
IT HAS BEEN almost a year since Nony and Sam Kerr-Smiley left High Street estate agency and set up their own business, under the Martin and Co umbrella. What they initially assumed would be selling one or two houses a month, has quickly turned into something far bigger. They are averaging a sale a week.
“Every client’s sale and purchase is different,” said Nony, “and each of their circumstances are individual, with differing needs. It is never a one size fits all in our agency model.
“We have had a client selling in Winchester whilst living overseas. Their home had been rented for some years and, to achieve the best prices, needed a bit of careful presentation, repainting and new carpets. The owners were not in a position to oversee this, so we stepped in and organised painters, furniture to be moved and some recarpeting. We even brought in furnishings from home to help make it more homely, and watered the garden, before arranging photography. On another home, we put up some hanging baskets and tidied and dressed a garden, to make the photographs more appealing.”
These are unusual cases but give an idea of who Sam and Nony are, and the service they provide. They put customer care ahead of all else and strongly believe in traditional values, offering an agency model where the client is treated as a person, rather than a commodity or simply a file transaction.
“We feel that people have been overlooked as individuals for far too long,” continued Sam, “and we really take a pride in looking after our clients personally, from the first call to completion.”