Life Property
ON THE HUNT…
Employing the skills of a buying agent could save you time, money and heartache, says Anna Tyzack
property market. “It used to be second homes fuelling the country market in the £1-£5 million bracket but now it’s schools – particularly prep schools,” says Ed Sugden of Property Vision. Indeed increasingly, parents are fi nding the market so competitive that they’re turning to buying agents for help. “Flexi boarding means that more parents want to live within 25 minutes of a good school. You’ve got to be quick when you’re buying near a school or you miss out.” T e problem is that there just aren’t that many homes on the market. And those that are for sale aren’t necessarily competitively priced. “In a diffi cult market, a buying agent’s advice is paramount in making sure clients pay the right price,” says Robin T omas of Strutt & Parker. Buying agents know exactly what is on the market, in a particular area, agrees Tom Hudson of Home Counties-based property fi nders, Middleton Advisors. He estimates that over 80% of his clients are parents looking to buy near their children’s schools. But given that most properties for sale
F
are advertised on the internet, is it really worth spending money on a home fi nder? Yes, says Ed Sugden, our role is to “fast track” a client’s understanding of an area or property and to negotiate the best possible price. “We recently bought a house near the Dragon School in Oxford, on behalf of a family relocating from London,” he says. “We had to tie the whole thing up within a week in order not to lose out and our knowledge of the area gave our buyer piece
74 FirstEleven Summer 2011
ierce competition for family homes near good schools has meant that reluctantly parents are today’s main driving force in the
of mind so that he could proceed quickly” Buying agents also have access to “off
market” or “grey market” properties – those homes that don’t appear on the internet. Certain vendors would rather sell their home privately than watch it go stale on the open market. “Demand for houses around Cheam school far exceeds supply but we have access to ‘bottom drawer’ homes that aren’t offi cially on the market,” says Hudson. Buying agents don’t just fi nd primary
“Around schools such as Cheam, there is much more
demand for homes than property for sale, but we have access to the ‘bottom drawer’ ”
residences, there’s a booming business in investment homes says Oliver Hooper of Huntly Hooper, especially in prime central London areas. “T e rental income pays the school fees and then later the property is used as a fi rst home for their child.” Buying agents aren’t cheap. Most will charge an initial registration fee and then a fee of 2.25-2.75% on the purchase cost for a national buying agent or 1.5-2% for a regional buying agent. James Greenwood of south-west Stacks Property Search, insists that by brokering the deal on behalf of his clients, his service pays for itself. “Much of the value of our service is closing a deal at the best possible price,” he says. “Consistently we see savings well in excess of our fees. T is could be the diff erence between our client being able to aff ord and secure a property or not.”
Robin T omas says that generally, buying
agents are most eff ective when clients are spending more than £2 million within one hour’s drive of London, and over 1.5 million once you pass the two-hour range. But you don’t need to be spending
a fortune to justify a search agent says Russell Hunt who works with budgets from £500,000 upwards with the majority in the £750,000-£1million bracket. He believes that 99% of buyers will benefi t from hiring a buying agent. But it isn’t appropriate for everyone says Robin T omas. “Buyers looking over a large geographical area will not get the best out of a buying agent. Agents are at their most useful when they focus on a specifi c area,” he says. “Nor for those with time on their hands who would like to do the job themselves,” adds Hunt. Property is the most expensive purchase
we will ever make: 99% of sellers have representation from an estate agent but currently only 1% of buyers use a buying agent. “It’s ironic that buying agents are often considered the preserve of the super- rich, for whom negotiating the best price is not necessarily that important,” says James Greenwood. “But for normal people the savings of time, money and heartache facilitated by a buying agent are even more invaluable” Tom Hudson agrees: “We do the job of buying better than buyers will do themselves.”
For more information Stacks Property Search & Acquisition
www.stacks.co.uk Property Hunt
www.property-hunt.co.uk Middleton Advisors
www.middletonadvisors.com Property Vision
www.propertyvision.com Huntly Hooper
www.huntlyhooper.com
www.fi rstelevenmagazine.co.uk
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