ESTATE AGENTS’ TOP TIPS FOR BUYING

How estate agents buy their own homes They know all the tricks of the trade – so which ones do they use themselves when searching for their dream home? Olivia Lidbury finds out

Buying a home is a draining process often fraught with stress and insecurity. But what is it like for those inside the industry? “There are pros and cons: being an agent helps in the sense that you know the market, but sometimes sellers assume that you know something they don’t, and that you must be offering less than it’s worth,” says Grant Bates, head of private office at Hamptons. Having clocked up nine personal moves in 12 years, he is well placed to hand-hold his network of high-net-worth clients through both buying and selling.

The current feeling is that the market is swinging in favour of buyers, but as Madelaine Cooper of Unique Property Company points out, “Sellers are buyers too, and we all need to be respectful of each other and our financial needs, wherever we are in the property chain.” Cooper believes that we should move away from the mindset that homes are just an investment: “If it’s the place where you’re going to spend your life, bring up your children, or embark on an adventure with your life partner or alone, then you need to think of your home as being just that – your home, and not a place that’s going to make you wealthy further down the line.”

According to Hamptons, 22 per cent of properties across England and Wales sold for over the asking price in 2023, down 15 per cent from 2022. The £1 million-plus market has cooled the most, with 15 per cent achieving a final sale over asking price (compared with 27 per cent in 2022).

Of course, demand and supply dictates what will command higher offers. Andrew Russell of the Country House Dept, which specialises in rural homes both old and new across southern-central England, identifies period properties

There is a finite number of square Georgian country houses, so they always sell really well

renovated to a high specification and rich in original features as being eternally popular. “There’s a finite number of square Georgian country houses, so they always sell really well,” he says. “Despite the narrative that the market is tough, there are more buyers for this style of home than there are properties.”

To secure one, you might thus need to think creatively. Here, three agents reveal how they nabbed their homes, and how you can fight off competition for yours.

View a property at least two or three times before submitting an offer, and rationalise the practicalities, especially if you fall head over heels instantly. Consider things such as where you’ll park the car; do the journey to the nearest station. Walk around the area during the day and at night – and when the bins have been taken out.

Get a completion date agreed when the deal is agreed.

Check exactly what is actually included in the offer, and the implications; if a light fixture is to be taken with the seller, will you be left with an unsightly hole in the wall?

If the house needs work, bring a builder, architect or conservation specialist with you on a second viewing to understand the scope. This can help inform your offer.

If a property hasn’t gone under offer within eight weeks of being listed, that is a reasonable amount of time to submit a bid under the offer.

Being organised shows that you’re serious: have all your mortgage documentation lined up and a solicitor instructed to act on your behalf when you submit your offer.

Iwas in a supermarket this week with my youngest and she saw a mermaid cake in the confectionery aisle. Christmas is barely behind us and she’s on to her birthday, which is five months away. Easter tends to get bypassed for lack of presents. But birthday themes usually get touted as soon as the last bit of tinsel is packed away in the rafters.

While the day-to-day admin around co-parenting two children with my ex is an increasingly well-oiled machine, the big celebrations still loom slightly. Christmas Day with the four of us worked well but there was an eerie sense of familiarity to the festivities that felt fleetingly uncomfortable. I often find myself saying “it will be good for the kids” on these occasions, without thinking about the reality of how it is for the grown-ups.

After Father Christmas did his thing, we gently decided that it wasn’t a realistic plan going forward. Playing happy families when you’re separated can lead to a subtext of sadness – despite best intentions for the kids. There’s forming a united front and then there’s distorting reality. A place where flowing hugs and kisses under the mistletoe are replaced by administrative exchanges and platonic nudges.

Waking up together and wildly opening presents is the grand opener to birthdays across the land. But this year both the girls’ big days land on my ex’s week with them. So I won’t be there in the morning to see their giddy excitement. Or see them madly trying to build an entire Harry Potter Lego scene before their Weetabix. I won’t see them proudly put their “Happy Birthday” badges on their school uniforms, or delightedly produce a multipack of Haribo to share around, giving them God-like status for the day. There’s only so far a quick FaceTime can go, and the harsh reality of missing out on core memories is hitting me harder and harder.

But a change in my relationship status has forced a new perspective. Instead of feeling saddened by missed moments, I’m determined to soak up the five-month prelude to the kid-equivalent of Glastonbury – only with more mystical sea creatures and sprinkles. After our moment in the supermarket, I created a folder on my phone of “7th birthday super cool stuff ” (named by my daughter I hasten to add) and whenever she sees something she likes, it goes in the folder. Currently it’s looking like a confused Spider-Man/mermaid shindig, with Bluey plates and sparklers instead of candles. The £35 sequin table runner had to be vetoed.

It means the excitement builds between us instead of apart from me. I might not be part of her actual birthday this year, but I’m part of the project. We have a little fantastical club, a celebratory shared plan – which is likely to move to Pinterest soon due to the sheer volume of inspiration – that brings joy whenever another unhinged item lands in that folder.

I also look back at the pressure I used to feel around birthdays. The frustration that built between my ex