The story behind Makelaarshuis Helmond.
Once a client, always a client.
I was brought up to work hard. At home the rule was: if you do something, do it properly or don't start at all. That has stayed with me ever since. I give it a full hundred per cent, and I make that hundred per cent count.
I was born in The Hague, and you can still hear it. Some people find me direct. By far the majority appreciate exactly that, because you know exactly where you stand. I don't beat around the bush, not even when you won't like the answer.
On top of that, I bring twenty years of experience in this region. Everything I have seen, learned and been through in that time, I put into practice again every day.
In 2003 I started out as an estate agent in Eindhoven, with a concept that was completely new at the time: the buying agent. What others initially found strange is now a well-known and accepted part of the market. Our starter packages were also unique back then. They allowed first-time buyers to have their home renovated at reduced prices, from a new kitchen and bathroom to complete interior furnishing.
This way, first-time buyers bought an affordable home in a better neighbourhood, renovated it quickly and well with our packages, and immediately created home equity. I found opportunities that not everyone spotted straight away, and I thought along with people about how to make the most of them.
That approach paid off in something I am still proud of. People who moved came back. They were enthusiastic and brought others with them, sometimes whole families: from parents to children and now even grandchildren. I can rightly say that we have become a true family estate agent.
As the market changed, my work shifted more and more from buying to selling. One thing always stayed the same for me, and it has remained my yardstick.
A client relies on our expertise and must be able to trust us completely to get the most out of a sale. Then there is only one thing you can do: give it everything. Not volume, but satisfied clients. That is how I have always worked.
With a valuation, too, I tell you exactly where your home stands and what I think you should do. Not in the interest of winning the instruction, but in your interest. I am not after a signature. I am after a satisfied client who knows what to expect from me.
I know exactly how estate agents work towards an instruction to win a client. With valuations I still see people being lured in with empty promises and with an asking price that is never achieved later on. Every estate agent does the job in their own way. Our approach has always been sincere, even when a home is not perfect or when a value given earlier by another agent simply turns out to be far too high.
I also regularly turn a home down. Sometimes because I am not the right estate agent for that target group, and sometimes because there is no rapport with the seller. Because you sell a house together: the seller has to understand the agent, and vice versa. That is exactly why I know precisely what you, as a seller, need to look out for.
We focus entirely on our own work. On a home that has been mapped out in every detail, on a presentation that is right and on marketing that actually reaches the right buyer. Whether it is a small terraced house or a beautiful villa, every home gets the same attention and the same commitment from us.
We still do what I have done from the very beginning: help you sell your house in the best possible way. From the first valuation right through to the transfer at the notary, I stay on top of it personally.
Because in the end it is about only one thing: selling your house as well as possible at the highest price achievable at that moment. Legally sound and with a presentation that is right.
In short: we do what we have been doing for years. Getting the best result for you, with my experience, my knowledge of this region and my honest view of the housing market.
Erik-Jan
Questions? No problem, feel free to call me. I will give you my unvarnished opinion.
Even when the truth is uncomfortable. An honest value and an honest story, even if that means telling you something you would rather not hear.
Every home deserves a presentation that is right. We map out your home completely and present it at a level that actually reaches the right buyer.
You cannot do more than your best. But you really do have to make that hundred per cent count. That has always been my yardstick.
Leave your details or feel free to call me. You will receive honest, well-founded advice on selling your home.
Your language. We speak English, German and French. Write to us in Polish by WhatsApp and we reply in Polish.
No surprises in the contract. The purchase agreement is in Dutch and comes with an English translation, so you understand every clause.
Selling from abroad. We guide the whole sale remotely and arrange the paperwork with the notary.