Buying to Win

Nick Churton of our London Mayfair Global Network suggests some ways to ensure how buyers can get just what they want when buying a home.

There are homebuyers who demand the best of everything in anything they purchase. They want the latest granite-surfaced kitchen with steam oven, the Philippe Starck bathroom - like the one they had on their last five star holiday - and a decor in fifty fashionable shades of grey. If a house or flat does not have these things some buyers will not even view.

But this demand for instant satisfaction and perfection could mean they may be missing out on a couple of important things in buying a home. They are forgoing the opportunity to choose what they really want and instead getting what someone else really wanted – and to change it again would waste a fortune. They are also missing out on the increased value of their home once it has been transformed from flawed to fabulous flat, tired to trendy terrace, slumbering to slick semi, or dated to dazzling detached.

“But the bathroom went out with the ark”, say some buyers – great! “The kitchen has seen better days”, say others – wonderful! “There’s woodworm”, eek still more – so there’s woodworm! All these bad things mean one good thing – potential. Grotty can be good.

Yes it means more work and you should always get a survey so that you fully understand what needs to be done. But almost anything can be fixed. All you need are the right bones – windows and doors in the right places - and of course the right location: for maximum benefit always choose the smallest house in the best road rather than the other way round.

At the moment there is very little on the market and buyers are often looking for finished homes with a high specification. This provides lots of opportunities for buyers who are prepared to roll up their sleeves. Remember condition is temporary but location is permanent. Also, that perfection in property is a myth. So forget the 100% home. It doesn’t exist except in the minds of the romantic. Instead why not buy a 50% home and make it 90%. Choose wisely, modernise well and don’t go over the top and you will end up with more or less exactly what you want just about exactly where you want it. This usually results in two things. It makes you happy and makes you money. And there aren’t many things in life that do both at the same time.

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