Maldon Nub News aims to be supportive to EVERY element of the community from business and shops to people and charities and clubs and sports organisations.

Everyone is finding it tough at the moment and wants life to get back to normal.

We will be profiling some of these local businesses and groups regularly over coming weeks in a feature called UP CLOSE IN MALDON in the hope that we can be a supportive springboard for your full return to business as usual.

Today we talk to Mike at Tiptree Homes estate agents, a new family-run business venture. During an in-depth Q and A session Mike reveals what he loves about his local community and his hopes for the future as we all look for better times in 2021.

For this week's Up Close interview, we have travelled to one of the borders of the district – to Tiptree, the largest village in England and a place with a name known everywhere for its association with afternoon teas and delicious preserves.

However, our focus is on a different aspect of life there – homes and property – and a village family who have used the extra time they found to focus during the pandemic on making a business dream come true.

Tiptree Homes is the newest estate agents in the area and they have set out their stall as offering something a little different.

One of the company directors – and one any prospective buyers and sellers are likely to meet in his customer-facing role – is Mike. Straight away, he tells Nub news he would prefer us not to use his surname in this article as one drive of the company is to break down formal barriers that can get in the way of making customers feel at ease.

"We want people to be able to talk to us in the way they would to a friend," he says, "we are well-known by lots of people here in Tiptree and what is most important to us is delivering a family-run, locally-focussed service that people can trust and know will be a personal and friendly service.

"Our main goal with the project and our passion and focus is to just help people in absolutely the best way we can on their journey to a new home. We are genuinely in it for that more than we are the money. I believe strongly that we need more of that in the world and am happy to be doing my part to make that happen."

Mike has a background in digital marketing and customer service and realised there could be demand for an online and hyper-local estate agency that could help keep costs to clients down because of reduced overheads and at the same time offer a personal and focussed service.

Wanting to ensure they were fully prepared to meet customers' needs, all the family members involved have taken courses in estate agency and have invested in marketing tools and property portals to be able to offer local people the full service they expect.

"In a sale the other day, it was lovely because I was able to give the new owner all sorts of detailed information about what the various keys were for and what he could find locally."

The new firm is also concentrating solely on sales and not lettings, as they feel this intense focus will mean they are not distracted from their main mission.

"But there are long term goals, too," Mike tells me, "once we have become established we want to look at the possibility of having franchises in other towns nearby, such as Maldon.

"We're all about community – we love that here in Tiptree, where people are friendly and help each other. We want to be part of that wherever we go."

Anyone wanting to know more about Tiptree Homes can call 01621 493433 or email the team via the link here or visit the website using the link here.