it cropped up.
The research into the history of the house that you carried out, was fascinating and made us feel you, like us, saw this property as a real treasure.
You made us feel that we were of the utmost importance, which, I believe, is probably the gift you have that you share with all your clients. For me, who admittedly has had little experience of buying and selling property, you have single- handedly dispelled the somewhat dubious reputation earned by other estate agents.
Not only have you helped us over what could have been a very painful time, but I am confident you have helped to find me lovely neighbours. We would not dream of using any other Estate agent should the need arise in the future.
Our sincere thanks go to you. With talents such as yours, I am certain your business is heading for well deserved success." Mrs E + Mrs C (Larkhall)
"Thank you so much for all the help you gave with the sale of St Ann's Way. We were very pleased with the way everything went - especially as they managed to complete earlier than we expected. When we chose an estate agent we went with our gut instinct: you had a very clear idea of how you would market the house, and you delivered what you promised. You kept us informed every step of the way, and you kept the buyers sweet too! This enabled it to be a very straight forward process, thank you. We are recommending you to anyone who's selling/buying!
One very minor thing: we would have appreciated knowing, in advance, that the purchasers and their builders were visiting the house after their offer was accepted. Many thanks again for all your help" Mrs D (seller - St Anns Way)
"I would like to commend you on a really good service. I thought the sale was conducted really well, I found you (and Will) to be supportive, professional and also very patient in terms of multiple lengthy house visits. I also found you to be very calm and rational compared to previous agents we have dealt with (although this could be because we have moved from the South East!!)
I would not hesitate to use you again or to recommend you to others. In fact, I am hoping to start looking for investment properties in the not too distant future so intend to keep in touch." Mr W (buyer - St Anns Way)
"I also wanted to thank you for all yours and Wills efforts in trying to sell our house.
I hope Madison Oakley continues to be a great success and I will always recommend you and Wills services." Mrs T-G (Timsbury)
"I jus wanted to say how happy I was with all the on going help and assistance that I have received from you both with the sale of my house and with the help looking for a new house purchase, especially when they weren't even being sold by you! I don't care what anyone says about all estate agents being in for the money and deceitful, you guys aren't typical estate agents you're both lovely boys! I would recommend you very highly looking to sell a house or even buy one! Thanks for everything and I look forward to dealing with you next time , if there ever is one." Miss B (Lymore Gardens)
"Just a note to say that we were very pleased with the service provided by you and your colleagues. You did all you could to secure the sale and to ensure that the sale went through as speedily and smoothly as possible. We would not hesitate to recommend your agency to anyone wishing to sell a property in Bath." Mr/s S (Landseer Rd)
"Madison Oakley are professional, obliging and extremely helpful. Great communications and prompt return of calls which ensured a smooth progression between vendors and solicitors. They have an extensive local knowledge of the properrty market in Bath. Their enthusiasm and friendliness was very re-assuring and made a usually stressful process enjoyable." Mrs E (Frankley Bldgs)
"Thanks for selling the property. The suggestions about how to present the house and the way the viewings were carried out was faultless. Despite the input of the rogue solicitor it all went through in the end. I am grateful for your help with the valuation and for giving me figures to quote to the district valuer. She accepted your revised valuation and we were even able to achieve a lower level for Inheritance Tax. All this takes time when you are obviously busy and the fellow executors and I appreciated your efforts." Mrs R (Frankley Bldgs)
"Madison Oakley are different in the sense that they are a small owner run business and they care about their reputation. They know their local market intimately, they’re very interested in their local area and I would say they are streets ahead of anybody else. They’ve sourced numerous properties for me and also sourced tenants. They also have a letting business with which I’m very impressed. I have tried other letting agents, but I would say that they seem to work harder. They have a pleasant approach, they’re straightforward to deal with." Mr C (Crandale Rd)
"Honest, reliable and competent - three words you would not usually associate with estate agents. However, I cannot fault Madison Oakley. Being new to Bath and having previously dealt with various incompentent estate agents, it was refreshing to deal with agents who actually listened to what I wanted. Both Carey and Will's knowledge of Bath is extensive and they are both professional, friendly and understanding. Will consistently provided excellent and helpful advice and did far more than what I would have expected.
What was interesting was when I viewed properties listed with other agents and I mentioned Madison Oakley to them, they all commented on how well liked and respected Will and Carey are amongst other agents in Bath. Everyone seems to wish that they worked for them!
When the time comes to sell my property, I will definitely use Madison Oakley and I would have absolutely no doubts in recommending Madison Oakley to anyone." Miss W (Walcot Parade)
"We bought a house from Will Long prior to him setting up Madison Oakley. Even then, his service, market knowledge and personal approach was superb.
I am really impressed with the contact that he has maintained with us since then and think the service he gives through Madison Oakley is even better and exceeds expectations.
He has provided other services to us, such as drawing up floorplans for our rented properties, and even this small task was done with such enthusiasm and professionalism.
Whether we buy or sell properties in the future Madison Oakley will be our chosen agent." Mr/s D (Lorne Rd)
"Competent, responsive, thoroughly professional. Madison Oakley make everything they do appear effortless (which we know it is not). We are investors and need to work with agents who know what they are doing and can manage and marry the needs of the investor with those of the vendor. Will and Carey do this perfectly and, seemingly, effortlessly. They rightly take pride in providing excellent service, always courteous, always responsive. They are genuinely interested in the properties they sell and manage and the people they are providing services to. The complete opposite to some other agents. They are a breath of fresh air and set the standard for others to follow." Mrs V (Caledonian Rd)
"I would like to add my recommendation for the terrific service from Maddison Oakley.
I have known Will Long for a number of years and can vouch for an Estate Agent who genuinely cares about his clients.
He is courteous, professional and would have no hesitation in recommending him to anyone thinking of buying or selling their house." Mrs A (Caledonian Rd)
"Will and Carey at Madison Oakley were not at all what I expected from an estate agent, and I mean that in a good way! The most obvious strength was their honesty, openness and realism.
They did everything to properly market the property, get the right people in, secure the sale and take it through to completion.
All the way through the process I knew I could rely on them to do what they said they would do, If anything they were waiting on me.
At the same time as being totally professional it was also a very friendly and even pleasurable experience.
I shall certainly sell any future houses with them again, and I hope the next one I buy is one that they are selling too." Mr T (Millmead Rd)
"I have just sold my house through Madison Oakley and I have been extremely happy with their service. Firstly I think they think outside the box, they are not your normal run of the mill estate agents in any way shape or form. They are interested in helping you through the entire process. And the second really important thing to me is that they are so contactable, like it says on the Madison Oakley website, they are contactable outside their working hours. You can always phone them on the mobile, and if not answered straight away they will always ring you back. Their level of service really stands out. This was in absolute contrast with the estate agents we were also dealing with because we were buying a new house while we were selling our current one. For example when we wanted to make an offer to the estate agents who we were buying our new house from it was a nightmare to get through to the right person! So in comparison Madison Oakley are like a breath of fresh air. We have moved about 6 times in the last 20 years but Madison Oakley really stood out compared to the other estate agents we dealt with. They deserve every penny of their commission.
They were very good at both local marketing in the Bath area and very good at marketing my house on various property websites. There was a huge response in the first week after having our property listed. We weren’t really ready yet to do viewings and the response in the first week was just incredible." Mrs R (Weston Park)
"Will at Madison Oakley was nothing short of perfect - he arranged lots of viewings (always providing feedback immediately afterwards) and gave me a weekly call to update on various other aspects of progress. Most of the big agents charge twice as much money and deliver half the customer service of Madison Oakley. If I ever need to sell a property in Bath or the surrounding area again, this is the agent I will choose to handle it for me." Mr B (Melcombe Court)
"I can thoroughly recommend Madison Oakley to anyone looking for an estate agent in Bath. Carey and the team do a fantastic job, and certainly exceeded any expectations we had for an estate agent selling our house. Carey genuinely seemed to care about selling our house, making sure that we were totally clear and happy with what he and the team would be doing to market our property. The time taken to get the best photos of our house was clear as soon as we saw the draft copies of the sale particulars. And within just 6 days we had buyers for our house! Amazing!
Nothing ever seemed like too much trouble - Carey made sure we were always up-to-date with the progress of our sale, but Will and Carey were also very helpful with useful advice on our subsequent purchase as well - more than I'd ever expect from an estate agent! We ended up with a chain of 6 parties, and I'm sure had it not been for Carey and Will's hard work and dedication the sale may well have fallen through." Mr J (Southdown Rd)
"I recently bought a property through Madison Oakley, who throughout the process, gave exceptional service. Not only were they extremely helpful and friendly, but they went the extra mile in providing advice and contacts(eg surveyors, mortgage brokers, etc) and information about the property's history. Their local knowledge meant that they could answer any questions or queries I had, always returning my calls promptly if they were unavailable. I would not hesitate to make use of their services again as it has been a positive and enjoyable experience." Mrs U (Wells Rd)
"One of Madison Oakley’s advertisements reads “...We do what all the other estate agents do....” No, they don’t – they do much more! Whether you are a buyer or a seller, do not waste either your time or your money dealing with any other estate agent.
We had a need for Bath housing several years ago, and first met Carey during the one week we had available to search for a flat. He was then manager of one of the Bath offices of a ‘national’ estate agent, and of the seven estate agents with whom we looked at flats that week, only he and one other agent (at a ‘local’ firm) listened to, AND ACTED WITHIN, our location, size, features, and budget requirements. Carey did not waste our time showing us anything which did not meet ALL our requirements – agents at five other firms wasted our time with additional viewings of properties ‘not exactly where you’d like to be, but extremely close,’ or ‘just barely above your price range, but an incredible value, and you can offer low,’ or ‘it has everything you want, except [just one thing].’
So when we elected to sell our flat in a Grade II Listed building in the second half of 2011, we called Carey’s former firm and were told he was no longer there. We contracted with that firm, anyway, though, on the advice of a local property manager who believed a ‘national’ estate agent would have greater marketing clout: multiple Bath offices, multiple London offices, other nationwide offices, and their ‘national’ website. The first six weeks we had about a half dozen showings, then none for the next six weeks. By then we’d tracked Carey down at Madison Oakley, and switched agencies. We had more viewings in the first two weeks with Madison Oakley than in the entire 3 months with the ‘national’ agency, plus, a qualified and acceptable offer!
Differences...?
1) The ‘national’ agency placed an ad on their website, plus four print ads during their twelve weeks as our agent. Madison Oakley placed electronic ads in four separate business and social ‘search’ media, plus print ads every week until we had an accepted purchase offer. Additionally, Madison Oakley’s ads included interesting property history, and much better photos.
2) The ‘national’ firm’s local office manager assured us that at least two of their four Bath area offices would show our property. We later found out that each local office maintained its own list of ‘registered buyers’ and only after the office where we listed our flat had run through its own list of potential buyers did they attempt to involve any other office. Madison Oakley contacted all their entire firm’s registered buyers right from the outset, and used all staff to market our flat.
3) The head of the ‘national’ firm’s local office nearest our flat was ostensibly managing our sale, but he was absent during two of the 12 weeks. Well into his absence we learned his e-mail system was set up such that none of the emails we sent during that time could be accessed by anyone else – including the two agents he’d said would be ‘monitoring’ our property in his absence! Madison Oakley’s partners have full access to all Madison Oakley business communications. [This was particularly critical for us, since we are US residents and were working on an 8-hour time zone difference from Bath, and emails were a much better for communication than trans-Atlantic phone calls.]
4) The ‘national’ agency proposed what turned out to be a ‘wishful’ sales price. Madison Oakley’s partners told us we were off the market, roughly 7-10% too high, and when we lowered our price to their suggested level we had eight showings and a qualified offer within two weeks.
5) Not only did Madison Oakley manage our sale, but since we were ‘absentee owners,’ they coordinated all appointments with the removers shipping things to us, and the auctioneer putting certain items up at local auction; plus, cleared out what little remained after the removal/auction and personally packed and shipped 3 items we wanted sent to a relative living elsewhere in England. Carey essentially performed tasks we, as owners, would have been expected to do – well above and beyond any estate agent’s normal duties!
6) Since we are US residents, and our Bath flat was our only British property, Madison Oakley’s partners also took it upon themselves to ‘translate’ specific words and phrases with different British/US meanings to make sure we understood all local selling procedures, norms, and protocols, and all buyer/seller requirements and expectations. Their ability to ‘buffer’ and prevent misperceptions of English usage between the two cultures was key to accomplishing our smooth sale.
7) Last but not least, we know that neither the ‘national’ agency’s local office nor Madison Oakley expected us to bring them future business, nor did they have to concern themselves with us possibly ‘dropping in’ and/or ‘second guessing’ their efforts. While we suspect that may have influenced the behavior of the ‘national’ firm’s agents, Madison Oakley’s partners gave us and our flat their absolute professional and full attention throughout. We weren’t the ‘national’ estate agent’s nor Madison Oakley’s only clients, but Madison Oakley’s partners certainly made us feel as though we were.
Again – as either a buyer or a seller, don’t waste your time or your money with a ‘national’ firm: use Madison Oakley!" Mr F (Weston Park)
"Carey: Thank you for your input over the years on valuations of our let properties for tax purposes. You have been very good at providing the District Valuer of background information eg state of the property, comparisons with similar properties sold recently, history of attempts to sell the property. You clearly have a very wide knowledge of property values and also a good reputation with the District Valuer." Mr R (Bathwick)
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