Good afternoon Nathan, thank you being part of the latest Your Pontypridd Interview Series, firstly can you tell me your name, your job title and tell me how long you’ve been working for James Douglas and in the Estate Agency sector?

My name is Nathan Tobin, I am the Branch Manager of the Pontypridd Office. I am the newest member of James Douglas’s team but I’ve been a successful Estate Agent for six and a half years.

What do you enjoy most about the job & what do you like least?

The customer service we provide, our services have a very personal feel as dealing with someone’s biggest asset is extremely important.

I would like to see awareness of James Douglas increase, we will work hard to quickly become the go to agent in Pontypridd

What areas of the estate agency sector do James Douglas specialise in?

James Douglas cover a wide range including sales, lettings, property management, student lettings, commercial properties, buy to let investments, conveyancing and mortgage services.

Which of those areas do you feel you are best suited to?

Personally, I would say sales as that’s what I have worked in and specialised in for the last six years

It’s great that James Douglas have expanded the business into the heart of Pontypridd town centre, how important is new branch in Pontypridd for the company?

The new branch shows that we’ve been very successful in Cardiff, we feel like we can provide an equally good service and mirror the success of the Cardiff branch in Pontypridd. Our Cardiff area covers a wide area, we are based in Roath and focus very much on the student market with property in Cathays and areas surrounding the local university. Our branch in Pontypridd is very similar in that we market to the student area of Treforest.

What are the priorities for the Pontypridd branch in the next twelve months?

Our goal is to become the go to agent in Pontypridd. Our priority is to become a well-established company within the local area. We feel that we offer the services and expertise that will enable us to grow, and we are hoping that our brand will become well known in the local area and we will hopefully help a lot of people to buy, sell and let property.

What potential do you see for James Douglas and its brand over the next five years with the ongoing redevelopment of Pontypridd town centre?

We will be looking to grow the business alongside the different developments and improvement of the town centre, I’m sure as Pontypridd grows there are likely to be more houses built and we will want to be part of that process. Our aim is to become one of the market leaders in Pontypridd over the next five years.

How do you see James Douglas being affected by the Cardiff Capital City Region deal?

Pontypridd is a central area, many of the valleys lead into Pontypridd. A lot of people come through Pontypridd to get into the city centre of Cardiff, from my point of view Pontypridd is a key central point, I believe Pontypridd will grow and grow quickly because it’s a central location in the region.

How important are good relations with residents and the wider business community for James Douglas?

It’s extremely important. As a company we are very passionate about the local community, generating good relationships will help grow our business even further, we look forward to working with key stakeholders including the Your Pontypridd BID.

James Douglas is one of only two Estate Agencies to join the Your Pontypridd BID Student Discount scheme, why did you decide to join?

We feel it is very important to be part of the student community, simply because we house many students in the local area, especially in Treforest. From our point of view the students are a big part of the property market, we want to offer this service to help students as much as we can in the local area.

What is the biggest challenge when targeting the student market?

Students come from different walks of life, which can be challenging for students that are looking for property. Our job is to inform them of what’s around locally and helping them gain knowledge of the area they are looking to live in.

What other ways would you like to see the BID and James Douglas working together in the future?

We want to grow the business in Pontypridd, it’s about increasing our knowledge of the local area. I’m local myself and I believe having a local approach alongside Your Pontypridd BID will grow the business in the sense that we’re not a big corporate company – we want to be at the heart of the community and be the go to local estate agent, from my point of view understanding the local community and working with the BID in the future will prove to be very beneficial.

Many thanks for time today Nathan, we look forward to working with James Douglas Estate Agents and helping you achieve your goals.

You can visit James Douglas at 1 Church Street, Pontypridd!

Visit the James Douglas website at https://james-douglas.co.uk/

Contact them on 01443 485000