Clerkenwell: the home of loft living
Clerkenwell has become so achingly cool that the affluent young entrepreneurs who work in its creative businesses are desperate to live there, too.
The best new homes 2012
Here we showcase this year's winners of our London Evening Standard New Homes Awards - the capital's property Oscars.
Spotlight on Camden Town
The shops and markets clustered around the high street and canal make Camden one of the most colourful of London's neighbourhoods. The area's period homes and loft-style apartments attract a mix of homebuyers.
Move to St Albans and you get two cities for the price of one
Moving out of the capital doesn’t have to mean a longer commute or even a change of job.
My design London: Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Hurley reveals her latest design project; discusses friend Damien Hirst's artwork, as well as her favourite restaurants and design shops in London.
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: high church
This former masonic chapel in Chiswick has been converted into a three-bedroom home (£1.175 million) with a 30-foot open-plan, double-height reception room. The kitchen is a black glossy affair, there’s a study, a cinema room and a decked roof terrace.
Swap of the week: Blackboys, East Sussex
Honeys Green farmhouse is a Grade II-listed pile that sits in a couple of acres and offers versatile living with an annexe and outdoor heated pool. Inside has character galore among four bedrooms and an attic room with pretty views.
Life-changer: South Petherton, Somerset
Willowbrook is a five-bedroom beauty (£1.15 million) with a 52-foot reception room and garages that could become a holiday apartment. Make a B&B business there and your guests could use the indoor pool and gym complex or roam your two-acre garden.
Spotlight on Tunbridge Wells
It may have temporarily lost its iron-rich spring but Tunbridge Wells has buckets of charm to make up for it.-
Buy of the week: high church
This former masonic chapel in Chiswick has been converted into a three-bedroom home (£1.175 million) with a 30-foot open-plan, double-height reception room. The kitchen is a black glossy affair, there’s a study, a cinema room and a decked roof terrace. -
Swap of the week: Blackboys, East Sussex
Honeys Green farmhouse is a Grade II-listed pile that sits in a couple of acres and offers versatile living with an annexe and outdoor heated pool. Inside has character galore among four bedrooms and an attic room with pretty views. -
Life-changer: South Petherton, Somerset
Willowbrook is a five-bedroom beauty (£1.15 million) with a 52-foot reception room and garages that could become a holiday apartment. Make a B&B business there and your guests could use the indoor pool and gym complex or roam your two-acre garden.
Property search
Bovis and Barclays guarantee mortgages
Duo woo borrowers as the bank lets the builder take the risk, says David Spittles
In the first deal of its kind, Bovis Homes and Barclays have agreed to offer loans up to 90 per cent of purchase price. But instead of Barclays taking on the financial risk, Bovis will indemnify the bank if a borrower defaults forcing repossession.With mortgages still in short supply and lenders demanding big deposits, the move is welcome news for homebuyers following yesterday “austerity” Budget. According to Moneysupermarket.com, there are only 3,100 mortgage deals available today. In June 2007 there were 28,413. And there are 174 deals allowing people to borrow 90 per cent of their property’s value compared with 763 deals three years ago.
Lenders are particularly wary about new-build flats and houses because of concerns about resale values. Whereas Halifax requires a 10 per cent deposit on older properties, it wants at least 20 per cent on a new home. Even borrowers with spotless credit ratings are suffering because of the general reluctance to lend.
Bovis says it will set aside a percentage of the value of the house into a pot of funds for potential defaults. Called Perfect 10, the loan deal is available through Barclays’ Woolwich mortgage arm. At the moment, the lender is offering a two-year fix at 4.99 per cent, with three-year unemployment payment protection included.
Bovis builds mainly in the Home Counties and currently has properties for sale at developments in Essex, Kent and East Sussex.
More articles
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London’s epidemic of discounting
A combination of greedy sellers, nervous buyers and unscrupulous estate agents who promise sky-high prices in order to tempt clients, is being blamed for an epidemic of discounting in the London property market, where a third of all homes for sale have had their original asking price slashed.
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New Homes Awards 2012: the winners
From classy commuter mansions to city-centre apartments at NEO Bankside and first-time buys to penthouses, this year’s best new homes were awarded for innovative design, eco living and impressive architecture.
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Only 639 new homes are for sale in Greater London
The scarcity of land is changing the face of London as offices become homes and commercial centres go residential.
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The best new homes 2012
Here we showcase this year's winners of our London Evening Standard New Homes Awards - the capital's property Oscars.
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Property insider: Islington
Well-connected Islington is a hotspot for City workers and young professionals who are seeking more space than a Square Mile crash pad without a long commute. We take a property tour of N1 and its surrounding neighbourhoods.
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Can anything be done when a seller puts the price up?
We should have exchanged contracts on our new house last Friday, but the seller upped the price on Thursday by £25,000, so it didn’t happen. Also, his sister is living there and can’t move out until July. Can he do this? Does it matter that’s she’s living there?
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The accidental landlord
Our accidental landlord doesn't know where to look when she ends up meeting a tenant who is happy to chat in just his boxer shorts.
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Diary of an estate agent
A Pangbourne estate agent finds the balancing act of the exchange process pays off if he can duck the crossfire.
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Secret money-saving tips
Times are tight but frugal life doesn’t have to be boring. Follow these secret money-savers - from discounts at Starbucks and the cinema, to free kids meals at restaurants.
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Homes that slash your heating bills by 90 per cent
The UK’s first “greenhauses” - highly efficient German-designed homes said to slash utility bills by 90 per cent, have been unveiled in west London.
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