The cook, the maid, the porter… The boardroom.

To say the lines are blurring these days is an understatement.

Anyone who has risen through the ranks of society now has multiple levels of complex representation around them.

Let’s just call it what it is – an entourage!

And September is the month they all return to London after time away in the sun.

We’ve had knocks on the door in the past few weeks from a cook and a porter (introducing themselves as ‘family office’!) and a chauffeur and a maid (‘buyers agents’!).

These guys are not shy and they are absolutely aware of their value in the buying chain. They are especially fond of a fresh coffee around the NVP walnut as we try and crack a deal!

But enough of their diva demands – we’re not complaining…

(We just can’t resist a dig at our good friends in the property search game – everyone is in it these days!)

Of course we would never question the validity of some of our professional search partners, or the family offices who work on our clients behalf.

Some buying agents are pros. They save their clients significant sums and are paid handsomely for it, with fees coming in well under their savings. The prudence of professional wealth managers in the family office preserves similar value for our clients.

And while the nanny, the chef and the bodyguard will always urge the buyer (their boss!) that the right time to buy is ‘IMMEDIATELY!’, at NVP we pride ourselves on advising clients that the time to buy is whenever a confluence of factors converge.

Often the best advice is wait, and an anxious middleman seldom risks his payout on such caution.

Yet these relatively new buying roles – whether pro or amateur – are in themselves a part of the entourage phenomenon.

Everyone is in business for themselves these days and everyone wants value.

Deliver that and you can have your day in the sun.

In London property the spirit of free enterprise is in full swing.

The people who think on their feet as well as keep an ear to the ground rise quickest.

We always enjoy making arrangements with such individuals and the opportunities they represent.

The NVP door is always open.

NVP round up:

• The continued fall of sterling could benefit the UK market, giving international buyers who are on the fence a reason to jump in (although there are signs of slight recovery this week we believe it may fall further over the mid-term).
• August was unusually busy here, which is upsetting for two guys with Mediterranean roots! We had 50 viewings on one £8m property alone, we are transacting regularly and the top end of the market is buoyant (we did three separate sales in one Knightsbridge building over the summer).
• Triple A stock is still going up. We know locally of two adjacent flats being bought to make one £140m flat (btw if you only have £4m we can get you 800sq ft in the same building! … share of freehold and illustrious neighbours included).
• Interest rates are still on the floor so borrowing is easy for super-prime clients. Our feeling is that hi-end customers these days are immune to socio-economic fluctuations and in the game more than ever before.
• A west end development is currently being sold off-plan at a record-breaking 7k per sq ft. It helps to link with a four seasons hotel and offer prospective residents access to room service.

Read our latest blogs here:

• Transformations in residential property: https://nicolasvanpatrick.com/transformations-residential-propertyq/
• NVP Unplugged: https://nicolasvanpatrick.com/nvp-unplugged/
• Buyers ascendant: https://nicolasvanpatrick.com/nvp-ascendancy-buyer/
• New and cool in K&C: https://nicolasvanpatrick.com/whats-new-cool-kc/

Autumn sale!

To celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit among the various entourages that orbit NVP on a daily basis we are offering a super-generous offer for one month only:

Our fee down from 2.5% to 1.75%, from 12th October – 12th November!

Considering how many of you are on the payroll these days we really are pushing the boat out here 🙂

In summary:

There is never a bad time to buy property in London, especially with the long-term view in mind. Yet that doesn’t mean we can’t choose our moments.

Buyers are more scarce (and as such more important) than ever before in the acquisition chain, and often the best way in is through the entourage.

Call us or drop in for the best coffee in Knightsbridge anytime.

Your chef probably already has.