Behind the Scenes: Emma Eliot

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? Whereabouts do you live now?

My father was in the army so we have moved around a bit.  We were mainly in England; my parents now live in Wiltshire, but we also spent time in Germany and Hong Kong.  I have been living in Putney for six or so years but have just moved to Earlsfield, which is very exciting.

How long have you been an estate agent for?

I have been an estate agent for 7 ½ years.

How long have you worked for D&G? What’s the greatest thing about working for them?

I joined D&G after I left university, in September 2006, and have been with them ever since.  I love working for the company, as you can tell from the length of time I have been with them!   We are very lucky with the people we work with and it is lovely having smaller offices so that everyone really works together as a team, which comes across when dealing with both landlords and tenants.

What’s the funniest story you have from your time at Douglas & Gordon?

One of our tenants totally forgot to tell us that they had a ferret as a pet, I opened the door to show some applicants the garden and this ferret whizzed in. I then spent the remainder of the viewing, and sometime after, chasing the ferret around the flat whilst also trying to tell the applicants a bit about the property.  We eventually got hold of the tenants who confirmed the ferret was theirs and was meant to be outside, so I then had to try and coax it back outside - all a bit much for a Friday evening!

When you’re not in the office or showing people around, what do you do in your spare time? Any interesting hobbies we should know about?

I love to cook and plan our next dinner party. Having just moved, a lot of my time is now spent looking at kitchens and furniture.

What questions do you most commonly get asked by clients/customers?

We get asked a lot about schools and also general information on the area, for example transport links and who else lives around here.

What advice do you have for people looking to buy in Hammersmith and Shepherds Bush?

If you like somewhere, trust your gut instinct and go for it rather than just waiting to see what else is out there as then you might lose the place you love.

What do you love about Hammersmith and Shepherds Bush? What are your favourite hangouts? Where do you grab your coffee in the morning, or take a business lunch?

I love the fact that it is so easy to get in and out of London, whether by tube or bus or out on the M4.  The streets around here are also very pretty; it is looking especially lovely at the moment with all the blossoms out.   The Hampshire Hog on King Street is a lovely gastro pub, the Andover Arms is a brilliant ‘village pub’ in Brackenbury Village and the Bird in Hand in Brook Green is also amazing.  King Street has Starbucks, Pret, Café Nero and more so there are plenty of options for the early morning coffee.

What would you say to anyone looking to move into the area?

Go for it!  We tend to find that once people have moved to this area, they are very reluctant to leave as it has so many things going for it.

If you could wave a magic wand, what is one thing you would change about the property market?

Working in a residential area we tend to find that during school holidays it does become a bit quieter, it would be lovely to wave a wand in order for this not to happen.