Diary of an estate agent: South Kensington

A counter offer kick-starts the week, then a 10-day conveyancing challenge really gets the ball rolling...
Weef
9 August 2017

Monday
Elvis, King of Cats wakes me up at 6am by jumping through the window and landing in the bin. This has become a regular occurrence, since he twigged it’s the quickest way for him to get me up to give him breakfast.

By 7.30 I’m at the office to prepare for our morning team meeting. We use these to discuss all aspects of our properties, from their presentation to the marketing strategy, identifying how to reach the target audience for each one.

Having moved down the road from Knightsbridge to establish our new South Kensington office three months ago, I love seeing the fresh ideas the newly formed team brings to the table. Working closely together means we’ve got decades of experience contributing to the ideas for each property.

Alice, a member of my team, gets an opening offer on a flat in a fantastic garden square. It’s a bit below the asking price but it is from an experienced cash buyer. It isn’t enough but our client likes the sound of the buyer and makes a counter offer. Some excitement to kick-start the week.

Tuesday
We’ve arranged for a coffee cart to spend the morning outside our office giving away free drinks to locals as part of our office launch in Old Brompton Road. Our next-door neighbour, Sea Island Coffee, has provided us with amazing fresh Jamaican coffee beans. We end up meeting 10 people looking for homes in the area and arrange to take them out on viewings.

Five vendors also ask us to come and give free market appraisals on their properties. Our graduate, Celia, takes out a prospective buyer, resulting in an asking price offer on a lovely two-bedroom flat. The vendor accepts on condition the conveyancing is done within 10 days. Start the clock…

Wednesday
Sarah, who is new to the Knight Frank family but very well acquainted with the local market, calls me first thing to ask if she can miss our 8am meeting as a buyer wants a third viewing in Onslow Square at 8.15am before returning to China. I agree and she arrives later with a smile on her face. She is confident we’ll get an offer from them after they land. She and Olivia have been working with this client since they were passed to us by our Beijing office three weeks ago.

Sarah and Olivia have stuck closely to the client, showing them options from all our local offices. This is the story of our summer so far, staying busy using our network of 418 international offices to get introductions to buyers coming to London.

Thursday

I have taken on an amazing new house with a great garden in Ensor Mews for a lovely couple. We’ve decided not to put it online over the summer but instead allow “off-market” access to our best buyers for the next few weeks. We’ve some excellent properties which don’t go online immediately, available only to our registered buyers.

It’s our first team night out tonight, a Come Dine With Me-style evening, and I have the dubious privilege of hosting the first round.


Friday

Maria, our fantastic office manager, has brought in cake for lunch but by 11am it is nowhere to be seen. The team has used it as fuel for our client contact morning, ringing vendors to update them and discuss next steps. At 3pm Alice’s buyer from Monday agrees to meet the counter offer on the garden square flat. That cake did the trick.

After living and breathing property all week, it’s time to head out for dinner with my fiancée and our best friends at our favourite South Ken bistro, before a walk home through Hyde Park under the stars.

Michael McHale is a partner and head of Knight Frank’s South Kensington branch (020 3642 2672).