WEEKEND COLUMNISTS
Resources
Principal content
The Secret Agent worked for one of London’s top international real estate agencies for four years before setting up his own property-finding consultancy in 2004. He works with the rich and famous, sourcing high-end homes across London and sometimes the world. He previously worked in the film industry, between New York and Los Angeles, and has also lived in Paris, Buenos Aires, Venice and Nepal. He has a degree in art history and English literature and a Masters in creative writing.
The Secret Agent started writing for the Financial Times’s House & Home section in 2007 and has a novel in progress. - -
An unhappy return
The Secret Agent returns to an office maelstrom, where he finds himself dealing with a vendor who pulled out of a sale at the last minute and an agent who ran off to Rome with a high-rolling client
Doing deals in a rainforest
The Secret Agent’s BlackBerry buzzes through Rio de Janeiro’s cafés and cobbled streets as he tries to finish negotiations on behalf of clients while on vacation
No pleasing some folk ...
Sick and frustrated with glacial lawyers and clients who have no manners, the Secret Agent awaits the heralding of a new week
In with the arty party crowd
The Secret Agent hangs out with clients that are also art groupies for a non-stop social whirl during the the Frieze Art Fair and is left with little time to actually show properties
Aren’t we in a recession?
With property prices in prime central London higher than ever, the Secret Agent, at a loss over what to advise his clients, consults a pessimistic market-forecaster
Between city and country
A former American actress who is planning to rent out her Chelsea flat asks the Secret Agent where to buy a house before moving into her fiance’s Belgravia pad
Bad behaviour, bikes and booze
The Secret Agent breaks a self-imposed abstinence from alcohol after a frustrating week that saw the theft of his bicycle and his clients not being entirely straightforward
The silent treatment
Spending the week in Paris, the Secret Agent explores the city’s property market and picks up negotiating tricks from the world of fashion
Off-the-wall radiator
The Secret Agent is pleased to have The Thesp – who gives off warmth and energy – in his staff. He brings a certain ‘joie de vivre’ and difference into clients’ lives
Movers and Sheikhers
The Secret Agent has had a good week with two active dream clients, but dealing with vendors and people who demand kickbacks is proving to be frustrating
