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Customer Feedback When we bought our house in Florida, Andrew Bartlett"s service  was invaluable in tracking down the perfect place. Previously we had been all over the place and although making clear to the  sales people we were just trying to evaluate the options were still constantly pressurized to buy, by various sales agents.In one particular case we had seen a company via a tv channel but felt very pressured by their constant phone calls.   It was Andrews briefing that made all the difference providing us with all the necessary information in a way that made sense of everything. His briefing really is outstanding value and covers so many points that never even crossed our minds.   Andrews’s knowledge and help was excellent, he was the consummate professional, understood our requirements and ensured we only looked at houses that fitted our specification.   His knowledge of how the process works in the UK and the US was invaluable, and what could have been a very confusing process, was made so much easier by his expertise and advice.  We would definitely recommend Andrew  - John and Shelia Knight.   ________________________________________________________________________   We have had a rental house for just over a year in Bradenton which we bought through the services of Andrew Bartlett. It is a 4 bed, 2 baths, house with heated pool and spa. Andrew is an absolute font of information, his briefing session is absolutely essential before you buy and importantly he gives the facts as they are – a very unusual commodity over here! We aimed our advertising at family groups (we had a games room) and we experienced no problems at all with damage or breakages. Most of our customers were families, I think we only had one couple who came on their own - they wanted a golfing break.   By far the best source of enquiries came from our two other Internet based advertising – Villas 2000 and Dalton's Holidays. They were both easy to set up and maintain. I would say we got 90% of our bookings through them.    So as far as advertising your villa, I would recommend two or three good web sites with photos and easy response forms - If you have anything that is different about your villa then so much the better, there is a lot of choice for potential customers.   In the first full year we had 31 weeks occupancy, which wasn't at all bad.   We had a couple of enquiries for long term rental, but it was difficult to fit them in because we had odd weeks already booked.   I expect your long term customers will be Americans. They like to come down after Xmas for the winter. So there is a good chance then, but the rest of the year, it is mainly tourists from Britain or Europe on short term holidays. Mike and Lucia Holmes   _________________________________________________________________________   Dear Andrew, After looking in Spain and Portugal we switched our attention to Florida because the winter weather is more reliable. We looked at the Tampa area and the Sarasota area because we have friends with properties in those two locations. Chose Sarasota because of the facilities and lifestyle and chose Stoneybrook, with your help, because of it's proximity to the beaches and the shops. The other big factor for me was affordable golf on a good course, where I can improve my game and have regular competitions. Stoneybrook has given me that and more. We plan 6 months in Sarasota and 6 months in England "The Best of Both Worlds", with no renting. The recent surge in the value of our Sarasota winter home is the icing on the cake. We are absolutely delighted with our home and with your team’s service. Gary Susan Young.   ________________________________________________________________________ Hi Andrew, I hope things are going well with you. As you are probably aware things went really well with the villa. It exceeded our expectations needless to say that we are delighted with it. It was a big step for us to take normally, without taking into consideration the fact we were buying without seeing the property. Our trust in you proved soundly placed. We are extremely grateful for the advice and assistance that you have given us over the period that helped us through.   Like so many families who have holidayed in Florida we had considered buying a second home there for several years and like so many the lack of knowledge of purchasing property abroad had made us hesitant. Having watched several television programmes and reading up on the subject, we now appreciate how limited our knowledge actually was. On looking at the property available in the areas where we were interested, it appeared that there was no end of desirable property. We now realize that this is not the case, and that the importance in choosing the correct property is imperative to the success of owning a second home abroad.   Following our consultation you referred us to one of your colleagues to whom we supplied the specifications of the type of property we were looking for. Her knowledge of the local market soon became apparent and she soon identified one or two properties that would be suitable for us in order to fulfill the criteria we had set, along with her suggestions.   We invested a great deal of trust in her, and, negotiated the purchase of our villa in Bradenton. We can honestly say that the trust placed has been one of our best investments. Having taken heed of the advice given to us by both of you, owning our second home has been very successful. Having sought out a villa with numerous attributes in a desirable area we have no problem renting it out to cover the costs. . We would have no hesitation in recommending your service which made the whole process a lot less complicated and decreased the anxiety aspect of purchasing a second home thousands of miles away. Bob and Jackie Cowper   _________________________________________________________________________________ Having someone pre select property for us which actually met our selection criteria was a real bonus for us - we found the property we wanted on the first day of our search. Andrew made the process of buying a house in Florida very easy with his very extensive service and his initial briefing session was absolutely spot on, saving us a lot of time and money. It has been a great relief that his advice and service has not stopped and he has pointed us in the right direction on many occasions since the purchase. We have relied heavily on his knowledge of the whole area from a business and recreational perspective.  The association with Andrew has proved to be invaluable and we will continue to buy through him and confidently recommend his service to others. Haitham and Anita Charles. Hampshire now Bradenton ______________________________________________________________________________ Dear Andrew,   Thank you for all your sheer hard work, consideration and attention to details, in assisting Jimmy and myself to purchase our Sarasota home.   It is for certain Andrew, but for you, we would not have our wonderful home in Sarasota.   You will be highly praised and recommended at every opportunity. Thank you once again for helping us to become real estate owners and part of The 'American Dream'.   Best wishes to you and your family Audrey & Jimmy Thomas   ________________________________________________________________________   Thank you for finding us a suitable investment and holiday home in Florida - We had no previous experience in the property market in the USA. Your extensive understanding of the US market and business culture from a European perspective was invaluable.  There were multiple times when our judgment would have been insufficient to avoid potential problems – we really appreciated your dedication to customer care and all that information. Mr and Mrs R T Finland _______________________________________________________________________ Dear Andrew, We do not know how we would have made our American dream come together without your knowledge and willingness to help at any time. After that all important initial consultation and over the six months that we E-mailed/phoned you we built up a trusting and friendly relationship.  You were always there to answer our questions and after we bought, your services were invaluable in finding our property and a business, exchanging currency, finding a school. Without your continued guidance we would not have known what to do! Mr and Mrs Mead Essex now Sarasota ________________________________________________________________________________ Hi Andrew Thanks for your congrats. Despite the minor last minute kerfuffle, it really was so straightforward and bother-free. And Amy and Steve were well on top of things throughout.   And the place does look pretty darned nice too. I reckon I'll be hanging on to it for quite some time. And hey, if the value appreciates further and if the dollar continues to strengthen then, well, all the better of course. I don't particularly fear any long term housing-bubble effect in Orlando either. I mean like, all those baby boomers are going to be drifting southwards in their numbers soon too, arent they?   Anyway, I have to thank you so much for the insight and advice your briefing provided at the start and for the reassurances too when I was getting a bit agitated with the mortgage hold-ups. It really was very helpful to me and removed a lot of the uncertainties which were preventing me from taking the plunge. I was particularly fortunate too to have Amy who you recommended handling it all. They really delivered. So thanks especially for hooking us up. And if I need any further pointers I will likely be very inclined to seek your opinion, so thanks too for your offer of this too   And if I ever have chance to do so, I will certainly be keenly advertising your services to any of my family, friends or colleagues who are contemplating purchasing a property in Florida.   Hope all is going well! Best wishes Patrick   ______________________________________________________________________   Hi Andrew,   I just thought I would write to thank you for your help and advice in the critical initial stages of our villa purchase. As you may be aware Runabout Way will shortly belong to us and we have to say the process was not at all daunting to us, indeed Esti made sure we had a good time during the viewings and completed the various stages of meetings and introductions in such a manner that we also had plenty of time to enjoy our holiday.   All involved from Moneycorp, through to Stephen have been friendly and efficient and we are pleased with the attitude shown by Andy who will look after and re-furnish our property to our tastes when we take it over.  If, when this happens, and following a viewing of the villa and the new website we are constructing , perhaps you would consider adding the property to your webpage along with the others under villas to rent?   I will be happy to supply a testimonial concerning the above when all is completed. We look forward to your monthly newsletters from now on and await September when we visit for a couple of weeks of `refreshing our villa with paint and furnishings(we love the prices over there).   Thanks again Andrew. Best regards, Howard and Pauline.   ________________________________________________________________________     When we bought our house in Naples we found the perfect place. Andrew Bartlett’s help, advice and knowledge were absolutely critical.   He was the only professional who could help us compare our options Naples, Sarasota and Tampa and match them to our requirements, we were absolutely amazed by just how much he knew and how clearly he explained everything to us.   His knowledge of how the process works in the UK and the US was invaluable, and what could have been a very confusing process, was made so much easier by his expertise and advice.  We would definitely recommend his services to anyone thinking about buying property in Florida. Bill and Jane Carruthers.   _________________________________________________________________________   You helped us enormously in 2003 in locating a selection of properties in the Bradenton area for us to view. You took time out to drive us to the properties and show us each one, and assisted us with the entire process after we had chosen the one to buy – from making the offer to the close. Your attentive service was particularly comforting as we live in the U.K and your team could take care of being at the property for surveys and the like, on our behalf.  – STUART PADMORE   _______________________________________________________________________ Thinking about buying a property in Florida - click here Thinking about selling a property in Florida - click here   Thinking about emigrating to Florida - click here   Just want to be sent details of suitable properties and agents with excellent testimonials and a proven track record of working with British buyers – click here Andrew Bartlett an acknowledged expert on property trends and relocation in Florida, writes articles and answers readers’ questions for several British publications including Florida Magazine, Escape Magazine, Place in the Sun, Sunday Times, America, and The Red guide to buying Property in America and is regularly consulted by journalists and broadcasters. His consumer web guides have received numerous accolades. Andrew was a Senior Government Official for 20 years before relocating to Florida several years ago where he was headhunted to set up specialist British property and relocation teams for Coldwell Banker and Remax - America’s largest estate agents. He then established a uniquely impartial and independent relocation and property briefing company working between Britain and Florida. He has written a number of watchdog style articles on overseas property and emigration selling techniques.