Far East buyers looking into London have been met with a few surprises once they saw their actual home.
The Star reported that after Hong Kong businessman He had purchased a four-bedroom apartment in Britain he believed was a 40 minute walk from central London, he soon found out it was 40 minutes by high-speed train.
This is an example of how many Far Eastern buyers looking into buying British homes are facing unseen real estate issues.
“It is a matter of developers saying: Here are some people who are likely to be interested. They probably do not know too much about the market, so why don’t we advertise there’,” said David Eldon, former chairman of HSBC’s Asia unit. “I think they are being a little economical with the truth.”
Major developers such as Barratt, Taylor Wimpey, and Berkeley have been targeting cash-rich Far Eastern buyers since 2009 after the global financial crisis sapped demand at home.
Berkeley said it had had many repeat purchases from Asain buyers over 20 years, although it acknowledged a mistake in one of its press releases. Taylor Wimpey said it offered a high level of service to all customers.
In 2010 the number of Chinese and Pacific Asian buyers of the highest-quality newly-built London homes rose to 37 per cent from 4 per cent in 2009 with the majority purchase for investment and are used to buying off-plan before the home is built.
David Linklater, head of litigation at law firm Alan Broadhurst, who represented He said the businessman was told his flat was 40 minutes from central London.
“Lots of people go to the fairs in Hong Kong and get a sheet of paper with a picture of Big Ben. You think you are going to be the Queen’s neighbour when actually the Queen has a great big garden with a big wall around it,” said Linklater.
Despite photos of Harrods or Buckingham Palace alongside real estate exhibitions many property locations are omitted due to being in less desirable London locations.
An example is a brochure that advertised Kensington High Street as “London’s most sought after new address.” However, the High Street Kensington underground station is a 15 to 20 minutes walk away and the flats are in a a less sought-after location new two to other stations.
A press release described the development as “a short walk from the luxury shopping available at Harrods.” According to the Transport for London website the store is a 50 minute walk away.
“To an unsuspecting buyer, you think wow, it is amazing, but actually it is the wrong end of Kensington High Street, right next to Kensington Olympia,” said Camilla Dell, managing partner at Black Brick Property Solutions, which helps overseas buyers find London homes.
“There is a lot of embellishment going on working off the naivety of the Chinese buyer,” said James Moss, managing director of property consultancy Curzon Investment Property.
Source: PropertyReport – 2012 May 22
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