London location library, Fresh Locations, strives to cultivate amazing relationships with the owners of all its location houses. We’re especially close to the owners of our exclusive properties – the ones from whom we’re sole agents. So we asked Rebecca, the owner of our stunning ‘Downton’ location house in London SW2, about her experiences as a location house owner.

How and why location house owner Rebecca decided to register her home with our Fresh Locations agency?

When a friend of Rebecca’s signed on with the Fresh Locations agency, she enjoyed the whole experience and, knowing Rebecca had a great house too, advised her to give it a go, recommending Fresh Locations to her. “My friend was really happy with Fresh Locations’ professionalism and the smooth negotiation process they provided between her and each client. I decided to get in touch with Fresh and they responded to my enquiry immediately,” says Rebecca. Once her house had been photographed for the website, she started getting jobs.

What is Rebecca’s ‘Downton’ shoot location like?

This location house is a five-bedroom Victorian family home boasting lots of period features, including wood panelling, bay windows and marble fireplaces. The rooms are of a good, large size, which is perfect for both photo shoot locations work and, in particular, film shoot locations jobs – where there are generally larger crews and more equipment. “All the rooms have high ceilings and lots of light so I think this works well for photos and filming” says Rebecca. The house is beautifully decorated and manages to achieve a great balance between possessing an interesting character and still feeling neutral enough that shoots can stamp their own personality on the place. “Our house has a contemporary style with neutral colours throughout and an eclectic mix of furniture and art work, which I think can be adapted easily to suit the needs of different shoots,” explains Rebecca. In terms of other useful features, a good-sized garden to the front and / or rear, can be a huge advantage, even when there are no plans to shoot these places. “We also have a big garden and it's often turned into a holding space where the crew can put up catering tents and store more equipment. Off-street parking for two vehicles is another plus and I always try to have some visitor permits available if they need to park on the road” says Rebecca.

What is it like to have your home registered with Fresh Locations agency?

As Rebecca puts it, “We have had a good working relationship for several years now. I really enjoy working with the team at Fresh Locations, they are very helpful and friendly and they work very hard to get us the shoots.” Like so many of our clients, she also enjoys the whole process of the shoots themselves. “It's very rewarding when your house is someone's first choice, the hard work you have put in to make the house look nice has paid off.  It's exciting to see your house in magazines, on TV and on social media”

What are Rebecca’s tips for a successful shoot date, from the location house owner’s perspective?

“I enjoy meeting the crew and always try to help them as much as I can by being as flexible as possible. You need someone in charge of the crew who is a good communicator and listens to your do's and dont's. You also want this person to get on well with your neighbours, and having someone who monitors the parking situation is a good idea, as the road can get quite busy on larger shoots. When you have a good relationship with this person, they often want to come back and use your house again which is great.”

What would you say to people considering renting out their home as a shoot space with Fresh Locations?

“I would say give it a go, it's exciting and rewarding and we've never experienced anything negative. Fresh Locations are extremely easy to work with and they have great clients on their books, who may want to use your house more than once. The team at Fresh will advise you every step of the way, they organise a professional photographer to take photos of the house and they do all the hard work for you, in terms of getting enquiries on your property. Our house is always well looked after and any problems or queries that may arise are quickly sorted out by the team at Fresh. We have had a good working relationship for several years now.”

For lots more info on how to register your property as a location house for film or photo shoots, check out this handy page.