The luxury homes of high-profile individuals often make the news in gossip columns and blogs as frequently as their owners do. The public’s thirst for celebrity property stories often seems unquenchable and it can only take one rumour that a celebrity is looking to buy in a certain area for its popularity to be dramatically boosted.
Photo Credit: riekephotos / Shutterstock
With all this attention from the media, many public figures find it difficult to find the home of their dreams whilst maintaining their privacy. So it’s understandable that when property hunting, the number one thing celebrities are looking for is discretion from the people acting on their behalf.
With so much instant information available in the public domain, it is perhaps not surprising that wealthy and famous buyers can find themselves besieged by unwarranted calls and emails by agents lured by the hefty commission and publicity boost of doing a celebrity deal with an impressive price tag.
So what’s the most private and discreet way of conducting a property search?
Since the launch of the portal, Te Atrium has helped a number of celebrities find the homes of their dreams; we would like to share some tips on how to optimize the search process while protecting your privacy.
If you choose an intermediary, find someone you trust, who can listen to your needs and do this well.
As a first step, most prospective buyers will gather information about the location of interest and the available properties. If you wish to carry this out personally you can use an incomplete or different name so that agents and private sellers won’t know your real identity.
Often the rich and famous looking to protect their privacy, buy properties that are located in private areas with limited pedestrian traffic (such as gated communities), have various home security features (ex. a villa with a surveilled entrance and/or walls or fences all around it) and cannot be spied from other properties nearby. Central apartments should be accessible from the private parking lot, have an elevator that arrives directly into the house or offer some similar solutions.
Having to speak with an estate agent, initially we would suggest you carefully select a limited number of selling agents (three to five max). Contacting more agents than this can be confusing and difficult to manage as so much time will be spent talking with each of them individually and sifting through their proposals.
Good estate agents have a number of collaborations in place, especially the established ones working at the luxury end of the spectrum. So even if they do not have the right property for you in their portfolio they will try to access it by making an agreement with another agent on a shared commission basis.
Alternatively the first phase of the property search can be outsourced to an intermediary who will act on your behalf (the so called buying agents or property finders)- providing you find someone you trust, who can listen to your needs and do this well.
By relying on trusted and experienced professionals, you stand a strong chance of success.
Since the most special properties are usually the most difficult to find, a qualified professional can take a lot of the legwork and hassle out of the search process. Buying agents automatically shortlist the properties that meet their client’s specific requirements, acting as a single point of contact with all the estate agents that have suitable houses in the area they are looking to buy; a buying agent typically arranges a series of property viewings at the client’s convenience, prepares a report highlighting the pros and cons of the properties viewed and assists the client during the negotiation. Qualified buying agents can use their contact networks to give you access to off-market properties, can potentially approach the owners directly, and can also help you with the negotiation process.
Do not pay for a number of intermediaries when you can have just one.
No matter how rich they are one thing prospect buyers often want to make sure of is that they do not pay for a number of intermediaries when they can have just one. In many European locations property finders tend to split the commission with estate agencies so that their clients do not have to sustain any significant additional costs. Locations that have traditionally had a dynamic market and/or where fees are low, such as London and (before the current crisis) Paris, are an exception.
If the property is located in a crowded area and/or if you believe that you could be followed by some sort of paparazzi during the viewing, then why not making the first visit at night or maybe in disguise.
There are other tactics celebrities often use to keep their anonymity when buying a luxury property such as:
- Have their real estate agents and everyone else involved in the purchase sign a non-disclosure agreement
- Establish a limited liability company or an investment trust to make the purchase
Carrying out a successful property acquisition at the same time as retaining your privacy throughout the buying process is a certainly a challenge if you are in the public eye. But by putting in practice some simple strategies and relying on trusted and experienced professionals, you stand a strong chance of reaching both goals.
If you are looking for a luxury home, on Te Atrium you can find some of the most exclusive properties worldwide. In addition , our Property Scouting Team with your search criteria can put you in touch with the most qualified buying professionals in all the areas where the portal is active.
This article was originally published in Sept 4, 2012 and was updated on March 12th, 2013.
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