Finding a Forever Home in RBKC
June 2023 -
Our British clients retained us to find their forever London home. They had just finished purchasing and refurbishing a large country house and were quite frankly fatigued by the process. Knowing they had to do it all over again in London was keeping them up at night given they both work 50-hour weeks. They had a good handle on where they wanted to be in RBKC, having rented in Kensington for the last four years. The initial brief was to find them a large, three-bedroom apartment with outside space which had the potential to be extended as their familial needs changed. They wanted to make the property work for them now and in 25 years’ time too. This was crucial to future-proof the investment.
In their words, they were thrilled that we “managed to condense 2-3 months’ worth of research, market knowledge, viewings and telephone calls into one concise email and one subsequent property tour”. Perhaps even more excitingly, we had made it very clear that they could and should consider freehold houses which is something they had dismissed given the size they were looking for. They identified their favourite house and thanks to the extensive due diligence and price analysis we provided, they felt confident in us making an offer immediately. This was essential as there were other buyers nipping at our heels. The strategy we adopted was strong, simple and effective and whilst the initial offer was rejected, we agreed terms quickly thereafter securing an 8% discount for our clients.
Whilst much of the hard work had been done already, the hardest element was yet to come. The conveyancing phase was difficult, and the vendors were unmalleable which made every legal point like wading through treacle. Like many owners who bought property 20+ years ago, the paperwork on the house was scarce. Coupled with our clients who needed some very well-deserved holiday time and therefore wanted minimal disturbance, we had to navigate each point with our trusted solicitor to ensure we provided solutions that fully protected our clients without causing problems on the other side. Within a matter of days, we were ready to exchange and much to the delight of the clients we were able to negotiate many of the fixtures and fittings to be included in the contract. Our clients were delighted that we were able to source and secure a house for them in less than 2 months, something they didn’t think was possible in the current London market.