London Estate Agents
Buying or renting a house in london then you will need to use an estate agent
Estate Agents in London
As with coffee shops and value fashion stores, a number of estate agency firms have grown into instantly-recognisable brands on the streets of London, with most boasting a high street presence in most boroughs of the capital, as well as in the centre of the city.
Most notable among these is Foxtons, which has served to enhance its brand since the start of the millennium through the introduction of cafe-bars in their offices and its fleet of trendy Mini cars.
The company's reputation as being among the most effective in terms of buying and selling properties has been built partly on the back of its policy of encouraging competition within its own ranks, rather than with just the opposition, with sellers often guaranteed to have several agents working on their case so as to deliver them the best possible result in the quickest time.
Another big player in the capital is Winkworth, which boasts more than 50 high street locations across London, with its business model of operating independently-owned and managed franchises similarly helping to encourage healthy competition among staff, to the benefit of clients.
Likewise, when it comes to high street estate agents in London, dozens of companies cover the whole of the capital, with Hamptons, Haart and Savills among the most commonly-known.
At the same time, however, a number of smaller companies offer more tailored solutions for buyers or sellers keen to concentrate on a certain area of the property market, whether this be a particular area of London or a particular price range.
For example, high-end property dealers have no shortage of options, with the likes of Harrods Estates and Carter Jonas estate agents dealing mainly in homes in the up-market Mayfair, Marylebone and St James regions of London, while buyers generally looking to the south of the city should consider a London estate agent with a focus on this side of the river, perhaps Douglas and Gordon say.
Property Management by Estate Agents
Unsurprisingly, a significant proportion of London estate agents also offer property management services alongside the usual buying and selling.
Again, Foxtons and Winkworth offer such a service, joined by nationwide firms such as Bridgeford and KFH.
In addition, property owners at the either end of the residential spectrum are able to benefit from a number of property management providers, with the London-based Black Katz among the best-placed to offer this service at the lower end of the market.
At the top end of the scale, Harrods Estates has become one of the property management providers of choice for wealthy investors, handling homes in the more up-market parts of the city, while Paramount similarly manages properties in areas such as West Hampstead, Maida Vale and Little Venice.
What other services do estate agents offer?
With competition at a premium in the capital, estate agents are continually trying to out-do one another in their efforts to win business, with many offering a variety of extras on top of the buying or selling of homes.
Offering to pay solicitors' or removal fees is commonplace across London, while, since the market downturn in 2008, some estate agents have thrown in 'lifestyle packages' with a property, with buyers benefiting from free gym membership and having their council tax paid for them.
