INTERNATIONAL
“Translation isn’t always literal; we had French buyers
who didn’t understand that a drawing room is not used for drawing in.” laura giles jackson-stops & staff
It certainly helped when Laura was
showing a house to French buyers who had never come across an Aga before and didn’t realise they weren’t ever switched off. Or that a drawing room wasn’t for drawing in. “Languages can also be useful as part of
the referencing process, as some banks and employers do not send letters of recommendation in English,” she adds. “It means sometimes we can accept employment contracts as proof of employment, because I can understand what is in them.” James Bailey, head of residential for
Henry & James, says in central London, it is crucial that a wide variety of languages are spoken. His staff members speak in many tongues, including fluent Russian, French, Greek, Spanish, Dutch and Italian speakers. “While important for the sales teams,
being able to converse fluently in foreign languages is absolutely vital for the lettings departments,” he says. “We have a number of tenants who are here on two to three year secondments and being able to assess their needs and communicate fluently is very important. Literally, speaking a client’s language also implies that the company speaks their language in more figurative terms, too.” In Central London, if you are looking
for an immeuble de grand standing; vue exceptionelle, Gary Hersham of Beauchamp Estates is your homme. “The partners – myself and Penelope
Court, speak about eight languages each, including Italian, French, Spanish, German, Hebrew, Arabic and Russian. Other staff members also speak Russian. We believe it
‘‘While important for the sales teams, being able to converse
fluently in foreign languages is vital for the lettings departments.” james bailey henry & james
44 MARCH 2011 PROPERTYdrum
International schools inevitably attract residents for whom English is not their first language.’
is essential to understand applicants’ languages. We have secured many sales and lettings because of our ability to speak to and build a rapport with buyers from overseas. It helps create immediate loyalty, and can be a useful skill when doing viewings with potential buyers, as we are
‘‘Penelope and I each speak about eight languages; it
builds a rapport with buyers and helps to create an immediate loyalty.” gary hersham beauchamp estates
able to understand better their level of interest by listening to what they say in their own language.” Also competing in the central London
market is Marsh & Parsons, which has a dedicated International Desk for translation. About 30 per cent of their agents speak a second language. Fluency is vital, as recently demonstrated when they had to brief an Italian landlord on the legal requirements on letting in the UK, quite different to those in Italy.
going even further JAC Strattons was the first Japanese-owned property services company to start operating in London. Since 1996, when they acquired estate agency Strattons, they have gained a significant market share of the London residential sales and rentals to Japanese. They publish a magazine exclusively in Japanese for their clients. Originally specialising in letting properties to Japanese expatriates, still their core business, the firm now deals with tenants
and buyers from all over the world. International schools inevitably attract
residents for whom English is not the first language. St John’s Wood, where there an American School, has seen demographic changes that have stretched the linguistic resources of the local estate agencies. South Kensington’s popular Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle attracts high-earning French families, catered for by agencies like Winkworth, who can also talk property in Spanish, Swedish, Mauritian, Russian, Ukrainian, Italian and Armenian. And the efforts by universities throughout the UK to attract high fee- paying overseas students has brought in higher than ever numbers, and their parents, all looking for property.
‘‘In the USA, there are closets not wardrobes, kitchens have
broilers not grills and faucets not taps. We all have to speak fluent Yank!” james wyatt md, barton wyatt
the last word The last word on lingo comes from James Wyatt, MD of Barton Wyatt in Surrey. “About one third of our business is with Americans, so we all have to speak fluent Yank,” he says. “There are closets, half bathrooms and then there’s remembering to call the ground floor the first floor, and the first floor the second floor. Kitchens have broilers not grills and taps are faucets, it’s more difficult than you think!”
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