MARKET
INFLUENCERS TO GUIDE YOU IN THE BUYING PROCESS The internet is awash with influencers advising on property, but navigating your way to find the ones with the best advice can be challenging. Charlie Lamdin helps many first time buyers navigate the marketplace via his website, Instagram page and YouTube channel Moving Home with Charlie . As a long-time champion of the moving industry, Lamdin is keen for FTBs not to fall into the over-pricing trap and he has plenty of advice for removing emotion from the buying process while not paying over the odds. Lamdin is keen to share his wisdom after over 22 years of working with estate agents. Practical information includes a template that shows how to make an offer for a property via email rather than by phone, which, so far, 17,000 first time buyers have used. “Remember that sellers are seeking certainty as well as price. The best of your offer is to make your most compelling, credible and attractive offer over and above the financial amount itself.You want to show seriousness, preparedness and above all proceedability.The email is to make sure agents see that you aren’t messing around, and you know your stuff!” Lamdin set up his website after finding “a dearth of any site giving an honest opinion of the housing market” and he offers this advice, “Facebook groups can be very helpful for hearing about other buyers’ experiences and can be eye-opening in knowing what to look out for. For example, there are groups dedicated to first time buyers, buying a new build and even buying via shared ownership. These are great places for posting your questions and for learning through others’ mistakes or misfortunes, such as being trapped into poor quality builds and leasehold flats that you struggle to re-sell, as well as reading about positive experiences and advice such as how to choose the best plot or why you should avoid choosing online conveyancers.” Rather than trawling the internet, he advises first timers to spend more time viewing potential properties, “It’s only by seeing properties that you build up a knowledge of different areas and get to know if a property represents good value for money or has potential issues.”
terrace “one DIY at a time, send help!” at their Instagram page restoringnumberfour . Practical advice focuses on diverse topics such as restoring original floorboards, insulation and even cleaning the roof.The first time renovators also show how they get their information, including speaking to experts at a Homebuilding & Renovating show (homebuildingshow.co.uk), with details on how to get free tickets. NEW HOUSE BUILDERS AND CONTENT CREATORS Most larger housebuilders have an online presence and use influencers or “ambassadors” to help reach their buying audience. Lexie Carducci offers plenty of property advice via her Instagram @lexiecarducci and she creates content for developers and estate agents including property and development tours, area guides, interviews with local people and businesses as well as case studies of residents. “Last year I created 12 videos of local businesses for Peabody New Homes, highlighting the area of Loughborough Junction where its new development Higgs Yard is located.Then two weekends ago I headed to Barking Riverside for the #EmergeEast festival to showcase the exciting new neighbourhood in east London and just this weekend I popped in to The Hill Group’s 17th floor show home at Kew Bridge Rise in west London following up a marketing campaign I worked with them on in the summer, spending days out in the beautiful local areas of Chiswick, Kew and Richmond.” Carducci interviewed winners at the First Time Buyer Readers’ Awards 2024 and will soon launch phase two of The Ariel in the Television Centre at White City. Having worked in property for 13 years, she spent lockdown creating videos around her work as a property finder; she’s helped over 700 people find homes to buy or rent, giving tips on areas, process, budgeting, preparation, timeframes etc as well as her own property projects. “From that I began to grow a following of particularly first time buyers and those looking to understand the buying or renting process more.” Carducci’s biggest warning is to “not rush and not feel like you’re being rushed. Accept that homes come and go and, if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t right, and if something doesn’t work out it probably wasn’t meant to! Buying a home is a huge, exciting step in life which is sadly still consistently labelled the third most stressful life event, after death and divorce, so try to remember to enjoy it!”
EXPERT COMMENT
Although there is so much information out there about financial planning, it has never been more important to make sure you are getting information from credible sources and being savvy about where you invest your hard-earned cash.
Richard Dana, Founder and CEO of Tembo. tembomoney.com
EXPERT COMMENT
Be wary of any sites that are overly optimistic about the housing market. Educate yourself into where a site or expert’s vested interest might lie. Anyone who generates an income via individual transactions and talks the market up should be viewed with caution. Buying your first home is all about the move, not the money, so don’t ever be taken in by people who bang on about how much money you’ll make by getting on to the property ladder!
Charlie Lamdin, Home moving champion and
presenter of Moving Home with Charlie . mhwc.co.uk
EXPERT COMMENT
The internet is full of people sharing their opinion so of course you can’t believe everything you see or hear. Take everything with a pinch of salt and use it more as a research tool to create a list of potential areas, developments, schemes, mortgage providers or solicitors and then back it up with your own research.”
INFLUENCERS TO HELP YOU RENOVATE
Lexie Carducci, Property finder and content creator. Instagram @lexiecarducci
Christopher Jones and Paloma Quinn Mills currently have over 4,000 followers watching them renovate their 1887 Victorian
First Time Buyer December 2024/January 2025 89
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