Marlborough News February 2014 Editorial: Water, water everywhere!
One of the Most Expensive House in the World
by works to general flood defences or to the property itself against not only direct river action, but also from surface run-off and the inability of our drainage systems to cope with flash rainfall.
Flood and storm damage costs people more than £1 billion a year, according to the Association of British Insurers, and with forecasts of increasing risk of flooding over the foreseeable future this is one issue householders cannot afford to ignore.
The lack of flood insurance at an affordable rate may see property values affected adversely despite the new government agreement (Flood Re), which will provide a fund to cover those properties in high risk area for the next 20 – 25 years. Thereafter, homeowners will be required to insure on a self-funding basis. The only exceptions to this new agreement will be homes in council tax band H and houses built since 2009. Flood Re is expected to commence in summer 2015 and in the interim the existing Statement of Principles should apply, but the insurer will still assess the risk and any proposals which may reduce their exposure.
It needs government, local authority, builders and insurance companies to work together not only to build homes in the right areas, but to the right specification. At the moment they often work against each. For instance raising the ground floor level is often hard because of Today the bosses of key insurance the need to construct a level access to companies are meeting at No. 10 meet building regulations. Another Downing Street to discuss their response option might be sustainable drainage to the spate of flooding affecting England (SUDS) which promotes natural drainage and Wales. Recently, the Association on site, but this requires builders and of British Insurers (ABI) in conjunction architects to take the longer term view of with the National Flood Forum published development. guidance for Local Authorities on planning in flood risk areas. But flooding Perhaps what is required is for house is not only a key political issue but a very buyers to be more robust in their selection personal one for every householder in a criteria of new homes especially: instead risk area. Smiths Gore sees the critical of a large kitchen, ask if it has SUDS or issue facing homeowners of flooded flood defences. Ultimately the answer is properties as to whether or not action has in our own hands. been taken to rectify the problem, either
Smiths Gore Expands
Fr anchuk Villa, Kensington Reported to be one of the top ten most expensive houses in the world, this Victorian Villa was a girl’s prep school in London until 1997. Bought by developers and upgraded in 2006 with more than £10million worth of work, it is now worth about £161 million and rising! Unusually for London, this 5-story home is freestanding, with 10 bedrooms, an underground indoor swimming pool, movie theatre, panic room, saunas and gym.
And the trend continues… •
UK house prices increased by 0.7% in January, and were up 8.8% from the same month in 2013, according to the Nationwide Building Society.
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The final three months of 2013 also saw the highest property sales per estate agency branch according to Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. A figure of 21 was the highest number since March 2008, and up from 9.8 in January 2009.
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The Bank of England reports that the number of mortgages approved for house purchases rose by 20% in 2013 compared with the previous year. With 734,969 home loans approved during the year, up from 612,654 the previous year, when many first-time buyers were locked out of the mortgage market.
Interestingly.. Over-55s in the UK took more than £1 billion out of their homes in equity release last year, two-thirds of which was in order to boost their income. The UK economy will grow by 2.5% this year and 2.1% in 2015, the National Institute of Social and Economic Research (NIESR) has forecast.
We are delighted to announce a merger with the independent planning consultancy, Hives Planning, based in Reading. The move, effective from 1 February, means the breadth of planning and other associated services available to Smiths Gore clients has increased. Equally, existing Hives Planning clients will be able to draw on the extensive range of property consultancy advice available within Smiths Gore, whilst retaining the local personal service and contacts within the Reading team.
Finally… Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England, has hinted in line with his policy of Forward Guidance that interest rates are likely to stay low and if increases are made these are likely to be marginal.
smithsgore.co.uk
Around the World with Smiths Gore! The weather has been against the UK over the last few months, so if you are thinking about living overseas, you might consider the British Virgin Islands for more information please contact our York office on 01904 756303. A few properties from the books of Smiths Gore in this piece of paradise include:
Approx Guide Price £3,062,500
Approx Guide Price £200,000
Approx Guide Price £1,625,000
Exceptional waterfront estate, set on 4.7 acres and including 600 feet of waterfront/ beachfront and a private dock.
Olde Yard Inn, Condominium Village, Virgini Gorda, British Virgin Islands. A Brand new 2 bedroom, two bathroom apartment in this new development.
Island Time, Little Trunk Bay, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands. Nestled in approximately 1.15 acres of landscaped tropical gardens, this poolside villa boasts five separate bedroom cottages with baths en-suite and private patios.
Origin of word shambles
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number of English villages and towns have market areas known as Shambles. Chester and York are noted ones and locally Devizes has its own indoor market version. But the origins of the word might surprise you. The dictionary says it’s late Middle English (in the sense ‘meat market’): plural of earlier shamble ‘stool, stall,’ from Latin scamellum, diminutive of scamnum ‘bench.’ So “Shambles" is an obsolete term for an open-air slaughterhouse and meat market. In the 13th and 14th century, there were no sanitary facilities or hygiene laws’, and guts, offal, and blood were thrown into a runnel down the middle of the street or open space where the butchering was carried out. By extension, any scene of total disorganisation and mess is now referred to as, "a shambles".
Vendors take note! conveyancer sufficiently early, with 84% of customers instructing a solicitor once an offer has been accepted on a property, rather than when they put their house on the market.
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survey conducted by Move with Us found that most home movers are suffering from delays because they are not instructing their solicitor or
Those who instructed a solicitor when they first list their property move on average up to 11 days faster, helping to lower the risk of the buyer or seller pulling out of the sale.
Eco home brushes up We are more than just the largest rur al property managers
A house made almost entirely from rubbish by the University of Brighton is to use 20,000 used toothbrushes donated by Gatwick Airport as cavity wall insulation.
From the Papers To request a free market appraisal click here.
INTERNATIONAL: Dubai rent ruling favours landlords Landlords in Dubai will be able to increase rents by up to 20% under new
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The Lucky Few Lead the Way! First-time buyers have been "driving the mortgage market forward" in the past year with 44% of all home loans purchased, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). But according to Shelter, they are the lucky few with 4.1 million young adults giving up on the dream of home ownership. The study by the charity compared average earnings and house prices between 1997 and 2012. It concluded that average earners would need a £29,000 pay rise to keep up with rising house prices. CML reported that the number of loans made to first-time buyers was up by 23% in 2013 compared with 2012.
All Hands to the Pump! From the Countryside Alliance, to individual hunts and members of the Young Farmers, the countryside community is working together to help flood hit colleagues. The NFU in the south west is now looking for pledges of future help of forage and bedding rather than immediate supplies. Anyone who wants to pledge fodder & bedding should contact the NFU's SW office via south.west@nfu.org.uk 01392 440700. laws governing the city’s rental market. The latest real estate sector reforms override the 5% rental cap and set out new maximum rent increases for tenancy contracts renewals. Gulf Business