Our journey began at the beginning of January 2021. Having happily spent 20 years living in Surrey our dream was to move near to the West Dorset coast. In December we had an offer on our house that we couldn’t refuse and so our journey began.
I had spotted Heart Felt Home on Instagram some time ago and loved the way Sally Freeman shared her findings with such passion. When I approached Sally by email, to explain our situation, she replied quickly and suggested we chat on the phone. Little did I know that I was also being vetted by Sally! I’m pleased to say we struck up a good rapport right from the start and in a matter of days a contract was signed. We have not looked back since!
Sally’s approach was second to none, accomplished and highly professional and knowledgeable, but also very personal and made the journey fun too. In a short space of time she helped us decide what we really wanted and where. We were in lockdown, so Sally initially viewed several properties on our behalf, took videos and sent them to us back in Surrey which was a great way to get a feel of the properties.
We had agreed to move out of our home by 31st March and needed a rental home. Another string to Sally’s bow – she found us a delightful bijou cottage built in 1843, just 5 minutes drive from Corfe Castle. Although not in West Dorset, it was an excellent find, in a beautiful location, which we already knew. Sally sent us a video and secured it the same day – no mean feat in the current market, with a dozen or so people queuing up, to just get a decent rental property. Very happily ensconced in our cottage, we felt like we were on permanent holiday!
And so the journey continued for our heart felt home. We viewed four properties, one we saw in our preferred area but were outbid when it went to sealed and final bids going for at least ten per cent over the asking price. As we discovered this had become the norm in the current market! Sally kept our spirits up the whole time so with thinking caps on we moved onwards and upwards.
We had one card up our sleeves. We advised Sally that we’d seen a property online, that we loved the previous year, but it had been taken off the market. We wondered if the owners might still be interested in selling. So, one May afternoon Sally in her in inimitable way, wrote a letter on our behalf, drove over to West Dorset and popped it through their letterbox! Within a few days we had met the owners, viewed the house, fell right back in love with it and had an offer accepted! Sally was our rock during negotiations both for us and the elderly vendors. Her calm understanding towards the couple helped iron out many concerns they had.
The next stage became rather protracted as West Dorset Local Authority Searches were at an all time high. Our submitted request made at the beginning of June came through 18 weeks later on 21st September. Action was further delayed as our solicitor was on holiday. However, on Friday, 22 October we picked up the keys to our HFH!!
We are still in our bijou rental cottage in South Dorset as work is being carried out on the basic infrastructure of our new home (built in the 1880’s).
Sally has been a wonder, every step of the way including recommending tradesmen, who are doing a great job and we are looking to move into our Heart Felt Home in February!
I would very highly recommend Sally to future clients searching for their Heart felt home. You will not be disappointed!
Thank you Sally for such an enjoyable journey. We look forward to inviting you to our new home very soon.
Mr. and Mrs. W (Surrey – Dorset)
Heart Felt
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