Do you want to become an “estate agent victim”?
Do you want to be the person who buys an average or poor property and massively overpays?
You might think that it won’t happen to you, but how well do you really know the prime London property market?
And I don’t say this lightly. Because on a weekly basis I see properties that are decidedly average being acquired at premium prices by unsuspecting buyers – much to the estate agents’ amusement.
Sometimes 25% or more over fair value. That adds up to a significant sum when buying a property. If that doesn’t bother you, then congratulations and please do not read any further.
I have one quick negotiation story for you to set the stage for how I am going to help you acquire your ideal home or investment for the lowest price possible:
Part of my & Serena’s honeymoon was spent in Rio.
A few days into the honeymoon, we are walking along a parade of jewellery boutiques when she mentions that, one day, she would love some aquamarines, so that she can have earrings made.
When we get back to the hotel, I tell her that I am going onto the beach to show the locals how to play football. Serena rolls her eyes and books a massage while I skip the beach and head to the jewellers to acquire some aquamarines.
As I enter, a gentleman is just paying for an enormous selection of jewellery. While the salesperson excitedly completes the transaction, I look around the boutique like the complete novice I am.
Yes, I did have rather a nice engagement ring designed for Serena but the diamonds could be made of glass for all I know. And, yes, I looked through the loupe at the diamonds and nodded at the dealer’s chat about VVS and FL diamonds, but we both knew I didn’t have a clue.
This foray was clearly going to be a repeat. The salesperson came over to me and quickly worked out that I was not in the same spending league as the previous gentleman, but he was very polite and keen to help as it was nearly closing time.
I explained I wanted some aquamarines and he showed me a selection. As I was clueless, I simply chose the ones that I thought looked nice and asked how much. I can’t remember the figure quoted but I had decided that I was going to employ some negotiation skills.
After using “the flinch” and some other basic techniques, I walked out of the store with a small cache of stones at a discount of 37%. This reveals a few important negotiation points:
- Timing – I purposefully went just before closing as that creates time pressure for the salesperson
- Emotions – Luckily, someone had just made the owner of the boutique’s day if not month. A person’s emotions are often far more important than logic in a negotiation
- Don’t be put off by making low offers (I started way below the 37% discount achieved)
There are other tips to be taken from this example, but the most important is:
This was one of the worst negotiations ever.
Why? Because I had absolutely no idea if the stones I was buying were high quality… and to make matters worse I was clueless about what represented fair value. In this instance, it didn’t matter due to the sum involved. But I have no idea to this day, whether I got a fair deal or massively overpaid.
Frighteningly, this is exactly how the majority of buyers approach their property purchases: they have no idea of what represents a “best in breed” property, only a vague idea of what represents fair value and very often they have no idea of the proven negotiation strategies you need to achieve the lowest price/most favourable terms possible.
Does this sound intelligent?
I submit to you that if you want to find the best property your money can buy and acquire it for the lowest price possible, browsing the internet like I browsed the boutique for jewels is like searching a haystack for a needle – a needle which very often won’t even be in the haystack (I’ll discuss finding off-market properties in a later email).
And hoping that you can negotiate a great price by simply making low offers or using just one or two “magic” negotiation techniques will lead to failure more often than success.
What you need to do is become what I call a “Dominant Buyer” – the person who is given first refusal on the best properties and who is able to negotiate prices that other buyers think are impossible. All while avoiding the wasted time, stress and bureaucracy that the typical person suffers.
That’s what I do for my clients. You have my book which reveals the fundamentals and in the emails that will follow, I will show you more advanced strategies and tactics, so that you can become the “Dominant Buyer” and acquire a “Best in Breed” property.
Please be assured this is not mere theory. These are the very techniques I use when acquiring property for my clients who are some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, hedge fund managers, partners at private equity and top law firms as well as celebrities and sports stars.
And don’t think that I only advise clients acquiring properties for £20m+, so that this information isn’t relevant to you. I help clients acquire properties from £1m upwards and use the same techniques although, admittedly, you do sometimes need to use specific negotiation skills for £20m+ properties that are different to £1m-£3m negotiations. But these are listed in my book or will be revealed in future emails.
Irrespective of your budget and the area in London where you want to buy, the fundamentals are the same. And if you don’t get those right, you will make an expensive blunder.
I will guide you through the maze that is the London property market, so that you don’t become an estate agent victim. And if you would like to be certain that the strategies and tactics I reveal are real and effective, you can see comments from past clients and the results achieved by clicking here.
