By Jane Gardner, Lettings Director
Over the many years I have worked in the property industry, I have always found that purchasers and tenants are exceptionally gracious to come across an Estate Agent who will take the time to give them a tour guide of the new area they are moving or considering moving to. Although the Internet has made information far more easy to access, and websites such as www.upmystreet.com can give a prospective purchaser or tenant lots of informative information about schools and facilities in the area, nothing really beats hearing the low down from the horses mouth (so to speak!!)…
Local Hertfordshire Schools
So over the last 10 years there has always been a member of the sales or lettings team ready and available to take customers out on a little tour of the locality, to show them where the best schools are, where the train station or motorway access is, what great pubs and restaurants are around, the best places to shop for weekly food, or specialised items, or clothes & shoe shops etc….
This service started to become more and more frequently requested, and, let’s face it, that means a few hours out of the office (at least) each time round, so I decided it might be a more efficient idea to organise a regular date for tours of the area, inviting all of those new customers to come along and visit Rickmansworth, Chorleywood, Croxley Green, Watford, Kings & Abbots Langley and all of the surrounding areas we cover, on one day each month.
And while we are at it, why not take the customer along to visit some of the great properties available to either buy or rent, so that, even if they aren’t quite ready to make the move yet, at least they can see what they will get for their money, and of course, give some much needed and informative feedback to the landlords and property vendors, such as ‘kerb appeal’, ‘first impression’, ‘value for money?’, any suggestions to help improve the marketing of the property.
Once the idea was developed to this stage, the problem was how to transport everyone! In the past one of our company cars has done the trick, but tentative enquiries showed that a 5 seater vehicle was not going to be sufficient, so we needed to source a larger mode of transport and came across a local charity mini-bus service, who would allow our staff to take their ‘driving test’ in the 14 seater mini-bus, and we could sign-write the bus with our Sewell & Gardner branding.
Magical Mystery Tour Bus
So the very first Sewell & Gardner Magical Mystery Tour took place on Saturday 7th May with a group of tenants jumping on board to visit Chorleywood & Rickmansworth properties and all of the important aspects of the area. The tour was great fun and a resounding success, resulting in 2 properties being rented out by participants and some wonderful feedback to boot!
The tours take place most months for lettings and sales: Just check out the dates by emailing info@sewellgardner.com or phone 01923 721900 and ask for Julia. Provided that at least 6 customers are ready to come along and take the tour then we shall be more than happy to bring out the bus and organise a tour of the specific areas you require.
So if you are NEW to the Rickmansworth, Watford, Croxley Green, Chorleywood, Northwood areas, or even so far as Abbots & Kings Langley, Hunton Bridge, Bushey, Garston even Bovingdon and the villages all around our towns, then you should register your interest for the next tour, and we will notify you of the date the moment we have a confirmed 6 people!
It is really easy to register, just email Magical Mystery Tour on info@sewellgardner.com, giving us the following information:
- Your name,
- Your contact phone number or email address
- How many people in your party
- Are you interested in SALES or LETTINGS
….then a member of our team will be in touch to find out your preference for property / area, and to inform you of how the tour works, the itiniery and where we will be taking you for lunch afterwards, to say a huge big THANK YOU for coming along and making our tour special.
If you want to call for more details please phone 01923 721900 and ask for Julia, Susie or Reagan.
Information on Areas Covered by Sewell & Gardner
Susie, our bus driver!