It’s not just about finding houses, it’s about going the extra mile
After three years, three failed sales, and countless setbacks, we finally helped our clients complete their dream home. It’s certainly not the most lucrative deal that we’ve done, but it’s absolutely the most challenging that we’ve got across the line in the 12 years since we started Property Potential. In fact, nearly everybody in the chain, including an estate agent who has been working in the industry for over 30 years, said it was like nothing they’d ever experienced before.
When everything that could go wrong….did
The chain nearly collapsed at least four times, and we had countless ‘point of exchange’ moments which didn’t happen for a multitude of reasons. The longer the process went on, the more those in the chain lost faith that it would ever happen which resulted in a ‘stand off’ of epic proportions at the last minute that had to be carefully managed in order to get the deal across the line.
Furthermore, in the the past three years the same clients have had three buyers withdrawing from their sale at the last minute through no fault of their own (including one buyer who had an offer accepted on another property at the point of exchange but failed to inform my clients, the estate agent or even their solicitor that they had changed their minds). This has resulted in a significant amount of money wasted on legal fees and surveys. Throughout this time, my delightful, patient and accommodating clients did everything right – not once did a chain collapse because of their actions.
The toll of this protracted and stressful home moving process on their mental health has been significant. He is a wheelchair user with a degenerative health condition and she is his full time carer. Going to the shops is a huge challenge, so moving house is an upheaval of epic proportions, let alone having to deal with issues and obstructions at every single turn.
A broken system
The crux of the problem is that buyers and sellers are battling against an antiquated conveyancing system that often makes the moving process far more difficult than it should be. A recent survey by Santander found that on average 500,000 house sales fall through annually, costing buyers and the economy a staggering £1.5 billion per year. It therefore feels almost miraculous when nothing goes ‘wrong’.
A lack of accountability and transparency in the conveyancing process means that it has unfortunately become commonplace for some people to lose all sense of common decency and respect when buying or selling a house. With nobody to hold them to account, no financial penalties until exchange of contracts and seemingly no thought given to how their actions will impact others in the chain, they feel no remorse when they pull out of a sale, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake.
This is why, as buying agents, our job is not simply to find the house. That can sometimes be the relatively easy part. It’s afterwards where we can often add the real value. Hand holding our clients as they navigate a complex, archaic and protracted conveyancing system where the chain could collapse at any point up until exchange, is a fundamental part of what we do. We maintain a strategic, tenacious and focused approach in order to help our clients succeed. These are skills that have been developed over a number of years when we have experienced dozens of purchases and sales, and therefore have the ability to anticipate the pitfalls before they happen.
For example, we will always look at title deeds before an offer even gets put forward to ensure there aren’t any obscure restrictive covenants or public rights of way that could impact the property negatively and we will always thoroughly check out the onward chain – are they really motivated to move and will they vacate if their purchase falls through? These are examples of the kind of issues that arise and cause chains to collapse, many weeks or even months after an offer has been accepted.
Beyond bricks and mortar
It’s also about emotional support. The devastation of a chain falling through is a huge set back and there are countless times when we have had to encourage our clients to dust themselves off and get back on the horse, when they have simply wanted to give up. And it’s not just our clients that we look out for.
A recent client’s buyer suffered a bereavement a couple of weeks before exchange and became overwhelmed at the prospect of having to arrange removals whilst also planning a funeral. We stepped in and offered to call removals companies and get quotations for him at a time when he was seriously considering withdrawing from the purchase. This helped to get things back on track and gave him the space he needed to grieve and plan the funeral.
We always recognise that moving house is more than just a transaction involving money, bricks and mortar. It is about real people making some of the biggest financial and emotional decisions that they will ever make, and it’s a real privilege to support them through this.
If you’d like to know how we can support your next move to Surrey, Hampshire or West Sussex we’d love to help.
Maranda Jones 07776779993 or Jen Butcher 07917 343880
hello@propertypotential.co.uk
