Whatmakesus different?
Getting the best out of a difficult market
which sets all that back; that said we have to battle on.
by Nick Dodsley DIRECTOR Nick Dodsley Estates
“Nick Dodsley Estates” is an Estate Agency and property business based in Jersey and owned by Nick Dodsley, a senior conveyancer of 29 years experience, and assisted by Peter Morris, sales and lettings negotiator and Peter de las Casas a consultant to the business.
In January 2010 the business moved to shop premises in Colomberie, St. Helier and in May 2010 we were joined by Peter Morris who is a negotiator dealing with sales and lettings. Our office facilities now include modern versions of Estate agency software and we are also expanding the overseas website in partnership initially with French agencies.
Peter Morris, initially worked for another local agency, and prior to that worked for many years in a management position in the global telecoms market. He brings a wealth of contacts and managerial knowledge to the business and is also conducting a considerable amount of business development for us.
The past year has remained difficult for business locally and every time one thinks that matters may be about to improve there is some news from the local government
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Our approach to Estate agency is based upon knowledge, realism and communicating with our clients as well as understanding the needs of both the vendor, who is after all our client, and the buyer. Having worked in the legal side of property for 30 years a clear tenet of our business is that we wish to understand their aspirations and also provide them with a knowledgeable service on the basis that know the Jersey property transaction process from start to finish and know the many obstacles, and for us once a sale is negotiated, that there remains follow up to the transaction through our considerable connections with local lawyers.
Locally we have seen low historic transactional levels continuing to be the prevailing theme through the Royal Court. There have been more enquiries and more signs of activity in the local market particularly since house prices in the Island have softened generally. We continue to note however, both from our own experience as well as speaking with our contacts within Banks and also local financial advisers that access to funding for purchasers remains somewhat problematical, and this obviously has an effect on the aspirations of the house mover as well as the market.
There remains considerable pressure on Estate Agents to advertise in many local publications and having advertised in various media outlets we now have an understanding of the cost effective advertising and also those media which are no longer providing value for money for our business. As such our advertising will no longer necessarily involve such exposure in the daily printed media.
Through our business, Nick continues to undertake a freelance conveyancing service which is provided to local law firms and sole practitioners. The freelance conveyancing model can now be seen to be working and we believe that it will continue to slowly and steadily grow in the future as local law firms consider staffing levels but wish to continue to keep a conveyancing presence in the Island without necessarily having staff overheads. It is unfortunate that in the local legal employment market a number of experienced conveyancers, who had been employed for many years, some still in mid career, have been made redundant as the local property market has continued to suffer a downturn, and because of the nature of the conveyancing, that they currently have little hope of re-employment in their chosen career.
In the overseas markets, we have recently established partnership agreements with a couple of French Estate agencies and are also expanding our horizons further overseas with our existing connections in the Caribbean.
Properties overseas will be listed on our new overseas website which will be operational in 2011. We do not directly market overseas properties, but work in partnership with agents in locations chosen by us and those who have approached us in order to provide both local Channel Islands residents and those further afield with contacts in the overseas locations. We will be visiting these locations over the coming year to strengthen our partnership. The overseas section will continue to be expanded by Nick Dodsley and Peter de las Casas.
We look forward to 2011 with some caution.
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