Based on care, personal service, and expertise, from when we first speak to you securing your next home.
How Can I Help You?
If you have been having conversations about selling please give me a call. I am here to offer advice on current market conditions, how best to market your home and provide a market valuation. I offer a full and personal service, taking you from that initial conversation, holding your hand through the process, liaising with solicitors to ensure the sale progresses smoothly and assisting you in your search for your new home.
From Your Current Home to Your Next
I often say that the critical skills of an expert estate agent are marketing, negotiation, communication and expertise.
If I had to sum up the service I provide, however, I would describe it as care for people, matched with skills.
Moving home is rarely simply about selling a property. It is about moving from one chapter of your life to the next. For many of my clients, it may be the first time they have moved in many years, and the process can feel considerably more complicated than they remember.
My role is to guide you through the entire journey – from deciding where you want to go, preparing and selling your existing home, finding your next property and negotiating your purchase, through to completion.
Our first meeting is not simply about putting a value on your home.
I want to understand why you are moving, where you want to go, your ideal timescale and what your next home needs to look like.
Often, clients are more concerned about where they are going than selling the home they currently live in. Once we establish your motivation, requirements and timeframe, we can build a strategy around both sides of the move.
If your next home is yet to be found, I can help with that too – identifying suitable properties, arranging viewings and negotiating on your behalf.
Many people have lived in their homes for years, and preparing them for sale can feel overwhelming.
This is where I really get involved.
I will help you identify what needs to be done to present your home at its very best – from decluttering and clearing rooms to practical preparation and staging.
I often bring in flowers, dress rooms and, where appropriate, arrange furniture to create the right sense of space and lifestyle. Even in winter, I want buyers to be able to imagine themselves living there.
You are selling the lifestyle as much as the bricks and mortar.
Once your home is ready, we create marketing that reflects its true character.
This includes professional photography, video and drone footage, alongside carefully considered written marketing.
I don’t simply want to show buyers what the house looks like. I want to communicate what it feels like to live there.
Once you are completely happy with the presentation and marketing, your property goes to market.
I believe there is real value in the person who understands the property and its story being the person who meets the buyer.
I conduct the viewings personally.
Before bringing someone to your home, I take time to understand their requirements, their motivation and what they are looking for. I am not interested in filling viewing slots with people who are unlikely to buy the property.
I want to find the right match.
A recent client review described me as a “good matchmaker” – and that is exactly how I see this part of my role.
When you find the right buyer, it can make all the difference, including achieving the best possible price.
Negotiation is one of the skills I have developed throughout my career, including my previous experience in the global corporate banking world.
For me, negotiation doesn’t stop when an offer arrives.
I negotiate the price, the position, the timescale and the terms, always with your wider move in mind.
And sometimes negotiations continue after an offer has been accepted. A survey may uncover something unexpected. Circumstances may change. Completion dates may need to move.
These moments require experience, communication and relationships.
I deal directly with the buyer and their agent, keeping communication open and working to protect your position and keep the transaction together.
Once an offer is accepted, the process is far from over.
This is where I work alongside my assistant, Lorann, to manage the sales progression.
It isn’t subcontracted to a remote team or passed to another company. We remain personally involved from offer accepted through to exchange and completion.
We communicate regularly with the relevant parties, chase outstanding information and work to keep everyone moving forward.
Because the longer a transaction takes, the more opportunities there are for it to wobble.
My aim is to keep momentum, communication and confidence throughout the process.
I make myself readily available by telephone and WhatsApp because I know that clients don’t want to leave a message and wait for someone to call them back. They want answers, reassurance and someone who knows exactly what is happening.
At the same time, I can be helping you with the other side of your move.
Finding your next home.
Whether it is another property locally, a move to a different part of the UK or your dream home in Portugal, I can help identify opportunities, arrange viewings and provide an informed perspective on the property and the negotiation.
Where appropriate, I will negotiate on your behalf to secure the best possible terms for your purchase.
My aim is to coordinate the two sides of the journey so that selling your home and finding your next one become one carefully managed move – rather than two separate transactions.
For me, completion is an important moment.
A home isn’t just a property. It is where memories have been created, children have grown up, celebrations have taken place and lives have been lived.
So when the keys change hands, I like to make the moment special.
I have been known to arrive with flowers and champagne, to greet the buyers and say goodbye to the sellers, as well as a photobook of the photos taken to market the home, a lovely keepsake to bring back memories for the sellers, and their children, and even grandchildren.
I build relationships with my clients, and I am delighted when those relationships continue long after the keys have been handed over – sometimes with a catch-up over a glass of wine.
One Agent. One Journey. One Point of Contact.
My approach is deliberately personal.
From our first conversation about where you want to go next, through preparing your home, marketing, viewings, negotiation, sales progression and completion – and then helping you secure your next home – I am there with you throughout.
Because exceptional estate agency isn’t just about selling houses.
It is about understanding people, understanding property and having the expertise to bring the two together.
Care for people, matched with skills.
The playbook
I am available 7 days a week and out of normal office hours to ensure I can work around your working hours, as well as being responsive to potential buyers around the clock. I also accommodate viewings 7 days a week and in the evening.
I pride myself on delivering expertise, market knowledge and premium marketing for my clients homes. I work with a professional photographer and videographer to ensure we market your home to its best potential. Our marketing is not just limited to those actively searching on Rightmove etc, but also reach out to “passive buyers” globally through our international network and social media. See my Facebook here Melanie Attwater – Your Local Caterham & Surrounds Personal Estate Agent | Caterham | Facebook
Listings featured in Country Life, James Edition, The Times, MansiOn Global (property arm of NYT). I also advertise with Caterham School every month, work with global relocation agents and an independent schools specialist. In short we do all to promote listings, those actively looking and “passive”
Take a look at examples of the videos we have done for clients properties on my YouTube channel here My YouTube Channel.
With many years working in global sales I offer a superior negotiation service to ensure I achieve the best sales price from the most solid buyer, as well as negotiating the best price for your onward sale.
If you’re having conversations about or beginning to look for your next home, let me help you!
Finding your new home can be a time-consuming and overwhelming process. I want to help you alleviate the stress of house hunting. I will meet with you to gain a full understanding of your specific needs and preferences for your next home. This could include proximity to schools, public transport, golf courses or simply being closer to family.
I have access to several databases, which will allow me to contact potential sellers, on your behalf, who might be thinking about selling, giving you access to off-market homes.
Once we find the right home for you, as a highly proficient and experienced negotiator, I will help you achieve the best price. Even those skilled at negotiation may find it difficult when negotiating on a home they have fallen in love with, so I am here to help!
I will also be in constant communication throughout the entire process, to keep you informed.
Let me help you find your next home!
You may have seen my posts about staging; I mention this topic a lot as essentially, marketing your home to its full potential is critical to attracting buyers and therefore negotiating the best offer on your home from the most solid buyer. The Home Staging Association UK and Ireland carried out research to support this. See their website Homestaging.org.uk.
Staging your home doesn’t just make it more attractive by creating more appeal in a competitive market, it also helps buyers envisage themselves living there, rather than in your home. One of my most common phrases is “You are selling a lifestyle, not just bricks and mortar”.
I am here to advise, as well as carry out the staging for you. Decluttered and tidy homes are signs of a well-maintained property. I provide a full service to get the very best outcome for you. I stage inside and outside, setting tables, adding flowers and much more, with care and great attention to detail; for example, concealing the hem on a lampshade!
I also work in partnership with Lemon & Lime, award-winning experts in their field, to stage properties for the premium housing market.
Lemon & Lime’s services have been shown to increase property sale values by up to 10% through their unique system, tailoring the home’s presentation to attract the target audience.
Staging helps buyers envision themselves in the space, increasing the likelihood of a quicker sale and attracting multiple competitive offers. It’s a valuable strategy for homeowners looking to sell quickly and for the best price possible.
