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Sat 01 Sep 2018
The team at Leamington estate agency ehB Residential were glued to their TV screens this week – because one of their properties was starring in Location, Location, Location.
Senior sales negotiator Juliana Volpe became a household name overnight when Kirstie Allsopp phoned her several times to negotiate a deal on the house she was selling in Leamington’s Wathen Road.
The programme, aired on Channel 4 on Thursday evening (August 30), covered the hunt by young couple Matt and Claire for a three-bedroom period property in which to bring up their family.
The extra challenge for Kirstie and Phil was that the pair had already turned down 35 potential purchases before asking Location, Location, Location to help!
Presented with the usual format of three choices, the couple liked but rejected a Victorian terrace in Cubbington and a 30s semi in Lillington in favour of a rundown 1930s semi in Wathen Road which hadn’t been updated for decades and was on the market with ehB.
The house, subject to probate and stuffed to the gunwales with the previous owner’s belongings, was what is described by Phil and Kirstie as a ‘doer upper’. Walls needed removing, kitchen and bathroom replacing and a tumbledown shed removing from the garden.
But Claire and Matt were thrilled with what estate agents call its ‘potential’ – and after, a bit of toing and froing over the phone between Kirstie and the very helpful Juliana Volpe, a deal was struck, enabling the pair to buy the house before an open day which would have seen it snapped up within hours.
Juliana had phone calls from friends the moment the programme came off air – and her son has been running around the house saying: “mummy’s famous.”
She said: “Apart from enjoying my 15 minutes – or perhaps seconds – of fame, the programme was really fun. It was great to make and the final result was very interesting. It showed what a fantastic place Leamington is to live – and pointed out that prices have risen here by nearly six per cent over the past year – the second highest rise in England.
“This makes the average house price around £321,000. Phil also pointed out that a lack properties for sale makes it effectively a sellers’ market, with houses snapped up as soon as they become available.”
"Hi Juliana, I was driving past your offices today and realised that I never contacted you to say thank you for all your help in the purchase of Villiers Street. I am so very sorry that it took me so long, it’s been a crazy few weeks! From my first property viewings with Clive to collecting the keys from Chris on completion day and all the parts in-between with yourself, I thoroughly enjoyed working with ehB. I saw lots of properties with an array of local estate agents and ehB were the most professional, knowledgeable and personable out of all of them (by a country mile!). You were fantastic at keeping track of the process the whole way through and really made me feel like an important customer. After speaking with many friends and family, it seems this is a very unique experience of an estate agents (particularly as a buyer) and therefore I really want you to know how appreciative I am. The house is really starting to feel like home already and I’m so pleased with the purchase. I have already sung the praises of ehB to my friends, family and colleagues. Once again, thank you for all your help in the purchase. All the best, G Sharp "