8th August 2023
While last year we saw around half of our clients coming to us from overseas to find the perfect property in Surrey, this year so far many of our clients and new enquiries have been families looking to move from London to Surrey who were struggling to find/secure their perfect property.
Here’s a snapshot of a few of the families we’ve assisted moving from London to Surrey so far this year:
Our first "Life after London" client of 2023 came to us with a very specific brief - to be within walking distance of Guildford High Street, the train station and the beautiful open spaces that Guildford has on offer. Like so many others, our clients both work full time and were struggling to find the time to get down to view potential new properties. They found that they were missing out on potential properties and finding that those they were interested in viewng were under offer before they had even had a chance to view.
On instruction, we were able to focus the search on very specific properties on select roads which we set about letter dropping - through this, and discussions with all of the local estate agents, we were able to access properties that were not yet on the market. Often a homeowner is considering coming to market, and we are able to access these properties before they reach the open market.
After previewing a number of properties in the area, we successfully secured a suitable property for our clients in an ideal location - close to the High Street, train station, open spaces and excellent local schools. In this case our clients had viewed in person and offered on the property before the main launch day. We are delighted for our clients and hope they will be very happy in their new home!
Our next London to Surrey search was for a family looking to find their forever home with a large garden for the children to run free and access to a good selection of shops/restaurants. The search area this time was wider, with school bus routes and access to fast trains from Woking being a major consideration. As our clients were not familiar with Surrey, we were able to advise on the specific areas and villages that we felt would work well and that could provide the local amenities to suit their young family (and access to good dog walks too!)
Once we’d narrowed down the areas, we began previewing and shortlisting suitable properties, and were able to arrange a full day of viewings with our clients which was a great start to their search: they were able to get a really good feel for the different areas and various style of properties that may or may not work. All six of the properties we viewed with our clients could have worked one way or another, which was fantastic. However, shortly after our viewing day we were made aware of an off-market property that ticked absolutely all of the boxes for our clients (and within just a few minutes walk from the school bus route!) and we were able to preview this for our clients immediately. Based on our viewing feedback and videos, our clients swiftly made the journey to come and view this in person and immediately fell in love with the property! We were delighted to have secured this property for our clients before it hit the open market.
Completing later this month, we hope our clients will be very happy in their new home, and being part of this beautiful village community.
London to Surrey Client #3 of this year was a young family looking for more space and a change of lifestyle who loved both Guildford and Godalming, and were keen to be within walking distance to a good train connection back in to London. Our clients had been searching independently for a little while, and had missed out on two properties, so decided that it was time to bring in the help of Surrey HomeSearch as their property finder.
Working closely with all of the local agents, we viewed several properties on behalf of our clients, providing viewing videos and feedback, but although each had potential, none of them quite ticked all of the boxes. We knew about a property being marketed quietly on one of our clients preferred streets that we felt was a firm contender. We were the first to step foot in the property to view and our clients had an offer tied up just days later - before the property even listed on any of the online search portals.
Of course, our work doesn't end there. We have continued to support each and every one of our clients after their offer has been accepted and will do so until they have exchanged contracts on their perfect new home - and often beyond. We have provided information on school provision and local nurseries as well as providing contacts for professional planning advice, solicitors, surveyors and movers. We will continue to liase with the agents to ensure that the purchase progresses well and will be on hand whenever needed.
Whether you are looking to make the move from London to Surrey or are considering a move from further afield, we would be happy to discuss your search criteria and how we can help you to find the perfectb property in Surrey.