Property in Notting Hill |
Buying a home is more complicated than buying an investment property in Notting Hill.
I say this because if you are acquiring an investment, it is simply about the numbers, i.e. does it make financial sense, will you make significant profit?
But when buying a home not only do you have the financial side – although often this comes a distant second – you also have the emotional side. After all, you probably want your property in Notting Hill to be a wonderful place of memories, comfort, relaxation, security amongst other things. In other words, a place that you and your family love.
This is why it is so important to get it right.
Why did one of my clients say he would kill me over a property in Notting Hill?
Well, the gentleman in question, phoned me one day to ask why I hadn’t told him about a property he had just seen on a website. It appeared to fit his requirements exactly and he was understandably concerned that I seemed to have overlooked the ideal home for him.
However, when he told me the address, I explained that I had seen it two weeks before, but had not bothered him with it as it was actually unsuitable for various reasons – it was too noisy and I didn’t think the standard of the refurbishment was good. It was also overvalued in my opinion. He was happy with my explanation.
I didn’t give it a second thought as the search progressed. But a couple of months later I was showing him around a property that I had recommended. Although it fitted his requirements, it wasn’t quite right as he did not like the feel of it, which sometimes happens.
What was more worrying was that he told me that a friend of his had bought the apartment he had called about and that he was going to rent it while we continued the search as he really liked it.
Of course, at this stage, I was thinking “Am I a blithering idiot and have I misunderstood what he really needs?”, but I maintained that I thought that it was not only overpriced, but unsuitable for him. “We shall see” was the ominous response.
A few weeks later I received a call from the client: “Jeremy, if you had let me buy this flat, I would have killed you”. He had quickly discovered that although the property had been nicely refurbished and seemed ideal, it was in fact unbelievably noisy and the new refurbishment had turned out to be poorly executed as I had feared.
There are a number of lessons to be learned from this:
- You must look beyond shiny, new refurbishments and look at the practicality of a property
- Is the refurbishment done to a decent standard?
- Always view properties at different times of the day to check for noise, etc.
- It is not the estate agents’ job to point out issues. They are legally obliged to achieve the highest price possible for their client, the seller.
I warn you now that this is a hideously crass bit of self-promotion… but this is why so many English clients who live in London ask me to help them. The London property market is one of if not the most complicated in the world.
There are some pretty simple pitfalls that many buyers fall into and there are some more subtle ones that can cost you a fortune both financially and emotionally. And don’t be fooled. The gentleman in question is a highly intelligent and successful businessman. He had lived in London for years and owned properties in London, but property is not his area of expertise, so when one of his friends recommended me, he asked for my help.
As he said to me: “One of the great reasons for having you represent me is to protect me from myself”. If he had bought that property, it would have been a disaster. Would I be wrong in saying that buying a poor property that is flawed is something you would also like to avoid?
So, if you are serious about acquiring a property in Notting Hill but:
- Don’t know how to have first refusal on the best opportunities
- Are unsure of how to accurately value property
- Don’t have much experience of property negotiations
- Don’t know what you don’t know
- Are simply too busy to give this the attention you know it needs
then would it be a bad idea to discover the proven steps and strategies you need to find the best property your money can buy and then negotiate the lowest price possible?
There are two ways you can do this:
Firstly, you can request a complimentary copy of my book, The Insider’s Guide To Acquiring £1m to £100m Property in London. The book reveals the techniques I have been using for over 20 years to acquire properties for my clients at prices they often didn’t think possible. To request your free copy, simply click here, call 02034578855 (+442034578855 from outside the UK) or email dee@mercuryhomesearch.com.
Client Testiminial:
“I have referred clients to Jeremy McGivern as I know that I can trust him to give clear and objective advice. By understanding what the client really needs he can help them find the right property often reducing the amount they have to spend compared to their original budget.
He has also proven that he can find good opportunities and negotiate significant discounts. I have no hesitation in recommending Jeremy as I know that my clients will receive the highest levels of expertise and experience a service which will remove all the normal stress, wasted time and money associated with acquiring a home or investment property.” Robert Brodrick, Chairman – Payne Hicks Beach
Of course, everyone’s specific requirements and situations are different, so if you are serious about acquiring a property in London but have questions or concerns that you want addressed, you can request a Strategy Call with me.
This is a diagnostic consultation where I analyse your requirements and the plan you have to acquire a home or investment property to highlight the mistakes you will make, so that you avoid the expensive blunders and make an astute acquisition.
And don’t underestimate how big a mistake you can make. I have seen poor properties bought when there were considerably better options, for the same price or less, literally just around the corner. To put that into perspective, I have seen properties being bought for 25-30% over fair value and, in some cases, even worse.
Contact: Mercury Homesearch
So, if acquiring a property in prime central London is a priority and you would prefer not to be fooled into making a bad purchase and would prefer to make a more intelligent decision, you can request a Strategy Call by clicking here, emailing dee@mercuryhomesearch.com or calling 02034578855 (+442034578855 from outside the UK).
