It’s a truism that the largest purchase most of us make in our lifetimes is our home –  admittedly a diminishing prospect in our current dysfunctional housing market . Fox and Davis are negotiating a deal which will have a huge impact on every home in our country .

If it were a house purchase would you choose Fox and Davis to act on your behalf? Naturally it is a transaction we approach with care . We study the market; we assess what is available , determine our requirement , and work out what we are prepared to pay . When we enter into the transaction it is subject to survey and contract .

Fox and Davis’s Unrivalled Expertise

Now imagine that the agents – Fox & Davis ; Going Global – with whom you are dealing proclaim great expertise . However you know that before their recent return to the front rank of the business they had both been out of it for some years .

One had to resign for what were seen as dodgy dealings. The other resigned his position on a point of principle about the way the business was being run . He had expected to be invited back  but the then Managing Director ( whose job he had previously sought ) decided that he was a risk to the business .

The two of them cannot point to any deals  remotely approaching the magnitude of the current purchase  that they have satisfactorily completed – ever  .

The Power of Magical Thinking in Securing a Deal

Nonetheless on every encounter they declare boundless optimism  . They can’t provide any evidence to justify it , and berate you for not sharing it. They extoll the virtues of entirely untested methodologies . They criticise anybody who questions their advice as undermining the property market and the deal they are negotiating on your behalf .

They are equally dismissive of anyone who questions their terms of business . They are simple and straightforward they say . You have given them a mandate to complete the purchase on your behalf . Your new home will be splendid , they assure you , if you will only use your imagination . They understand fully the global market in which they are operating on your behalf ; just allow them to get on with the task without questioning their judgement , or the outcome , which will be wonderful .

Keeping it Simple and Fact Free

They cannot in advance of the completion give you any specific detail about your new purchase , how it compares with what you currently have , what the monthly running costs will be or even the purchase price . However these are but details and it would weaken their negotiating hand fatally if you were to be told .

They get particularly short tempered when you enquire , on the basis of reports from Irish colleagues , about the opinion of some experts based in Brussels, who have advised that the purchase will require expensive underpinning , and that the cost will fall to you .

They are adamant this is old style thinking which demonstrates why it is so vital to take their deal so that in the future we will not be held back by such outmoded ideas . They have a digital solution , not previously used , but it will take the issue off the table , as it were .

Tell You Price After Completion

Of course they have previously , rather tetchily explained , that you can only get a deal as good as this on their terms :  your purchase  is not subject to contract and survey and you are not to have the benefit of any professional advice except their own .

Finally you will only be notified of the full cost of the deal negotiated by Fox & Davis – Going Global on your behalf after its completion . You will then  be entirely liable for meeting the costs of whatever they have negotiated on your behalf .

There is no appeal against their deal .

With credentials and terms of business like this would you choose to do a deal with Fox& Davis – Going Global ?