"Notting Hill."

"Mayfair."

"Chelsea."

"Kensington."

 

They've done their research. They've watched films, read articles, stayed in a beautiful hotel once, or a friend owns an apartment there. In their mind, the decision has already been made.

 

The interesting thing is that quite often, by the time they actually buy their Central London property, they've ended up somewhere completely different. And they're delighted they did.

 

One of the biggest advantages of using a buying agent isn't just finding the right property. It's making sure you're looking in the right neighbourhood in the first place. When I first meet overseas buyers, I spend far more time talking about how they live than where they think they want to live.

 

Do they picture themselves wandering to independent coffee shops every morning, or do they prefer quiet residential streets? Will they be entertaining friends regularly? Are they in London for theatre, restaurants and galleries, or do they simply want a peaceful base to escape to a few times a year? Do they like everything on their doorstep, or would they rather walk ten minutes to find it?

 

Those answers tell me far more than a postcode ever could.

 

I've had buyers convinced they wanted Mayfair until they realised they actually wanted the village feel of Marylebone. Others arrive certain that Notting Hill is the obvious choice, only to fall in love with Belgravia because it feels calmer, greener and easier to lock up and leave between visits.

 

Sometimes buyers dismiss an area because they've never heard of it. That's often my favourite conversation.

 

London isn't divided into "good" and "bad" neighbourhoods. It's divided into neighbourhoods with completely different personalities. The trick is matching the personality of the area with the personality of the buyer. That's something you can't work out from Google Maps or an afternoon spent wandering around after brunch.

 

It's also why buying property in Central London is so different from buying in many North American cities. Here, you can walk ten minutes and the atmosphere changes completely. The cafés change. The pace changes. Even the type of people you pass on the street changes.

 

The best buying decisions happen when buyers stop chasing famous postcodes and start thinking about how they actually want to spend their time in London.

 

The biggest compliment I receive isn't when someone tells me they've bought a beautiful apartment.

It's when they email me six months later and say, "I can't believe we nearly bought somewhere else." That's when I know we've found not just the right property, but the right piece of London.