‘Old Bones’ for a Young Family

Whilst location is key to many clients seeking property around the Cambridge locale, for others the potential property’s ‘feel’ is equally important.  For some clients the perfect home will offer a particular atmosphere, which is a more elusive characteristic.  Understanding the nature of this ‘feel’ is critical to a successful acquisition. Oftentimes character properties come with constraints, for example a listed status, or they may require refurbishment or extension.  We can assure our clients that we have the experience and expertise to guide them through the challenges of such projects.

The Brief

With a young family in tow, Mr and Mrs HH were seeking a move to the Cambridgeshire countryside away from the hubbub of London. Not knowing the geography of the region well enough, and not having the time to trawl a succession of viewings of unsuitable properties, we were recruited to guide them on their journey. It was clear from our initial briefing meetings that the ideal house would possess ‘old bones’ and have a certain elegant and country-house feel about it.  Our work began over coffee when we discussed a number of key aspects they sought in their ideal home. Firstly, with school places already secured in Cambridge for the following year, the location had to suit the commute and also Mr HH’s work in London.  Secondly, the property had to offer some ‘old bones’ that created the right feel to the home they sought.  A final purchase budget was agreed, which had to also to cover the costs of any development or improvements.  Having such a young and busy family, we also had to consider the potential logistical issues of moving from London to a property that required building work.

The Search

We began by compiling a list of target villages.  Our clients sent us a number of images and ideas from online property sites that they were inspired by.  They ranged from contemporary barns with meadow-type gardens to elegant, listed country properties.  With these thoughts in mind, we set up and accompanied them on a number of viewings of older properties, barn style houses and potential development projects.  As our clients remained open-minded as to their dream home and wanted to have their criteria challenged by the odd ‘curve ball’, we covered a wider geographical area than we at first anticipated because the property we had in mind absolutely had to have the right ‘feel’ or potential. 

Over the course of our search, we came to have a great understanding of the type of home they sought and also of the scale of the project they felt they could accommodate.  After some time, news of a property came to us from our one of our contacts and, now knowing our clients’ wishes so well, we had great expectations about the suitability of this house.  We believed that this property offered something truly unique in its woodland, somewhat romantic, setting.  Set on the edge of Cambridge, with glorious views, the property also came with a strong architectural heritage.  Although the property was only being marketed to a few hand-picked purchasers, we had very tough competition for it.  Our bids were pitted against another purchaser who had much deeper pockets than our clients and they were not afraid of bidding against us aggressively. We knew that our clients’ best chance of securing this wonderful house was if they could meet the vendors to explain their unique situation and introduce their young family to them.  This strategy was successful and although our clients were taken to the limit of their budget a deal was brokered which suited both parties.

The Value

In many situations, as they say, ‘money talks’.  However, this acquisition illustrates the importance of trusting personal relationships.  Knowing our clients to be authentic, considerate and motived to buy, we could underscore their position to the selling agent.  We could demonstrate that our clients would be true to their words and would neither be deterred from the agreed deal nor timetable.  In the end, this was the single most important factor to the sellers. Our value in this case was found in coming to understand the nature of our buyers and thus being able to situate them favourably to the sellers’ agent as the ideal family to take on their beloved home.