Ivy Gate Estate Agents - why are we different?

Estate Agency is changing

Ivy Gate has a personal and bespoke approach to selling or letting your home.

We will challenge the perceptions that people have of estate agents by showing that we can be honest, straight talking and highly professional. We will only employ exceptional people, who will do exceptional things every day.

Our concept is remarkably simple; we will provide you with a dedicated Personal Relationship Manager to guide you through every stage of the process, from marketing to moving. They will handle a limited portfolio, thereby making sure their clients are always treated with respect and courtesy.

The web has revolutionised the marketing of property in the UK and beyond. Over 90% of people now start their search online (source: rightmove.co.uk). An increasing number are now using smart phones and tablets to browse for property. Yet the way estate agents use the web hasn’t really changed at all. So we’re doing something different. We focus on making your home stand out from the crowd, especially online – with professional photography, 3D floorplans, audio tours, film tours and enhanced listings on the main web portals. A fresh approach to online marketing! Most importantly, we believe in total transparency and an openness and honesty not normally associated with the industry.

Our philosophy is based on these 5 core values:

Personal Relationships

Have you ever called your estate agent only to be greeted by a different person each time? Have you ever tried to sell or let your home but never get to deal with the person who first came to see you?

We believe that personal relationships should be at the heart of everything we do – you are trusting that person to deal with your most valued asset so it’s important that you choose someone who understands your needs, your motivations and who will have your best interests at heart.

That’s why at Ivy Gate you will have a dedicated Personal Relationship Manager. You are hiring the person, not just the company.

They are experts in their field, fully trained and hand selected by us to offer honest, straight talking advice, and they will only handle a limited portfolio of homes to ensure that we never compromise on the quality of our service.

They will be there for you whenever you need them, any time, from start to finish.

Exceptional Service

Why do estate agents have such a bad reputation? Why is it so hard to find an agent that gives you the service you deserve?

The fact is most agents allow sales targets to override customer service, to them you are just a property not a person; they don’t see themselves as part of a customer service industry.

We are different. We believe that you, the customer should receive the best possible service – why should you compromise on that? We will offer a truly exceptional client experience from start to finish, working for you and with you.

Everything we do will be about our customers. Our culture, the way we communicate with you, our systems, processes and the attitude of our team, it’s all about you.

We won’t shy away from telling you the bad news as well as the good, no sugar coating, just open, honest communication. We will market your property in the best possible way, without shortcuts on cost or effort.

You’re hiring the person, not just the company.

Bespoke Marketing

How can you make your property stand out from the crowd? How do you make sure you get the best possible price?

Surprisingly, lots of agents still don’t have professional photographs or provide floorplans – do they really think that photos of a badly lit bedroom or a bathroom with the toilet seat up will create the best impression?

That’s why when it comes to marketing and exposure, it’s vital that your home appears in the right places in the right way – we concentrate on the things that make a difference.

We will make sure your property stands out; professional photos, 3D floorplans, an audio or film tour and real information – we will ask you to tell us what you love about your home, what you might change, the best local deli down the road or the lovely neighbour a few doors down.

Find out more about our marketing here

You will give us your input into how we market your home; after all, you know it best.

Total Transparency

Do you ever get frustrated with your agent because you can never get a straight answer? Do you wish they would just talk to you like a real person?

Most agents struggle to be open and honest – we don’t want to be like most agents. We want your experience with Ivy Gate to be different and refreshing. We want you to know how we are working for you and why we make the recommendations we do.

Not everything you hear will be positive, but it will be constructive, which is why we won’t be secretive or bombard you with jargon. We will work together, talk openly, and respond to feedback. After all, we’re in this together.

If the viewer didn’t like an aspect of your home; location, size, price, condition – we’ll tell you. This way, we can react positively to feedback and make changes to increase the chances of a sale or let.

No masking, no clouding, complete transparency. We tell it how it is.

Innovative Techniques

When did you last see something new or innovative from an estate agent? When will the industry change?

It takes little skill or expertise to list your home on the web and produce a brochure. However, times are changing. We are committed to working smart as well as hard. That’s why at Ivy Gate we are committed to being at the forefront of innovation within the industry.

From 3D floorplans to ‘owners statements’, we make sure that we are constantly looking to challenge the industry. Our client portal allows total access to view the progress of your sale or let. Our revolutionary Immersion360 virtual tours showcase the home in unrivalled clarity and accuracy. Our personal ‘For Sale’ boards with the face and details of the individual relationship managers give a personal touch to every sale or let.

Estate Agency is changing. We’re changing it. One step at a time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are your fees?

The vast majority of estate agents never publish their fees. Why? Because they charge what they can get away with. If they can achieve a higher fee than your neighbour is paying, then they will. This is how estate agency has been run for the last 50 years.

We believe that this is wrong. So we have decided to be one of the very few UK estate agents to publish our fees. We also offer 3 simple service options so you can choose which service is right for you. From a simple listing online for a fixed fee, to a full bespoke personal concierge style service, we have a structure which will suit you.

Read about our fees for sales and lettings.
With all this personal service, are you more expensive than other agents?

No. We’re competitive with others and in many cases cheaper than the high street.

Our Ivy Gate Lite service is in line with other online selling and letting agents. However, with us you get the added knowledge that we have a real local expert on hand to help when needed.

Our Ivy Gate Standard service is more competitive than most other agents. You will have seen that the vast majority of agents don’t advertise their fees anywhere. However, the industry average is 1.5%. We beat that hands down. A personal service for a sensible fee from the Best UK small agent for customer service 2015.

Our Ivy Gate Premium service is unique. No other agent delivers this quality of marketing, this standard of personal service, and this level of expertise. However, our fee for this is still the same as most agents charge for their basic service.

All in all, we believe we offer a higher level of service than a standard high street or online agent, but with sensible fees.
Why don't you have offices?

The answer is simple. You don’t need them anymore.

96% of people now search online for a property. It is impossible to envisage someone looking for a property to buy or to rent and not look on one of the main UK portals like rightmove© zoopla© or primelocation©.

So, we don’t waste money on needless high street offices.

Our model is based on territories. Territories cover areas usually covered by offices. This works much more efficiently for our clients.
How good are you ? Really?

Every agent will tell you they have the best this, the best that.

The proof of our success is in our selling and letting conversion data, and in our customer satisfaction score.

At Ivy Gate, we love stats. We believe that the best way to communicate our performance is to publish our data for everyone to see. So we do. You can read all our performance statistics, along with our customer testimonials.

We also use a Net Promoter Score to check our service levels. Put simply, the Net Promoter Score is the business standard for evaluating customer satisfaction. You can read more about how we collect this data and our current score. We’re very proud of the results!
Why should I choose you to sell or let my home?

There are on average 14 estate agents for every location in the UK. They all promise to deliver. But few do. The industry has a terrible reputation for laziness, secrecy and underhand tactics.

We’re not like other estate agents. We’re different.

We operate a unique business model that works. We offer 3 levels of service to suit everyone.

We have won a major UK award for every year we have been trading.

Our staff are highly skilled, highly trained and highly motivated.

We operate under 5 core values of Personal attention, Exceptional service, bespoke marketing, transparency and honesty and a commitment to innovation.

Our Values