Linay & Shipp were established during World War II by Rex Linay to help the local population deal with bomb damaged properties. After the war the company turned to property sales and have been selling houses in the Orpington ever since. We are now the area's longest established estate agents and this year we are celebrating our 70th birthday.
The success of our business has been down to the hands on personal service we provide; we have many satisfied clients and in some cases have sold properties to 4 generations of the same family. A good number of our instructions to sell come from repeat business and personal recommendation and we feel that this is testimony to the high level of service we provide.
As we enter our 70th year we see a very different High Street with a growing number of Estate Agents all looking for houses to sell. This is a challenging environment and one that makes us question what we can offer as an Independent Agent competing with the larger corporate organisations. The internet has perhaps been the saviour of smaller companies such as ours, the evolution of websites such as Rightmove & On the Market.com have enabled us to market our properties on a global scale and this, backed up with local advertising, allows us to match our larger competitors. The real difference is the unrivalled experience and knowledge that we can add to the equation. We have over 100 years local individual industry experience in our front line staff. This is invaluable to clients as we help them deal with the many issues that can arise during a house sale. We are also able to offer a flexible approach to marketing and can tailor our approach to meet your needs.
We aim to mix the best of the new technology based approach to selling homes with a traditional hands on personal service. And as we look forward we are delighted to announce that our long planned office refurbishment has now been completed and we are confident that our fresh new image, combined with our unrivalled service will sustain us as we enter the next 70 years.
David Robins. David is the lead partner in Linay & Shipp – David entered Estate Agency in 1986 and has worked in the local area since that time. David is involved with the day to day running of the business and is also a fully qualified Mortgage Adviser. Being able to cover both sides of our business gives flexibility to be in the right place to deal with demand. David also deals with any land and development opportunities and has great experience in the planning process having been involved from start to finish on a number of the sites we have been involved with over the years.
Debbie Bowen. Debbie is our Office Manager and the friendly face most people recognise when they call back after many years. Debbie has only ever worked for Linay & Shipp and has now passed 25 years of service. Debbie looks after the marketing process and then provides ongoing support once a sale has been achieved. There are very few property related issues that we have not come across over the years and Debbie's support and knowledge is invaluable.
David Norman. David is our Valuations Manager and is always available to offer advice on the price and marketing of your home. David also started in the business in 1986 and has been valuing Orpington homes for most of this time. He is a local resident and knows the local market better than anyone.
Hugh Rumary. Hugh is a fully qualified Mortgage Adviser working in our Financial Services department. Hugh has been helping clients with their mortgage arrangements for over 30 years and has a deep knowledge of the mortgage and finance market. Hugh is an independent Adviser meaning that he has access to the whole market, advising across the whole range of lenders from Abbey to Woolwich via smaller societies such as Mansfield and National Counties. If you want to find a mortgage from the whole range of lenders available to us then Hugh is your man.
Hazel Webber. Hazel has worked at Linay & Shipp for over 10 years, firstly as a full time negotiator and then returning part time after maternity leave. Hazel is office based and provides ongoing support to Debbie. Hazel also carries out much of our applicant contact work making sure that we are up to date with your property requirements.
Lesley Lawton. Lesley is our office secretary, Lesley is a local resident and has worked in the mortgage and property industries for some years.