Member Article

London Agent Set To ‘Ramp Up’ Derby Property Market

An estate agent has brought his vast experience of working in the London property market to Derby in a bid set to ‘shake up’ the local market.

Andrew Sanderson, 34, originally from Essex, owns AKS Residential on Pride Park. His aim is to ‘ramp up’ the property market in the city and wants AKS Residential to help people get more out of their properties by using the latest technology and resources.

He said: “Derby is a massive place and the market is buoyant. There is more of a willingness from people to talk to you and investors actually live here. I used to work in Stratford and investors lived all over the world.”

Andrew’s previous experience includes Ludlow Thompson, where he used to leave home at 6am and get home at 9pm. At just 22, he worked at a range of smaller agents as a manager, before moving to a bigger firm- Beresfords in Chelmsford, which he likened to ‘going into the premier league’.

The life-changing moment for the father-of-two came in 2012. He and a contact decided to go into business together. After two years of running it on a shoestring they started working with a high end property association which saw them let apartments out over a period of time.

“One day I got a call out of the blue from a Director of the property company about a new development of 70 apartments they were wanting to rent out, said Andrew,

“I thought I has misheard her. She wanted to meet me in the morning, but I had tickets to see Usain Bolt run in the 2012 Olympics. I said I could meet her but I would miss seeing his race.

“I was up against big companies like Knight Frank. I watched the race and met her in the afternoon. A few weeks later they decided to use us. After that business rocketed – We were able to upgrade our home, went to Florida, and had much more disposable income- That is what you call a GOOD day at the office.

“After all the support I had from my wife, it was great to finally be able to return the financial support.”

Family ties brought Andrew to Derby in 2014, as his wife Kathryn is from the area. He sold his business portfolio and, for a time, was living on what he described as a building site.

He worked for a big agent in Derby as a lettings director, but after getting to know the area, it was the impetus he needed to set up his own business, after seeing a huge gap in market.

He said: “We had just had our second child, Archie, and I wondered whether it was the right time to set up on my own, but decided to go for it.

“I remember thinking there was a world of difference between the Derby market and the London market. I also thought there was a better service to be offered. We put more of our resources into making properties stand out, rather than marketing ourselves.”

“Whenever a tenant joins us they get given an app which enables them to report any repairs and include photos. This is sent straight to contractors so that the problem can be fixed. AKS Residential also uses an online system for landlords called Goodlord, where landlords can view everything, from inventories to rental agreements. We have utilised the very latest technology and even have an online valuation tool on site.”

Helping him along the way is Benn Dunn, who has worked with Andrew before, and apprentice Matthew Motley, who will become a full time member of staff.

More information can be found at https://www.aksresidential.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Red Cloud IT .