The New Year is a traditional moment for businesses to send out a message, to their friends, their clients and to those who, they hope, will become clients in the future. It’s one of those things that has to be done and we are no different. These messages usually extoll the successes of the year gone by and look forward with heady optimism to a fantastic 12 months to come. Is that not what audiences expect and want to hear from professionals? There will of course be various caveats thrown in for good measure to ensure the message is professional and measured, academic, even. Just in case the unexpected occurs.
It is something of an understatement to say the unexpected did occur; this year we do not buy that particular narrative.
For us, 2020 was characterised by far more human and visceral reactions to Covid and its ramifications than can be easily explained in a mere newsletter. Some people have been understandably fearful and others bullishly sensing opportunity. We had always hoped last year would be buoyant as Brexit was essentially done and potential clients felt they could move ahead; but then Covid arrived and the market went into deep freeze. As is usual in moments like this, the shock set in, swiftly followed by anger and depression then a reappraisal and acceptance of the impact the lockdown was having. To our amazement and huge relief the summer break proved to be a turning point. We accepted instructions from more clients than at any time since 2006. What may have been aspirations, dreams and ideas for many potential clients suddenly became a ‘must do’. Covid had crystallised people’s thinking. It was time to turn dreams into reality. We have succeeded for some if not yet all of our clients. The common thread weaved through our buyers is a desire to live life and procrastinate no more. Unfortunately, the more recent lockdowns have thwarted movement and yet again everything is on hold. Frustrating as it is for all concerned, we do not sense a loss of motivation with clients eager to start looking whenever that is possible.
There are two events that stand out for us in the last year, demonstrating the human element we touched on earlier. They demonstrate that economic considerations are often not as important as we might think. The first example is a client for whom we had successfully negotiated the purchase of a house. The deal was, as usual, complicated but we had resolved the issues and were about to sign the preliminary contract. The day before the signature, one half of the couple buying was diagnosed with a serious health issue. The deal was off. Surgery and treatment followed. Happily, our client is making excellent progress, however their experiences have led them to double down on their efforts to realise their dream. Their ‘can do’ mentality is inspiring and we are instructed to do whatever we can to fulfil their aspirations. Neither pandemic nor illness will stop them as life and experiences are too precious to miss.
The second example is not quite so dramatic as no health issues were thankfully involved. Nonetheless it is an example where economic considerations are not absolute and where other, more emotive reasons prevail. The client in this case had received a telephone call from a friend saying she had seen an advert in the Daily Mail for the house their respective families had all stayed in together three years earlier. They had such happy memories of their holiday that they were determined to acquire the house. We were contacted and instructed to negotiate the purchase. Despite competing interest we successfully bought the property for our clients who are now very much looking forward to reliving some of the happy times they had there.
Both of these stories demonstrate the power of emotion when it comes to property acquisition. Of course, there is always some element of economic consideration in any transaction but as professional advisors we should never lose sight of the fact that there may be other, more subtle, forces at work in buyers’ minds. If the Covid crisis has taught us anything it is perhaps to pay closer attention to clients’ dreams and aspirations rather than seeing everything through the prism of cold financial calculation. We encourage our children to follow their dreams; perhaps we should extend that advice to our clients.