Livingroom Estate Agents News

AUGUST 2010

NEW WEBSITE LAUNCHED

Livingroom are delighted to announce the rebrand of their website in our new corporate colours. The new website offers the opportunity to search by TRP value and a few new inclusions with a fresh and contemporary feel.

JULY 2010

RICHARD CLARKE PROMOTED TO LOCAL MARKET MANAGER

We are delighted to announce Richard’s new position within Livingroom as Local Market Manager. Richard is a valuable asset to Livingroom with a calm and knowledgeable approach to selling houses. We wish Richard all the best for his new role and look forward to expansion with Richard at the helm.

JULY 2010

LIVINGLIFE 7 IS LAUNCHED

We are delighted to launch Livinglife 7, a further summer edition of the islands finest property and lifestyle magazine. As always we aim to raise the bar with a publication of unrivalled quality. Designed by The Partnership, Livingroom's choice of fascinating editorial is also bolstered by high end advertising from property, legal, catering and lifestyle companies. If you have not yet received a copy of our magazine please contact us on 233008 to add your details to our database.

If you wish to advertise in Livinglife 8, we will begin to collate the publication and book advertising space for a January 2011 release date. Please contact Simon Torode on 233008 or by email on simon@livingroom.gg for a rate card.

JULY 2010

Livingroom join forces with Fine and Country, an International Luxury property brand.

We are delighted to announce to you our new association with Fine & Country. Fine & Country have chosen Livingroom above the other local agents to represent their international brand exclusively in Guernsey for Open Market property.

Fine & Country is a prestigious, International brand specializing in the luxury end of the market with a network of over 300 offices worldwide with extensive advertising campaigns and unique websites for each individual region.

Joining the Fine & Country network has enabled Livingroom to offer our clients an unrivalled position within Guernsey, strengthening our ties with the UK and international buyers. Until now, no local estate agent has been able to offer an exclusive alliance with an international agency. Livingroom can now provide clients with both local and international presence without the need to additionally instruct a UK agent. With an impressive network of offices around the world comprising three continents and still growing, Fine & Country co-ordinates its activities through a hugely impressive international property centre opposite Hyde Park in Park Lane in the heart of London's Mayfair.

This gives Fine & Country estate agents direct access to the lucrative London and international investor markets using clever touch screen technology and a state of the art fully automated and traceable inter office referral system. Fine & Country uses a wide range of on-line and off-line marketing to reach their target market audience in the quickest and most efficient manner possible.

We have also formed a strong relationship with a Jersey Agency, who has the sole rights for Fine & Country in Jersey. The inter office referral system allows for those purchasers looking with either agency to be referred in the knowledge that the buyer is likely to choose either Guernsey or Jersey.

If a property is openly listed with Livingroom and is above £1.25m we will offer the Fine & Country service at no extra charge. Your property will be added to the new website to maximise international exposure with what will be the best internet search engine ratings of any agency within Guernsey. www.guernsey.fineandcountry.co.uk

If a property is confidentially listed above £1.25m through our ‘Private Collection’ service, you may wish to consider listing your property openly on our Fine & Country website as it is predominantly aimed at the International Market, whilst retaining a confidential approach locally to ensure discretion and anonymity. This will most certainly increase the chances of selling a property to a UK based or international buyer.

By utilising our new global network, we can now also refer you to one of our 300 partners who can handle the purchase or sale of property in almost every corner of the globe.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Open Market team at Livingroom, should you wish to discuss the above information or have any other questions. We shall be publically announcing our latest news within local media, UK press and the summer edition of our ever popular magazine, Livinglife.

Livingroom can simply offer you more.

MAY 2010

'WELCOME JODIE' NEW LOCAL MARKET NEGOTIATOR

Jodie joined Livingroom Estate Agents in May 2010 from a career in HR. Born and educated locally, Jodie left school at 17 to study music in the UK. She then decided to go travelling and spent many months in Thailand and then South Africa where she worked as a professional singer in a musical. Jodie’s love of people has now been linked to her love of property and already feels that Estate Agency is her perfect vocation.

APRIL 2010

'WELCOME JASON' NEW LOCAL & OPEN MARKET NEGOTIATOR

Jason joined Livingroom Estate Agents from a career in structural design of locally based redevelopments and new builds. His keen interest in property was also enhanced from his own passion for open and local market properties, both of which have provided him with a wealth of knowledge of the two markets. Educated in England he has lived in Guernsey in excess of twenty years.

MARCH 2010...

A positive start

2010 is looking very   interesting indeed. Our own international advertising had created an enormous   amount of interest in the island helped by UK decisions in tax rulings and ever   increasing crime rates. As we are know, we have a lot to offer in Guernsey and   it appears as if somebody has just flicked a switch, with considerable levels of   enquiries and more importantly actual sales.

FEBRUARY 2010, 'WELCOME ZOE' PA / OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

Zoe Broadhurst   joins livingroom from the world of travel. Zoe brings enormous local knowledge   and new contacts to the company to work in tandem with her love for organisation   and relationship skills. Within our busy company, Zoe supports both Simon and   Elke in an administrative role as well as day to day running of the office.

JANUARY 2010   LIVINGLIFE 6 IS LAUNCHED

We are delighted   to launch Livinglife 6, a further edition of the islands finest property   and lifestyle magazine. As always we aim to raise the bar with a publication of   unrivalled quality. Designed by The Partnership, Livingrooms choice of   fascinating editorial is also bolstered by high end advertising from property,   legal, catering and lifestyle companies. If you have not yet received a copy of   our magazine please contact us on 233008 to add your details to our   database.

If you wish to advertise in   Livinglife 7, we will begin to collate the publication and book advertising   space in March 2010 for a July release date. Please contact Simon Torode on   233008 or by email on simon@livingroom.gg for a rate   card.

JANUARY 26th 2010 - HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY   LIVINGROOM!
Happy birthday   Livingroom! Already 4 years old and constantly growing! I am delighted to say that the end of 2009 was an   impressive one. We ended a very uncertain year 25% up from our already great   figures of 2008 so we were delighted. Hard work and straight talking obviously   has results.

2010 has already kicked   into top gear with some big sales on the local and open markets... We continue   to ignore our competitors and simply do our thing, always evolving and moving   forward in a discreet and productive way.

Thanks for your support and we look forward   to working with you all in 2010.
 
  2009...

Optimism,   realism, professionalism and sheer hard work.

2009 has so far   been an interesting year for us at Livingroom. After the initial negative world   wide media of late 2008 we all took a step back to re assess our assets and how   they best work for us. Although mindful of how difficult the year has been   globally, we opted to focus on a mixture of optimism, realism, professionalism   and sheer hard work. By doing so we are happy to report that 2009 has so far   toppled our already impressive sales figures from 2008.
 
“It has been   hugely important to ensure vendors are realistic this year with their asking   prices, those who have taken our advice on board to make the most of their homes   are now sitting comfortably in their new homes. We always strive to be ambitious   but by taking the highest valuation from another agent, vendors can often be   extremely mislead into making a decision based upon another agent simply wanting   to get their instruction. Any decision we make with regards to a property   valuation is based upon our extensive knowledge and current reactions to   property which has sold and completed through court – not the unpaid prices that   can be seen and admired in local publications. At Livingroom we never profess to   be academic nuclear scientists but what we do have is truly extensive knowledge   of our working market. In fact Livingroom offer in excess of 30 cumulative years   experience in the industry – not a bad figure for a company that was only formed   in January 2006.”Simon Torode – Director
 
  On 26th January 2006 we opened   our doors to a new and more innovative approach to selling homes in Guernsey. By   introducing differing ways to sell homes we soon managed to become a company   infamous for professional photography, the personal approach and our extremely   discreet instructions that make up about 50% of our instructions. By handling   this very special area of the market, we have also become widely known to be the   specialists in interesting and unusual properties – looking at the character and   unique appeal of each home, after all each home is as individual as our vendors.
 
  Our Private Collection properties currently range on the local market   from £650,000 to £2.8m whilst our open market homes currently start at £775,000   rising to exceptional properties up to £6.35m. If you are currently searching   for a new home or are looking to market your property discreetly then please do   call us today on 233008 to talk further.
 
  Our Open Market department   (handled under the name of Livingroom Bespoke) continues to go from strength to   strength with Richard Hardie at the helm. We have been extensively marketing   Guernsey and our homes ‘off island’ – targeting high net worth individuals   around the world with quality marketing with our own unique style which has   resulted in both sales and rentals of some impressive properties. Livingroom   Bespoke also offer a Property Search Service on the mainland – working on behalf   of the purchaser to find homes that suit their requirements and aspirations   (generally in excess of £1m). If the Open Market, Property Search and   International property interests you we now have created a separate email   newsletter called ‘The Monthly’. If you do not currently receive this then   please do get in touch to add your name to our database.
 
  Thank you for   taking the time to read our update but we better go, there’s more work to   do.
 
  Simon, Elke and the team at Livingroom.
 
  2008...

When times are tough, those who stand still,   lose...

Simon and Elke   are delighted to finally show you months of hard work. Our new websites are now   live. Although we have had countless compliments at how we have changed the way   that the Guernsey property market operates, we felt it was time to show our   confidence in the market and bring you a new and highly advanced web   presence.

With the launch of our new sister company Livingroom Bespoke,   we now offer not only local market homes in Guernsey but the very best open   market homes and luxurious international homes.

Livingroom Bespoke offers   a fine collection of international properties, estates and land whether it be by   the sea, in the mountains, a rural retreat or a buzzing capital city. Livingroom   Bespoke has established itself amongst international networks, utilising the   combined years of experience and contacts established by Richard Hardie, Simon   Torode and Elke Schimek.

Livingroom Bespoke prides itself in superior   marketing and an energetic approach to the international property scene ensuring   both the client and purchaser are provided with unparalleled service.   International sales complement the blend of services offered by Livingroom   Bespoke enhancing the synergy between our pure love of property, our   international contacts and a desire to provide more.

We also now offer a   global property search service, taking the hassle out of finding homes off the   island. This service is unique for Guernsey residents with Richard Hardie based   on the island to have direct contact with you at all times.

Richard   Hardie has seen both sides of the transaction process having worked for leading   brands in estate agency such as Harrods Estates in London, including the   management and start up of the Park Lane office. Latterly, Richard joined   Livingroom from London, after working for Phil Spencer (Location, Location,   Location) as a senior search consultant, finding prime properties for high net   worth clients.

Richard’s experience has led him to understand the   importance of confidentiality, careful negotiation, research, organisation and   communication in order to find the client what they are ‘actually’ looking for   with no hidden agenda to push the budget beyond what is necessary. Finding the   right property is often done without sourcing the property through an estate   agent, using an unrivalled database of global contacts.