Duckworth Pope’s founders both have first hand experience of making the move from London to the country, which gives them a real insight into the challenges that this presents, and has shaped the service they offer.
Sue and her family decided to leave London 20 years ago, and to raise their two young children in rural Surrey. Here she gives a first hand account of that journey.
‘We had a buyer for our lovely little house in Putney. She was a marvellous old lady who was downsizing from her much larger home nearby. She was prepared to wait for us to find a house that we wanted as the one we were selling was perfect for her. So the search began.
We didn’t start with a clear idea of where we wanted to live; we just knew it had to be rural, with a local community and a relatively easy commute to the West End of London. This was all before the internet – so I was forced to spend hours on the phone to agents covering villages around the outside of the M25, as well as scouring magazines and newspapers, and speaking to friends who had already moved out. My husband and I quickly settled into a home-finding ‘routine’; I would sift through agents details and shortlist potential properties, then once or twice a week my husband would get home early from work to look after the children so that I could join the thousands of commuters leaving London, squeezing in as many viewings as I could before nightfall.
It was an exhausting process. There were many times that an agent had sold me a house over the phone, but failed to mention ‘minor’ issues like the rather stinky chicken farm next door, or the proximity to a high speed rail line that meant the house rattled several times a day, or that the river in the adjoining field flooded on a regular basis. All of this had to be discovered at the end of a long journey.
I probably viewed several thousand houses – or at least that’s how it felt! Of those only very few warranted a second viewing, and none felt like the one.
Out of the blue we received a call from a family friend who knew we were looking for a home. He said he knew of a house coming to the market which we would love. We were so excited; the description he gave us sounded perfect and I became rather a nuisance, calling him most days to find out whether he could persuade the vendors to let us in for an early viewing. We finally got access, and he was right, it was exactly what we had been searching for.
Dream house with a dream view
Negotiations began immediately, but were far from straightforward. The house had been the vendor’s family home for 30 years, and they were very sad to be leaving. They wanted a quick exchange of contracts but a long completion period to allow them to spend a final summer in their beloved home. Solicitors were instructed, but had to deal with a number of complications: - access, water supply, a shared cesspit, footpaths that abutted the garden - all common issues with country properties, but extremely trying nonetheless.
Through hard work and tenacity we got there, but I doubt very much we would have managed to get to the point of exchange within the time frame required without having the knowledge that we had of property law and the years of experience of previous property negotiations for other people. ‘
Playing in the Bluebell woods near the new Pope family home
Only some years later was Sue able to found Duckworth Pope with Julie (who had by then followed suit and moved to Haslemere!), and ease the process for other hopeful and expectant homeowners; to preview the properties on their behalf, to advise on local schools, amenities, leisure facilities and travel. And to share with them the benefits of a huge amount of local knowledge.
