My Life in Property - Distinctive Living by Douglas Butler
We talk to Daniel Lee, Managing Director of Distinctive Living by Douglas Butler
Douglas Butler has been a well-known and well-respected estate agent in Chester since 2019. Could you talk us through the newly launched Distinctive Living which offers a more exclusive service?
Douglas Butler launched in June 2019 and primarily focuses on selling stylish first-time buyer homes, investment properties, doer-uppers and family homes. Distinctive Living aims to focus on selling more unique properties and homes of distinction across Chester and Cheshire. Typically, the minimum value is around £600,000 and they are iconic and unique homes whereby you wouldn’t find anything similar. At Distinctive Living we only take on a maximum of 10 properties at any one time, which is quite rare for an estate agent. Our goal is to deliver an exceptional service to clients, and I feel that by limiting our portfolio to a maximum of 10 homes at any one time enables us to do just that.
Talk us through your strategy of launching new properties to market.
It can take us a minimum of 14 days to bring a property to the market. I conduct all the valuations for Distinctive Living personally and once the client agrees to launch their home to the market with us, we then arrange a second appointment where my colleague Hannah visits the property with me to look at how we can style and stage the property ready for the photoshoot. We then arrange for Hannah to attend the property on the day of the shoot, to stage it and dress it. Then our photographer spends a couple of hours capturing some great images that include lifestyle shots of the local area that the home sits in. We also hire a videographer to produce a 2-3 minute video pointing out all the features the home has to offer. These videos are beautifully edited together, including the use of drone shots to really make the video stand out. Once we’ve done the pictures and the video, we employ a copywriter who will interview our client to find out more about their home and create a bespoke 20 plus page luxury brochure. Whilst all this is happening in the background, we contact our priority buyer database informing them of the new listing. Following that, we then advertise the property and launch it across our social media sites, before finally launching it online including Rightmove etc. All clients are thoroughly vetted prior to any viewings to avoid time wasters, and I conduct the viewings, negotiate the offers and see the property through to completion. We feel this is a really good selling point, having just one contact from the beginning right the way through to completion.
Could you offer some insight into up-and-coming areas in Cheshire?
Hoole in Chester is a suburb just east of the city and has a thriving community of great independent shops, eateries and much more. It’s hugely popular amongst young professionals and families and seems to be growing in popularity year on year. Further afield there is the likes of Altrincham which I believe is becoming hugely popular due to its thriving food and drink scene, good schools and close proximity to Manchester.
What makes the perfect home for you?
I love homes where the owners have been really creative, innovative, bold and brave with colours, design and styles. It’s really nice to go into a property and see interiors that you wouldn’t find anywhere else. I love that blend of character meets contemporary living. This time of the year log burners, open fires and Aga cookers are hugely popular amongst buyers and can photograph really well when trying to set the scene.
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