Our Country Homes Team is located in one of the most easily accessible independent shopping villages, The Heart of The Shires, situated just off the A5 near the Northamptonshire villages of Weedon Bec and Norton.
The team are operating from a wonderfully comfortable showroom that they share with The Fine Art Gallery, and yes, that IS very different, and we are sure you are wondering why-on-earth…. read on and all will become clear.
Why do we have a country homes team?
Sitting almost in the middle of several counties including Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire and Buckinghamshire, you soon realise that we are surrounded by some of the most beautiful countryside in the country.
You do not have to travel far from our home in the Heart of the Shires Shopping Village to feel like you are in a very rural environment, passing through some very picturesque villages full of old Northamptonshire Ironstone buildings. On the outskirts of these villages, you will find larger houses, barn conversions, one-off builds, Grade II listed manor houses, working farms, private estates et-al.
We recognise that the unique nature of these properties requires an equally individual and tailored approach when it comes to their marketing and sale.
With this in mind, our carefully selected dedicated Country Homes Team come equipped with many combined years of experience in dealing with the many variables and individual traits of unique country properties.
Our specialist team not only have a passion for interesting buildings and unique homes, but also a passion for conveying the history behind each building and more importantly, the human stories behind each home.
Our passion extends to ensuring our vendors can relax, safe in the knowledge that their most valuable asset is in the hands of experienced property professionals who care immensely about getting the best result in every case and offering a truly bespoke vendor/property expert relationship throughout the marketing and sale.
Why are we in the Heart of the Shires?
We chose to base our team at the Heart of The Shires Shopping Village for several particularly good reasons.
We were looking for somewhere that spoke of the countryside culture, but at the same time somewhere that was convenient and easy to get to. The shopping village takes care of both those requirements.
The shopping village setting is a handsome converted Victorian farm and its associated outbuildings, which retain a charming bucolic character. For our client’s convenience, it is situated right alongside the A5, just north of the village of Weedon Bec and just south of the famous Watford Gap.
The shopping village offers many boutique, independent retailers from a traditional sweet shop to an interior design studio and many more in between.
There is a relaxed atmosphere and shoppers enjoy a gentle, stress-free shopping experience, and that is precisely what we wanted to offer our clients.
Our friendly country homes team will ensure we give you the time to discuss your house sale with confidentiality and care in our homely showroom, surrounded by beautiful art.
Heart of the Shires also has a well renowned tea-room and restaurant, Darlington’s, and since we are right next door, our team will offer you a cup of coffee and a slice of cake as a matter of course.
We want your experience of engaging with a property expert and dealing with your property matters to be as relaxed and stress free as possible, we are here first to listen and then advise accordingly – there may even be a bit of coffee and piece of cake on offer.
Can You Combine Property Expertise And Art Curating?
Our Country Homes Team are delighted to be able to share our Heart of the Shires showroom space with The Fine Art Gallery. Ok, it might seem slightly “out there” as a companion business, but we find that, as well as being a very pleasant environment in which to work, it is a definite conversation starter!
It matters not whether you like the art on display, or it is not your cup of tea, but we do find that many visitors to the showroom, do relax and begin to chat openly about their own stories whether it is to do with art or their homes, and very often both! Every piece of art has its own story, just like you and your property.
Very often, if for example a property is empty or the vendors live elsewhere and do not have time to get the property ready for marketing, we get to “dress” a property with some of the art, and quite often those pieces end up going with the vendors to their new home!
What can we do to help you?
Bespoke, Lifestyle Marketing
By the very nature of most country properties, we recognise that each case is different and that selling a property in the countryside is quite different, to selling an urban semi-detached.
When selling a country home, it is not just the bricks and mortar that buyers are interested in, but the whole country lifestyle as well.
As part of our bespoke marketing strategy, we will have an in-depth knowledge of your local area and surroundings. We will research local schools, shopping, sports, and medical facilities, find out where the nearest country walks are and prepare a buyer’s pack to ensure potential buyers know everything they need to and understand the advantages and lifestyle opportunities of which they are buying.
Staging and Styling
Some of vendors may require a staging and styling service to enhance the aesthetic appeal of their property. We can offer a whole house or room-by-room styling service to ensure your property is presented in the best conceivable way.
Various Styles Of Professional Media
We take huge pride in the high standard of our photography and videography that we always achieve. We have many examples of marketing brochures that we have produced previously to demonstrate our attention to detail.
If your property comes with gardens, paddocks, out-buildings etc we will deploy our drone photographer as a matter of course at no extra marketing cost, to include these in the marketing and we may also decide that a 360 degrees virtual tour is appropriate for your property.
Solicitors and Sales Packs
There are usually many more things to consider and questions that need to be asked well before it is time to market your country home for sale.
It may also be that a vendor may need to engage with a solicitor before they market the property for sale if, for example, the property has been in the same family for many years and has no registered title.
We can offer a full assessment of all the potential legal pitfalls that could cause delays further down the conveyancing process if not dealt with at the start of the process.
We work with specialist solicitors who understand the importance of getting your “ducks-in-a-row” before agreeing a sale.
Moving Day
Many country properties come with one or more out buildings, where vendors have collected many possessions over the years and ,when it comes to moving , don’t necessarily know how to tackle moving or disposing of their possessions, which can be a problem especially if the vendors are downsizing to a smaller property and it can be an onerous task.
We have years and years of experience moving people and their possessions and work with a team of moving professionals who will handle your items with care and move them on for you in the most appropriate way.
Overall, when selling a country home our ultimate aim is to achieve the best possible outcome for our vendors and our team is dedicated to providing as bespoke a service as required by you the vendor.
Find out what our Country Homes team in the Heart of the Shires can do for you.
Our Homebuyer Representation Service
Our team can also offer our homebuyers service. Once we have understood thoroughly your requirements for your onward purchase, we can research the most suitable available properties, arrange viewings, and represent you when it comes to the negotiation of the purchase price with the property agent. With our team’s superlative negotiation skills, we very often save our clients many thousands on the purchase of their next home.
In fact, there is a whole stepped model that we follow.
Furthermore, if you are struggling to find your ideal property, our in-depth knowledge of the market and with the latest technology available, we can even approach potential vendors of properties that are not yet on the open market for sale.
This stress-free service can be very valuable to our vendors who are time-poor and also prefer the experts to advise them every step of the way.
