Diary of an estate agent: Brook Green

A French client puts in extra effort to try and sell her property... 
21 February 2018

Monday

There’s time for our regular start-the-week team catch-up at our Brook Green office, then it’s straight out to meet a potential buyer for a viewing, as we’re marketing a beautiful property that I’m keen to show her. It’s a five-bedroom home in Souldern Road in W14, very close to the green itself.

This fantastic double house with amazing lateral living/entertaining space trumps what you’d find in Mayfair or Knightsbridge for the same budget.

Footprints of this size are very rare in our patch of west London and should tempt one or more of our Kensington & Chelsea buyers.

Tuesday

I’m meeting a French client, a lovely lady who is well-known in the area. She wants a quick sale but at the best possible price, of course.

Her presentation and preparation of the home for viewings have been meticulous. There are white lilies throughout and elegant scents permeate every room.

She has placed a Hermès handbag artistically on the bed in the master bedroom. When she asks my opinion on her home staging, I tell her it looks great, but ask jokingly if she could perhaps use a superior brand of handbag. The look on her face is priceless.

Tonight is a big local sponsorship, the Friends of Brook Green Quiz. We help with the event and always enter a team. This year teams can play a joker and double their score.

The Finlay Brewer Team think they are hilarious — they’ve made up huge playing cards with my face as the joker.

The event is a great success, with the Friends raising thousands to further enhance the many amenities on Brook Green.

Wednesday

Viewings at a newly launched property in Girdlers Road are lined up this morning. It’s another big-boned house in close proximity to Brook Green recreational space — these properties are always in demand as parents are keen to send their young children to nearby schools Bute House and École Française de Londres Jacques Prévert.

The house is almost 4,000sq ft with six bedrooms and exquisite interiors. It should attract some serious interest.

The rest of the day takes a more intellectual turn, as one of the charities we sponsor, Upper Room, is starting its winter lecture series.

All the lecturers are local people who give their time free to help raise money for socially and economically disadvantaged people in the neighbourhood.

It’s fascinating to hear the insights of Matthew Morgan who is a trustee of the charity as well as a Monet expert at the National Gallery.

Thursday

Conversations with potential clients fill my day today, along with visits to several homes for valuations. The market is experiencing uncertainty and it’s good to meet and answer any questions vendors might have.

We have been active in this area for a long time, and our specific market knowledge is useful in times like these. Meanwhile, we secure an offer for the French client I visited on Tuesday — proof that great home staging pays off.

It’s all hands on deck back at the office where we’re preparing to welcome leading landscape photographer and tutor Charlie Waite, who is giving a lecture and exhibiting his work in our office.

The place is packed with local residents and photography enthusiasts. The lecture is a great success, the champagne flows and it’s a superb opportunity to catch up with clients past and present.

Friday

I meet with Poseidon Group this morning for an update on Blythe Terrace, a new-build development for which we are sole agent. It has just launched and will get a great deal of interest.

A refurbishment of an old pub, the stunning frontage and great lateral dimensions should make for fantastic properties.

Speaking of pubs, back at the office we decide to take the whole team out for drinks this evening to celebrate the end of an action-packed week.

  • Paul Cosgrove is a director at Finlay Brewer in Brook Green, west London (020 7371 4171).