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"We are not estate agents, we do not sell property, and nor do we list property or take fees from people selling property.
Our interests are 100% aligned with those of our clients and we are rewarded for the work we do by our clients - not the vendors of the properties - and we aim to buy the best properties available, on the best terms, which often means the lowest possible price. It is worth remembering that the selling agents are working only for the vendors and are paid to get the highest price.
The way in which the Haringtons service works can be broken down quite neatly into three parts.
Firstly, we have access to property from a broader spectrum of sources than an individual will have normally. The sources include estate agents, other property professionals, vendors who wish to sell quietly and former clients. We are totally focussed on this. We are not a small department of a large selling agent and nor are we a service department of a bank.
We are therefore able to offer total market coverage in a way that would not be possible for a normal buyer, and this lies at the heart of the first part of our service.
Having identified a property that our clients might like to buy we then hold the proposition up to the cold light of day for in depth scrutiny, to make sure that there are no unforeseen factors that could affect it. We will then prepare a written report that will cover such diverse issues as local planning, local amenities, comparable valuation evidence and background to the area. The aim here is to try and pick up the issues that fall between the solicitor's report on title and the surveyor's structural report. We also put some objectivity behind the value of the property.
Finally, and arguably most importantly, we handle the negotiations for the property and will work closely with the client on the best strategy for buying the property on the best possible terms.
Clearly, this is a labour intensive business which has taken many years to learn. We were rather startled and embarrassed to realise that, between us, we have nearly 100 years of experience. We can only provide this level of service to a small number of clients and each member of the team aims to work for a maximum of 6 to 8 clients at any one time. The reason for this is two-fold; firstly, we can only ever have one client for a given type of property, as to find ourselves looking after two different clients looking for the same house would be unpleasant and dishonest. Secondly, to offer the level of service we aspire to, we need to set aside a good number of hours each week for each client. Therefore, every client we take on represents a considerable commitment on our part in terms of time, expense and effort so we take great pains to establish the correct relationship from the outset. We will not take on clients if, for whatever reason, we feel that the assignment will compromise other clients.
Our fees come in two parts. There is our up-front or registration fee of £1,500. This goes some way towards our out of pocket expenses (petrol in scooters and cars, for example), and it ensures that everyone is serious about the search and is a consideration for our exclusive contract. In layman's terms, this means that the client is handing the search over to us and us alone, until we find a property for them (or they tell us to stop looking). We, by the same token, are saying that we will not take another client with a conflicting brief.
Then, once we have identified the property of interest and acquired it on behalf of the client, our success fee falls due. This is based on the purchase price or the guide price, whichever is the lower. Alas, all of our fees attract VAT at the prevailing rate, whether the clients are UK residents or not.
If you would like to take up references on any of us with other former clients, we would be delighted to organise this. One of my clients recently took this to alarming extremes and, upon discovering that I went to the same school as her son currently attends, asked the mathematics teacher whether he remembered me. Fortunately, he did."
Saul Empson Director, Haringtons UK Ltd.
