Hidden gems - are off market sales a myth?

Buying agents often sell themselves on having the inside track on property coming to the market and that they have access to a property prior to an agent marketing it. Well that's true and largely because of long term relationships and frequent contact built up with Estate Agents that members of the buying public do not share. One client recently said they had come to me for two reasons. The first that it was just not possible to keep travelling such a distance to be disappointed by what they saw and second, they found that due to a shortage of quality country houses and second homes most had been sold prior to marketing. Unfortunately, this is all true. The good stuff has always gone first.

So what of the off market theory. Well, it happens a lot in my area. You get on the information highway and property keeps cropping up. I now have to keep a written record of what's available, when and where in order to keep up with it. We can be talking of situations where plans have been made to sell but the date is set 18 - 24 months down the line. A sale can still take place with a deferred completion if it's the perfect home for the buyer. I keep repeating myself, but here in Dorset and the surrounding counties - if you see the perfect property, buy it. It could be years before you see something similar again.