The owners initially chose a different agent to market their property as they had sold some similar properties nearby. They promised excellent communication, regular feedback and marketing meetings – in short, all the things you would expect from an agent.

Dr A recalls, “They were absolutely dreadful. After two months I had to call up the owner of the company to come and see us because we had no communication from them at all, even after viewings. After the contractual tie-in period with them, we went straight away to get our property marketed with PFK”

Our Whitehaven team got everything up and running quickly, matching the property out to potential buyers by making phone calls and sending out emails to generate as much interest as possible in the first few days of marketing. After pro-active marketing online and in the local press the decision was made to reduce the price. A price reduction is always part of a wider discussion with the owners after our team has looked carefully at the market conditions and the likely demand. Unlike many agents, we don’t over-value to gain your business then spend the next 6 weeks asking you for a price reduction. All our valuations are put together by experienced, senior members of staff who use recent comparable sold prices, our internal database of potential buyers and their expert, local knowledge to recommend a sensible asking price.

“All the Whitehaven staff were excellent, however Lisa Murphy stood out. She took our property on and made it her personal mission to get it sold. We were constantly kept in the loop and informed about everything that was going on.”

Despite the complication of the buyer offering through the original estate agent (as they had originally viewed the property through them), Lisa worked incredibly hard to get the sale agreed and negotiated with the owner of the previous agent to reach an agreement where the offer could be accepted and the sale progressed. Unfortunately, on this occasion the progression of the sale was prolonged and difficult, with various issues which had to be resolved along the way. Finally, the buyer pulled out of the sale the day before exchange and completion after the owners had given most of their furniture to charity and arranged a rental property in a different area. In short, everything we don’t want to happen, happened, causing a lot of stress for our clients.

“Luckily this nightmare came to a resolution two weeks after we had moved out when the buyer came through, again helped greatly by Lisa continuing to work on our behalf. We cannot recommend them highly enough both on a personal and professional level and Lisa Murphy was definitely our hero.”

Amy McKinlay, Area Manager, comments, “When the progression of a sale becomes difficult, stress levels and emotions can run high – it’s absolutely crucial to have an agent who can negotiate this potentially rocky path on your behalf to ensure a good outcome. Many agents only offer the bare minimum of a sales progression service; often the ones with a temptingly low upfront fee have very little motivation to resolve issues at this stage as they have already been paid for the sale of your property. At PFK, we believe sales progression is a hugely important part of our service and we have a dedicated sales progression team to ensure your sale is seen through to completion – all included as part of our fee.”

At PFK, we believe in making property simple. Estate Agency is a people business and we put people at the heart of everything we do – not just our clients, but our people as well. We are proud to have people like Lisa, and we know all of our teams strive to go the extra mile for our clients. Buying and selling can be stressful, which is one of the reasons we think it’s important to have a physical office where you can talk to one of our knowledgeable local experts. Our small, friendly teams are made up of people you can get to know, and there’s not a call centre in sight.