Meet Natalie

Covering Nottinghamshire

My name is Natalie Freeman, and I cover the Nottinghamshire region. I have been an estate agent for just over two years and specialise in the sale of beautiful homes, ranging from huge multi-million-pound properties to smaller four-bedroom detached family homes. Being very detail-oriented is what sets one agent apart from another. If this process is applied to every aspect of a property sale—from the way a property is presented, to the communication with buyers and sellers, to the way viewings are conducted—it’s the perfect recipe for success!

There are many estate agency models out there; however, my intention was to be part of a forward-thinking team that is dedicated to improving the estate agency industry across the UK. I love being part of The Avenue umbrella of agents because of many reasons, with my two main reasons being:

1. The Avenue values all partner agents' inputs on how we shape the estate agency industry. So being a very creative and forward-thinking professional myself, it aligns with my ethos well.
2. I believe that the homeowners of Nottinghamshire deserve so much more when it comes to the sale of their most expensive asset. Joining forces with The Avenue ensures such standards remain high.

At The Avenue, we have regular training days to ensure we are continuously improving and being innovative.

I have lived in Nottingham for over 15 years. I love spending time with my husband and our three gorgeous doggies, as well as going for meals and sunny holidays abroad. I tend to visit David Lloyd in West Bridgford a few times per week, albeit my visits involve the spa and NOT the gym! Having owned several successful businesses in the past, my experiences have taught me that communication, trust, and empathy are vital skills when it comes to any business. These skills allow me to build great rapports with my clients—whether buyers or sellers—and enable me to be a great negotiator when sealing deals for all parties.

I pride myself on being very transparent from the start with all of my clients. This involves being honest and having, at times, ‘uncomfortable’ conversations that many agents avoid, all for my clients' benefit. I believe it’s about working as a team—if I don’t point out all the things that can be improved or addressed first, the buyers will. When appointing me as your agent, this means I am your single point of contact, and that does not just apply to day-to-day communication. I am involved and present in all aspects of your sale. This includes the marketing shoot day, the viewings (which are all conducted solely by me), the post-viewing feedback obtained from buyers, and the general communication with buyers throughout. I am here for you! I approach each element of the sale process with enthusiasm, energy, and creativity, which again contributes to successful results.

I also take my time to quality-control each buyer. I believe in quality over quantity. I totally appreciate that it takes time to prepare each house for a viewing, especially when children and pets are involved. As such, I ensure that if a buyer comes to view a property, they are serious about it and not time-wasters. To assess this, I go through various questioning before a viewing is even booked to ensure this takes place.

I treat the sale of my clients' homes as if they were my own. As such, I do not apply any limits to the amount of time my clients have with me. If a client wants to talk over the phone or meet with me in person, I want them to feel valued and reassured throughout that I am there for them every step of the way. As a result, I pride myself in only taking on a limited number of properties at a time to ensure such standards remain high.

Nottinghamshire has so much to offer potential buyers, whether it’s restaurants, bars, or leisure centres—it has it all! In terms of education, Nottingham boasts excellent schools, including Nottingham High School, a private fee-charging day school for boys and girls. In terms of outstanding schools, prestigious West Bridgford features several excellent schools and a lively town centre. Nottingham has many beautiful villages, such as Bramcote, Gedling, Burton Joyce, and Ravenshead, which is host to Newstead Abbey Park, the ancestral home of Lord Byron. For all keen golfers, Beeston, Mapperley, and Mansfield offer a beautiful range of golfing facilities. Let’s not forget that Nottingham, particularly West Bridgford, is home to some of the region's biggest sporting attractions, including Trent Bridge, the third oldest Test Match ground in the world, and The City Ground, home to Nottingham Forest Football Club. The region boasts several hospitals, including Queens Medical, as well as highly regarded universities. Its central position offers impressive commuting links to major motorways, as well as excellent tram and bus services throughout the city centre and surrounding areas.

Having lived here for over 15 years and due to serving my clients across the county, I have the privilege of knowing the best spots in every area, whether it’s schools, restaurants, or leisure centres. I am here to help you find and secure your dream home.

I strongly believe that your property advert acts like your ‘shop window’. If buyers like what they see, they will be eager to shop—if they don’t, they will move elsewhere. As such, having the best marketing is key to standing out from the competition. My intention is to always ensure all properties I bring to market stand out, and for the right reasons.

Starting with the photography, I love to incorporate a lot of ‘twilight’ style photography in my marketing, especially when it comes to the front Rightmove advert photo. This is the picture that has to ‘grab’ the buyer, and there is nothing more captivating, in my opinion, than seeing a beautiful pink sky with a brightly lit property among the thousands of competing properties! It works every time!

When it comes to the marketing shoot, I pride myself in presenting each property as a ‘show home’. I know you may be thinking, “my home has clutter here, there, and everywhere—it will take forever to tidy!” No need to worry! Most homes you see marketed by me are lived in—we are human after all. But when it comes to leading up to the shoot, I work very closely with you to ensure we can give your home the best chance to look its best with the aim of achieving the maximum price. This may involve hiding certain items, de-cluttering certain rooms, adding a lick of paint here and there, applying cushions, and so on. It’s all worth it in the end! Remember, it’s all about how your home compares to the competition. The presentation of each home—or lack of it—can make or break a sale. Given that such an element is totally in both of our control, it gives us the best chance of succeeding.

Now let’s not forget the importance of a cinematic, presenter-led video! Every time I market a home, such a video accompanies the Rightmove ad. I could go on and on about why such a video is important, but in a nutshell, it helps showcase to potential buyers the ‘lifestyle’ your home can offer them. It brings each property to life!

Properties with such videos receive more views and clicks and also give off a more premium vibe to buyers, which in turn helps command a more premium price. I absolutely LOVE being on camera and being privileged to present such properties, and this comes across very clearly to potential buyers. I receive many comments from buyers and sellers on how my enthusiasm about each property is infectious, let alone the creative elements I bring to the marketing. I even plan my own script, direct the videographers, plan the outfits, and even choose the music! If you love what you do, it certainly shows!

When it comes to marketing and social media, I’m sure the rest of The Avenue team will agree that I am the ‘Social Media Queen!’ It’s no coincidence that I’ve managed to achieve over 10,000 Instagram followers. In fact—and I’ll boast a little here—I have more Instagram followers than any other Nottinghamshire estate agent.

How have I achieved that? Simple. I go above and beyond when it comes to being creative with the way I promote each property on social media. The way to achieve success on social media is to be able to get ‘scrollers’ to ‘stop the scroll’—but for the right reasons, of course. As such, I put myself out there beyond my comfort zone to achieve successful results for my clients.

The power of social media nowadays is SO valuable! It’s almost as important as listing the property on Rightmove. I actually receive more offers on many properties as a result of buyers having seen it on my Instagram or TikTok than on Rightmove. I know this may sound crazy, but it’s true.

Rightmove allows buyers to input specific filtering criteria—price, mileage, etc. However, if a buyer, for example, inputs a 3-mile radius and your property sits just ¼ of a mile outside that postcode, they simply won’t see your property, even if it may be perfect for them.

I use sponsoring criteria on social media where I put money behind the ads, and I can target whichever street I desire. This means more people get to see your property. It’s all about achieving maximum exposure, which in turn leads to more enquiries, more offers, and ultimately, a sale.

Of course, the content has to be engaging in the first place, and the way I direct how each post appears in the algorithms is also important.

I have plenty of success case studies I can talk to you about. However, my key achievements in a nutshell are when I have taken on properties that were previously on the market unsuccessfully (for months, and at times up to a year) with other agents, and I have managed to get them sold on the very FIRST viewing. In addition, on some occasions, I have managed to achieve a higher sale price than what the previous agents were even advertising the properties for.

For me, being able to instil hope in homeowners who may have lost faith in estate agents gives me such a buzz. I love taking on such challenges and bringing my clients results!

The above involves several strategies, which I can happily discuss with you.

I remember one client in particular where I ended up selling their home twice during the current climate! Yes, that’s right! Long story short, but as you know, we are in the UK, and unfortunately, buyers have the right to withdraw from a deal up to the last minute. On both occasions, I managed to not only achieve multiple offers from buyers, but I also achieved offers from every single buyer who viewed—AND this all took place on the first viewing. Bearing in mind this property was previously on the market with another agent for over four months with no success. You can imagine the roller coaster of emotions we all went through during the above situations. I can confirm the sellers were certainly very happy that they chose me as their agent.

Whether you would like a no-obligation, free valuation, my help to find you a property, or just have some questions about the market, I would be more than happy to speak with you. You can reach me at natalie.freeman@theavenue.co.uk, 07920 096 366, or 0115 990 2886. You can equally send me a WhatsApp on the above mobile number, or connect with me via my Instagram nataliefreeman_theavenue.