Area: St Johns Wood
Acacia Road
Clifton Hill
Eyre Court
The Challenge
Our British clients were downsizing from a large house in Acton to a smaller, more centrally located apartment. They were interested in exploring Maida Vale, St John’s Wood, Hyde Park and Marylebone as potential areas. They had strict criteria and needed at least 1500 square feet, 3 bedrooms, and to be within a short walk of a tube station. Their target budget was £2 million or less. The supply of good quality apartments in North West London for below £2m is limited, and finding vendors that are suitably motivated to sell is also challenging in these locations.
The Perfect Conclusion
Our search started just before lockdown and the onslaught of Covid-19. However, with our clients house under offer and proceeding, it was essential that we kept the search going. We kept in close contact with the market, so that the minute lockdown was over we were able to quickly resume our search. Within just a few weeks we identified a magnificent 1635 sq. ft., 3 bedroom apartment in one of St John’s Wood most prestigious portered developments, Eyre Court. The building is exceptionally well run and is less than a 5 minute walk from St John’s Wood tube station, making it the perfect choice for our clients. The vendor had been under offer at close to the asking price just before the pandemic, but the offer had fallen through. We seized the opportunity to negotiate and managed to save our clients £180,000 from the asking price.
The Unfair Advantage
Our commitment to our clients is unrivalled. Despite lockdown, we kept our finger on the pulse of the market, ensuring the minute the market re-opened we were ready.
One St Johns Wood
The Challenge
Our Indian client was looking for a family apartment in St John’s Wood that was not only close to where his family already owned, but it also had to meet with his complex Vastu requirements. Vastu shastra (vāstu śāstra) is a pseudoscience originating in India which literally translates to “science of architecture”. According to Vastu Shastra, the main entrance to a home is not only the entry point for the family, but also for energy. The main door should face the north, east or in the north-east direction. Trying to find an apartment that meets with Vastu requirements is incredibly challenging as most do not comply.
The Perfect Conclusion
Vastu requirements can sometimes be fulfilled in new build developments, particularly when buying off plan, as long as the developer is open to making changes to the layout. Our direct relationship with developers often means we gain access to opportunities early, allowing our clients to select the very best options, and make changes.
We identified a superb off market, new build development less than a two minute walk from where our client’s family live. One St John’s Wood is set to be one of the most luxurious new build developments in St John’s Wood. Amenities include a 20m swimming pool, gym, steam room, sauna, Jacuzzi and plunge pools, cinema room, private dining room, business lounge, club lounge, concierge and residents lobby, residents roof terrace and valet parking. Once completed it will be without doubt one the most compressively serviced buildings in St John’s Wood.
We analysed the block and its units and concluded that combining two smaller units would give our client the size of apartment that he needed and, just as importantly, a layout that could be re-organised to comply with Vastu. We were not only able to get the developer to agree to the amalgamation of the units and change in layout, but we were also able to save our client money from the asking price.
The Unfair Advantage
Our direct relationships with developers is unrivalled. Early access meant that we could cherry pick the best units for our client and negotiate layout changes which were vital to meeting our clients strict Vastu requirements.
Blenheim Road
Our Client
An English family looking to move from an apartment to a family house.
The Challenge
Our clients had lived in the Little Venice/Maida Vale area for many years. The combination of lower house prices combined with cheap lending gave them the motivation to upgrade to a larger family house, St Johns Wood being an area they had always dreamed of living in. With two older children living and working in London, the house needed to have the right balance of good bedroom and living space in order to give adults and older children the space to live under the same roof. The house needed to have at least 4 bedrooms, and be walking distance from the tube. Whilst initial research threw up around 30 potential houses, in reality, decent houses that were sensibly priced were far and few between.
The Perfect Conclusion
After an abortive transaction on a Grade II listed house where we discovered that the owners had failed to obtain the necessary planning consents, we finally managed to identify a much better alternative house within 3 months of being retained. We were the very first people in through the door to view a special house located on Blenheim Road. The house had been meticulously refurbished by the current owners who were relocating abroad and therefore extremely motivated to sell. With 4 bedrooms, all with en-suite bathrooms, ample entertaining and reception space, outside space and off street parking, the house met with every single one of our clients requirements. Our early viewing resulted in a week of negotiations and a price being agreed at well below the planned asking price of £4.75 million. We saved our client £350,000 or 7.3% from the asking price, equating to a very competitive £1600 per sq. foot. Recent house sales in the area have been achieving as much as £1865 per sq. foot. We also managed to get the seller to agree not to bring the property onto the open market, allowing our client the necessary time needed to exchange contracts without the pressure of another potential buyer coming along.
Cavendish Avenue
The Client
A repeat client.
The Challenge
Our client, for whom we had already sourced a family apartment for in St John’s Wood back in 2007, decided that they wanted to upgrade to a larger family home in the same area as they were spending more and more time in the UK. Large family houses for under £10 million are extremely rare and difficult to find in the St John’s Wood area, where demand outstrips supply.
The Perfect Conclusion
We identified a rare opportunity to purchase a wonderful family home, with 8 bedrooms, garage and garden, measuring some 4000 sq feet in Cavendish Avenue, arguably one of St John’s Wood best addresses, and home to Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney. The property was on the market at a very competitive price of £7.25m and we therefore had to compete against another buyer in a sealed bid. We won the bid with a purchase price of £7.65m, which equated to £1870 per sq foot, still significantly less than what other similar houses sell for on the street.
St Edmunds Terrace
The Client
An African Investor
The Challenge
A repeat Black Brick client, who we have sourced multiple properties for over the years. Knowing that our client loves St John’s Wood, we preempted that they would be interested in this new, off plan, off market development overlooking Primrose Hill.
The Perfect Conclusion
We sourced an off market, off plan, 2 bedroom, 1200 square feet apartment in what is set to become St John’s Wood/Primrose Hill’s most prestigious modern apartment building, containing just 36 apartments. With completion not until 2015, we think this development will do very well over the next few years. It will be the only apartment block in the area with a full range of facilities, such as swimming pool, gym, parking and 24 hour concierge.
The Pavillions Multi-property Purchase
The Client
An Indian Buyer
The Challenge
Our clients wanted a 4 bedroom apartment in a building with a 24 hour porter and parking in St John’s Wood. Our clients were also heavily into “vastu” which meant we had to carefully consider which position the front door faced, making the search extremely challenging.
The Perfect Conclusion
Most of the flats we identified for our clients did not work from a vastu perspective. Through our contacts, we sourced two off market flats, which could be joined together, enabling our clients to create their perfect property, and configure the layout according to vastu principles.
William Court, Hall Road
The Client
A Greek Buyer
The Challenge
Our client wanted to buy a flat in St John’s Wood, in a building with a porter and close to the tube.
The Perfect Conclusion
We identified a brand newly refurbished 2 bedroom flat, on the 3rd floor with good views. We also saved our client £50,000 from the asking price.
Boydell Court
The Client
An African Investor
The Challenge
A repeat Black Brick client looking to expand his property portfolio in London.
The Perfect Conclusion
We sourced this lateral three bedroom, three bathroom apartment benefitting from a porter and off street parking. The property was under offer with another purchaser but was perfect for our client. Due to our relationship with the agent, and ability to act fast, we were able to acquire the property and exchanged contracts within 48 hours.
The Yoo Building
The Client
An Indian Investor
The Challenge
Before retaining us, our client had been searching the market for nearly a year, unsuccessfully. He had very strict requirements and wanted to find a good rental investment flat for under £1000 per sq foot in a building with parking and a porter.
The Perfect Conclusion
We identified a 3 bedroom penthouse apartment, benefitting from 24 hour concierge and a parking space. We paid well under £1000 per sq foot, but we had to act quickly and exchanged within 48 hours. We also manage the property for our client through our Property Management Service.
Boydell Court
The Client
An African Buyer
The Challenge
Our client wanted us to find him an apartment for his elderly Father. The flat had to be secure, have a porter and a lift.
The Perfect Conclusion
We struggled to find anything on the open market that was suitable. Through our extensive connections, we sourced an off market flat in a portered block in the heart of St John’s Wood, for a very reasonable price.
Abbey Road
The Client
An African Buyer
The Challenge
Our client was looking for a 2 or 3 bedroom bachelor pad. A parking space was essential.
The Perfect Conclusion
We sourced this 3 bedroom apartment in a new landmark development on Abbey Road. Despite competition we managed to save £185,000 from the asking price, representing a 12.3% discount for our client.
Marlborough Hill
The Client
An Asian Buyer
The Challenge
A repeat Black Brick client who we initially found a large family apartment for, came back to us wanting us to source a property for his son. The flat needed to be sufficiently close to the family flat, but far enough away for the son to have his independence
The Perfect Conclusion
We sourced a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom flat in a purpose built block with secure underground parking. Despite fierce competition from 2 other cash buyers, we managed to avoid a best bid scenario due to our relationship with the selling agent and secured the property at the asking price.