Embassy exodus returns acres of central London to its residents
As the embassies exit Mayfair and Marylebone, their former bases will free up stunning family homes. While the move of many embassies to Nine Elms at Vauxhall is creating a new residential quarter including thousands of new apartments.
Fast new commuter routes are changing London's property map
Regeneration throughout London continues to change the property map, with the orbital train network and recent Tube line extensions creating faster commuter routes with good-value homes, including Deptford, Bromley and Woolwich.
Brighton spotlight
The East Sussex city of Brighton and Hove offers its residents the best of both worlds: a relaxed life at one end of the line within an hour's commute of London, and a good mix of Regency terrace houses, seafront apartments and family homes.
Canterbury spotlight
The compact city of Canterbury sits 60 miles south-east of London in Kent. In recent years its property market has been boosted by a high-speed rail service into St Pancras, which cuts the journey time to the capital to less than an hour.
Chelsea Flower Show preview 2013
This year the RHS Chelsea Flower Show promises to be suitably fabulous as it celebrates its centenary year with stunning gardens, including the Forget-me-Not Garden by B&Q and Prince Harry's charity.
Find a rated tradesman
Want to add value to your property, make your house a home, or sell your place fast? With 1,000s of tradesmen nationwide, rated and recommended by previous customers, this is the smart way to find a reputable tradesman.
Buy of the week: Stoke Newington, N16
This modern home of almost 1,000sq ft is close to Stoke Newington's high street. A 27ft reception room and two large bedrooms give the flat a spacious feel.
Out of town: Tetbury, Gloucestershire
The beauty spot of Leighterton, with its poppy fields, ivy-covered churches and popular local gastro pub, is home to this four-bedroom house with stone-walled gardens.
Life-changer: Dolwyddelan, Conwy
Have a station all to yourself by buying the Old Station Master's house at Roman Bridge, where trains will stop at your door on request. You also get three bedrooms and 10 acres of grounds.
Oxford spotlight
The small city of Oxford is famous for its university and honeyed stone architecture, but its huge range of property - from affordable new homes to luxurious Victorian houses - and one hour commute to London, are big attractions to home buyers.-
Buy of the week: Stoke Newington, N16
This modern home of almost 1,000sq ft is close to Stoke Newington's high street. A 27ft reception room and two large bedrooms give the flat a spacious feel. -
Out of town: Tetbury, Gloucestershire
The beauty spot of Leighterton, with its poppy fields, ivy-covered churches and popular local gastro pub, is home to this four-bedroom house with stone-walled gardens. -
Life-changer: Dolwyddelan, Conwy
Have a station all to yourself by buying the Old Station Master's house at Roman Bridge, where trains will stop at your door on request. You also get three bedrooms and 10 acres of grounds.
Property search
Check your account for bank blunders
By Lucy Tobin
The NatWest glitch — where the bank’s computer failure locked thousands out of their accounts and caused millions of missed payments — may seem like old news to some. For others, however, the impact of the June meltdown could be lingering on, and neglecting to act now could see their future applications refused for loans, credit cards and even mortgages.
It’s not just NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland customers who could be hit: those of other banks were affected when late-payment or overdraft fees were imposed because expected deposits from RBS were delayed. Anyone who fails to take action could face lingering black marks on credit records which could push up the cost of future borrowing.
RBS and NatWest have promised that account holders whose transactions were locked out will be compensated, but it’s crucial to check your credit status now. If it has been affected, it’s not difficult to rectify, but could become tougher as time goes on so it’s important to act quickly.
Check your credit rating with a reference agency. Doing so will normally cost a few quid, but the firms offer free trials that mean you can do so without paying. And if you sign up via a cashback site, you could even make money. Sign up to a 30-day trial with CreditExpert via Quidco, for example, and it will pay you five pounds for doing so. Other suppliers offering free trials include Equifax and Checkmyfile. Make sure you remember to cancel the free trials afterwards.
If you do find negative credit data related to the RBS fault, get in touch with the bank to have it removed. If you find other data on, for example, missed payments that is accurate but was not your fault, contact the credit agency to add explanatory notes. A doctor’s letter may explain why sickness caused a missed payment, for example.
Acting now could prove crucial to organise borrowings in the future, particularly mortgages. Other ways to improve your rating include closing unused bank or store cards, installing a landline telephone, joining the electoral roll - and always paying bills on time.
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New homes in London's Zone 1 on a Zone 2 budget
Our exclusive research shows a "price wall" formed by the Northern line, with property values to the east less than half those in the west. We reveal the emerging lower-value districts in Zone 1 for buyers on a Zone 2 budget.
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London's top property growth areas
Wise homebuyers can get ahead of the curve by buying in London's potential growth areas, thanks to new transport links, regeneration projects and the arrival of iconic new buildings such as the Shard.
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New Homes Awards 2013: the winners
This year's London Evening Standard New Homes Awards, hosted by comedian Vic Reeves and England rugby captain Chris Robshaw, praised thoughtful design and spacious interiors at a range of new homes developments.
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Clerkenwell Design Week 2013
Discover one of London's most creative neighbourhoods at this year's Clerkenwell Design Week. This three-day event showcases the hottest trends in design, architecture and cutting-edge furniture.
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Homes gossip
Keira Knightley and James Righton have bought a new marital home in Spitalfields; Reese Witherspoon's adds to her LA property portfolio; and Elton John's personal trainer sells up.
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Post-Olympic regeneration: Bethnal Green, Bow and Stepney
East London is still enjoying the benefits of post-Olympics with a regeneration boom that involves new affordable developments in areas such as Bethnal Green, Bow and Stepney.
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New Homes Awards 2013: the winners
This year's London Evening Standard New Homes Awards, hosted by comedian Vic Reeves and England rugby captain Chris Robshaw, praised thoughtful design and spacious interiors at a range of new homes developments.
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London's latest new homes update
Take your pick from London's newest properties, including 800 new homes in a former Bermondsey biscuit factory; family houses in Muswell near near the top-performing Fortismere School; and hundreds of new flats on the leafy slopes of Shooters Hill.
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Property search: budget under £500,000
This week, we uncover 1,000sq ft two-bedroom apartment in Stoke Newington, a four-bedroom stone house in the Cotswolds and an Old Station Master's house in the heart of Snowdonia National Park that comes with its own railway station.
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First Olympic village homes up for rent
Relaunched as East Village this week, the Stratford athletes' quarters is set to become home to thousands of London's renters in streets named with the Olympics in mind — from Prize Walk and Cheering Lane to Medals Way and Celebration Avenue.
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