“I want to help people find their dream home”
Becky Moran is one of the most influential property entrepreneurs in Tunbridge Wells. Here the founder of TN Lettings, and the recently launched TN Sales, tells Eileen Leahy about the exciting expansion of her business – and why a bespoke approach always works…
“I’m really excited to share my news with you,” smiles Becky Moran as we sit down to chat for our cover feature.
The successful local business woman has just spent the previous 45 minutes having her picture taken by our photographer David. And despite moving around numerous nooks of a gorgeous location house at high speed and pulling off a number of chic outfit changes – Becky does so without any fuss or complaint. She is focused, polite and very personable.
And as I soon discover these are just some of the qualities that have led to Becky running a highly successful property business – which expanded even further at the beginning of March. At the time of our interview of course the news was still very much under wraps to the general public…
So what’s the big news? Well, if you haven’t heard yet then let me explain.
Becky is adding a sales division to her fledgling property portfolio which began when she launched TN Lettings back in 2021.
In just four short years the company has become one of the area’s leading rental specialists, growing year on year.
“I think that’s because we are really passionate about what we do and have built up some very good relationships with our landlords,” explains Becky.
“Our attention to detail and steadfast commitment to clients has resulted in a business that delivers quality, personal service and therefore boasts an excellent reputation.”
Becky reveals that she wanted to build on that momentum by creating TN Sales which officially launched on March 1. Becky’s excitement at our interview about taking this seismic next step was positively palpable.
“We have been planning and getting everything ready behind the scenes for months,” she confides.
“Sales is the perfect area for my property business to branch into next as we already have landlords on our books who want to sell their properties – especially after the Autumn Statement in October when there was a lot of panic around this part of the market. But personally speaking it’s nice to be going back to my professional roots.”
Becky tells me she cut her teeth in the world of finance – specifically specialising in mortgages.
“I worked for Santander for years, in both the residential and buy-to-let sectors and so I know this particular area of property negotiating very well. So it made total sense to use my skills and expertise once again. I know exactly how the sales progression process works.”
So far, so qualified then. Next, I then ask Becky how she will ensure that TN Sales stands out in a pretty crowded property market.
“Well it’s simple really. My ethos is all about service – and not numbers. I don’t need to hit certain targets so every individual sale will have my undivided attention. As a TN Sales client you will feel that you’re getting a very bespoke service.”
Becky goes on to say that she thinks a lot of people start out with that intention but as they grow the personalised element can often get lost.
“The personal touch has always been so important and central to what I do. Despite TN Lettings growing exponentially over the past four years we have never lost that all-important approach. It’s at the core of what we do.”
By ‘we’ Becky means herself and a full-time employee who helps Becky run the business. She hopes that once TN Sales is up and running in the next month she can bring on another member of staff part-time.
“Unlike a lot of businesses I will be actually looking for someone who can work in between school drop offs and pick-ups,” she laughs.
I comment that these ‘golden hours’ are what a lot of working mothers would like to have when their children are small, to which Becky replies: “Well I just think you get so much more done during that time as you are focused. I have run my business successfully and still managed to drop my two children to school and pick them up each day.”
And with the new branch to her business now launched, Becky says she is not afraid of working just that little bit extra harder.
“I’m looking forward to it as for so long our hands were tied when it came to our TN Lettings clients selling their properties. We had all their details on the system and all the property pictures but couldn’t progress further with the sales element – until now.”
But Becky hasn’t just decided on a whim to do this. True to her professional form, she has put in the groundwork to make it all happen and now has an official sales qualification – something that not every estate agent needs.
“You actually need more qualifications if you are a letting agent but I wanted to gain the necessary equivalent in order to give TN Sales the best possible advantage.”
Despite this level of commitment Becky says that she is very much still hands on when it comes to her clients.
“When people call our number – whether that is for TN Lettings or TN Sales – they will always talk to me. And no question is ever too silly! I will do everything from the initial introductions to the walk-throughs at a property. That personal approach is very key.”
And that ‘personal approach’ extends to Becky handpicking the colleagues she will be working with as TN Sales gets underway.
“I have deliberately ensured that everyone we use – from photographers to solicitors – share the same like-minded approach as me. It’s about making clients feel they are getting a very personalised service.”
As we all know, buying and selling houses can be a very long, protracted and utterly frustrating experience to go through. The bureaucracy surrounding it can often be a nightmare and as a seller or buyer you can often feel forgotten about. But that’s exactly why Becky wants to disrupt the market – by ironically going back to basics.
“I do think that since Covid our industry has changed quite substantially. Technological advancements like virtual tours have been great, but in a way that means there’s less and less involvement between the agent, buyer and seller. I absolutely love the traditional way of doing business by showing up in person at a viewing. Talking prospective buyers through the property and helping them envision how they could live their lives there.”
In terms of TN Sales’ clients they are not just going to be all about Tunbridge Wells and its environs.
“We will also be covering Tonbridge and Sevenoaks too. I don’t see us as moving into an already established market as a threat. My attitude is there’s room for everybody and TN Sales will not be an aggressive agent in the market. As I have said we like to do things differently. And I never want people to feel intimidated. I am willing to collaborate not compete.”
I say that all of the above sounds like another Becky’s aim is to take the fear out of selling (and buying) houses.
“Yes exactly,” she confirms. “I would like to make things as swift as possible. This is a notorious sector steeped in bureaucracy and it can take months for sales to complete. So Becky says TN Sales aims to make it as ‘gentle’ as possible.
“They say buying a house is one of the most stressful and important things you’ll do in your life. So the aim is to take out all the stressful and frustrating elements and make it a much more enjoyable experience.”
This means ensuring all clients have a sales progression update – at least once a week –and are able to talk to Becky whenever they need to.
“I will always pick up the phone as I sincerely believe that talking is the key to everything in life. Emails can get misinterpreted and come across as quite heated sometimes but if you call someone on the phone then things soften. That’s what I really like – the personal contact.”
And although TN Sales is launching from a very good position, courtesy of its existing clients and reputation, Becky says that they have bigger plans afoot.
“With our new business we will also be looking to work with some local developers. But they will be the smaller ones. It’s all about working with other independents and having the same values.”
As a very attractive start-up promotional offer Becky tells me that TN Sales will offer the first five properties (apartments or houses) a special introductory offer of a flat fee of £2.5K.
“Now if a house is worth £250,000 or more you’re saving money on any other agent. If you were selling a £500,000 house then you are getting a great deal. But if you were selling a property worth a million pounds or more well then that’s for nothing. It’s a very attractive offer.”
In addition to talking to Tunbridge Wells Business Magazine, Becky says that she will be launching email and Google ad campaigns but also relying on their enviable reputation to promote her new business.
For a company that has only been going for less than five years this is an incredible and inspiring story to share.
“Another point of difference is that I love helping people find their dream place. Whether that’s someone getting their first property or finding their forever home. We can deliver on a number of levels and everyone thinks the same. Ultimately, I just like finding people a home.”
So now let’s get down to basics… how much will all this incredible service cost?
“Well, like most of our colleagues there will be the usual fee fixture. But what’s different with us is that usually everyone starts at 1% but we are coming in considerably lower. When we get to the highest fee we will still be lower at 0.95%. I know this works because that’s how I started with TN Lettings.”
Becky freely admits that she can do this because she currently doesn’t have a traditional ‘shop front’.
“That means there are no overheads so we can afford to do this, but even this wasn’t the case I would definitely want to remain competitive.”
And in addition to all of this – and just like TN Lettings – there is an option to invest in other ‘added extra packages’.
This, for example she tells me, could be additional drone photography as part of your sales package. But whatever prospective sellers choose the service will remain the same.
“We will never expect our clients to come to us – we will always go to them,” confirms Becky. “We are working for them. I feel like everyone has gone very virtual and social media driven but I want to take it back to more traditional values and get people actually into the property and show them round.
“Open days have become very popular as a result of the pandemic but that’s a bit like a conveyor belt approach to doing business. For me it’s about getting to know a property and feeling it. How can we live here? How can we make it ours?”
Becky adds that another point of difference for TN Sales is that clients shouldn’t feel like they are ‘being processed.’
“I know so many people talk about individuality and curating a bespoke experience but we really do. Every client is an individual to us. We want to be consistent and have the same person dealing with things from start to finish.”
And how about any future goals?
“Well, I would love an office,” confides Becky. “That is what I am aiming for. I don’t mind where. Tunbridge Wells or Southborough would be perfect. The latter has plenty of parking and is just down the road from me!”
Given what she has achieved so far running her own business, I have no doubt that this too will come to fruition.
Website: www.tnlettings.co.uk
www.tnsales.co.uk
Email: info@tnlettings.co.uk and
info@tnsales.co.uk
Call: 01892 249070
Instagram: @tnlettings
