In just a few weeks the grouse shooting season gets under way on windswept Scottish moors. These bleak yet beautiful habitats, covered in heather and exposed to the elements, are almost unique to this country and for that reason grouse moors are worth their weight in gold.
James McConnell spent 10 years working with one of this country’s biggest land agents and he says whenever a moor comes up for sale it causes worldwide interest.
“There are very few of them and they’ve often been owned by the same family for many generations. If we handled the sale of an estate that included a grouse moor then we found ourselves dealing with international buyers.”
At the heart of every great estate there is a hunting lodge – most of them built during the Victorian era and resplendent with stags’ antlers and a boot room filled with waders and fishing rods.
“Sometimes buyers who flew in to see such properties would stop off at the office and whisk you to the Highlands in their helicopters,” says Helen Smart, another experienced land agent.
“I always kept a change of clothes at the office, otherwise I’d end up tramping across the moors in heels and struggling to climb into a helicopter in a smart skirt.”
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However, dealing with high-end clients who might be in the market for a grouse moor demands a knowledge not just of property in this country, and of estates in particular, but global economic affairs.
“From the moment a client started talking about putting an estate up for sale, you’d be putting together a list of possible buyers,” says Helen.
“You had to know who was in the market for such a property and also what your competitors were selling that might lose you the sale.”
This is estate agency business is a high-stakes game of drawing in possible buyers and identifying those who will pay the full market value.
In times of financial uncertainty, establishing such information is what sorts out the true professionals and earns agents a reputation for astuteness. And at this level, reputation is everything.
“You have to be very straightforward in your dealings,” agrees James. “These sorts of buyers have often made their own fortunes and they have remarkable instincts. They expect integrity from agents and that’s exactly what you must deliver.
“Earn yourself a name for professionalism and find that more of the sought-after properties are placed with you when they come up for sale.”
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