179 Darby Street, Cooks Hill NSW 2300 Australia
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Category: Property

What does it mean to be Boutique?

Posted on by Villager

A misconception about Boutique Real Estate is that we’re only for the high end market. The reality is that we are an extremely specialised business. We are good-vibes-centred, focused on customer service and professionalism.

With Villager, you can always expect the best representation in every transaction whether its through buying, selling, leasing, styling or short-term leasing. Not only is your agent one of the directors with 17 + years experience in the industry, you have the whole office across your property – working with you using our combined specialised experience.

“We don’t let things go cold or dodge hard conversations in messages. We follow-through with what’s at task. We sit with an owner through tough conversations and its all on the table.” –  Says Ben

Being a smaller agency, we are able to spend more time making you look good. This includes high quality marketing products to help specialise your journey even more than what you would get at another ‘bigger’ agency.

“We understand quality over quantity and that every client has completely different needs. So instead of focusing on the quantity of homes we sell, we focus on the service we provide because your opinion and customer experience has a far greater importance to us.” – Ben Tindall

What does boutique mean to us?

You never feel like a number. You come in, you get the director of each company (sales or property management) working with you and we have found this produces the best outcomes for our customers.

We’re not all suits and ties – we keep things light. We are a close team, we know when to let our hair down, and we know when to buckle down.

“We are about connections and giving people the best experience possible all the way through, past the transaction and its personal.” says Ben.

Because we are owner-operated, we can really explore options for our customers. That’s a huge part of the Villager difference.

If you are thinking of Selling in the near future, contact Ben to have a conversation about how we can help you make the best move. You can check out some love letters here

Start before you’re ready

Posted on by Villager

I have a closet bursting at the seams and because of this, things quickly become an unwieldy mess of clothes, shoes and accessories.

Some suggests it’s ‘self sabotage’ which I can see could be true, and in a nutshell that means I am putting off the inevitable (also true).

I’d be taking a wild guess here, but I’d say you thought of something specific on your to-do list while reading that last thing I wrote, right?

When it comes to selling, It’s most likely that we want our house to look perfect. We decide we need to do all the tasks that we have been putting off for the last however long.

But why do we live with them for so long and only fix them when we are no longer going to be there? One of the mysteries of selling I suppose?

But if there is one thing I wish I could tell last-year-Lisa – it would be: You can start any of those tasks before you’re ready to ‘mentally’ deal with them.

Read that again.

But what does that actually mean? It simply means, get out of your head and start moving forward. Because the longer you put it off, the longer you will think about it which often means ‘I’ll do it later’.

And let’s face it, later is when it becomes absolutely crucial = more stressy time for you.

We get a little glimpse into the lives of Sellers every day. Some might plant some trees a few months before they are selling, some might fix the leaky shower, some might lay a strip of grass over that weird spot where nothing grows properly.  But if you really want your home to look the best it can. My advice is to start before you’re ready to sell – I’m talking give your trees time to grow, give your paint time for you to change your mind again and give your mind some time to be still. 

So what’s the secret? Start before you’re ready and believe in the power of preparation!

If you’re like me and you need a push in the right direction, here are some steps I put together to help you get started to prepare to sell your home.

 

  1. Get out of your own head. You have everything you need to begin. 
  2. Set an intention for your task.
  3. Take action. Now is the time to physically start.
  4. Enjoy the process. Put some music on and enjoy the time you are taking to complete it. 
  5. Now that you have some momentum – Set your next task!

A nugget of truth:

We all start in the same place when selling a home – With fears, and personal challenges. But let me assure you, what you have right now is enough to begin your selling journey. The difference between being prepared and unprepared – is your choice to start anyway.

 

What do tenants notice first?

Posted on by Villager

Like walking into any home, there are certain things that we pick up on before anything else. So to help out with getting the best out of your investment property, we thought we‘d put together a list of the things tenants notice first.

  1. Good advertising goes far

It seems a little obvious but professional photos and description of your property are extremely important when leasing your property. This helps to give your potential tenants the best first impression through an accurate representation of your property.  

  1. Friendly and Informative agent

Your Property Manager’s customer service levels matter. Tenants like anyone of us like to feel respected. How they are treated upon the first phone call enquiry or at the inspection will leave an impression if they really want to rent through a particular agency or not.

  1. Cleanliness & well maintained

How a property is presented at inspections will set a standard to how a property is expected to be maintained throughout a tenancy. Having the property professionally cleaned and all visible maintenance items repaired prior to inspections is highly recommended.

  1. Smells

There’s nothing more off-putting than living in a house with a funny smell. If your investment property is in need of a fresh scent or if you’re not sure. Here are some tips:

  1. Ask a trusted friend for their honest opinion.
  2. Place some freshly ground coffee in the space for a few days. This can help to lift some unpleasant smells. 
  3. Find the source of the smell and eliminate the cause.
  1. Quality of property

Finding a great tenant starts with the condition of the property.  It’s as simple as the laws of attraction. 

An average tenant will be looking for something average. A great tenant will be looking for something great that matches their standard of living. This is key to remember when preparing your property for leasing. 

 

We hope our list helps! If you have any other questions about what you can do to prepare your property for lease, contact Courtney today.