Faith Restored After A Tricky Sale
“Thank you for your continuous help… especially your constant positive attitude even in face of [those] who promised much and delivered little. They could take lessons from you. The searches you help over the coming years don’t yet know how lucky they will be.” – JK
Downsizing Is Time-Saving
A wonderful, retired lady came to us wanting to downsize to a modern, easy-to-keep, flat near her daughter from a character house on the other side of London. She was weary of estate agents and the process due to a difficult sale. We found her the best of the newly built flats near her family and, with many emails and phone calls, helped her progress her sale too.
The Dilemma
Poor J had a terrible time with her selling agent. They were just so difficult to get hold of and she often found she needed to visit in person to connect at all with someone and then chip away at getting further information on progress on the sale of her house. No surprise then, when I meet her, she was delighted to hear I could make the purchase part of her move a happy and stress-free part.
She had lived in beautiful period houses in the past and had done a lot of work to them with a great eye for detail ensuring all character features where conserved and repaired with care, including the one she was selling. It came as quite a surprise to me, initially, to hear she was after a ‘new build’ flat. Something modern, clean and of course, I soon realised, something easy to maintain – sensible lady).
How LPM Helped
My first round of previews was interesting. In all honesty, it is rare I concentrate on a flat in a new build or contemporary block. They just are not as popular with clients nor with the general population. I almost always recommend a period property compared to a new build (mainly for ease of re-sale and the joy of character features). A great ‘new build’ complex can prove to be excellent but a bit of time needs to pass so the management of the building and its surroundings can be proven.
J had thoroughly enjoyed doing up her previous homes in east London but said she felt she had reached a stage in her life that she wanted carefree living and, if there were to become an issue, someone to phone who would come to sort it out. She wanted to live a short commute to her daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter in Willesden, as she regularly slotted in to help with the school run and a little childcare here and there.
The search was really fun! J had a fantastic sense of humour and a real zest for life. A very creative lady who dressed fabulously cool and shrugged off my complements on her trendy ensembles. She had chosen a career as an art teacher (when the alternatives, in her time, as she said, was nursing or being a secretary, neither of which had grabbed her).
I showed her some fantastic flats in new developments. Some with superb views and terraces over-looking green spaces in the Poets Corner patch of Acton. Other flats in Acton and the Chiswick area and I was truly relieved to see most developers had taken on feedback of past criticisms of cramped rooms, low ceilings and rubbish or no outside space. Now I was previewing and showing J fresh open flats with great ceiling height, lots of light, thoughtful layouts and even excellent storage. Such a positive thing to witness when more and more ‘new build’ developments will be being built with the growing need for housing in London and the country as a whole.
Acton felt the right location for J and there had been a tremendous amount of development in the area so I could pick the best of the bunch to show her. She was relieved to have only the short-listed to see.
Her sale was difficult. It came to light she had a nervous buyer, an inexperienced agent and she needed to sell to find the purchase (she could take out a bridging loan but I hated the thought of the wasted expense). It wasn’t technically part of the service but I told her I could get in touch with her selling agent if it may help and J was relieved, I was prepared to contact them. I built up a dialogue with the agent that, over a bit of time, turned into a communicative and beneficial exchange – I had been a selling agent in the past and know what’s needed to help, and they grew to see that It would help them too, by taking a bit of guidance on how to relay important information to J’s buyer and to tactfully, but with conviction, nudge them into action regarding progressing with the purchase. J saw it was inexperience rather than a lack of wanting to help things progress, when they seemed to have gone on hold. She also had no problem with her buyer setting up all sorts of checks as they were nervous about buying a period home and what maintenance may be required (I seconded J’s easy attitude to checks. I always have a set of specialist checks I recommend my clients do and set up on their behalf) – it’s the biggest purchase a person makes. It makes sense to know what may be needed soon or in the longer future.
With grit, many phone calls and J’s energetic response every time to the need for a personal visit to the agent – we got there with her sale. Importantly, all within the time frame it took to have her offer on her favourite new flat in Acton accepted and all her checks and conveyancing done. Her purchase went smoothly and everyone was able to exchange contracts and agree a completion to tie in with dates that worked for all.
Phew! A tricky sale. A smooth purchase. A successful move to an easy to care for home only 10 minutes from her family and no breakdowns on the way- Success!
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