Buying and selling a house can be one of the most exciting times in life – it’s also a regular in the top ten most stressful times, and anything that can be done to alleviate the headache is well worth knowing.
O’Riordan Bond is in its 30th year of helping people buy and sell their houses in Northampton and the surrounding villages and over that time has built up not just an understanding of the process, but also gained an unrivalled bank of local knowledge that brings clients back time and time again.
Simon Bond founded the estate agency in early 1995, alongside business partner Tim O’Riordan, and is now the sole shareholder in a business that has grown 45% in the past year and now has 14 offices across Northampton and the surrounding villages, staffed by teams who all know their ‘patch’ and the local community inside out.
The property market has seen some ups and downs over the past 30 years or so, and O’Riordan Bond is experienced in the housing market cycle, from times when demand exceeds supply (when properties, as Simon describes it, ‘sell themselves’) through to the more challenging market forces where the skills and expertise of a good negotiator make all the difference to the chances of turning an instruction into a sale.
“Over the last 30 years there has been a lot of change in how we market property but in many ways the principles of estate agency remain the same,”
said Simon.
“Experienced professionals with the best understanding of the local market will always help minimise the stress in the moving process. Choosing the right estate agent is key to increasing your chances of achieving your house moving goals. Of course it’s important that when someone puts their house on the market with us we achieve a sale, but nothing will happen if the vendor can’t find somewhere to move to, in their price range, in the area they want to live… if this doesn’t happen then we haven’t provided the right service to the client.
“Too often, once a sale is agreed, an estate agency will step back and leave the after sales process to meander with a lack of communication or ‘project management’, this is where I believe O’Riordan Bond is very different.
“For the last 30 years we have had dedicated Client Care Managers in each branch – experienced estate agents whose sole focus is ensuring that once a sale is agreed on the client’s property O’Riordan Bond absorbs the stresses of the moving process and increases the chances of our clients achieving what they set out to when deciding to move.”
The company has a distinct business model with 14 branches around Northampton (NN1 to NN7). The offices are based on the heart of local communities such as Grange Park, Abington, Weston Favell, Kingsthorpe, Brixworth and Earls Barton. These branches act as a go-to place of excellence for all local people to pop into and have a chat about the housing market and advice on either selling or renting a property locally.
“Right the way through the process we prefer to visit our clients at key points of the transaction or invite them into the local office,”
said Simon.
“Moving home has got to be one of the most stressful things we all do and communicating via email and or telephone when such big decisions are having to be made, we feel undermines the importance of what we are trying to achieve for our clients.
“The first task – if there’s more than one off er on the table – is to advise on the best buyer, the best fit for them, the one we judge to be the most solid prospect and not someone who’s going to pull out part of the way through.”
The company has opened five new branches in 2024 alone – in Far Cotton, Parklands, Duston North, Abington East and Abington Vale and, in addition, the fi rm has an in-house Mortgage Advice Bureau comprising eight mortgage brokers offering independent all-of-market-advice along with a thriving Lettings and Property Management business which looks after in the region of 800 properties for landlord clients.
It also enjoys a ‘key’ strategic partnership with Key Conveyancing, an independent local fi rm that offers conveyancing services backed up by values and an ethos that aligns with those of O’Riordan Bond. Simon said:
“I am really proud that we have a number of experienced people who have worked for the company for over 20 years and can off er the best advice there is about the Northampton housing market. People can get to our branches easily, it’s easier to park and they know they are going to get a local service.
“Profile is so important It’s also about visibility, and we’ve just reintroduced the O’Riordan Bond fleet of branded MINIs that people will see out on the roads, along with a targeted sponsorship campaign on the busiest roundabouts in Northampton. We are very proud to put our name out there in the community supporting charity events and grassroots sports teams as well as our ground sponsorship Northampton Sileby Rangers.
“We have long standing relationships with Northamptonshire Cricket Club and Northampton Saints, along with securing one of the hospitality boxes at the Cobblers.
“We are also sponsoring an award at this year’s Northamptonshire Business Excellence Awards because we want to support the business community as well.
“Tim and I were in partnership for 28 years – we are still good mates – and since he left the business in 2022 I have been able to promote from within, creating an energetic and dynamic team that wants to deliver the O’Riordan Bond difference to everyone thinking of moving in the area. Fast forward to October 2024 and it looks like we will agree sales on circa 30% of all property in Northampton, which is a real credit to all 80 people who work for us… we cant wait to deliver continued growth!”
Find out more about O’Riordan Bond at the website here.
