Penny & Sinclair – Sales Brochure

INDEPENDENT PROPERTY AGENTS

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Introducing

Penny & Sinclair Penny & Sinclair of Summertown, Oxford was founded in May 2009 by James Penny & Wendy Sinclair. We specialise in the Oxford, Oxfordshire & Cotswolds market, with additional offices in Oxford city centre and Burford in the Cotswolds.

We offer a superior sales and lettings service and pride ourselves on excellent customer service and a comprehensive marketing package. Our team advises on all aspects of the property market, putting your interests first, even if this means we do not earn our fee.

Our main aim throughout the company is to offer a professional, helpful and complete service.

Our established and experienced sales department provides independent personal and confidential advice on the best way of selling your home. We understand the importance of accurately valuing your property and presenting it to the widest possible audience in order to negotiate a successful sale for the best possible price.

Read on to find out how we can help you with selling or letting your property and what makes us stand out from the competition.

Penny & Sinclair constantly strive to make the buying and selling of homes as painless as possible.

We are committed to putting your interests first: superior service and a satisfied client are far more important than a quick sale.

James Penny, Managing Director

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Why Choose Penny & Sinclair?

WHETHER YOU ARE interested in selling your property and buying a new one, or looking to let your property, selecting the right

estate agent can be a challenge. Here are a few compelling reasons why we would suggest that Penny & Sinclair is the best estate agent you could choose: As an Independent estate agent, Penny & Sinclair is not restricted by targets or corporate rules.

That means we can be flexible and adapt our practices to best match your needs. We will do whatever it takes to provide you with the best possible service and exceed your expectations.

Single point of contact Whether you are buying, selling or letting a property it can be frustrating if you have to deal with an ever-changing cast of characters. Instead, we believe in giving you a single point of contact: the agent you appointed to act on your behalf will stay with you throughout the process. They will be heavily involved in the viewings, take sole charge of all negotiations and take you through the conveyancing process with your solicitor through to exchange of contracts and handing over the keys.

Tailored marketing package You believe that your house is unique. So do we. For that reason we don’t apply a ‘one size fits all’ approach to marketing. Instead we create a bespoke package after speaking with you to discover what attracted you to the property in the first place. We will then use a combination of photography, brochures and advertising to present your house in the best possible way to prospective buyers.

Regular communication We appreciate that the sales process can be stressful and frustrating, especially when you have to wait to hear what is happening. We try hard to reduce the emotional strain by keeping in touch with you on a regular basis at every stage. We will be in touch when anything significant happens and give you feedback and negotiation outcomes in writing within 24 hours so you are always kept informed.

We are working on your behalf and will do whatever we can in your best interests to achieve the best possible price when selling your property. We are available for longer working hours than many other agents. Ultimately, our ability to successfully deliver sales at the best possible price is a significant differentiator from the competition.

Consistent team We have a very experienced team that knows the Oxfordshire property market inside out; our specialist Country and Village department understands the rural market and allows us to offer a bespoke service tailored to each individual property that matches the appropriate audience. Our very low staff turnover means we can guarantee a consistent approach and standard of service no matter which office you deal with.

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“We bought our house only two years ago but we are on the move again. You were so helpful, it went without question we would return to you.�

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“I couldn’t have asked for more. You sold my house, found me an apartment and made what I thought was so tricky, incredibly easy. Your support was invaluable.”

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After sales service Once you have bought or rented a property with Penny & Sinclair we don’t stop there. We offer you a continued service way beyond handing over your keys. If you want to extend or develop your property we are more than happy to offer you advice and recommend highly reliable architects and tradesmen in your area. If you subsequently decide to let your property, we have an experienced team of experts who can guide you through the letting process.

Strong external network Penny & Sinclair is a member of the National Association of Estate Agents.

Membership is through formal qualification and members must meet certain

Summertown office

standards and criteria relating to professional and ethical practice. This means our NAEA member agents have the knowledge and experience to guide you through your property transaction as smoothly as possible.

We are also a member of The Property Ombudsman scheme which provides a free, fair and independent service for dealing with unresolved disputes between TPO registered agents and those who are buying or selling residential property in the UK. The Ombudsman is totally independent of estate agents and reports directly to the TPO Council, which has a majority of non-industry members.

As members of the Guild of Professional Estate Agents we have access to the

Oxford City office

national and international market through their prestigious showrooms on Park Lane, London. Using state of the art touch screen technology, our properties are at the fingertips of thousands of potential buyers 24 hours, seven days a week. This is an excellent tool for accessing the London market and we regularly deal with families and young couples relocating out of London to either start a family or for schooling. North Oxford in particular is a popular choice with its excellent range of highly regarded State and Independent schools. The Guild produces a quarterly magazine in which we also feature our properties.

Of course, we are bound to say we are the best estate agency in Oxfordshire.

Burford office

You wouldn’t expect us to say anything else.

However, the number of referrals and amount of repeat business we generate demonstrates our hard earned reputation for quality, excellence and superior customer service, and suggests that we may well be right.

Park Lane, London

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Our Marketing Gets Results

WHEN WE MARKET your property we provide a first-rate professional service embracing innovative advertising strategies to make sure we achieve optimum visibility and

generate maximum exposure and interest. Here is how we go about it.

Combine our market knowledge with your personal experience At Penny & Sinclair we like to combine our local knowledge and property market expertise with your personal experience of the property and the area. We know the market and have a database of potential buyers, but no-one knows your house better than you. We take the time to find out what attracted you to the property in the first place and the key features you believe will be attractive to potential buyers or tenants.

Proactive approach We don’t rely on purchasers to search for properties. We prefer to take a more proactive approach. We speak to potential buyers from our extensive database and contact them as soon as we bring a property to the market that suits what they are looking for.

Powerful photography and digital floorplans We understand the power of photography to generate interest for the property, whether it is used in online or print advertising. We use the highest quality professional photography to ensure that your property will create maximum impact in the market place.

We often find that prospective buyers are initially more interested in seeing a floorplan than photography before they request a viewing. We get a professional company to create a digital floorplan for every property and that forms a key part of our marketing online and included within our brochure and sales details.

High quality brochures We produce laminated glossy brochures to give out to prospective buyers. These make the most of our photography, floorplans and descriptive text to make your property stand out. We also involve you in the process, taking into consideration any points you wish to include in the brochure, as you know the property better than anyone.

Newspaper and magazine advertising The Guild of Professional Estate Agents offers us opportunities on a weekly basis to place selected properties in national newspapers and prestigious magazines. These publications will share a suggested topic (for example, penthouse living) and if we have a suitable match for their story, your property could well feature in newspapers including The Sunday Times, The Independent & Country Life magazine.

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92% of our sales achieve the guide price or better

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“Penny & Sinclair proved that not all estate agents are the same and surpassed our expectations with the price they achieved�

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Superior online marketing that has a huge impact Statistics demonstrate that whether our applicants live locally or internationally our online marketing plays a huge role in providing the best coverage for our clients’ properties (see the diagrams). Consequently we insist on using the highest quality professional photography and focus our time and efforts on creating a superior bespoke online campaign for each property.

We use cutting-edge marketing strategies that combine our online and offline activities. We will take your property direct to the public via traditional media channels including quality magazines and newspapers alongside digital and social media channels and the leading online property portals (including ‘Rightmove’ and ‘OnTheMarket’) to secure you extensive coverage.

In addition our website www.pennyandsinclair.co.uk includes a weekly feature property Direct marketing and canvassing 5%

on the home page and we regularly refresh the photographs and text. Potential buyers and tenants can access these details twenty four hours a day, seven days a week via the website and our iPhone app.

Oxford Times and local advertising 5%

We aim to answer all internet enquiries within twenty four hours and as a result we regularly find the best buyers and tenants, and achieve the best prices

Footfall into our offices

for our clients combined with exceptional service for all parties.

Community presence

10%

Our culture and values go beyond operating a market-leading estate agency to embrace a wider sense of our place in the community. We are committed to give back to those around us Internet marketing

by supporting worthy causes. We annually support the school

80%

calendars for SS Philip & James’ primary schools, local fireworks events, South Oxford adventure playground and open days including Magdalen College School, as well as Magdalen College School’s Arts Festival. We sponsor popular events at the Oxford

How we reach our Clients

Botanic Gardens, the Harcourt Arboretum and Kirtlington Fete as well as supporting local sports through our sponsorship of the Oxford Rugby Club and the Oxfordshire Health and Racquets

International

Club Virgin Active where we sponsor the squash team and the under 18s summer tennis tournament.

98%

of our clients would use us again or have recommended us to friends

5%

Rest of the UK

15% Oxfordshire and the region

45%

London

35%

Where our Clients come from

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Letting Your Property With Us

WE FIND MANY customers return to use our letting services year after year.

We not only find suitable accommodation for our

clients but with our extensive knowledge of the area, we can answer their queries and provide recommendations of local tourist attractions places to eat and drink and help with transport information. We aim to contribute towards a memorable and enjoyable stay in any of the locations we cover in Oxford, Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds.

And from the perspective of potential landlords, we are renowned for letting some of the finest properties in Oxfordshire and always look to achieve a good price from quality tenants and achieve a high occupancy rate all year round. Unlike other agents we also have an in-house accounts team who are on hand to answer any account enquiries.

Whether you are letting your home for the first time or you are an experienced investment landlord you will be in safe hands with our lettings department.

Lettings There is a lot to consider when letting your property: from the legal and financial matters to preparing your home for being let and the ongoing property management responsibilities.

Our specialist lettings team will guide you through every step of the process. As an independent firm, our advice is totally impartial and our local understanding of rental demand, values, tenant selection and care or property is unmatched. Our service is designed to bring you peace of mind.

We market your property on every major property portal and in local newspapers and make good use of our existing client base of relocation agents with tenants looking for suitable properties throughout Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds. When we have found suitable tenants to take your property, we then credit check and verify them and draft the appropriate contract.

Property management Managing your property can be a full-time job, so our specialised property management team ensures that your property is continually monitored and well maintained. They are available to oversee and project manage all types of work from basic repairs and maintenance to

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“After arranging a short let through you, I would never consider anything else. The staff are helpful, booking is easy and the standard is second to none.”

total refurbishment and new build projects with well trusted contractors. The team works longer than normal working hours and offers an emergency ‘out of hours’ response service to ensure that your tenants are well looked after. We specialise in protecting your property’s value and saving you the time, stress and responsibility of the day-to-day management.

Short let properties There are many advantages of short letting your property: it gives you greater flexibility if you’re unsure of your future plans and don’t want to commit to a long term let; it produces higher rental returns and you can also have access to the property to use it at certain times of the year. We achieve exceptionally high rentals during the academic holidays and have a constant demand for serviced properties from a range of quality tenants including visiting academics and medics and media and film companies as well as families seeking holiday accommodation in Oxfordshire.

We have a serviced property team who specialise in offering expert advice about all the requirements for short lets, covering everything from preparing your property for the short let market to the tenancy process and property management.

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You’re in Very Safe Hands Introducing our Directors and their Key Staff

James Penny Director Summertown Office

Wendy Sinclair MARLA Director Summertown Office

James has worked as an estate agent in Oxford and Oxfordshire since 1994, initially working for a large corporate agency, leaving to set up his own independent estate agency in 1999, followed by a second firm in 2002 before finally founding Penny & Sinclair in May 2009. During this time James has created a strong reputation for dealing with the Central North Oxford market and fine country properties, becoming one of the most successful estate agents in the area.

Having worked for an independent short lets company, Wendy joined James at his previous business in 2005 to set up a lettings department and then left with him to establish Penny & Sinclair in 2009. She has since built up our highly successful and reputable lettings department, with an enviable portfolio of long and short lets.

Jeremy Turner MNAEA MARLA Associate Director Summertown Office

Lizanne Simmons Sales Manager Summertown Office

Lucy Lawton Smith ARLA Lettings Manager Summertown Office

Sammie Steepe ARLA Short Let Specialist Oxford City Office

jeremy@pennyandsinclair.co.uk

lizanne@pennyandsinclair.co.uk

lucy@pennyandsinclair.co.uk

sammie@pennyandsinclair.co.uk

Julia Wilson Associate Summertown Office

Christine Read Senior Sales Negotiator Summertown Office

Victoria Chesterton ARLA Lettings Manager Oxford City Office

Verity Smith Lettings Negotiator Summertown Office

julia@pennyandsinclair.co.uk

christine@pennyandsinclair.co.uk

victoria@pennyandsinclair.co.uk

verity@pennyandsinclair.co.uk

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Oliver Hope Director   Oxford City Office

Fergus Mitchell Director Burford Office

With over twenty years of estate agency experience in Oxford, Oliver has an unparalleled understanding of the Oxford market and heads up our City office. Oliver has built a strong reputation in the Oxford residential market for his educated, realistic and accurate advice.

Fergus has lived and worked in and around Burford for many years. He has in-depth knowledge of the Oxfordshire Cotswolds property market. He joined Penny & Sinclair as director of the Burford office and alongside his experienced team is able to offer clients a wealth of sales, short let, rental and property search advice both as a professional and resident.

Rob Hill Sales Manager Oxford City Office

Stephen Ingram MNAEA Country Department Oxford City Office

Kate McKinnon Sales Manager Burford Office

Sophie Lee ARLA Lettings Manager Burford Office

rob@pennyandsinclair.co.uk

stephen@pennyandsinclair.co.uk

kate@pennyandsinclair.co.uk

sophie@pennyandsinclair.co.uk

Angie Parmenter Senior Sales Negotiator Oxford City Office

Amy Stapleton Branch Co-ordinator Oxford City Office

Emma Johnson Lettings Negotiator Burford Office

Megan Cruise Lettings Negotiator Burford Office

angie@pennyandsinclair.co.uk

amy@pennyandsinclair.co.uk

emma@pennyandsinclair.co.uk

megan@pennyandsinclair.co.uk

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Oxford City 1–4 The Plain St Clements Oxford OX4 1AS 01865 297555 – Sales 01865 297500 – Lettings 01865 297525 – Short Lets 01865 297535 – Property Management

Summertown Mayfield House 256 Banbury Road Summertown Oxford OX2 7DE 01865 318013 – Sales 01865 318018 – Lettings 01865 595504 – Country Department

Burford 97 High Street Burford Oxfordshire OX18 4QA 01993 220555 – Sales 01993 220888 – Lettings

London 121 Park Lane Mayfair London W1K 7AG 020 7409 8304