LUX Spring 2018

72 1803LU24 Experts in your Local Area As one of the oldest independent Estate Agencies in London, Maskells gives clients privileged access to an unrivalled depth of property expertise, experience and local knowledge. We speak to Charles Curran, Principal, as we go behind the scenes to gain an insight into the success of Maskells Estate Agents: In 1965, frustrated by an inability to get his then Estate Agent to fully engage in the sale of his property, Tim Maskell considered that he was perhaps not the only vendor in this position. Given the sums involved, he felt that the relationship and the trust between client and Agent was as important as the transaction. He had a good relationship with his stockbroker with whom he was in regular contact, but for the then largest financial transaction in his life, he felt frustrated. Discussions with friends and family suggested that he was not the only one in this position, so he did what any entrepreneur would do when spotting a gap in the market – he set up his own agency: Maskells. His thesis was simple: with so many instructions, larger firms can often find that they exceed the needs of some segments of their client base and, inadvertently, ignore the needs of others. His plan worked. More than 50 years later, the company is still applying the same philosophy, albeit now with a more technology driven approach. Charles provides us with a detailed description of the secrets behind the customer- friendly estate agent company. When undertaking a new client or project what approach do you use to ensure the best possible outcome? Crucial to our success, when working with a new client on a project, is that we listen. Whilst there are many excellent Estate Agents in the London Market, we do feel that we provide a unique service: When taking on an instruction in sales or lettings, we make a point of understanding how clients wish to work with us. Some prefer a light touch approach, others a more in-depth relationship. With both Sales and Lettings, the Heads of each Business are always involved and clients do not deal with Team members they have not met. This is particularly important in property management, where our team members ensure that they meet the Landlords and visit every single property we manage. The most important aspect of our service however is that we listen: this may sound simple but this can often be overlooked in our industry. We also educate. This may seem contentious, but we do know our Market and often have to slowly and carefully work with a client to find a price which the market can sustain and the client is happy with. What are your overall aims and what strategies do you employ to achieve these? Money can be a taboo subject however our goal is to make our clients as much money as we can for the sale or rental of their property. At the same time, we also make the process as efficient, effective and, hopefully as enjoyable as we can, as we seek to build and maintain our client relationships. How do we do this? Firstly, and most importantly, we operate as a team across our market so whether you are interested, for example, in Mayfair or Chelsea or Kensington, you have one point of contact. Maskells also works closely with other agents as no-one company can honestly pretend to capture all the applicants seeking to buy or rent in London. By being collaborative (and open with our fees), we gain more exposure for our properties to a greater number of those applicants, to the benefit of our clients. Secondly, we monitor very closely enquiry trends into the London Market from across the world by mining publicly available data, and it is amazing what is on the web if you know where to look for it. Maskells makes full use of digital marketing and is one of the very few independents to have a full time digital marketing associate to maintain, monitor and mine this data. Thirdly, it is well documented that many buyers in the London Market are from overseas. In that vein, many agents claim to have international networks. As an independent, Maskells was proud to have been invited to join John Brian Losh’s ‘Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate’. This high-end network provides us access to over 3,500 Agents in 70 countries and has been a great source of enquiry. Membership is by invitation only and Maskells is the only full-service Estate Agency in the UK to be a member. Lastly, we also wanted to ensure that we maintained relationships post any property transaction so we set up a sister Concierge & Property Management Company called White Circle Collection, which is run by Jemima Cadbury. WCC has done everything from organising wedding receptions, sourcing domestic staff, introductions to Trust Companies and other professional service providers. WCC does not charge a monthly fee and tailors its services to each client’s needs, so that if you do not use them, there is no charge but the service is there should you need it. That piece of mind is invaluable for our overseas property owners and has helped drive property sales and lettings.