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May 3, 2022
Jeremy McGivern

What I found most impressive was that the asking price of this apartment was 2/3 of the upper end of my budget.

It is my pleasure to give my highest recommendation to Jeremy McGivern and Mercury Homesearch.

I wanted to acquire a home in or near Mayfair where my London office is located, but being based in Dubai and having never bought a property in London before I knew it would be challenging to try to find it myself; it is a complex market and despite the internet there are too many ways one can make an expensive mistake even though I have bought several properties in other parts of the world.

A friend of mine had worked with Jeremy and had an excellent experience, so I first read Jeremy’s book, which I found very helpful, and then reached out to see if he could help me in my search.

Beyond Jeremy’s knowledge and experience, what I found most refreshing was that he listened extremely well. He showed me that he cared about me and my family and wanted to get the right result for us, not just a transaction closed. The trust Jeremy built early on was key as neither of us could foresee some of the challenges to come in 2020.

Very early in the process Jeremy showed me an apartment in Belgravia that ticked all of the boxes. But because it was early, I wanted to keep looking at alternatives. Jeremy never tired of my questions and kept finding compelling options even as I changed the search criteria several times, including increasing the budget by 33%. Throughout the process, Jeremy gave me sound advice and also regular market updates which were crucial, especially as pandemic-related lockdowns became more severe and the property market slowed.

I desperately wanted to come to London to look at properties but it was impossible. I will never forget the call from Jeremy in which he asked “would you be entirely opposed to buying an apartment without having seen it in person.” The normal and proper response to that question is “yes, I would be entirely opposed!” But this was many months into a relationship in which Jeremy had built substantial trust, and I had total confidence that he had my best interests at heart. My confidence was well founded.

Having considered a number of good options, in the end Jeremy came back to the apartment in Belgravia that he had recommended very early on, saying that he really thought it would be perfect for us. So we scheduled a Zoom call in which Jeremy walked my wife and me through every inch of the apartment, then down the street, to the park and around the whole neighbourhood! We really felt like we were there and loved it. What I found most impressive was that the asking price of this apartment was 2/3 of the upper end of my budget. This showed me again that Jeremy was focussed on finding the most suitable property for my family rather than the highest fee he could earn.

In preparation for the offer Jeremy did all of the homework, showed us the comps and devised a negotiation strategy. His initial offer was much lower than I would have made despite the fact I handle negotiations as a regular part of my job. Indeed, the strategy he devised meant that I acquired the property at a favourable price and for less than the maximum price we had targeted, once again showing that he had my best interests at heart.

He continued to add value after the price had been agreed because the legal process was more complicated than I had anticipated and there were issues that required solving as the building is listed and in a conservation area, but he and the team of solicitors he recommended handled this smoothly and Jeremy also negotiated a further price reduction.

Consequently, we now own an exceptional apartment in a great location which we would not have found and acquired at such a good price without Jeremy’s help. I finally made it to London after completion and was able to see the apartment in person and was overjoyed with the outcome.

Working with Jeremy made the whole process of finding a home, handling the estate agents, negotiations, legal process and all the time consuming, challenging issues involved with acquiring a property an enjoyable experience. If you are planning to acquire a property in London, I highly recommend that you ask Jeremy to help because his knowledge of the market and negotiation skills will save you a considerable amount of money, time and stress. His fee pays for itself several times over.

About the author, Jeremy McGivern

My name is Jeremy McGivern. I am the founder of Mercury Homesearch, the internationally renowned property search consultancy, and author of The Insider’s Guide To Acquiring Luxury Property in Prime Central London. I have been acquiring property in prime central London for clients for over 13 years.

Having physically viewed over 22,000 properties in prime central London, studied the details of over 153,400 apartments, houses and investment opportunities and spoken to 232+ estate agents every week for over a decade.

My advice is in high demand and has featured everywhere from Bloomberg Television, The Financial Times and The Daily Telegraph to Forbes India and Bahrain Confidential.

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