Tag: Dominic Parravani

Dominic Parravani from Durrants comments on the growing influence of artificial intelligence within the property industry, and the difference between an AI estate agent and a PI estate agent.

AI is suddenly everywhere. Academics, lawyers, writers, students, and all those who fact-check and refine their work online are turning to AI.

It’s also increasingly used by estate agents. But reliance on AI has its drawbacks in our business. If you want to churn out the same thing as every other agent, that’s fine. But when we market a property we want it to be uniquely special, to match that uniquely special buyer. And just as no two properties or people are the same, no two estate agents are either.

Any experienced estate agent will tell you that matching people with property shouldn’t be left to an algorithm. How often has a buyer been to view a property which on paper ticks all the boxes, only to be disappointed when they actually see it?  It may have sounded as if it had everything but they just didn’t like it, or it didn’t feel right.

AI can’t anticipate taste, or the fact that when it comes to the crunch a buyer will trade certain requirements for something practically or emotionally better, such as a great view, access to schools and transport, or a large garden. The permutations of a house buyer’s desires and dreams are infinite and way, way beyond the capabilities of AI to predict.

So if you want an agent who relies on experience and instinct, who listens to what buyers need and is invested at an emotional level, then choose an agent with property intelligence and not just artificial intelligence. We are definitely a PI estate agency.

Dominic Parravani of Durrants explains what being an estate agent really means.

Some people think an estate agent’s job is easy. They imagine that property just sells itself, that a buyer appears from nowhere, loves a house or flat and agrees to buy it for the full price – just like that. Some think the sale then speeds effortlessly to a satisfactory conclusion and without any other assistance. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t work like that – well not for most of the time anyway.

In reality an estate agent’s job is not simply to sell houses but to move people. Moving anything is often complicated, can be fraught with difficulty and have unforeseen consequences. Just think about moving twin six-year-olds singlehandedly from bed to school every weekday morning, or moving a flock of sheep from one hillside to another. Both take planning, patience, knowhow, experience and resolve. It means expecting the unexpected, problem solving and often the highest level of tact and diplomacy.

Few inexperienced in the art would try moving a flock of sheep. Instead they would hire a shepherd. And, in a way, that’s what estate agents are. They arrange for something with lots of moving parts – each seemingly with a mind of its own – to end up where it should be on the date and time it is supposed to be there. Estate agents shepherd people, contracts, surveys, mortgages, removals, withdrawals, gazundering, false starts, disappointments, the unforeseen and triumphs from one place to another. Sometimes it’s a smooth process. But all too often it isn’t. Some may think it’s not worth paying for a shepherd. But in the end when it’s been pouring with rain all day, the quad bike has broken down, a fox snatched a lamb and a large group of unreasonable ewes made a long break for freedom, a shepherd is worth every penny.

The best estate agents enjoy being shepherds. Some people may think that selling houses is not much of a job and on the face of it they might be correct. But moving people and families on to the next stage of their lives and making it as seamless and stress-free for them as possible is a tremendous skill and a job worth doing well.

As we approach St Valentine’s Day, Durrants MD Dominic Parravani looks at the similarities between selecting a partner and choosing a home.

In February our thoughts turn to romance and we might ask ourselves: is it possible to fall in love with a home?

When looking for a partner it’s true that some people are attracted by an intended’s looks, social status, bright future, and bank balance. But many people are attracted more by an indefinable spark and connection.

It’s just the same with property. There are those calculating the UK residential property market’s resilience in a time of uncertainty. They monitor the Bank of England’s policies concerning lowering interest rates, government housing initiatives, changing societal norms, sustainability and overall consumer confidence. But where’s the romance in that?

One should undoubtedly do one’s homework and check out the cupboards for skeletons, but often finding the right home is not so much based on a financial transaction but more on dreams, aspirations and an immediate deep sense of belonging. From the moment you enter the right house or flat for the first time, it is like coming home. An emotional connection is forged. The space suits your mood or is adaptable to your many moods; it reflects who you are and gives you comfort by supporting and protecting you.

So one doesn’t have to be the most romantically inclined person to understand that the answer to the question, “Is it possible to fall in love with a home?” is a resounding yes.

Now, let us help you find your perfect match, because in property at least we understand how love works.

Get in touch with Durrants today. Click here for details of your nearest office.

Durrants MD Dominic Parravani ignores the New Year crystal ball and instead spreads some hygge around the property market.

Hygge – pronounced hue-gah – is a Danish word. It isn’t easy to translate into English, but to Danes the word means a cosiness and comfortable conviviality that brings on a deep feeling of contentment. You can have hygge with family, with friends or just by being at home.

As there isn’t too much hygge in the wider world at present, people have increasingly come to prize the well-being their home gives them as much if not more than the monetary value of their property.

Why is this? Buyers and sellers tell us every day that in this uncertain world owning their property gives them an unmatched security blanket. Let’s face it, most of us often prefer to be in our small, secure and comfortable world for a while, rather than the more uncertain outside one.

The past few years have been a period of extreme, even historic economic, political and financial disruption. Yet the property market has prevailed because of a need that pays no heed to economics, politics or mortgage fix: the market remains strong despite all the turbulence because most people still want to live under their own roof.

We should like to wish all our friends, neighbours, buyers, sellers and future clients the happiest and healthiest New Year, and if 2025 is going to be the year you make a move we are here for you and with you all the way. Do call us – we can’t wait to spread the hygge.

Dominic Parravani of Durrants explores how sci-fi can help a large group of house sellers replace starry-eyed ambition with more earthly logic.

Many of those old enough to remember the original Star Trek TV series may now be considering making a most important move – leaving their starship and downsizing. With no need for lots of space, which is expensive to run and increasingly difficult to maintain, an easier life beckons in more suitable accommodation.

This is a pivotal moment for people of a certain age who are preparing to boldly go and seek out a new life. The decision to downsize and move is not one to be taken lightly, as it involves significant amounts of money and the lure of a comfortable future lifestyle. The gravity of this choice underscores its importance.

For some help in this matter it is useful to adopt the logic and emotional detachment of Mr Spock rather than the unquestioning optimism of Captain James T Kirk. For instance, which is more important, that you move house cleanly, quickly and easily or you hang out for an arbitrary selling price you feel your home is worth or which has been suggested to you by friends and family? Without any doubt Mr Spock would advocate that moving is the more important outcome and that the price you achieve will inevitably be what someone else is willing, ready and able to pay. As Mr Spock once said in season 3, episode 9, “In critical moments, men sometimes see exactly what they wish to see.”.

Adopting logic, dampening sentiment, and engineering sales are what estate agents do every day. They are the Spock and Scotty on board the Enterprise, indispensable to the process. Just as Capt. Kirk can’t do without them, sellers need the expertise of their estate agents to guide them through to their next voyage. Live long and prosper!

Dominic Parravani explains how to choose the perfect future dream home and win in the house-buying stakes.

You don’t buy a dream home, you make a dream home. At best you buy someone else’s dream and then change it to fit your best vision. Ten-out-of-ten houses are the unicorns of property. Even those who have custom-built their homes discover there are things they should have done differently. For buyers a nine is best, good is an eight and seven might be OK. If you accept this truth you are on the way to becoming a better buyer.

So embrace the not quite right and then put it right. Celebrate hideous, badly replaced windows, for in time you will replace them properly, improving insulation, reducing energy bills and, with the correct style, increasing the property’s value. Delight in an overgrown jungle of a garden that’s putting perfectionist buyers off and keeping the value down, and pick up your spade. It won’t be an instant value gain but given time it will be – and think of the mental and physical benefits you will gain on the way.

Sniff out the improvers, those properties that will become more valuable because of schools Ofsted is noticing for the right reasons. Understand how future planning will affect local areas for better or worse and choose neighbourhoods that will become more popular and, in turn, gain value.

Be patient. It is generally taking far too long to transact property, so dig in for the long haul by selecting well and accepting there will be bumps along the way.

Be prepared. When that perfect imperfect house becomes available, be ready to seize the opportunity. Have your finances in order, a buyer lined up, and a complete chain if necessary. Make it hard for a serious seller to refuse your reasonable proposal.

Don’t judge the book by the cover. That house with the ideal interior for you but ghastly frontage may not make you happy. But what if a good local architect could transform that elevation into a handsome head-turner that turns a five out of ten into a nine out of ten?

Learn to love your estate agent. They already know all those things you need to find out.

Looking for a new place to live needn’t be a chore or a lottery. But it is a campaign with a dream at the end – home.

 

If you’re thinking of making your next move, please get in touch with your nearest Durrants branch today.