The private banker who had referred one of her clients to me was somewhat surprised to hear from him that I had threatened to handcuff him to a lamppost. But desperate times call for desperate measures.
The client is a successful, highly respected European businessman who wanted to acquire an apartment in a new development in London as he is often over on business and his son was starting school here.
Although, I warn people to avoid new developments on the whole, there are exceptions and this client was adamant it had to be a new development.
The first apartment I recommended was the one he eventually acquired. However, as is sometimes the case, he couldn’t believe the first recommendation could be the best property. And it’s difficult – if you haven’t seen thousands of properties, how can you know if the properties you are seeing are the best your money can buy? Indeed, it is more often than not a huge mistake to acquire the first few properties you see… but not always.
Anyway, a friend of his had bought in one of the developments south of the river and he wanted to see a selection of apartments in those buildings.
As our chauffeur-driven car was heading through Parliament Square, he asked me what I thought of the apartments that I had recommended he see south of the river. My answer: “These are the best buildings and apartments for you. They match your criteria and all of them have incredible views too but, if I could, I would handcuff you to a lamppost on this side of the river.”
He chuckled and an hour later as we returned over the bridge, he said I should have chained him to a lamppost… He then asked to see apartments that were considerably over the original budget in the initial development I had suggested, but he came to the conclusion that although they were 50% more expensive, the original apartment I had recommended was still the best in terms of layout, position and value.
That’s why I always tell buyers to look wider than they think. When you see the full range, you trust your own judgment. And you often find you can spend 25+% less than you planned.
Most buyers fail to do this, and it’s just one of the seven costly mistakes I see over and over. I’ve written a book, The Insider’s Guide To Acquiring £1m to £100m Property in London, that shows what those mistakes are so you can avoid them.
I’m happy to send you a complimentary copy if you’d like to see if any of it applies to you. Just let me know by emailing jeremy@mercuryhomesearch.com or calling 02034578855 (+442034578855 from outside the UK).
Best regards,
Jeremy
