What our clients say about us...

Name:

Elizabeth

Services:

Sales (as a Vendor)

Date:

2021-09-21 12:45:21

Postcode:

SE22 8BQ

Branch:

East Dulwich

Review:

You do not need big name Estate Agents when buying or selling your home. I recently sold a residential property in Camberwell using the Estate Agent Fish Need Water. In the past I opted for the ‘Names’ in the Estate Agent World, but unfortunately, not with any great success as they tended to overprice my property resulting in no sale, and I felt other agencies were there to sell their ‘Brand’ and not for me, therefore, I opted for a smaller, independent agency. When the Agent from Fish Need Water came to value my home, James Hall, I knew immediately that this was the agent I wanted to market my flat, because he was honest, ‘down to earth’ and had years of experience. He explained the pitfalls in over-inflating a property’s value and gave me useful comparative figures for similar properties in the area. James also helped to manage the photoshoot which facilitated excellent internal photographs. Fish Need Water use all the usual marketing portals, e.g., Right Move, Zoopla etc, and soon after the photographs of my flat were uploaded onto these sites, I had prospective buyers viewing. It was not long before I had two firm offers within the range of my asking price and had to decide which to choose. Once decided, the Progression Manager, Susie Ralston, at Fish Need Water took over skilfully facilitating the transition from offer to completion. Working with Fish Need Water has taught me that this small agency can hold its own against the ‘big’ agencies. If you are trying to decide on an Estate Agent to sell your property, I highly recommend you use Fish Need Water because they absolutely get the job done. They are highly professional in their approach, and their agency fee is commensurate with the amount of time and hard work they undertake to sell your property.

Name:

Ederson Dos Santos

Services:

Sales (as a Vendor)

Date:

2021-09-15 22:45:27

Postcode:

SE22 8BQ

Branch:

East Dulwich

Review:

Well it is not always I would write a review about a real estate agent but this time I feel i really need to add. James valued our property lower than other agents, but it was obvious some agents were just telling us what we wanted to hear. The team were responsive to us, always communicating and easy to chat to via whatsapp, even late into the evening. They worked hard in a difficult market with Covid to find us a buyer and never gave up or made us feel like they weren’t trying hard for us. Once a buyer was found Susie was brilliant being the in-between even when we had challenges regarding some lease issues that could have lost us a sale. We would definitely use James, Jack and the team again, as they are nice to work with and have no attitude whatsoever. We’ve even invited them to stay at our place overseas when they can! If you want an agent who isn’t going to feed you with lots of baloney, and will work hard to get a result, we recommend James at fish need water.

Name:

Matt White

Services:

Sales (as a Vendor)

Date:

2021-06-21 12:45:15

Postcode:

SE22 8BQ

Branch:

East Dulwich

Review:

We found All Agents on google which compares agents according to their results, they put us in touch with Fish Need Water and James. We didn’t know his agency, however his figures we’re impressive and better than most of the agents we had heard of. When he valued our flat, it was clear he was really into his data, as he provided us with a lot more information than other agents, which gave us a great insight in to the market, we felt confident he knew his stuff. We also liked the fact that he offered some different services, including a lower fee if we showed buyers around. We were happy to do this and it meant we could talk up the area confidently as we know it best, James and his team did everything else. They booked the appointments for us, we showed the different viewers around, then they provided us with feedback. When we found a buyer, they did all the negotiating on our behalf. It wasn’t the easiest sale. Our flat had no garden, we’d just had a lock down, the market was odd and buyers were mainly saying they wanted a garden, or balcony. However they kept going and we found our buyer. Then everything went wrong! We we’re furloughed and everything was put on hold for several months. Despite difficult circumstances and at times awkward solicitors, Susie and James kept going, being the go-between with our buyer. The other service James provided us, that no-one else offered, was to assist us with buying our property. Like most buyers we don’t have lots of experience with property and we felt having an expert with inside knowledge of the market on our side would be useful. It turns out it was REALLY helpful. Firstly, he came to see the property with us that we wanted to make an offer on, then when we were dealing with the agent (and finding things difficult), he advised us to contact the owner directly (we were buying through an online agent, and he explained how the agents don’t like to get involved in time consuming negotiations, and he was right). We dealt directly with the seller and James advised us on what points we could negotiate on, and what reports and inspections to get done on the property to give us some leverage, and we ended up getting the property for nearly £20,000 less than it was advertised at and feel his help was pivotal to us achieving this result. In conclusion, we feel we got so much more than a ‘typical’ service, James was always contactable and always had time to talk to us, explaining things thoroughly for the sale and purchase. We recommend James highly. Especially if like us you feel having some support when buying will be useful to you. His experience with property helped us save money, he’s really easy to deal with, is brutally honest about property and did exactly what he said he would do for us.

Name:

Jonathan Wingett

Services:

Sales (as a Vendor)

Date:

2021-06-19 16:45:10

Postcode:

SE22 8BQ

Branch:

East Dulwich

Review:

I would like to thank James and Susie for their very professional service. I had tried two large well known high-street Estate Agents with poor results and little input. As soon as I appointed fishneedwater, James was encouraging, communicative and most importantly came up with practical solutions to any difficulties. When it came to finalizing contracts Susie was also very helpful and encouraging and kept on top of the whole situation with the buyer. The team was a breath of fresh air after my experience with the larger agents who really just seemed to tick certain boxes. I certainly wouldn\'t hesitate to recommend James and Susie and would be very happy to use their services again.

Name:

Karen Sheppard

Services:

Sales (as a Vendor)

Date:

2021-04-29 23:45:14

Postcode:

SE22 8BQ

Branch:

East Dulwich

Review:

The valuation report we received from James was detailed, and he’d clearly taken a lot of time to review the market in our area. Even though his office wasn’t local, I didn’t feel it hindered him in any way, his valuation report was thorough and that gave us confidence. The fee also was very fair compared to other quotes I’d received. When James valued our house, he spent a lot more time than anyone else talking about how we should present it for images. In fact he walked through the entire house one evening where I took lots notes, he came back to review my handy work in getting our house prepared before the photographer came round. He was the only agent who suggested he’d organise dusk photographs, and we’re so happy he did as they were stunning and offered another dimension to the existing portfolio of photos. James booked viewings in the evening, and over the weekend as requested. We were pleased with the amount of interest we had in the first few weeks. James kept us updated on levels of interest, and followed up after viewings to provide prompt feedback. Once a buyer was found Susie dealt with us and helped to keep the sale moving along. She was calm, and kept us informed at all times right through to completion. This wasn’t the easiest of sales due to conflicting surveyor reports, but James and Susie worked hard to make this sale happen despite challenging circumstances. They say buying a house is one of the most stressful times of your lives and I would have to agree. James and Susie were always on hand to offer support and guidance. I’d definitely recommend them.

Name:

Olivia Lue

Services:

Sales (as a Vendor)

Date:

2021-04-12 15:27:38

Postcode:

SE22 8BQ

Branch:

East Dulwich

Review:

Working with James from fishneedwater to sell our property has been fantastic and really changed our perception of what makes a good estate agent. When we were deciding which estate agent to pick to sell our property, most of them gave their usual sales pitch and weren\'t very excited about taking us on. However, James really stood out - not only was he passionate about our property but he had done his research before meeting us, and gave some recommendations and useful advice at our first meeting. He then came up with a strategy and plan of action to help get our property noticed. To get our property look its best for the marketing photos, he spent several hours before the photographer turned up to help us get it ready and he even stayed during the photoshoot to ensure it all went well. We didn\'t expect this at all and as a result the photos looked amazing and we had enquiries the same day our property went live. Prior to using allAgents, we had listed our property with a different estate agent and they didn\'t give any advice on how to get it ready for photos. They didn\'t offer to help and weren\'t very proactive which is why we decided to find another estate agent. Both James and his colleague Jack have been very responsive to any questions we\'ve had during the process of selling our property and always on hand to give us tips and advice. Fishneedwater have really exceeded our expectations and have set the bar high for estate agents. I would highly recommend them to anyone.

Name:

Stephane Folquet

Services:

Sales (as a Vendor)

Date:

2021-04-07 10:45:59

Postcode:

SE22 8BQ

Branch:

East Dulwich

Review:

When we first met James, he spent a lot of time with us explaining how the 'look' of our flat on Rightmove and Zoopla had to be right.  He spent a good while talking through the little changes we needed to make, so we could take notes, and then came back again to see what we'd done before getting the photos taken.  His attention to detail here left us realising he's very passionate about his job and making sure he does all the right things to help us stand out online.  The photos looked amazing and he also did a brilliant video too which we were really pleased with.  We were so happy he's made us work hard to present it properly as when we saw the images it was obvious why he' taken this much time with us.  What we liked about James was the fact that he was honest.  He gave his original valuation, and it was lower than we'd hoped, however he said he'd try higher for us as we wanted to see what happened.  After we realised it was too high, we reduced to the level James had valued us at and we got more viewings and offers, and to be honest, his original valuation of our flat was accurate.  Once we'd got an offer, Susie and James continue to deliver a great level of services by helping us throughout the legal process and resolving any blockers.  I would definitely recommend James and fish need water, and have already told friends about him.  He wasn't  an obvious choice, but you feel you're dealing with a person who cares and not a Company.  James told us he's self-employed and it was noticeable.  He was doing viewings for us at 8pm, on Sunday mornings and talking with us regularly late into the evening.  We know we wouldn't have gotten that kind of personal attention anywhere else and we're happy that we made the decision to use him. 

Name:

Gurpreet Kaur

Services:

Sales (as a Vendor)

Date:

2021-03-26 14:00:30

Postcode:

SE22 8BQ

Branch:

East Dulwich

Review:

Im so glad we came across FNW. We\'ve instructed a number of high end estate agents since 2018 for the sale of our property with so much disappoint and no luck. We finally got a sale on our property in less than 2 months. James was very honest on the get go and gave us alot of feedback and information. He didnt sugar coat anything or get our hope\'s up, we appreciate his honesty. James and his team were very responsive. We had a number of views, even on weekends and late in the evenings.  They always provided us with feedback which alot of other agents didnt do. Susie from sales progression was very helpful worked really hard to keep things moving and provided us with regular updates on the progress of our sale. Out of all the agents, James and Susie worked harder than any other agent to get our sale through. We’re so happy after nearly 2 years trying with other agents that we can move on with our lives Would 100% recommend them as they are the hardest working agents we’ve come across to all my friends and family and will definitely consider them in the future.

Name:

Beatrice Chik

Services:

Lettings (as a Landlord)

Date:

2021-03-10 19:00:24

Postcode:

SE22 8BQ

Branch:

East Dulwich

Review:

I’ve leased my property to the local council and it had been a good arrangement. However, for the last few years, the council completely neglected the property so by the time I decided to sell it (after a long drawn painful process of getting it back from the council), it was in a shockingly poor condition. At the time I had moved overseas and needed a reliable and trusted real estate agent on the ground to help me through the process of getting the property ready for sale. I had spoken to Fish Needs Water before my move overseas, so I contacted them again and got to know James. I knew I wanted to get the flat cleaned up and presentable before the sale, but he convinced me to refurbish it to a high standard in order to maximise returns on the market, as he knew what buyers want. I felt confident I could trust James to do a great job and he did - he kept me updated throughout the process, sourced fittings and fixtures at discounted prices and actively tried to keep costs lower. Although the budget did stretch because of the high specifications, this ended up more than paying off when, almost immediately after we listed, UK had it\'s first covid national lockdown. Things went slower than we had hoped, but we managed to get a very interested buyer within a reasonable time even amidst the lockdown, and for a great price that would have been impossible without James\' input - they even paid to \"dress\" the property up as a show home to garner more interest. The buyers love the property! I would not hesitate to recommend James and his team to make good on their promise to bring you the best possible price for your property, as I have experienced first-hand their commitment and passion for what they do.

Name:

Nik Makepeace

Services:

Sales (as a Vendor)

Date:

2021-02-23 17:00:54

Postcode:

SE22 8BQ

Branch:

East Dulwich

Review:

James and team were amazing. Out of all the agents we invited to appraise the property, James was the most down to earth and had the most pragmatic approach to the sale: present the property well, set a good price, generate interest, and drive the price up through competition to balance a quick sale and a good price. That\'s exactly what happened, and we sold for over the asking price, which was a great result in a skittish market. To do so, James instructed us exactly how to present the property, down to the spacing of the ornaments and the arrangement of the books on the bookshelves. It never looked as good as it did in the photos they took, and the photographer was patient with us as we adjusted and readjusted for the perfect shot. When it came to progressing the sale after the offer was agreed, Susie and the team at the office did a great job, pushing the vendors while my conveyancer kept the pressure on their solicitors. Communication was great throughout the whole process, with emails and messages getting a response right away, and James always available at the end of the phone, right up to the day of completion. I recommend James and the team at Fish Need Water without hesitation.