Cumberland Estate Agents is launching an out-of-hours service to help smooth the home-buying process.

From October 1, members of the public will be able to call the customer service team until 8pm on weekdays and 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays.


Nyree Legge Nyree Legge, the Cumberland Building Society director responsible for the branches and estate agency, said: “They will be able to deal with all the estate agency queries and property negotiations.

“We’ve done research and found that customers need availability outside normal working hours.”

The estate agent also plans to offer property valuations in the evenings and at weekends, to accommodate vendors who may be out during the week.

The launch of the out-of-hours service coincides with changes to the branch network.

The standalone estate agencies in Middlegate, Penrith, and Lowther Street, Whitehaven, will move into the Cumberland Building Society branches nearby on October 1.

The Fisher Street outlet in Carlisle will follow suit, moving into the adjoining building society branch at a date to be confirmed.

Cumberland Estate Agents’ other offices in Barrow, Cockermouth, Dumfries, Kendal and Lancaster already share premises with the building society, as does the new Preston branch, which opened this week.

There will be no job losses as a result of these changes.

On the contrary, the estate agent is recruiting additional staff, including three valuers, to provide the out-of-hours service.

Miss Legge stressed that it was committed to maintaining a presence on the high street.

She said: “What we’re doing is to enhance the service while maintaining our high street presence.

“Customers who want to do business face to face will still be able to do that.”