Opinion Archives | London Property Consultants

Agents are doing it for themselves

It’s become apparent, month by month, that more and more agents are choosing not to deal with other agents.

This policy has nothing to do with ‘data protection’; the reality is that rival agents are trying not to ‘share’ their applicants. They are coming at the applicant from what they perceive as a commercially driven position, in reality, not providing the buyer with a completely transparent service.

Agents and Information

When applicants register their interest with an agent, they are revealing their hand; the agent builds a strong rapport with an applicant to gather ample information about their circumstances and importantly their budget and exactly what might tempt them.

An agent has the opportunity to glean from the applicant what will make them offer more than they intended, even paying over the odds. A selling agent isn’t motivated to offer a voice of reason and encourage the buyer to stay within their original budget and sit tight. As much as a buyer might want to believe the agent will not exploit the information they provide, the likelihood is that the agent will focus very much on pushing the buyer to the top end of his budget or even beyond.

What Agents Really Want

The waters can get muddied and all too often I’ve known applicants to believe a selling agent has their best interests at heart and is their ‘friend’ – WRONG!

Trust me, when I say that the agent won’t be looking to negotiate on the buyer’s behalf. A selling agent will always be aiming to secure the highest price from their client (the seller) because that will gain them the maximum commission; that is not in any buyer’s best interests.

A buyer needs a go-between, who will communicate effectively between the seller and their agent – that’s where a buying agent comes in. They can act on behalf of their client and really do have the buyer’s best interests at heart.

Trust Experience

An experienced buying agent who has built up strong professional relationships with selling agents over many years will be one step ahead. Put your trust in them because they will know how to negotiate and act – with or without a poker face.

Buying property should not be a gamble.

by Simon Barnes

Post Brexit and the PCL property market

“The post Brexit effect certainly speeded up the summer recess and meant that in Prime Central London the property market tailed off sooner ahead of July.

This dormant period has perhaps lulled people in a false sense of security and the feelings about Brexit have faded away over the holidays, perhaps suggesting that it is not quite as bad as everyone made out initially.

The reality is that in central London people with a need or strong urge to move will, whether this is dictated by schooling, job relocation, or personal circumstances.

Good properties, priced at the correct market level, will sell; those that are not so good will sit around. Undoubtedly, Q4 will be a quieter three months than previously, as people wait, watch and see how the politicians handle negotiations and how the economy and market confidence fares. My feeling is that this is a good time for buyers to go in and make an offer and potentially drive a hard bargain – it is a buyers’ market.

While new buyers entering the market post Brexit and the summer will not be rushing in but playing a waiting game, old buyers who were in the market before the summer, will see this as a window of opportunity to return with a reduced offer.

The post Brexit period has granted agents a justifiable reason to advise their clients on where the true price should be if they are seriously minded to sell. They will be using this opportunity to have a realistic conversation with their clients owning houses in ‘grade A’ locations like Chelsea and Notting Hill. Right now they will be recommending that the asking price is too expensive and needs adjusting to reflect the price sensitivity in the current PCL market. Those that listen are far more likely to sell than those who do not.

Of course, aside from buyers and agents, the people determining property values in today’s market are the valuers, who remain overly cautious, creating a chicken and the egg situation.”

by Simon Barnes

Are London Mansion Flats a Good Investment?

You will find mansion flats (flats in mansion blocks) in various London areas. The first were built in Kensington in the late 1870s followed by others located in what are now prime London areas; including Mayfair, St John’s Wood and Regent’s Park. Originally build as cheap accommodation for the burgeoning middle classes, many flats fell into disrepair in the 20th century only to re-emerge in the latter part of the century as property prices in London began to take off and mansion blocks were systematically renovated.

Historically purpose-built as flats, rather than the more typical conversions of larger buildings, mansion flats have large regular-shaped rooms, high ceilings, proper walls (not plasterboard) and their stone walls and concrete floors make them much quieter than many of their more modern alternatives.

However, there is a down side as many mansion blocks were not renovated with lifts – an absolute requirement for many of today’s buyers. Also, many older blocks were badly managed which means that current owners suffer high maintenance charges.

Being located in substantial buildings with proper walls and stone floors can also mean that wi-fi is difficult and some flats ‘enjoy’ a low or non existent mobile phone network reception. Many are managed by residents who all have a share of the freehold. Finally, many mansion blocks have been badly converted.

My top 5 tips for buying a mansion flat

For those looking at mansion flats as an investment I would recommend always looking at flats which

have been well maintained and are serviced by a reputable management company
are located in good areas
have modern and reliable lifts
are complete (i.e. not sub-divided) and retain some period features
have good access to wi-fi and telephone signals

by Simon Barnes

More talking, less technology, no rubbish

Simon Barnes says more talking and less technology is the art to finding the right property in prime central London:

I receive between 20 to 60 emails a day from various estate agents with whom I’m registered, but the majority of these are totally irrelevant and simply do not meet the criteria I gave at the point of registering with agents. As an agent, it’s easy for me to sift through what is good and what is no. However for the average “domestic” buyer, the level of junk/irrelevant emails from agents can be overwhelming.

The volume of email rubbish means it’s simply easier to skip them without bothering to read any. For me this means that if there are one or two hidden possibilities I may never actually uncover them.

It seems to me that increasingly estate agents are working to a numbers game theory; working to the law of averages, the more emails you blast out the better chance you may might stumble upon one or two suitable matches. The worrying fact is that in what is a primarily people driven business, fewer and fewer agents are taking time to engage with their applicants and clients by picking up the phone or meeting them face to face.

No gizmos, no gadgets, no apps

When I started out in my property career there were no gizmos, no gadgets, and certainly no property apps. Back then it was all about paying attention and listening to experts talk about streets and properties across Mayfair, and this really stood me in good stead and has stayed with me throughout the years.

Business then was done by meeting and talking, it was the way you gauged a reaction, picked up on a phrase, caught a glint in a buyer’s eye that made the difference, made your search sharper and your success rate soar. I’m sad that asking and listening are two skills that appear to be a dying art across estate agents in London, and I suspect beyond. It shouldn’t matter whether you’re operating at the lower end of the market or the luxury end, for the majority of people their property is the biggest financial commitment they will make, and it seems flippant to believe that a less then personal approach is adequate.

Personal contact and local knowledge

The property I deal with is largely ‘off the radar’; in fact sometimes it is never actually on the market. This is where that good old fashioned ‘ear to the ground’, tap of the nose stuff really kicks in. The knowledge I have squirrelled away about the very specific aspects of individual streets and the information gleaned from asking people the right questions, means I can accrue details about who genuinely lives where, who owns what and will be able to describe the inside of a property from the outside before having crossed the threshold. The market is competitive, there are all too few decent houses in the right streets, so taking the time to find out the story behind the deal is more essential than ever. It’s these private conversations that are empowering, far more so than clicking on a website.

Being able to speak with first-hand experience and offer a fistful of examples will instil confidence in the client and is incredibly useful in buying or selling at the best price and at the right time. It’s all in the detail, and I believe that, despite the technology and its accompanying torrent of rubbish, local knowledge in London is key and the more you have the more your clients will trust you when it comes to advising them to do the deal.

by Simon Barnes

Steve Jobs and One Hyde Park

A couple of weeks ago a journalist asked me who I would chose to be stuck in a lift with in One Hyde Park . I’m afraid I did not answer their question. Later that day my taxi passed One Hyde Park and the question came into my mind again; in fact, for the rest of the day I could not stop thinking about it.

I most admire people who have worked hard, made their mistakes, have been driven by ambition and have become successful in their business life though their own personality and effort. I have also been particularly interested in people who see that products can, perhaps should, be beautiful as well as fit for purpose.

Last year I saw the movie ‘Jobs’, about Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple (for more experienced readers, that is the computer and phone company, not the Beatles’ record label). I have to say it was a good movie rather than a great one, which is a shame because Jobs’ story is truly extraordinary – “from college dropout into one of the most revered creative entrepreneurs of the 20th century” as the movie website IMDb describes him.

Jobs started Apple Computers in the seventies with his friend and technical genius Steve Wozniak, working from Jobs’ garage in California. Over the course of 10 years Jobs built Apple into a successful computer company which had claim to producing the first widely available personal computer to use a graphics interface (as we now see on all computers) and to be controlled by a mouse. Initially called the Apple McIntosh, we now know it, in its various forms, simply as Mac.

When Jobs was unceremoniously ousted from Apple in 1985, Apple carried on but without the impetus and direction which Jobs had given it. Jobs himself got involved in several new projects, some of which failed. However, during his time away from Apple he co-founded Pixar which went on to be an amazingly successful movie company (Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Cars, etc) and was eventually taken over by Disney in 2006.

Apple brought Jobs back as CEO in the late nineties and he led the company from relative obscurity to become one of the most profitable in the world, introducing a range of products with which we are all familiar – the iPod, iPhone and iPad. Like many people I have, in a very few years, moved from not seeing the need for a smart phone let alone a mobile electronic ‘tablet’, to using my phone and iPad constantly; for me, like many, they are now essential business tools.

When I went to see the movie, I did not know the Jobs’ back story but I did know that he and his friend and Apple designer Jonathan Ive have developed and sold some of the most beautifully functional products in the last decade.

Attempts to successfully combine beauty and functionality is something I come across daily in the prime property market. I see many properties with stunning design and beautiful fittings, but where functionality is compromised. I also come across many properties which seem to perfectly fit the needs of prospective buyers but which fail to excite or just don’t ‘feel right’.

Finding the combination of the aesthetically pleasing and the fit for purpose is rare, and most people recognise it when they find it. It just feels right.

It’s now over four years since Steve Jobs passed away. Like many people I would have loved to have met him, whether in a lift in One Hyde Park or elsewhere. However, I know that, despite not answering the journalist’s question, I will think of Steve Jobs and the questions I would have liked to ask him whenever I am visiting or passing One Hyde Park .

And last year Apple became the most profitable company in history; it’s a truly extraordinary story.

Agents and Information

What Agents Really Want

Trust Experience

My top 5 tips for buying a mansion flat

No gizmos, no gadgets, no apps

Personal contact and local knowledge

Contact H. Barnes & Co – Tel: 020 7499 3434