Photos of Bath – our collections

Being estate agents, we spend a good portion of our days taking photos of houses and apartments in Bath and we pride ourselves on the quality of those photos. As we’ve mentioned before on several blog posts, we think good photos are the most important aspect of property marketing (for more info, see our blog post “How important are good photos for estate agents”). However, we’re not averse to taking the odd general shot of Bath as well and often have the camera in the car just in case. Some of these photos are used in this blog, on several of our other Madison Oakley websites and as wall decoration in our Shaftesbury Rd & George St Bath offices. We’ve had quite a few requests for copies so we thought it would be a nice Christmas present for our readers to publish all of them in one place;

Here’s a link to our Flickr map of Bath, with over 50 of our photos placed on the map – http://bit.ly/vNAIJr

If you’d like copies of any photo emailed, do let us know on 01225 466525 or via info@madisonoakley.co.uk. We’ll place more photos on the map over the next few months so do keep an eye on our photostream – your road or area might be next!

Brook Road, Oldfield Park, Bath

The kids have left, the grandchildren visit occasionally but the owners want a quieter life towards the Mendips – there’s several generations of love and care gone into this three storey Victorian home just over the railway from Moorland Rd and the house now boasts four bedrooms plus a lovely big kitchen.Glimpses over rooftops towards Lansdown from the dormer loft conversion, two reception rooms, first floor bathroom, mostly double glazed and gas central heating. Thinner than some nearby terraces, with some angled walls and an odd shaped 88ft rear garden, but a solid family home in a superbly convenient spot. Would alternatively make a smashing 4 or 5 bed student let with a bit of work.

Historical Notes

First listed in the Bath Street Directories in 1892-3 as the home of Charles Hallett (a local stonemason), Brook Rd formed part of the artisan development of East Twerton which was fuelled by speculative private investment in housing the newly emerging professional classes. Over the next 20 years, the house was owned and/or occupied by Samuel Coles (carpenter – 1895), J.W Hunt (insurance agent – 1896), Walter Evry (carman – 1898 to 1902), William Davis (printer – 1903 to 1912) and John H Brown (GWR stoker – 1913).
Out of interest, carmen were often employed by railway companies for local deliveries and collections of goods and parcels. They were the equivalent of a modern day van driver. Horsedrawn tram drivers were also called carmen.

What do Estate Agents do?

What is an Estate Agent?

Estate agents are a curious mixture of sales, marketing, administration and counsellors. Used right, estate agents can maximise the selling value of your home by marketing it to the widest possible audience. Once buyers have started to enquire about the property, agents switch over to sales skills to make sure any enquiries are handled and offer negotiations are conducted to the benefit of the owner. If an offer is agreed, the agent becomes an administrator and shepherds the transaction through to legal completion. Counselling generally comes in useful when things don’t go as planned.

 Types of estate agent

There are three main types of estate agent – corporate, independent and internet based. With the first two types, the obvious differences are size and how senior the agent is that you’ll have contact with. However, there are many more important differences and selling points between agents.

Corporate – in terms of numbers, most of the UK’s estate agents are part of national chains with multiple branches across the country. Many of these chains are owned by several large corporations or financial institutions – it is a little publicised fact that several agents in a town can be owned by the same company but trade under different names. Widespread brand recognition, lots of outlets but high staff turnover and a tendency to heavily target employees to sell mortgages and ancillary services (rather than concentrate on being pure Estate Agents).

Independent – owner/operators, often running one branch or a small network of branches. Usually local people who have worked in estate agency for many years. Smaller brands, less outlets, sometimes less marketing capabilities but a more personal, hands on approach with time to concentrate on each property..

Internet based – little or no High St presence, often charging fees up front and invariably expecting owners to do much of the traditional agent’s work. Considerably cheaper than most estate agents but at a significant loss to marketing or service – you pay for what you get.

 Do I need to use an estate agent?

No – you can sell your home privately and attract buyers by using some of the techniques an agent would use (for sale board, advertising etc). If you have time, you can organise and conduct viewings, negotiate with your buyer without an intermediary and deal with solicitors. However, you won’t be able to use most of the larger property websites to advertise your home, newspaper advertising will cost you considerably more than it does for the agents and you will have to devote a lot of your own time to the sale. Research from buyers also indicates that the majority would prefer owners not to do viewings.

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