Buying a home
A shortlist built from what you actually need, not from whatever is loudest on the market this week.
- Search brief written together
- Viewings grouped by area and time of day
- Offer strategy and negotiation
Alderbrook & the river wards
Homes chosen with care, never with haste.
I am Hollis Vane. I work with a small number of buyers and sellers at a time so that every viewing, every valuation and every late-evening question gets a proper answer.
One agent, start to finish
The person who shows you the house is the person who negotiates it and sees the paperwork through.
Honest reads on a house
Damp in the back room, a noisy lane, a roof with years left in it — you hear it on the first walk-through.
Unhurried viewings
Second and third visits at different times of day are expected, not treated as hesitation.
How I help
Three kinds of move, handled the same careful way.
Most people arrive somewhere in the middle of a decision. Tell me which of these sounds like your situation and we can start from there.
Selling a home
Preparation before promotion: what to fix, what to leave, and the order to do it in so the listing lands well.
- Walk-through and honest valuation
- Styling and photography plan
- Buyer vetting before access
Relocating here
For people moving in from further afield who need to understand the wards before committing to one.
- Area notes written for your routine
- Viewing days planned around one trip
- Introductions to local trades
Current homes
A short list, kept honest and kept current.
I would rather represent a handful of houses well than list everything. Each of these is open for viewing by arrangement.
Linden Ward
The Brickfield House
A square, sensible family house with a south-facing garden and a kitchen that was clearly built for people who cook.
Guide price on request
Mill Quarter
Apartment Four, Weaver's Yard
A converted upper floor with the original roof beams left exposed. Quiet at the back, bright from mid-morning onward.
Guide price on request
Fern Hollow
Hollow Cottage
Older, lower-ceilinged and full of character, with a workshop at the end of the garden and no neighbours in sight.
Guide price on request
How it works
What happens after you send a note.
No obligation attaches to the first conversation. Here is the whole shape of it, so nothing comes as a surprise.
A proper conversation
We talk through what you are trying to do, the timing you are working with, and whether I am the right fit.
A written brief
Buyers get a search brief; sellers get a preparation plan and a valuation range with the reasoning behind it.
Viewings and offers
Houses are seen at sensible hours, compared honestly, and negotiated with your ceiling respected.
Through to the keys
I stay on it through surveys, queries and the slow middle weeks until the move is finished.
About Hollis
I grew up three streets from the river and never quite left.
Fern Craft started because I wanted to work the way I would want an agent to work with my own family — slowly, plainly, and with the same advice given in private as in public.
That means I take on fewer clients than I could. It also means that when you ask whether a house is worth the asking price, you get a real answer rather than an encouraging one.
- Where I work Alderbrook, the river wards, Linden, Mill Quarter and Fern Hollow.
- How I work One agent on your file from first call to final signature, with no handovers.
- What I will tell you When a house is wrong for you, and when waiting is the better move.
Questions
The things people ask before getting in touch.
Do I need to be ready to move before contacting you?
Not at all. A good share of my conversations begin a year or more before anyone moves. Early is useful — it is when preparation makes the biggest difference to what you eventually get.
Will you give me a valuation if I am only curious?
Yes. A walk-through and an honest range, with the comparable houses I based it on. There is no obligation to list with me afterwards, and I will say so plainly if I think you should wait.
Can I view a home more than once?
Please do. Houses read differently on a grey weekday morning than on a bright Saturday, and the street does too. Second and third viewings are part of how I expect the process to go.
What if none of the listed homes suit me?
Then we write a brief and I go looking. A fair number of the houses I place are never publicly listed, and those conversations start with knowing exactly what you are after.
Get in touch
Tell me what you are trying to do.
A few lines is plenty. I read every note myself and reply with either a straight answer or a time to talk properly.
- Viewings arranged for weekday evenings as well as weekends.
- Valuations for sellers who are only considering a move.
- Area notes for people relocating from outside Alderbrook.