Ask questions, and then more questions

Becky Fatemi acted as her own property advisor when she bought her apartment in Marylebone in central London back in 2007. The executive partner for Sotheby’s International Realty did an “attended exchange”, in which the vendor, the buyer and their solicitors convene in person to come to an agreement on a property’s sale. The swiftness of the process ensured she didn’t miss out on a good deal on a good street when the market was flying, but it does have drawbacks: “Due to the speed, you can’t be as thorough as you should be. Now you have to err with caution because of things like cladding and listed consent planning issues.”

She advocates for buyers carrying out their own due diligence and likens house-buying to dating: “Be very clear on what you’re looking for, because it’s just as big a decision.” For sellers, transparency is key: “Make sure your house is shown in the best possible light, and with the correct information. You wouldn’t upload a picture of yourself from a decade ago onto a dating app,” she laughs.

Fatemi advises her clients to have surveys done before making an offer: “It puts you in a better position if you can say, ‘This issue has been brought up and it’s going to cost me £10,000 to rectify.’” But she notes that if there are other interested parties, or you can’t risk losing the fee, then bombarding the selling agent with questions is the next best thing. “Whether they find you annoying or not doesn’t matter; do what you can to build up a picture of any potential problems,” she suggests. “And I recommend saying: ‘I want to offer and this is my price, but I am going to get a survey and I want the results acknowledged.’”

When Fatemi isn’t jetting between Ibiza and Italy to instruct sales, she is keeping her eyes peeled for another apartment to buy in her block. Since 2018 she has rented the flat above hers, which she shrewdly locked in on a long-term lease to satisfy her need for more space without having to stump up stamp duty.

Becky Fatemi bought her Marylebone apartment in 2007