The short supply of £1 million to £5 million homes for sale in London has started bidding wars and property buying agents have seen the return of gazumping.
People who are ready to buy a luxury home in London are finding the lack of properties for sale very frustrating. Reports show that the number of properties for sale has dropped by over 21 per cent since February 2009. Asking prices stabilised in April but have been on the rise because the number of properties for sale has declined.
In July, the Land Registry office reported the first increase in “sold” prices in over 12 months. Whilst this is very good news for people who want to sell their home, property buying agents are currently finding it difficult to locate suitable properties for their clients.
Tracy Kellett of BDI Homefinders UK said, "We’re finding it very hard to locate enough luxury properties for sale. In central London there are only about 40 properties a day coming onto the market, and this is causing bidding wars.
"My life would be much easier if there were more luxury properties for sale in London and the Home Counties. For example, I’ve got £5 million to spend on a home in Notting Hill but as yet, I’ve not found anything that’s suitable."
"12 months ago we negotiated some excellent prices for our clients by playing hard to get," says Tracy. "I personally haven’t experienced any gazumping yet, but other agents have as property sellers are messing buyers around, and we’ve seen multiple bids on several London homes recently.
"On most £1 to £5 million properties for sale in London there will be three or four people trying to buy it. For the first time in over a year we’re telling our clients to view a property as soon as we give them the details, otherwise someone else will buy it."
Tracy also said that this is not the time to try and get a bargain. "We’re telling our clients that this is a time to get reasonable pricing, but don’t expect any big discounts; you just won’t get them.
BDI Homefinders UK provides property search and relocation services for London, the Home Counties and the South East of England. For more information please visit www.bdihomefinders.co.uk
Friday, September 4, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
BDI Homefinders in London Explains "What is a Homefinder?"
What is a homefinder? Homefinders are called many things… property search agent, buying agent, relocation agent, homefinder, it all comes down to the same thing in one sense, an expert in the residential property market acting on your behalf to find you a property and to help you to buy the property.
Do they all mean the same thing? No
A relocation agent is usually someone who works with corporate entities who are moving employees around and generally they are only expert in finding rental properties. Therefore if you are looking to buy a property, these are generally not the people to give you expert home buying advice.
Property Buying Agents
This is a generic term for property experts specialising in the purchase of a property. However, the term buying agent is often referring to those working at the very top end of the market and they may well have a commercial bent. Therefore looking at purchasing super-prime homes, hotels, shopping centres etc..
Homefinders / Property Search Agents
These terms mean pretty much the same. These are experts specialising in buying homes for ordinary and extraordinary people. Invariably they will have a background in estate agency so will bring insider knowledge to the table on your behalf. They may well have a specific geographic area in which they specialise.
Who uses homefinders and why?
Homefinders are quickly becoming a mainstream service in the UK, if you bear in mind that over 95% of people use Estate Agents when selling, then the logic for that becomes apparent. It is often thought that only the ‘rich and famous’ use homefinders, not true. The majority of clients using our services at BDI Homefinders UK are ordinary working folk.
Here are some examples of why people use our homefinder services:
Just too busy
Working full time
Not knowing the area
Wanting expert advice on buying a property
Wanting expert negotiating skills
Just hating the thought of the whole hassle and wanting someone to project manage the home finding process.
At BDI Homefinders UK our clients fall into the majority of the reasons above. We have helped all sorts of people to move into their new homes from professional sportsmen, accountants, lawyers, teacher’s, overseas investors and even the odd stand-up comedian!
The one thing they have in common is that they recognise that they need help. Finding a new home is extremely labour-intensive not to mention the most expensive investment that most people will make - it is critical to get it right. The vast majority of people would not consider selling without an expert i.e. estate agent, so why would one buy without one?
BDI Homefinders UK fall between all of the above examples. We are an independent homefinder service that’s run by ex-Estate Agents. None of our property search consultants handle more than two clients at any one time, we know from experience that we cannot do the job properly and deliver the best quality service with more clients.
Our network of house hunters cover London and the whole of the South-east of England, so if your remit changes, or if you want to sanity check different areas, we are agile and knowledgeable enough to roll with it.
For more details about how BDI Homefinders UK can help you to find the property that you want, please call us on 0845 603 6110 or contact us by e-mail.
Do they all mean the same thing? No
A relocation agent is usually someone who works with corporate entities who are moving employees around and generally they are only expert in finding rental properties. Therefore if you are looking to buy a property, these are generally not the people to give you expert home buying advice.
Property Buying Agents
This is a generic term for property experts specialising in the purchase of a property. However, the term buying agent is often referring to those working at the very top end of the market and they may well have a commercial bent. Therefore looking at purchasing super-prime homes, hotels, shopping centres etc..
Homefinders / Property Search Agents
These terms mean pretty much the same. These are experts specialising in buying homes for ordinary and extraordinary people. Invariably they will have a background in estate agency so will bring insider knowledge to the table on your behalf. They may well have a specific geographic area in which they specialise.
Who uses homefinders and why?
Homefinders are quickly becoming a mainstream service in the UK, if you bear in mind that over 95% of people use Estate Agents when selling, then the logic for that becomes apparent. It is often thought that only the ‘rich and famous’ use homefinders, not true. The majority of clients using our services at BDI Homefinders UK are ordinary working folk.
Here are some examples of why people use our homefinder services:
Just too busy
Working full time
Not knowing the area
Wanting expert advice on buying a property
Wanting expert negotiating skills
Just hating the thought of the whole hassle and wanting someone to project manage the home finding process.
At BDI Homefinders UK our clients fall into the majority of the reasons above. We have helped all sorts of people to move into their new homes from professional sportsmen, accountants, lawyers, teacher’s, overseas investors and even the odd stand-up comedian!
The one thing they have in common is that they recognise that they need help. Finding a new home is extremely labour-intensive not to mention the most expensive investment that most people will make - it is critical to get it right. The vast majority of people would not consider selling without an expert i.e. estate agent, so why would one buy without one?
BDI Homefinders UK fall between all of the above examples. We are an independent homefinder service that’s run by ex-Estate Agents. None of our property search consultants handle more than two clients at any one time, we know from experience that we cannot do the job properly and deliver the best quality service with more clients.
Our network of house hunters cover London and the whole of the South-east of England, so if your remit changes, or if you want to sanity check different areas, we are agile and knowledgeable enough to roll with it.
For more details about how BDI Homefinders UK can help you to find the property that you want, please call us on 0845 603 6110 or contact us by e-mail.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
UK Homefinder Case Studies from BDI Home Finders in London
Here are some examples of people who have used our homefinder services to find and buy a home in London or in the South East UK.
Busy lawyer, first time buyer – Wanted to buy a property in a ‘nice’ location in London
Terrified and uncertain of the property market as a first time buyer, M thought she wanted to live in Islington but knew there were other options which she just didn’t have the time to investigate. Regularly working 18 hour days, M also did not know how she was going to find the time to spend on the whole purchase process. She wanted to buy a period property and that in itself brings its own time consuming issues. We were able to source the market and explore with M all possible locations, such as Chelsea, Pimlico, Notting Hill and South Kensington.
Our house hunters found M a period property in Islington, but only after she had had the opportunity to do an informed sanity check that it was right for her. The super property she settled on had tricky issues from both listing stand point and its condition. We were able to take the strain on the legal side and provided complete project management for the refurbishment of the property.
Accountant and pregnant wife – Wanted to find a home in Banbury or Thames Valley.
As is often the case Mr and Mrs had different ideas on where they wanted to live. Mr wanted to be based in the Thames Valley, particularly, South Oxfordshire, as, although working in Banbury he wanted to keep future job prospects at close quarters. Mrs, who was heavily pregnant wanted to be close to current work so that new family life would be easier.
Therefore, rather than be prescriptive our homefinders searched both areas at the same time, knowing that the right property would present itself and the decision would present itself.
As expected, a village just outside Banbury presented a dream stone cottage. We negotiated a fantastic 15% discount, getting rid of 5 other buyers nipping at our heels. We exchanged AND completed on Christmas Eve; and yes we were there to settle them in!
Doctor newly divorced – Looking to buy a home in Battersea or Chelsea
Busy senior Doctor stuck in a rather smelly Chelsea rental needed to spread his wings into a decent bachelor pad. We literally managed to pull this all together and found him a flat in just two weeks. Dr P. had so little time that we were literally pulling him out of surgery to look at properties! It was a pretty smooth property search however and a great flat with roof terrace (for the all important telescope), was purchased in the heart of Battersea. The flat was within cycling distance to the hospital and lots of shops. There’s also plenty of buzz around for the newly single Doctor.
Retired Hoteliers – Wanted to find and buy a home in Abingdon
Although they had huge experience with large properties, the E’s had no experience buying a home for themselves. Although they are fans of Phil and Kirsty, BDI Home Finders got the call!
Whilst Abingdon was an area they knew well, they needed the confidence of having an expert homefinder on their side. With a couple of false starts, including budget being reduced by almost half due to the credit crunch, our house hunters found them the perfect home in Wantage. As is often the case, it was nothing like they had imagined - not even the area. One of the things we bring to the party is creative thinking and their original ‘want’ of a period property was never going to work due to their fear of on-going maintenance. Therefore a good solid, (and pretty), bungalow ended up being the perfect property.
For details about how we can help you to find and to buy or to let a home, please call BDI Home Finders UK on 0845 603 6110 or contact us by e-mail.
Busy lawyer, first time buyer – Wanted to buy a property in a ‘nice’ location in London
Terrified and uncertain of the property market as a first time buyer, M thought she wanted to live in Islington but knew there were other options which she just didn’t have the time to investigate. Regularly working 18 hour days, M also did not know how she was going to find the time to spend on the whole purchase process. She wanted to buy a period property and that in itself brings its own time consuming issues. We were able to source the market and explore with M all possible locations, such as Chelsea, Pimlico, Notting Hill and South Kensington.
Our house hunters found M a period property in Islington, but only after she had had the opportunity to do an informed sanity check that it was right for her. The super property she settled on had tricky issues from both listing stand point and its condition. We were able to take the strain on the legal side and provided complete project management for the refurbishment of the property.
Accountant and pregnant wife – Wanted to find a home in Banbury or Thames Valley.
As is often the case Mr and Mrs had different ideas on where they wanted to live. Mr wanted to be based in the Thames Valley, particularly, South Oxfordshire, as, although working in Banbury he wanted to keep future job prospects at close quarters. Mrs, who was heavily pregnant wanted to be close to current work so that new family life would be easier.
Therefore, rather than be prescriptive our homefinders searched both areas at the same time, knowing that the right property would present itself and the decision would present itself.
As expected, a village just outside Banbury presented a dream stone cottage. We negotiated a fantastic 15% discount, getting rid of 5 other buyers nipping at our heels. We exchanged AND completed on Christmas Eve; and yes we were there to settle them in!
Doctor newly divorced – Looking to buy a home in Battersea or Chelsea
Busy senior Doctor stuck in a rather smelly Chelsea rental needed to spread his wings into a decent bachelor pad. We literally managed to pull this all together and found him a flat in just two weeks. Dr P. had so little time that we were literally pulling him out of surgery to look at properties! It was a pretty smooth property search however and a great flat with roof terrace (for the all important telescope), was purchased in the heart of Battersea. The flat was within cycling distance to the hospital and lots of shops. There’s also plenty of buzz around for the newly single Doctor.
Retired Hoteliers – Wanted to find and buy a home in Abingdon
Although they had huge experience with large properties, the E’s had no experience buying a home for themselves. Although they are fans of Phil and Kirsty, BDI Home Finders got the call!
Whilst Abingdon was an area they knew well, they needed the confidence of having an expert homefinder on their side. With a couple of false starts, including budget being reduced by almost half due to the credit crunch, our house hunters found them the perfect home in Wantage. As is often the case, it was nothing like they had imagined - not even the area. One of the things we bring to the party is creative thinking and their original ‘want’ of a period property was never going to work due to their fear of on-going maintenance. Therefore a good solid, (and pretty), bungalow ended up being the perfect property.
For details about how we can help you to find and to buy or to let a home, please call BDI Home Finders UK on 0845 603 6110 or contact us by e-mail.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
What to check for when instructing a Homefinder
Homefinders fall into three main categories:
Lone player:
This will be someone who often works from home and takes on clients as a part-time additional income. They can be ex-estate agents or ex-relocation agents or just people with an interest in property.
Caution:
Lone players often have a very restricted geographical stretch which means that if, as often happens you want to cover a quite large area or you change your mind on area, they will not be able to help. Check the number of clients they are searching for. More than two clients per property search agent means they CANNOT do the job properly for you. If the person is not an ex-estate agent, are they really qualified to provide you with in-depth property investment advice? What is their industry knowledge based on?
Large Agency / bank owned companies
These are quite corporate entities with fees to match. The personal touch is not their strong point.
Caution:
If the company is owned by an estate agency chain - can you really be sure that they will not preference their own company? Check how many clients they have per consultant. Our mystery shopping shows that they will generally have 5 clients per consultant in the country and 12 in London. With this being the case - your property search will be slow!
Franchises
There are a couple of big homefinder franchises which sell on a geographic basis. There seems to be no great emphasis on property experience with the franchisees, more salesmanship.
Caution:
Experience and geographic spread is the key to look for here. Do you really want to be restricted to a small part of one county? Do check that your ‘adviser’ really is in the position and has the experience to advise you.
BDI Homefinders
At BDI Home Finders UK we are an independent property search service that’s operated by former Estate Agents. None of our property search consultants handle more than two clients at any one time, we know from experience that we cannot do the job properly and deliver the best quality service with more clients.
Our homefinder services cover London and the whole of the South-east of England, so if your remit changes, or if you want to sanity check different areas, we are agile and knowledgeable enough to roll with it.
For more information please call BDI Home Finders UK on 0845 603 6110 or contact us by e-mail.
Lone player:
This will be someone who often works from home and takes on clients as a part-time additional income. They can be ex-estate agents or ex-relocation agents or just people with an interest in property.
Caution:
Lone players often have a very restricted geographical stretch which means that if, as often happens you want to cover a quite large area or you change your mind on area, they will not be able to help. Check the number of clients they are searching for. More than two clients per property search agent means they CANNOT do the job properly for you. If the person is not an ex-estate agent, are they really qualified to provide you with in-depth property investment advice? What is their industry knowledge based on?
Large Agency / bank owned companies
These are quite corporate entities with fees to match. The personal touch is not their strong point.
Caution:
If the company is owned by an estate agency chain - can you really be sure that they will not preference their own company? Check how many clients they have per consultant. Our mystery shopping shows that they will generally have 5 clients per consultant in the country and 12 in London. With this being the case - your property search will be slow!
Franchises
There are a couple of big homefinder franchises which sell on a geographic basis. There seems to be no great emphasis on property experience with the franchisees, more salesmanship.
Caution:
Experience and geographic spread is the key to look for here. Do you really want to be restricted to a small part of one county? Do check that your ‘adviser’ really is in the position and has the experience to advise you.
BDI Homefinders
At BDI Home Finders UK we are an independent property search service that’s operated by former Estate Agents. None of our property search consultants handle more than two clients at any one time, we know from experience that we cannot do the job properly and deliver the best quality service with more clients.
Our homefinder services cover London and the whole of the South-east of England, so if your remit changes, or if you want to sanity check different areas, we are agile and knowledgeable enough to roll with it.
For more information please call BDI Home Finders UK on 0845 603 6110 or contact us by e-mail.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Property Viewing Etiquette
Even in a buyers' market, vendors tend to sell to people they like � not always to the person who makes the highest offer.
Following these rules can ensure you make a good impression. At the end of the day, BDI Home Finders UK feels that when you are on a viewing, you are in someone else's home.
How many times can you view a property before you have to put in an offer?
Estate agents have a saying 'third time unlucky', which means that once a buyer comes to view a house for the third time, they are highly unlikely to buy. So if you haven't put in an offer after a second viewing, you are likely to find you get a much cooler reception.
How many people can you bring with you before it looks like you're turning up to a house party?
Ideally, you should turn up just with your partner, or a friend if you are single, for a first viewing. For a second viewing it is acceptable to bring perhaps one more person, but never, ever, more than four.
Is it rude to take a tape measure to a first viewing?
It's not rude, but it's unnecessary. The estate agents' details will include floor plans so you�ll already know the dimensions of each room. Once you've had an offer accepted and want to start measuring up to see if you�ll get your sofa in, then it's fine. In fact it's to be encouraged as it proves to the vendor that you're serious.
What about a camera?
It would be the height of bad manners to walk round someone's home snapping pictures on your mobile phone. The only instance I would say it is OK is if your partner is out of the country and you want them to have a look. But always ask first.
Can making a low offer cause offence?
Yes, if it's not handled in the right way. As a search agent, I would always back up a low offer by saying that it's the top of my clients' budget. If you're going it alone, be prepared to enter into psychological warfare. If you're offering £700,000 on an £800,000 property, you need to back it up by listing what work you'd need to do on the property and what it would cost you.
Is there anything you really mustn't say in front of a vendor?
The very worst thing you can do is say things like 'well we'd have to knock that wall down' and 'if we filled the pond in the garden would look much better'. The vendor is probably very proud of their property the way it is and will not warm to you if you discuss what you want to do to it.
Is it OK to go round and speak to the neighbours before putting in an offer?
It's a bit premature. It would be more usual to do this once you�ve had an offer accepted. You�re better to go and chat up the landlord of the local.
Should you dress up?
I would say aim to look innocuous and don't let your clothes give anything away. You don�t want to look scruffy, but equally, if you look too smart the vendor might assume you've got loads of money and won�t negotiate.
Is it OK to pull back curtains to look for cracks/ tap on the walls/ pull up rugs etc?
This depends on whether the vendor is there. If they are out and you are being shown round by an estate agent then a limited amount of rug-lifting and curtain- twitching is OK � but definitely, not in front of the vendor. It�s a surveyor's job to do all these checks on your behalf once you've had an offer accepted.
If you've got kids, is it OK to take them round with you?
I would advise not to on a first viewing as they can be too distracting. If the vendor has children, then it is OK to bring them on a second viewing, but if the vendor is childless, they may find it a bit of an imposition
Following these rules can ensure you make a good impression. At the end of the day, BDI Home Finders UK feels that when you are on a viewing, you are in someone else's home.
How many times can you view a property before you have to put in an offer?
Estate agents have a saying 'third time unlucky', which means that once a buyer comes to view a house for the third time, they are highly unlikely to buy. So if you haven't put in an offer after a second viewing, you are likely to find you get a much cooler reception.
How many people can you bring with you before it looks like you're turning up to a house party?
Ideally, you should turn up just with your partner, or a friend if you are single, for a first viewing. For a second viewing it is acceptable to bring perhaps one more person, but never, ever, more than four.
Is it rude to take a tape measure to a first viewing?
It's not rude, but it's unnecessary. The estate agents' details will include floor plans so you�ll already know the dimensions of each room. Once you've had an offer accepted and want to start measuring up to see if you�ll get your sofa in, then it's fine. In fact it's to be encouraged as it proves to the vendor that you're serious.
What about a camera?
It would be the height of bad manners to walk round someone's home snapping pictures on your mobile phone. The only instance I would say it is OK is if your partner is out of the country and you want them to have a look. But always ask first.
Can making a low offer cause offence?
Yes, if it's not handled in the right way. As a search agent, I would always back up a low offer by saying that it's the top of my clients' budget. If you're going it alone, be prepared to enter into psychological warfare. If you're offering £700,000 on an £800,000 property, you need to back it up by listing what work you'd need to do on the property and what it would cost you.
Is there anything you really mustn't say in front of a vendor?
The very worst thing you can do is say things like 'well we'd have to knock that wall down' and 'if we filled the pond in the garden would look much better'. The vendor is probably very proud of their property the way it is and will not warm to you if you discuss what you want to do to it.
Is it OK to go round and speak to the neighbours before putting in an offer?
It's a bit premature. It would be more usual to do this once you�ve had an offer accepted. You�re better to go and chat up the landlord of the local.
Should you dress up?
I would say aim to look innocuous and don't let your clothes give anything away. You don�t want to look scruffy, but equally, if you look too smart the vendor might assume you've got loads of money and won�t negotiate.
Is it OK to pull back curtains to look for cracks/ tap on the walls/ pull up rugs etc?
This depends on whether the vendor is there. If they are out and you are being shown round by an estate agent then a limited amount of rug-lifting and curtain- twitching is OK � but definitely, not in front of the vendor. It�s a surveyor's job to do all these checks on your behalf once you've had an offer accepted.
If you've got kids, is it OK to take them round with you?
I would advise not to on a first viewing as they can be too distracting. If the vendor has children, then it is OK to bring them on a second viewing, but if the vendor is childless, they may find it a bit of an imposition
Top 10 Property Search Tips
10 Top tips on finding a property from BDI Home Finders' Tracy Kellett
- You're kidding yourself if you think you are going to secure the home of your dreams purely by signing up to Rightmove.
- Make an effort to get to know your local estate agents and ensure they see you are a serious buyer by keeping in regular contact. Make the time to get in touch at least every couple of days to see if there is anything new on the market.
- Be realistic about what you can buy on your budget. Many home hunters waste months searching for the sort of property that will simply never come up in their price bracket.
- The more flexible you can be, the more chance you have of securing a great property. Think outside the box. Are you restricting the area too much? Does it really have to be Georgian? Could you consider converting a former commercial property?
- Don't overlook a property purely because of its outside appearance. If a property is on a good road and has everything else going for it, it could still be a good buy. Consider employing the services of an exterior design company or architect to give an ugly property a facelift.
- Don't waste money on an expensive survey if the house is not that old. Tradespeople will often come and check electrics, plumbing, roof etc for free and at the same time, provide a quote for any repairs or maintenance, which can be a great lever for asking price negotiations.
- Get a great solicitor in place, who can use email, and is a pragmatic problem-solver.
- Get your broker sorted early so you know exactly what your budget is and make sure they can move fast when it comes to the time to get a mortgage in place.
- Be really nice to the vendors and estate agents - people sell to people they like.
- If you know you are going to be stretched for time, consider appointing a professional home finder.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
