Prime Surrey Agent, Barton Wyatt, scoops Property Awards

Leading Surrey Estate Agent, Barton Wyatt scoops Best Surrey Estate Agent in the highly acclaimed International Property Awards.  This is the ninth year running that Barton Wyatt have been awarded for being top of their game.

Gathered at the London Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel on Friday October 24th and sponsored by Rolls-Royce and Gaggenau, the UK Property Awards attracted entries from hundreds of companies across the length and breadth of the UK. Winning entrants were presented with either a 'Highly Commended' or '5-Star' award.

Partner James Wyatt comments:

"This is the eighth year that we have been awarded 5 stars for being the Best Surrey Estate Agent.  We are extremely delighted to receive this award again and it makes all the hard work and effort that the team put in really rewarding. It is always motivating for the company and our staff to be recognised for their achievements over the last year.

Barton Wyatt also lifted a highly commended award for their newly redesigned website. 

Wyatt says:

"Having a stand-out website is essential in estate agency today and implementing a new site takes a considerable amount of time and energy from a great number of people.  We were keen to give ourselves an entirely new, forward thinking look and this meant starting from scratch, making the site look fresh, more appealing and easier to use.  Being highly commended for the new site makes me feel that it was definitely a worthwhile exercise."

The International Property Awards are open to residential and commercial property professionals from around the globe.  They celebrate the highest levels of achievement by companies operating in all sectors of the property and real estate industry. An International Property Award is a world-renowned mark of excellence.

For more information contact Barton Wyatt on 01344 843 000, or drop in to speak to your award-winning local agents at The Estate Office, 2 Station Approach, Virginia Water, Surrey. 

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Barton Wyatt provide luxury and select Property in Surrey. James Wyatt MNAEA, MARLA, TRC, REALTOR ® is a partner at Barton Wyatt Letting Agents Surrey. Tel: 01344 843000

A secret service for 50 years, now to be publically launched on 1st October 2014 Award-winning Barton Wyatt Launches Private Office

Barton Wyatt, the prime multi award-winning estate agents Surrey , has been offering a concierge service to their clients since 1965, designed to fulfil the needs of international royal families, non-doms, celebrities and high net worth individuals who wanted more than "just an estate manager".

Over the past five decades, Barton Wyatt has further honed and developed this incredibly discreet and specialised service and today they launch their service under the name of Private Office as more and more clients seek this type of assistance.

James Wyatt, Partner of Barton Wyatt and Head of Private Office explains,

"We have been fulfilling a concierge facility for clients for fifty years but as demand has risen, we felt it was time to give the service a separate identity and more credence. 

"Our clients include those who hold properties all over the world but may only use their Surrey homes for one or two months of the year, whilst others may visit at weekends.  Some live here all the time but want to enjoy their own time to the maximum. We sit in the background of these luxurious lifestyles ensuring that homes and households continue to run seamlessly whilst the client is here or away." 

The Barton Wyatt Private Office offers a fully bespoke and customised service for clients although typical services include:

• Recruiting and managing household staff, ensuring they are fulfilling their role both within the house and the grounds
• Handling the utilities, ensuring best value and arranging maintenance of household equipment - this could be anything from swimming pools to whirlpools, kitchen and / or gym equipment, Wi-Fi, electronic gates and even internal lifts for both people and cars!
• Undertaking basic "running of the house" errands from the dry cleaning through to servicing the cars, cleaning windows and chimneys
• Arranging private transportation from limousine airport picks up through to private jets for national and international travel
• Organising social gatherings from lavish children's birthday parties through to gastronomic luncheons for 100 guests plus
• Assisting with finding suitable schools for off-spring - from pre-school to seniors, traditional English schooling and international schools, day or boarding
• Re-opening the house upon a client's return includes a deep clean, fresh flowers and filling the multitude of fridges and freezers with food that is often quite specialist and pertains to country and culture
• Closing the house upon a client's departure including once again a deep clean, laundering bedrooms, replacing any broken items during their stay and ensuring the house is safe and secure whilst they are away

James goes on to say:

"Wentworth and the surrounding area has a unique set of families who live here; many are from overseas, often of high standing or famous but almost exclusively they are all very wealthy.  With wealth comes very high expectations and offering the Private Office is not something that we have taken lightly. Our staff must have exemplary customer service skills and an in-depth knowledge on how to make things happen seamlessly.  Thankfully I have no hesitation in stating that we hold these skills and are looking forward to taking on more clients to assist them with running their households."

Needless to say the sky is the limit when it comes to the services on offer to members of Private Office.  Time is often short for the rich jet set and despite an army of staff, having someone on the ground at the Surrey country mansion enables better planning and organisation.  It is hard to organise dinner for 20 from Malibu or a champagne reception with a string quartet from Dubai.  But with Private Office no job is too hard, the team have the know-how and the savvy to be on hand to make things happen on time and as requested.

Wyatt says:

"Clients sometimes need assistance with interior design which will all come under the Private Office banner.  We are highly experienced with applying for planning for new extensions, assimilating quotes and ensuring work is carried out to the highest standard.  We create new bathrooms and kitchens, re-design any room in the house, select new curtains, carpets and often furniture for our clients.  No job is too big or too small."

The Private Office is available to client's who live in the vicinity of the Barton Wyatt Wentworth office in Virginia Water, Surrey. Prices are available on request but are generally calculated on the size of each property. 

For more details of this luxury service please contact James Wyatt at Barton Wyatt Surrey estate agents on 01344 843 000

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Barton Wyatt provide luxury and select Property For Sale in Sunningdale. James Wyatt MNAEA, MARLA, TRC, REALTOR ® is a partner at Barton Wyatt Letting Agents Surrey. Tel: 01344 843000

From Surrey to North Dakota, it's pumpkins galore this Halloween!

As the nights draw in and Halloween approaches, the supermarket shelves are bulging with pumpkins once more. From roast pumpkin soup to ward off the winter chill in Surrey, to pumpkin pie with lashings of cream in North Dakota, much of the English-speaking world goes mad for these tasty seasonal treats at this time of year.

Pumpkin carving is also a popular activity in both the UK and the US. In Surrey's Virginia Water, well-appointed doorsteps and tasteful windowpanes glimmer with the flickering of candles from within spookily carved creations as the 31st approaches. Local estate agent James Wyatt, partner at Barton Wyatt letting agents in Surrey, comments,

"The changing of the seasons is always a lovely time in Surrey. We have so much green space that you can really sense nature changing all around as autumn progresses. For me, Halloween always feels as though it is the turning point between autumn and winter - I know when I see the pumpkins in Waitrose that soon families will be carving pumpkins together and baking tasty treats with their rich flesh as they prepare to host glittering Halloween parties."

One house that would make a perfect Halloween party venue is Crossland House in Surrey's prestigious Virginia Park gated community. On the market for £1.6 million, the beautifully constructed, four storey home has a drawing room, dining/family room and generously proportioned private garden, providing flexible entertaining space that is perfect for anything from a formal dinner to a more relaxed Halloween party. With five bedrooms, the townhouse has ample space for overnight guests. 

Virginia Park is also a wonderful place for younger family members to enjoy Halloween. Each year, the great and the good of the community organise a Halloween event that sees every participating house put a poster up in the window. Children from the neighbourhood then roam the park dressed as ghouls, goblins and ghosts (with parents lurking discreetly in the background), trick or treating from door to door within a wonderfully safe environment.

On the other side of the pond, pumpkin pie recipes from Texas to North Dakota are being dusted off for another year. As a largely agricultural state, North Dakota is no stranger to pumpkin patches. Many are open to the public during late October and early November, and one county even hosts an annual giant pumpkin festival.

Though the influx of tens of thousands of workers due to the state's oil boom has begun to change the makeup of North Dakota's population, family values and holiday traditions are still important and this year pumpkins will be dotting many a stoop. Pumpkin pie will be making an appearance on the menu at the Great American Lodge sites, created by oil worker accommodation specialists North Dakota Developments. Group CEO Robert Gavin comments,

"We offer a home from home with our workforce accommodation and hotels here in North Dakota and appreciate that holiday times can feel lonely for those workers whose families are yet to move out here to join them. We do what we can to celebrate occasions such as Halloween and our chefs will be whipping up some delicious pumpkin recipes in honour of the holiday."

North Dakota Developments' latest venture, the three storey Transhudson Hotel - Parshall won't be quite ready for decoration with carved pumpkins this year, as groundworks have just begun, but investors wishing to be part of the action in North Dakota can pick up a suite from $89,950, with assured net yields of 15.55% per year provide a total net return on investment of 56.66%, following compulsory buy back after year three for the sale price plus 10%. 

From North Dakota's oil workers to Surrey housewives, let the celebration of all things pumpkin commence!

For more information on the properties detailed above, please contact:

Barton Wyatt

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Barton Wyatt provide luxury and select Property in Sunningdale. James Wyatt MNAEA, MARLA, TRC, REALTOR ® is a partner at Barton Wyatt Letting Agents Surrey. Tel: 01344 843000

Surrey Properties Sold Within Hours

Aviva recently commissioned research into 4,000 homeowners surprisingly revealing that the average buyer takes just 33 minutes to decide on a house purchase. Probably one of the most expensive decisions a person makes in their lifetime and yet seemingly one of the most rushed. 

 James Wyatt, partner of Barton Wyatt (Estate Agents Surrey) is unsurprised,

"I have known my wife take longer choosing a pair of shoes than many people take deciding on a house purchase!"

 Aviva is of the opinion that buyers are reacting to a highly competitive market, leading them to make snap decisions. Indeed the insurance company reports that 24% of homeowners only ever make one viewing before taking the plunge on offering.

Wyatt suggests,

 "Properties are extremely evocative items and buyers know pretty much instantly if they like or dislike what they see.  I would suggest that the gut decision is actually make in the first 10 minutes of being in a home and the other 23 minutes is spent reassuring themselves they are making a good choice.

 "The real talent in being a savvy estate agent is knowing your buyer well enough that you don't spend ages taking them around properties that they won't like - it wastes everybody's time." 

 Barton Wyatt is red hot at qualifying potential buyers, utilising years of experience and expert insight into a property's specification so that it will meet the purchaser's requirements. This is important for every purchaser but even more so as you foray into super prime properties which need to accommodate lavish lifestyles.

 James Wyatt mulls,

"There is little point looking at houses that don't have the right size kitchen, the correct number of bathrooms, wardrobes or dressing rooms required to house your Imelda Marcos-esque collection of Louboutin shoes, enough rack space for haute couture collection or with the right storage facilities for your Chanel handbags. 

 "The garage needs to be big enough for not just one but multiple luxury cars - Bentley and Rolls Royce models are longer and wider than average. And external storage facilities can be important if you need somewhere to park the racing bikes, golf clubs, vintage cars and the ride-on lawn mower."

 So if you are limited to 33 minutes what should you do with this precious time?  Barton Wyatt advises:

1. Study the kitchen - does it have the room and space you are used too?  Accepting a smaller kitchen is a big ask for many.
2. The bathroom number might seem fine but turn on the shower - a trickle of water will not keep you amused.
3. Look at the boiler and ask about its maintenance and age.
4. Get in the loft - it may sound odd but 3 minutes in the loft could answer many questions!
5. Spend the last 10 minutes doing the school run at peak time. Many people look at houses in the middle of the day when no-one is around.

Further research from Aviva found that a third of home buyers didn't carry out any specific checks when viewing their future home, spending an average of £3,500 on repairs after moving in - an additional cost some home buyers may not have budgeted for.

These are often problems that the current owner knows about and doesn't want to fix before departing - damp and cracks are the worst culprits.   Buyers often fall in love with a property and don't want to hear about the bad bits.  Poor heating, a bit of subsidence, a leaky roof can all be swept under the carpet in a hasty viewing.

Further invaluable advice from James who goes on to say:

"Talk to the seller. You don't need to become best friends but you do need to get a good understanding of why they bought the property in the first place and why they are selling. Ask them who the neighbours are and what they are like.

"Get a good survey done, it will pay off in the end.  Agents are very keen to sell and most will give completely honest and open advice. The days of "Caveat Emptor" are long gone, today all and any adverse information must be given to a buyer BEFORE they start incurring costs.

"Above all, after you've agreed to buy a property, step back, breathe deeply, go and visit again. You can change your mind. We agents hate this, but it is a big decision for the purchaser, and if I have a happy buyer at the end of the day, I'd like to think they might sell that home through me in 7, 10, 20 years time."

For more details contact Barton Wyatt on 01344 843 000.

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Barton Wyatt provide luxury and select Property in Sunningdale. James Wyatt MNAEA, MARLA, TRC, REALTOR ® is a partner at Barton Wyatt Letting Agents Surrey. Tel: 01344 843000

Letting Agents in Sunningdale

Sunningdale is a pretty village in Berkshire. It is only 24 miles from London and only a stone's throw away from Surrey.

With its good location and easy access to London as well as it is natural beauty, Sunningdale has always been in demand with people wanting to live there. In addition, it is very close to a lot of attractions, such as Thorpe Park, Runnymede, Legoland® Windsor and some world famous places, such as the Ascot Racecourse and of course, the Sunningdale Golf Club.

Naturally, this demand and the interest from celebrities have been pushing the residential property prices up consistently.

So, this situation has made the property lettings market very buoyant, with a lot of exclusive properties for rent in Sunningdale on offer.

If you are looking to rent out your property in Sunningdale, or indeed looking for a place to rent, then you need a very experienced team of letting agents and property managers on your side.

Your real estate agent should be dedicated to finding the right match between the property and the tenant at the best possible rent. This will make sure the tenancy is based on good footing.

Do not take their word for how good they are and how good their service is. Make sure to ask your agent for references and testimonials.

Go through and understand their services. The following list will give you and idea of what type of services you should expect:

• Extensive advice on the current Sunningdale lettings market
• Accompanied viewings
• Full management service
• Administration of Tenancy Agreements
• Close relationships with International schools near Sunningdale
• Tenancy deposit protection scheme
• Rent Guarantee scheme
• Credit search facilities

As you reflect on this article, you will find that when you have the right letting agent on your side, you will not only have access to the right property (or tenant) but will also have a problem free tenancy.

Good luck with your search...

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Barton Wyatt provide luxury and select Property in Sunningdale. James Wyatt MNAEA, MARLA, TRC, REALTOR ® is a partner at Barton Wyatt Letting Agents Surrey. Tel: 01344 843000

Some Essential Benefits Of Hiring A Letting Agent in Surrey

A letting agent in Surrey is an individual who eliminates all the hassles of renting a property. He finalizes the renting agreement and provides efficient service of property maintenance. All essential works of renting a property are managed under a letting agent. He ensures quality work without charging much from his customers. Therefore, here are few important benefits of hiring a reliable letting agent for leasing your property-:

1.     You’ll get your rent on time- The first essential benefit which you’ll get after hiring a letting agent is receiving rent on time. Generally, tenants create numerous problems while paying off their rent. They don’t make the payment on time and create big frustration for the landlords. But, a letting agent can avoid this frustration very easily. With his efficient skills, he can take rent on time and can give it to the landlord. Thus, after hiring his services, you will never have any issue in receiving your rent.

2.     Conducts regular property checks- The next amazing benefit of hiring a letting agent is constant property checks. Sometimes, it becomes very essential to check physical condition of the property on regular basis. It ensures that the asset is maintained and used with proper care. But, other important works can create big problems while conducting this check. However, if you have a letting agent on your side, this check can be conducted in an easy and hassle free way.

3.     Fixing damages of your property- The next essential benefit from a letting agent is fixing damages. If during checks, the agent finds any damage, he makes efforts to repair it also. He brings required technicians to conduct all essential repair works without creating any issue. Thus, through a letting agent, your property will be maintained in the best possible way

4.     Finds reliable tenants too- Along with property maintenance, a letting agent gives effort to find a reliable tenant too. He gathers a list of all potential candidates and tries to find a perfect tenant for your property. His main focus is to bring you a tenant who is ready to pay a bit more as the rent for your property.

So, these were some essential benefits of hiring a letting agent in Surrey. A well trained and professional letting agent will provide reliable and cost efficient service to you. He will give best of his efforts to give you ultimate satisfaction through his reliable property management services.

Corporate Lettings in Surrey

The article below outline what the corporate lettings is all about and what the best options are for residential corporate lettings (or rentals) in Surrey area of the United Kingdom.
Surrey is one of the hottest spots for residential corporate lettings in the country; probably only second to London. One of the main reasons is that Surrey hosts a number of international blue-chip companies. Over the years, many multi-national companies have opened up offices and headquarters in Surrey in order to take advantage of its brilliant location, which is very close to London, major motorways as well as the key airports.
Some of Surrey's technology giants include Philips, Canon, and Toshiba. A number of pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer and Sanofi are also based in the area well. Other world-famous companies that have their national or European headquarters in Surrey include Superdrug, Unilever and Nestle.
In addition to some of the London based companies, these Surrey multi-nationals tend to have a large number of employees constantly moving into Surrey and the surrounding areas for medium or long-term assignments that come with generous relocation packages. Due to this demand, the corporate lettings has become a very popular service amongst the Surrey agents over the last couple of decades.
What services do Corporate Lettings include?
As part of the corporate lettings service, different estate agents provide different sets of services depending on

• the size of their rental departments,
• the requirements of their customers,
• the geographic area they cover.

However, in general, the estate and letting agents in the Surrey area tend to offer a subset of the following services:

• assistance with local or international employee relocation,
• new hire (or graduate) housing and accommodation,
• private home search,
• short term lettings.

How to choose the estate agents for Corporate Lettings needs?
Finding the right estate (or letting) agency to assist your residential corporate lettings is a very important decision. Not getting it right can cost you a lot of money, and it can potentially cause a lot of inconvenience to your employees. Here are 3 key steps you should consider in your selection:

1. First of all, you should do your homework in order to create a short list of estate or letting agents you could work with. It is always good to work with agencies that have professional memberships to National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) or the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA). These organisations enforce a strict code of practice with their members.
2. Secondly, you must check the references for these agencies. Understand their financial stability, their corporate lettings customers as well as their property portfolio. Also ask for personal recommendations as well. Keep in mind that if the agency has not gone the extra mile for their customers, they are not very likely to be recommended.
3. Lastly, compare the fees and commissions for each of the agency as they sometimes change significantly.

Good luck with your search.