Pewley Hill
Helping you find your home in Surrey
Working with Hong Kongers
to simplify the home buying process
Helping you find your home in Surrey
Working with Hong Kongers
to simplify the home buying process
About
Originally brought up in Hong Kong, Keith Hemshall and Philip Tam relocated to the UK in 2022.
With decades of property brokerage and tenant representation experience and having personally dealt with the challenges of starting a new life in the UK, we established Pewley Hill Ltd as a boutique Buyers Agent:
- To assist Hong Kongers setting up in Surrey to find a new home in the most stress-free manner;
- To provide expert guidance and assistance to Hong Kongers looking to purchase a new home in the UK. Our role is to offer professional guidance and support at every stage of the process, ensuring a smooth and informed experience. Additionally, we can facilitate communication and negotiations with developers or landlords, if required;
- To serve as a trusted advisor for Hong Kongers seeking to lease a new home in the UK. We offer comprehensive guidance and support throughout the entire leasing process, providing professional advice and direction. If necessary, we can also assist in communicating with landlords to ensure a seamless leasing experience;
- To serve as a trusted advisor for Hong Kongers for lease renewals. We are dedicated to safeguarding your interests as a tenant and can provide assistance in effectively communicating with the landlord’s agent, if needed. Trust us to guide you through the process and ensure that your leasing experience remains favourable.
Aside from Property Sourcing, we also offer world class English and Chinese language tutoring for you and your children through our TutorABC (GB) platform.
We look forward to helping you settle in!
Keith Hemshall
韓其峰
Philip Tam
談居正
Services
We will identify the key drivers of your requirement
Establish Requirement Brief
- Budget
- Square feet space
- House vs Apartment
- Parking
- Security
- Number of bedrooms & other rooms
- Fung Shui
- Mortgage or cash
- Preferred location / Postcode
- Preferred schools*
- Timing
- Proximity to supermarkets
- Proximity to parks and other amenities
- Proximity to travel networks
- Other services required: Mortgage / Conveyancing / Interior Design / Builders
* Guildford is home to world class schools, some of whom have sister schools (or affiliations, in China).
- Guildford High School
- Royal Grammar School
- Tormead School
- St. Peter’s Catholic School
- St. Catherine’s School
- Charterhouse
- Prior’s Field School
- Guildford County School
- George Abbot School
- Christ’s College
Introduction of Advisors
We recommend commencing discussions with mortgage advisors (if required) and Conveyancers at the beginning of the search process to ensure you are fully aware of what you can afford as well as the legal process moving forward. This manages expectations and saves time.
We will introduce you to the most reputable advisors in the market.
Whilst Surveys are not required in Hong Kong, if you are buying an older property in the UK, it is highly recommended that you invest a few hundred pounds in having a professional independent Surveyor inspect the property to identify any issues (particularly structural / damp related) and issue you with a Report.
By nature these documents are rather lengthy and not user friendly to the layman. Also, the report will identify absolutely everything that is less than optimal and can give the impression that the property is in poor condition when in fact it is not and only some (if any) of the issues raised need to be rectified.
We will help you decipher the Survey, quickly identifying the critical issues and suggesting a rectification plan to save you time and money.
Property Search
Armed with your brief we will approach my selected “best in class” Property Agents across Surrey to ensure full coverage in the shortest possible time and open the door to quality stock, sometimes even before it comes to market.
Together with you, we will then cross check these property options against your requirement brief to establish a “long list” before coordinating initial inspections.
Short-listing
Having inspected and evaluated the long list we will identify a short list of 2-3 properties to take through to the negotiation stage.
Negotiation
Taking into account availability and demand I will advise on:-
- Pricing
- Negotiation strategy
- Timing of completion
- Payment terms
Remember, it is critical at this juncture that your finances are in order as the selling agent will require POF to show you have the required money accessible in the bank.
Further Assistance
Upon an agreement of terms, Subject to Contract, we will introduce you to other key advisors as follows:-
We can assist with introductions of the following:
- Interior Designers
- Architects
- Tradesmen
- Gardeners
- Storage Facilities
- Removal Firms
- Language Tutoring*
*Pewley Hill works closely with a leading on-line platform that provides Artificial Intelligence (AI) driven English and Chinese Tutoring.
Key Issues
Proof of Funds (POF)
In 2018 the Euro Parliament passed a law that required Estate Agents to check that money used in a purchase of property is from a legitimate source. Failure to do this can lead to fines and imprisonment. Therefore during the property buying process, as a foreign buyer you will be required by law to provide the following:- Particularly if you are a cash buyer, it is vital that you organise your finances so that the requisite funds are accessible and you can prove the source (e.g. property sale), when asked from the Offer stage onwards. Failing to do so will risk losing your preferred option to another buyer so get your “house in order” sooner rather than later.The sellers’ Estate Agent (EA) may request POF at two stages for two reasons. If a particular property is likely to generate multiple offers, the EA may request POF before an offer is submitted but the buyer is not obligated to provide the information in this instance. However, once the offer is submitted the buyer must by law provide POF if asked.
There are various ways to provide POF including:-
- Mortgage Agreement in principle
- Bank statements for Deposit Amount (Mortgage buyers)
- Bank statements for cash amount (Cash buyers)
- Bank statements for up to 10 years to show how funds built up over time (e.g. Property sale
- Gifting letter
- Will evidence / proof
- Receipts of shares being sold
Mortgage Lenders and Conveyancers are also within their legal rights to seek POF and will do so.
Proof of Identification (ID)
Proof of ID will be required and the following are all valid:-- Passport
- Residence permit
- Driving License (UK / EU)
- HMRC Inland Revenue Tax Notification
- State Pensions Book / Letter
Proof of Address
If required, the following are all valid:-- Tax Bill
- Tenancy Agreement ‘
- Mortgage Statement
- Bank Statement
- Utility Bill
Language Tutoring
- Uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to match students to teachers with similar interests to ensure stimulating content
- Free trial lesson available
- All teachers are certified
- Teaching is done to a set curriculum
- The platform is Child Safe
- Teachers may be accessed 24/7
- Best exam prep for GCSE, A Level & IB
- A life long learning platform to cover young learners, teenagers, test prep, study abroad and adult students
Charges
Retainer
An upfront non-refundable payment of £888 + VAT payable upon confirmation of our retention to source a property on your behalf.
Remainder
0.5% of the purchase price + VAT (minus the Retainer paid) within 30 days of completion.
Example
You retain Pewley Hill as your Search Agent and your budget is £400,000.
A property is secured for £400,000. Fees are as follows:-
Retainer
£888 + VAT
Remainder
£400,000 X 0.5% – £888 = £1,112 + VAT
Contact
Pewley Hill Ltd
Keith Hemshall
+44 (0)7455 010 838
keith.hemshall@pewleyhill.com
Philip Tam
+44 (0)7522 191 674
philip.tam@pewleyhill.com