Melfyn Williams (Williams & Goodwin / All Wales Auction) Reputation Magazine

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REPUTATION THE ESTATE AGENT MAGAZINE

Helping sellers & landlords choose the right estate agent

MEET

What are the qualities of a successful estate agent

Melfyn Williams

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Estate Agents Interview

Role of a home seller

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Preparing your home for selling/letting

THE ESTATE AGENT MAGAZINE

About Us Williams & Goodwin

Interview with Melfyn Williams

We love feedback

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The role of a home seller

How to prepare your home for selling / letting

Williams & Goodwin video

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CONTENTS

REPUTATION

Are you an estate agent?

Feature in your own Repuaution Magazine Get in touch: sales@viewagents.com ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2023

ABOUT US Professionally Trained

At Williams & Goodwin we recognise we are only as good as the people in our team and we dedicate time to ensure they are all trained to our high standards. With the majority of our team having many years of in-depth local knowledge, they are backed by modern technology and connections to over 800 offices throughout the UK. When it comes to moving home, we are Chartered Surveyors, Auctioneers, Estate & Letting Agents and have been selected as the best local agents by The Guild of Property Professionals who also provide our team with Trading Standards approved training in the Guild Associate Scheme. All our team have passed or working towards the industry qualification The Technical Award in Sales, Lettings or Auctions.

We also have Fellows and Members of trusted professional bodies including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), PropertyMark NAEA, ARLA & NAVA (The National Association of Estate Agents; National Association of Letting Agents and National Association of Valuers & Auctioneers).

Having received over 50 Top Industry Awards and covering Anglesey & Gwynedd, North West Wales for residential sale & Lettings and North Wales with our auction team All Wales Auction.

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Melfyn N Williams BSc(Hons) MRICS PPNAEA FNAVA CPEA Auctioneer, Estate Agent & Chartered Surveyor Director at WGTPP & senior auctioneer at allwalesauction.com mel@tppuk.com 38 years estate agency experience & looking forward to continuing developing, succeeding and helping connect property & people

Anglesey/Ynys Môn

WALES

W I L L I A M S

Past National President of The National Association of Estate Agents (PropertyMark) 2003/04 Awarded in 2006 at The Estate Agent of The Year Awards for his Outstanding Contribution To The Industry Since 1998 served on the NAEA Education Committee and Chairperson of Property Mark Qualifications (2002 - 2020) Proud to have our team recognised winning no less than 7 Best in UK awards in the last 20 years including Best UK Employer in 2019 In 2018 Melfyn received a LIFELONG ACHIEVEMENT AWARD from PropertyMark Qualifications. …and perhaps most importantly, over the years he and his team have helped thousands of local people move their home or business.

&

G O O D W I N

MELFYN WILLIAMS Some Highlights of a career serving property people since 1985

What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting a career in real estate?

Be prepared for hard work. Be able to listen to the customer’s needs & help provide solutions. It's a career which can be thoroughly enjoyed but at the same time, very demanding. It's rarely been a 9-5 job & those who are prepared to roll up their sleeves, obtain the industry qualifications, be prepared to gain invaluable experience & provide good honest advice, should succeed.

What is the best thing about being an Estate Agent?

Williams & Goodwin & All Wales Auction 23 Church Street, Llangefni, Anglesey, LL77 7DU 01248 75 1000 tppuk.com allwalesauction.com How did you get into real estate? Do you remember your first day?

I started in estate agency in 1985 on what was then the Youth Training Scheme age 16. Training those days was basic, with no computers or mobile phones, but I was fortunate to join a great team of people who taught me the basics of estate agency and traditional service values, & I soon developed a desire to help people move. The local independent estate agency (Jones & Davies) soon merged to become part of Nationwide Estate Agents where the training was excellent.

My day off was one day a week, spent attending college to initially pass the ONC then the HNC in Building Studies, before driving one day a week to the UCE at Birmingham to complete my BSc (Hons) in Estate Agency, & later to complete my ISVA/RICS qualifications.

At the same time, I undertook the NAEA Correspondence Course in Estate Agency, for which I was the Student of the Year in 1991. One of my proudest moments while working for Nationwide was in 1992 being one of only ten employees in the Nationwide network of estate agents to be awarded in their “Nationwide Way Award of Pride in People Performance Product Perception and Presentation at work.”

After 10 years of working as an estate agent covering Bangor & Anglesey from the Bangor/Menai Bridge offices of Nationwide, I moved in 1995 to an independent agency in Llangefni. This turned out to be an unplanned “hop, skip & jump” when in 1998 I moved to another local company, before joining forces with Tim Goodwin in 2001 to form Williams & Goodwin The Property People.

Helping people move, helping people’s dreams come true, helping create good results that put them in a better position financially & at the same time, helping people get out of difficult financial situations.

What is your favourite part area/community where you work?

about

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Everything. I am fortunate to work in a wonderful part of the UK – with some of the best spots to eat a sandwich in your car between appointments! It's also an area that enjoys a wealth of local culture & heritage with a love of the Welsh language that remains strong on the Island. Being bilingual is just natural & forms an important part of daily life.dolor Lorem ipsum sit amet,

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How much emphasis does your agency place on staff training?

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'Listen to the customer's needs'

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What do you recommend a seller/landlord should do prior to calling in an agent for a valuation?

Most people living in the locality will see who the active agents are, the ones who demonstrate success for their clients by pricing correctly and helping them achieve the desired results. Word of mouth is a great tool for any agent and with around 40% of our business coming from recommendations, we would hope all these customers can’t be wrong. We’d also recommend you check out reviews on View Agent & Google and visit the local office to meet the team that will be representing you because at the end of the day, at first glance most agents look the same from the outside but it's our team of people that make the big difference to your goals.

What are some questions a seller or a landlord should ask you on a listing presentation?

We are in an age where it is easy to spout and make claims - you need to check the substance of what's being said and by whom. Every agent is going to claim to be the best for you and it's an important decision for you to make in trusting an agent to handle an important asset - your home.

Three Top TPP Tips to question are: 1) Are you Qualified?

You really need an agent who has a team of experienced & qualified agents in the locality. One good front person will arguably serve you better if they have a great team and resources behind them too - all qualified. (did you know that not all agents are qualified?)

2) Are you a member of a professional industry body?

Look for the logos of Propertymark NAEA (for Sales) ARLA (for lettings) NAVA (for auctions) that demonstrates the agent acts and abides by codes of practice. Ideally, they should also have passed the Technical Award and a bonus would be if they are members of RICS and The Guild of Property Professionals.

3) What percentage of the asking price do you achieve and what is your fall-through rate?

No point instructing an agent who over-prices to win your business and then works to chip your price down.

Likewise, you need an agent to not only find a buyer, but more importantly, see it through to completion.

How much of a team effort is it when selling or letting a home?

Behind every good person, there should be a team of people dedicated to helping you achieve your goals. We ensure we have specialised people in each sector for sales, lettings or auctions and people available to best recommend the method of sale and marketing to suit each property and plan with the aim to meet your objectives.

Do you offer other services? Mortgages/Auction/Conveyancing etc.

What are the benefits of having these services under one roof

Every agent needs to consider the best method to market a property - private treaty, auction or tender. To do this effectively they need to also be experienced and have specialist members in the team who handle each method as all three are different. That’s why it is perfect that we also have the All Wales Auction team based within our offices.

We also have an agency for The Principality Building Society at our Llangefni and Holyhead offices on Anglesey ensuring that local people have access on the high street to savings, investments and mortgages.

What makes your estate agency different from your competitors?

Our team of people! We are so proud of them and what they achieve every day.

Williams & Goodwin truly are outstanding.

From start to finish of the selling process, they were amazing hence why I use them!

From dealing with solicitors to marketing, done so professionally, what a great team.

GARETH J

WE LOVE FEEBACK

MICHELLE H

The Williams & Goodwin team really pull out all the stops to achieve their client’s aims. They couldn’t have done anymore for us.

Top notch estate agent 10 stars.

GARETH R Williams & Goodwin offer a very professional service along with a friendly approach that gives you the confidence that the sale of your house is in the right hands.

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GARETH J

WE LOVE FEEBACK

From start to finish of the selling process, they were amazing hence why I use them!

From dealing with solicitors to marketing, done so professionally, what a great team.

MICHELLE H

REPUTATION IS EVERYTHING

Williams and Goodwin truly are outstanding.

The Williams & Goodwin team really pull out all the stops to achieve their client’s aims. They couldn’t have done anymore for us. Top THE PROPERTY PEOPLEnotch estate agent 10*

WILLIAMS & GOODWIN and

ALL WALES AUCTION

PROUD WINNERS OF THE

2023

GARETH R ESTATE AGENT Williams & Goodwin offer a very professional service along with a REPUTATION friendly approach that gives you the confidence that the sale of AWARD your house is in the right hands.

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ROLE OF A

SELLER IT’S NOT EVERYDAY YOU SELL YOUR HOME. HERE ARE 3 TOP TIPS TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR ROLE AS A HOME SELLER

VIEWING Most home buyers will look at several homes before buying one. You will have competition. Ask your estate agent what they think you need to do to your home prior to the first viewing.

Keep it clean and tidy. There may be occasions where the agent will call you at the last minute for a viewing, where possible be flexible.

As you will be having potential buyers walking through your home, keep all valuables in a safe place and out of view. If you have pets, it would be advisable to keep them outside as there may be buyers who may not feel comfortable around pets, especially if the potential buyers have children with them. If you have kids toys or obstructions around the house, make sure it is safe to walk around.

Ask the estate agent whether it’s best you remain in the home whilst they conduct the viewing. If you do remain home, allow the agent to do their job, they are the experts.

Unless the agent asks you to, don’t walk around on the viewing with them, it may make buyers uncomfortable.

COMMUNICATION

PRO T IP

Always keep the agent up to date on any changes. For example, if you go away for the weekend or you go away on a vacation. This will help the agent if there is a last-minute viewing and they’re trying to get a hold of you.

In this situation, it may be advisable to leave a spare key with the agent.

If you are planning a family event and you do not want the agent to conduct a viewing, try and give the agent plenty of notice.

If you make any changes to the property let your agent know. For example, if you install a new boiler or you fix a leaking roof. This will help the agent when asked specific questions by a buyer. The key to any successful sale is open communication.

NEGOTIATING Most home sellers have an emotional attachment to their homes. Potential buyers won’t have that attachment, to them, your property is seen as a piece of real estate.

Therefore, if the agent submits a low offer, don’t take it personally. The negotiation for your home can vary widely.

In some cases the negotiation is straight forward or takes weeks of back and forth negotiations. Always keep an open mind and remember that an experienced agent will know how to negotiate for you.

The key to any successful sale is open communication

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8 Top tips to prepare your home for selling or letting

Your home needs to be well presented, ideally, look better than the competition and have a neutral theme to appeal to more buyers/tenants tastes.

You don’t need to spend loads of money. Some simple changes can make a big difference between your home sitting unsold until you eventually reduce the asking price or your home selling almost immediately for the full asking price.

Think of it as a business transaction, where you are making business decisions.

SMELLS SELLS! Research suggests that smells influence buyers, therefore use this to your advantage. Placing fresh flowers in the kitchen and/or scented candles such as vanilla or cinnamon and even ‘cake baking’ smells have an impact.

However strong or over-powering smells will put off potential buyers such as: pets, bins, cooking & smoking.

Remember to air the house before each viewing.

BACK TO BASICS

PRO T IP

Buyers want to visualise your home as their home. The function of some rooms can change; a spare room used for storage can become the office or a second TV room.

Certain rooms hold a greater perceived value, think about converting rooms back to their original use. Remove furniture that looks too big for the room; clutter that isn’t essential to the function of the room will free up valuable space and help make your house looks bigger.

Consistent light fittings, flooring and curtains also help.

DEEP CLEAN THE HOUSE Make sure it’s done properly, if you do, then you are already a step ahead of your competition. Include dusting, carpets & garden if you can afford it. Do your best to keep it clean & tidy until sold or let!

DE-CLUTTER Have a clear-out. This will make your home look larger & a place that buyers or tenants can imagine themselves living in. Make sure there is a clear flow when walking around your home. Do a walk-through, as though you were on the viewing.

COMPLETE OUTSTANDING DIY Small jobs left undone make a huge difference to the potential buyers/ tenants. When they can see you care and look after your home they may offer you more as they can see additional value.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS DO COUNT! Potential buyers/tenants will be judging your house even before they knock on your door! Make sure that the external appearance is well-maintained and cared for; the outside needs to look as great as the inside. This includes the garden, driveway etc -a tidy, lawns mowed, litter removed and so on. Walk up & down your street and compare it to your neighbours.

DEPERSONALISE YOUR HOME Think of your home as a show home. These are effective sales tools as they are always anonymous. Buyers/ tenants want to imagine themselves living there, creating their own story. This can be difficult if overwhelming evidence of you or family are everywhere. Remove some family pictures, trophies, children’s artwork. Your house needs to look livedin without looking like anyone actually lives there.

NEUTRAL TONES Natural light is great, bright rooms appear more spacious than dim/ dark ones. If necessary, use table lamps in rooms that need a little lift. Colour is personal, it’s best to go with neutral colours instead of highly individualised interiors.

Creating a blank canvas helps buyers imagine how they would live in it and it will appeal to more tastes.

01248 75 1000

LLANGEFNI@TPPUK.COM

TPPUK.COM ALLWALESAUCTION.COM

23 CHURCH STREET, LLANGEFNI, ANGLESEY LL77 7DU

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