Open House Burton and Swadlincote, based in Gretton House, Third Avenue, Branston just 20 minutes away from Derby, has been singled out for the British Property Awards gold award for UK estate agents.
Run by husband-and-wife duo Sammy and Sarah Dyche the award recognises the family-run firm’s impeccable customer service in the area with 99% of customers giving them a 5 star rating.
Director Sammy, who personally views every property, said the couple decided to set up Open House after years of poor service when moving house and operating as a landlord in the area. He said: “We wanted to offer home movers in Burton and South Derbyshire a different way of selling their property. When buying houses ourselves, we have had estate agents that don’t answer the phone, can’t provide details or aren’t available and it has even put us off buying before. I remember saying to Sarah we could do this better, homeowners deserve more.”
The company, which opened in 2022 and is known for its bright pink sales boards, has already helped hundreds of families to make the move in the last year and has the quickest completion timescale of all estate agencies in Burton and Swadlincote – taking on average just 31 days to find a buyer.
They are now expanding and have moved into the Ashby area to spread their customer first method of home selling across three counties while also taking on an extra member of staff.
“When we started the business, we just had a passion for offering homeowners a better way to sell their property,” says Sammy. “Selling or buying a house is one of the most stressful life experiences you will ever have so it was important to us to take the hassle out of every step.
“Since then, our performance data for speed of sales and prices achieved continues to top the charts in the local area.
“We couldn’t be more proud of where we are today. Getting recognised by the British Property Awards just goes to show all our hard work has been worth it as the award is led by industry experts. We are excited to see where the future takes us but know that first class customer service and sales support will continue to be our main priority.”
The British Property Awards shine a light on estate agents who specifically put good customer service at the heart of everything they do. The awards, which estate agents cannot apply for and are independently chosen, are verified through reviews and a unique mystery shopper interview where judges, unbeknown to the estate agency contact asking a series of questions to rate how well the agency responds and how prompt they are to reply.
After winning the award the judges praised the teams speed of answering the call, professionalism and ability to provide a clear answer straight away.