Tram and her husband lived in London for over 10 years staying in just one area. When they decided to buy a new home, they worked with RFR to explore other parts of the city. RFR helped them consider areas based on their criteria of good schools and transportation access. As Tram is also a Feng Shui expert, property orientation and building dates were also important factors. They ultimately decided on a home in Parsons Green, a lovely neighborhood becoming popular with French families. RFR secured the property below the asking price and helped navigate the purchase process smoothly. Tram is now pleased to join RFR as she was so impressed with the service they provided as clients.

1. MY RFR ADVENTURE:
FROM CLIENT TO CONSULTANT
My husband Huy and I
had lived in London for
more than 10 years, and
all that time we stayed
in just one borough:
Kensington & Chelsea.
As a family, we worked
extremely hard during
the week (I had worked
in banking for fifteen
years, culminating in a
position as an
Associate Director for
UBS Wealth
Management in London) and, as a consequence, on the
weekends we didn’t tend to venture too far. Now that’s
just a shame!
We had been ready to buy for some time, but didn’t
know which areas beyond Kensington & Chelsea to
consider. When we met RFR they really opened up our
eyes to many new parts of the city and helped us to see
beyond the little patch we had come to know and love
so well.
This month we are delighted to announce Tram Anh Nguyen joining the team here at
RFR. Here she tells us about her own personal journey from client to consultant!
Tram’s RFR home
As the search progressed, we became a team. Sophie
and Anthony targeted the areas based on our criteria of
schools (French/English/International) or the
proximity to the public transport. We explored a
diverse range of areas from Battersea and Fulham to the
South West, Brook Green to the West and Dartmouth
Park and Highgate to the North (the new Lycée had
recently opened in Kentish Town and we wanted to see
if the residential neighbourhoods to the North of town
could work for us).
Meanwhile, we also had another, more unusual
consideration to factor in to the initial search. Since
2010, I had been fulfilling a passion and had been
training in the ancient Art of Feng Shui. Owing to this
work, it was crucial that a target property was
sympathetic to a number of Feng Shui principles.
Sophie and Anthony had not worked with a Feng Shui
expert before but they were quick to adapt and would
provide me with important information
(e.g. orientation of the property and the year the
property was built) before every viewing. It was a little
unconventional but they soon got used to me carrying
my enormous Chinese Luo pan (Compass) in my
handbag and were always keen to learn more.

2. Ultimately, they knew that it wasn’t enough to find a
house that looked good on a good street and in the
right area. It also had to be a house that made me feel
good and would help me and my family achieve in our
personal and professional lives.
After much deliberation, we decided that we would like
to set down roots in Parsons Green – a lovely leafy area
with a village feel just over the Chelsea boarders. With
the recent opening of a French preparatory school in
the area, Parsons Green was fast becoming an
aspirational destination for many French families in
London and it felt right.
Following some targeted approaches, Sophie and
Anthony found our perfect house, off market in a
pretty tree-lined street to the North of Fulham Road.
At the time, the market for good family houses was
extremely competitive. Nonetheless, we managed
to secure the property below the asking price on the
strength of the proposition that the RFR team put
together. Richard’s role in the transactional phases
of the process really was indispensable. He made the
agents and the vendors comfortable that despite our
offer not being the highest they might achieve, we
would deliver on the purchase and we would do so
within the timeframe that worked for them.
He navigated us through to exchange of contracts in
two weeks with completion only a week later.
This was particulary impressive given we required
a bank mortgage and had to get the mortgage offer
through credit and approved in the 10 working day
time frame. There were also a few issues that came up
in the structural survey that the team commissioned
on our behalf which we had to quantify (and then seek
remedial compensation for from the vendors) before we
could exchange contracts.
Richard managed the whole process seamlessly, and
coordinated the work with the Bank, our solicitors, the
sellers’ agent, the surveyor, the builders (who had to
price for the remedial works) and the insurance broker
(which Richard had also recommended from his net-
work of contacts).
The final stage was back to Sophie who brought in the
RFR design team and together we made it a beautiful
home for our family to enjoy for years to come. It was
of course an opportunity for me to bring all my Feng
Shui knowledge to use in the most personal of spaces
and, again, the team worked hard to ensure the design
schemes were sympathetic to these ancient principles.
During my time at UBS I had been sustained by my
desire to serve clients with care and diligence and was
accustomed to helping clients with the multiple facets
of their lives, often beyond their daily banking needs.
The same was true of my Feng Shui clients and, as a
trusted advisor, requests from them to help with other
property matters were gaining in number. Many of my
clients were international and wanted my help, not only
with the Feng Shui of their current houses, but also
in finding new properties to live in and / or help with
managing existing properties (from advice on when to
sell or overseeing refurbishment projects). Naturally,
I recommended these clients to RFR who have worked
with three families over the course of the past year to
this end.
As more and more opportunities presented themselves,
Richard, Sophie and I felt it was time to strengthen our
collaboration and to bring me formally into the team.
It is the logical next step in my career and also for my
clients, who will benefit from the strength and breadth
of the RFR offering.
It is an understatement to say that I was delighted by
the service I received from RFR as their client. Now, I
am thrilled to be part of the RFR family.
To read Tram’s bio please visit:
www.rfrproperty.com/tramanh