Much like her bird of prey namesake, Rosie Falconer is laser-focused when it comes to clinching a victory. She calls it ‘hyperfocus’, others might note it as due diligence or even dogged determination. Either way, it’s the difference between her clients finding a home, or finding the right home. Her ability to surmise a situation, to survey the big-picture view before swooping in on a target and negotiating with grace, is something of a superpower that puts Sekforde Property – a search and buying agency that sources exceptional homes – in pole position when it comes to delighting customers. Be it seeing the potential in a home’s exquisite bones, or unearthing properties that haven’t even hit the market yet, Sekforde ensures that no beautiful flagstone is left unturned.
This often requires that Rosie and Sekforde co-founder John McDavid pull from their extensive joint knowledge of the UK’s most unique and remarkable homes. Having worked together at The Modern House from 2013 – 2015, John went on to launch his own successful design-led estate agency, Aucoot. Rosie stayed at The Modern House, rising through the ranks from Sales Negotiator to Senior Director, growing the team from six to over sixty people and aiding the launch of Inigo, its sister brand for period homes.
This diversion of paths has led to the pair having a remarkably wide reach and two separate networks to tap into – a rich roster of estate agents, architects, designers and contractors whose expertise they can draw on depending on their client’s very specific circumstances. Through their consultancy strand of the business, the pair also point sellers towards estate agencies most suited to marketing their home.
A true partnership, it’s clear that Rosie and John have a huge amount of mutual respect and appreciation for what the other brings to the table. “We’re both fairly relaxed people and calm, but I think apart from that, we’re very different and that works really well. We are good at different things and people respond to us in different ways – two very balanced halves, which from a client offering perspective is great because you get both of us,” she says.
It transpires that property search and acquisition was an avenue that both Rosie and John had been keen to explore for quite some time. “We were on the selling side of it for a long, long time and it was always frustrating to me that you would speak to people – and they were talking to you because you had something, but it might not be in the right place or quite right in whatever way – and then they just kind of disappeared. There wasn’t anybody within the company that was actively trying to help them find something. John had come to the same conclusion with Aucoot. Both of us had reached that point separately, but we knew we would be much stronger together than trying to do it individually, so joining forces was a no-brainer.”
Sekforde clients can expect steadfast support from them both at each and every step of the journey: from initial briefing meetings where non-negotiables are cemented, to viewing rounds that crystallise ideals into tangible bricks and mortar possibilities. With a scope that trains a lens on London but extends to the Home Counties and beyond, it’s not uncommon for clients to discover their dream home in an area it had never occurred to them to consider before.“One couple knew exactly what type of house they wanted. They had an area that they thought they wanted to live in – the New Forest – but they were open-minded, and what really mattered was the house and having the privacy and local landscape to provide a magical childhood for their children. And we found them house much closer to London.”
This fruitful shift in focus was largely thanks to Rosie’s tenacity and her refusal to take things at face value or rather, realising just how misaligned the search criteria and initial hunting ground were. “I started thinking: why when you’ve got young kids, would you want to sit in a car for three or four hours to get to your second house? Let’s make your life easier! And then we found the house in East Sussex and it had all the things they wanted apart from another interested party, so John had to clinch it for them.”
This sort of high stakes situation doesn’t faze either of them, both being seasoned negotiators well accustomed to putting a case forward on behalf of their clients – be it for a bid in a round of best and finals, or a polite but persuasive missive mailed through the door of a dream home someone has pinned their hopes on. Cool-headed in a crisis, her intuitive, unflappable demeanour – a salve for frayed nerves – has been highly praised in many a glowing client testimonial.
Was property always on the cards? With a BA in English Literature and Politics from the University of Newcastle, and an MA in Comparative Literature from University College London, that wouldn’t be the first vocation that springs to mind. However, her interest in literature may go some way to explain her curiosity in the rich backstories of the houses she loves to find, or the compelling cases she puts forward to home sellers on behalf of the clients she is securing them for.
What kind of people call upon their services? According to Rosie it’s a mixed bag: artists, actors, musicians; old money, new money – anywhere from finance to tech to oil. The common thread between all of their clients? Good taste. “So far, everyone has been great and really enjoyable to work with. John and I don’t care about how rich or famous you are, there’s not a hierarchy – but they all have taste. It could be that they’re obsessed with mid-century masterpieces or Georgian townhouses – it varies wildly. Quite a few international clients want to be here for schools or access to culture, but they need someone to physically do it all for them, to organise everything and go and see it. They understand the value of the offering because it’s so normal in places like North America,” she says.
Many clients are introduced to Sekforde Property by their friends and acquaintances – grateful, happy customers who appreciate the level of quiet service Sekforde affords, not just for keen buyers but also those looking to sell their most valuable asset with minimal fanfare. “The more expensive something is, the more likely it is to trade off market. If you have a priceless art collection in your house you don’t want to have to worry about security,” says Rosie.
Rosie and John’s knowledge of London’s boroughs and all its little idiosyncrasies is astounding – a life raft for clients starting afresh in the city, untethered to any particular postcode and unsure of where they belong. Both realise that the true value of a home is not determined by the asking price alone, but from the life it can offer you once the dust on the deeds has settled.
“One of our clients, a musician, was buying on her own – she’s very decisive – but all her friends were saying: ‘You should live in East London, because you’re cool.’ And then we looked around East London, and she was like: ‘This is great for dinner, but way too urban’. And then we looked around North London, she was like: ‘This is cute, but I need somewhere with more going on.’ And John and I said to each other: Notting Hill. And then we went to Notting Hill, and she was like: ‘These are my people!’ She was great, we’re good friends now.”
This candid admission of friendship is a frequent one for the pair who are used to making friends with the people that cross their paths, whether they do business with them or not, no agenda. When the subject turns to new clients, it’s quickly apparent that it must be hard not to like someone who is genuinely rooting for you to find your dream home. “They’re just.. they’re kind of cool. Nice to hang out with, and it is so pleasurable going to see the stuff they want to see. And you know, they could buy a project, or it could be ready – everything is an option for them. They just need someone to be professional and make their life easy and introduce them to unique one-off things,” says Rosie. Well, they’ve definitely found the right people for the job.