The Mythical 'London Connection'

I'm often told by clients that one of the reasons they originally chose their current agent, was that they purport to have a 'London Office'. Whether or not having a London presence is any use is a question for another day, but let's just look at a couple of examples:

John D Wood is a Countrywide agent, that is to say, a member of a national chain comprising 1104 offices. Their office in Notting Hill, described as the 'London Country Association', supports rural Countrywide offices by advertising and promoting their properties to the London market. That's the claim at least. From the teeniest tiniest office there, they currently 'market' 791 properties! I decided to put this claim to the test. Calling as a potential buyer, I asked about a property they were advertising - a beautiful period cottage in East Sussex. Despite my having the full address, the (very) young lady I spoke to had trouble locating it. When she finally found it (I'd been on hold for several minutes) she advised me to call the local agent as she couldn't really tell me anything about it! She failed to take my name, telephone number or address, or to ask me anything about my property requirements. Is this what they call 'promoting properties'?

They aren't the only culprit to make the mighty claim of a 'London office'; let's look at The Mayfair Office. Hundreds of agents promise to promote your property through this office, resulting in a portfolio of over 10,000 properties! With only a handful of staff, they're going to be kept pretty busy..... For the still-sceptical, check out their wobbly video on You Tube for a look around their shoebox of an office in Paddington.

So, don't be taken in by promises of a holy London Connection - you'd be better off handing out flyers in Trafalgar Square.