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Were the property buyers real or actors?


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Old 03-12-2015, 08:49
Essex Blue
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Maybe it's just me but something didn't ring quite true to me about the task last night. People making decisions to part with lets face it huge amounts of cash on a whim. One women agreeing to buy a flat worth over £300k without even consulting her husband. And the guys who just happened to turn up in the flash car and buy property worth over £1.5 million without seeing where the block was, and going off a sketch on a bit of paper made up on the spot by Vana.

Does anybody else believe they were real sales or just planted actors making theoretical purchases? Also can't believe you could go out on the street and flog property. It was like the people agreeing to purchase were buying a washing machine or cooker and not high end property.
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Old 03-12-2015, 08:59
Paul_DNAP
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There is a DS article that confirms they were real buyers placing a deposit on the flat on the day of filming.

I would suspect that they would have a better than usual "cooling off period" and a follow up meeting with the actual sales teams to go over more details, but yeah, they really did sell those flats.

And the going out of the street thing, I would accept that is possible. In London there is a very high demand for property, so asking "do you know anyone looking for a flat in London" will get a Yes eventually. There are tales told about people who are planning to move out, contact an estate agent and then have viewers come around within an hour or two, so yes I can believe that actually happened too.
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Old 03-12-2015, 09:27
jonparadise
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Plus there is currently a huge amount of development going on in Lewisham, mind-bogglingly so.

Because of that it's likely a fair few people wandering around are checking out the area/looking at properties.
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Old 03-12-2015, 09:40
Philip Wales
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The thing I didn't get was the women and her "husbands going to kill me" surely they would need his signature too!, as shown on another sell, where both parties had to sign.

I'm going to say yes they were buyers in the fact they were looking to buy, but that the actual sales made were factious, and the contract was for show. Much like the "buyers task" yes they are real buyers for supermarkets etc, but they aren't real orders.
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Old 03-12-2015, 09:43
Maxatoria
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I'd imagine they have some wealthy people who are willing to turn up on TV to test the teams, 1.5 million may be chicken feed to some people and more than likely they can pull out of the contracts as there would of been so many errors by the teams that legally the contract would be impossible to hold up in a court of law anyway
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Old 03-12-2015, 09:49
chuck_wippl
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I imagined that The Apprentice production team asked the developers to send them/the candidates a variation of people on the verge of buying, on the fence, and time-wasters.
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Old 03-12-2015, 10:05
kegsie
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I didn't believe it for a second. It doesn't ring true to me that the developers would be willing to risk potential million pound plus sales by using people who had essentially just walked in off the street and were clearly unprepared.
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Old 03-12-2015, 10:17
pixieboots
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The thing I didn't get was the women and her "husbands going to kill me" surely they would need his signature too!, as shown on another sell, where both parties had to sign
Why you can buy a property solely in your own name if you are married, there's nothing dodgy about it. The other couple were obviously buying it jointly.
Those Roller guys had a real ring of truth to them, investors like them are the reason why so many born Londoners cant afford to live there any more
They just assume that prices will keep rising and watch the market closely, its all about £ per square foot for them, what the place looks like is largely irrelevant to them. This is the ugly side of development.
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Old 03-12-2015, 10:24
MysteriousOz
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What terrified me last night was knowing they were all likely real people and Yes people do just turn up and buy houses like that. Its another world
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Old 03-12-2015, 10:54
Philip Wales
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Why you can buy a property solely in your own name if you are married, there's nothing dodgy about it. The other couple were obviously buying it jointly.
Those Roller guys had a real ring of truth to them, investors like them are the reason why so many born Londoners cant afford to live there any more
They just assume that prices will keep rising and watch the market closely, its all about £ per square foot for them, what the place looks like is largely irrelevant to them. This is the ugly side of development.
Well yes, but then why the "husband's going to kill me" bit. Seems like she was spending his/their money. If she had independent wealth then why does she care what the husband thinks. And would you really buy a property and not tell your spouse? Would they not get suspicious when they come home from work and find they don't live in their house anymore?
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Old 03-12-2015, 11:21
Faggy
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Plus there is currently a huge amount of development going on in Lewisham, mind-bogglingly so.

Because of that it's likely a fair few people wandering around are checking out the area/looking at properties.
I live near Lewisham and used to work there and no amount of development will make it a pleasant place to live - truly horrible area.
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Old 03-12-2015, 11:41
lammtarra
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The buyers were real.

These developments in London sell easily, often to people who see them in whole or in part as investments (more than one buyer talking about the price per sqaure foot or metre) either for BTL or just for the price increase because London prices are far outstripping inflation or the stock market. Many flats will be sold off-plan -- and in the episode, Richard and Vana were in a building whose show flat had not been completed. Brett and Scott were in a shell and had to count windows to work out which flat they were selling -- which might also tell us there was only one left, at least in that size or price.

The buyers were people who had already contacted the developers to register their interest in buying these flats. They'd have seen the web sites and the glossy brochures like the ones the candidates had. Many would just have been checking the details -- remember Brett's customer who walked away when he saw the (complete lack of) view.

These were not for the most part people who were looking for somewhere to move into next month, which is why it may have seemed artificial to most of us.
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Old 03-12-2015, 11:45
The Rhydler
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Another question - what happens to the commission earned? To the candidates? They did all the hard yakker
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Old 03-12-2015, 12:02
Philip Wales
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Why don't we every hear (at least I think we don't) about people who've been on the apprentice as a buyer etc.
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Old 03-12-2015, 12:06
Johnr
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Just me that thought most of them looked like a right load of old tat?

Note to self buy some disused thing in London turn it into property and boom!
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Old 03-12-2015, 12:08
Philip Wales
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^^ first you need the land and alone costs serious £'s in London
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Old 03-12-2015, 13:35
Ænima
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Another question - what happens to the commission earned? To the candidates? They did all the hard yakker
I said the same in the thread last night. I wonder which greedy sod pocketed their commission!
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Old 03-12-2015, 13:40
Philip Wales
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^^ maybe it was used as a discount to the buyers
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Old 03-12-2015, 15:27
The_Bonobo
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It all seemed a bit suspect really. I would guess that the deals were basically hypothetical. Possibly they constituted an option to make a real deal later but with no actual commitment and an understanding that they are probably likely to pass in the end.

1) The developers would not want deals made by novices and the candidates are unlikely able to make such deals in that scenario (possibly legally and certainly in practical terms).
2) No one would buy a house after such a quick showing by someone with limited knowledge. It would be a one in a million chance of any genuine sales which would make for a rather boring and pointless episode.

It's possible they were already very close to a deal via previous showings etc. and also that at least one or two did indeed buy the properties. I doubt the stuff that happened on the show had much to do with it though.

In the end it was not a credible situation but it provided a new task and some entertainment. So just like every other task they do.
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Old 03-12-2015, 15:56
lammtarra
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2) No one would buy a house after such a quick showing by someone with limited knowledge. It would be a one in a million chance of any genuine sales which would make for a rather boring and pointless episode.
How long would a showing normally take? 10 minutes. half an hour?

And that is when there is somewhere to view. Stratford had not been built. Canary Wharf was a more advanced building site but even the show flat was unfinished. The cheaper two were both old industrial buildings being converted -- yet we could see that one was still a shell as Brett was reduced to counting windows to work out where different flats would start and finish.

These developments are typically sold like this -- either off-plan or at best after seeing a show home. The buyers we saw last night were already well on their way to a decision, having already registered their interest *in these particular flats*.

This is why Claude was scathing about Gary and Charleine hitting the streets. Anyone they'd found would not have been so advanced in their decision making.
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Old 03-12-2015, 16:40
The Rhydler
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How long would a showing normally take? 10 minutes. half an hour?

And that is when there is somewhere to view. Stratford had not been built. Canary Wharf was a more advanced building site but even the show flat was unfinished. The cheaper two were both old industrial buildings being converted -- yet we could see that one was still a shell as Brett was reduced to counting windows to work out where different flats would start and finish.

These developments are typically sold like this -- either off-plan or at best after seeing a show home. The buyers we saw last night were already well on their way to a decision, having already registered their interest *in these particular flats*.

This is why Claude was scathing about Gary and Charleine hitting the streets. Anyone they'd found would not have been so advanced in their decision making.
Yet in series 2, such an act was commended
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Old 03-12-2015, 18:52
striing
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Just me that thought most of them looked like a right load of old tat?

Note to self buy some disused thing in London turn it into property and boom!
Yes if you can afford to do it.

I recently posted that my lottery win dream house would be something like this and posters who don't know the London market commented that a house like that could be bought for a fraction of the price where they live.
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Old 03-12-2015, 19:05
pixieboots
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Yes if you can afford to do it.

I recently posted that my lottery win dream house would be something like this and posters who don't know the London market commented that a house like that could be bought for a fraction of the price where they live.
Its crazy isnt it, Lovely house but if you win the lottery don't buy one like that thats been renovated already as you can never really tell if they did things properly until you live in it for a year or so. Buy a fixer upper and you know exactly whats behind all that plasterboard
To think that some people can just drop 300k or even 1.4 million on property in such a casual way when so many are forced to sleep on the streets Crazy
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Old 03-12-2015, 19:18
SepangBlue
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Another question - what happens to the commission earned? To the candidates? They did all the hard yakker
I asked myself the same question and came to the conclusion that this week's task was conducted in a virtual property world, where all the customers were stooges laid on by Lord Sugar specifically to test the candidates.

Any commission thus earned would of course have been theoretical, but the task was real enough for the candidates to be judged on their performance.
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Old 03-12-2015, 20:59
The_Bonobo
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How long would a showing normally take? 10 minutes. half an hour?

And that is when there is somewhere to view. Stratford had not been built. Canary Wharf was a more advanced building site but even the show flat was unfinished. The cheaper two were both old industrial buildings being converted -- yet we could see that one was still a shell as Brett was reduced to counting windows to work out where different flats would start and finish.

These developments are typically sold like this -- either off-plan or at best after seeing a show home. The buyers we saw last night were already well on their way to a decision, having already registered their interest *in these particular flats*.

This is why Claude was scathing about Gary and Charleine hitting the streets. Anyone they'd found would not have been so advanced in their decision making.
OK maybe the length of the showing isn't the point but a buyer would want to ask someone with extensive knowledge the questions. Only then would they be confident the facts were right. I also accept that these types of properties may be arranged a bit differently, and that different people go about it in different ways.

I do believe (not from personal experience ) that when you are buying a flat for £1.5m you do tend to view the property (even if it is a shell or just the site or plans) multiple times. Factors such as what the area is like at different times or changes in the project over time are worth checking even more if you are buying as an investment.

One key point you made which I also was suggesting was that they no doubt had already either seen something or at least spoken with someone more knowledgeable previously. This shows the task for the pointless exercise it in reality probably was.

As for Charleine and Gary touting on the streets. Yes it seemed a bit odd and was likely to be pointless. But... they had no clients left to see and time left. So even if it was a very long shot, at least they tried something. They had nothing to lose by that point and showed they wanted to at least try until time was up. That seems fair enough.
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