Property News from Times Online en-uk Tue, 30 Oct 2007 15:37:29 GMT Copyright 2007 Times Newspapers Ltd. custserv@timesonline.co.uk http://www.timesonline.co.uk Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:20:11 GMT Newspapers 144 21 http://www.timesonline.co.uk http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,116979,00.gif Natalia Gameson Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-08T12:30:51Z It all started so well. Back in precredit-crunch 2006, my boyfriend, Andrew, and I eagerly bought a two-bedroom flat in leafy Epsom, Surrey, for £220,000. Smug to be first-time buyers while only in our twenties, and desperate to escape awful landlords, we were too happy to be ascending the first rung of the property ladder really to consider what we were buying... and how we were buying it. Jessie Hewitson Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-05T08:41:41Z Twelve years ago, the singer-songwriter Polly Paulusma — who has supported Bob Dylan, Coldplay and Jamie Cullum — viewed a three-bedroom house, fell in love with it, and bought it. She was gleefully happy — everybody else thought she was mad. For the house, on St John’s Hill, in south London, was less than half the width of the average British home, at only 7ft 7in. Caroline Donald Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-07T10:30:48Z Gilbert & George, the identically dressed artists whose scatalogical and controversial art has been causing shock waves for the past 40 years, recently announced that their home in London’s East End will become the Gilbert & George Centre once they have both moved up to the great studio in the sky. “From suits to knickers,” said Gilbert, “everything will be there... on a human level, how we lived. All the drawings and the negatives, all the designs we did.” Tony Juniper Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-05T10:04:34Z Traditional orchards were once a common feature of the landscape. Since the 1950s, more than 60% of English fruit orchards have disappeared; Wales has lost more than 90%. Interview by Rosanna Greenstreet Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-06T06:07:35Z I studied politics at Exeter University between 1998 and 2001. I got depressed in my second year: I had come out, there was lots of change and I couldn’t cope. I was sad and miserable for a long time. I saw a therapist at the university, who was great. Then, in the summer holidays, I travelled in Africa for three weeks. I remember going back to Exeter for my final year and feeling very differently about myself. I moved into 7 Well Street and it felt like a new beginning. Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-06T03:03:56Z When Steventon House, near Basingstoke, in Hampshire, came onto the market last month, it had buyers queuing up, despite the £4.5m price tag. Indeed, the white, Grade II-listed, six-bedroom property, with 51 rolling green acres, went under offer within weeks. David Smith: Home Economics Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-05T10:05:50Z Competition is a good thing, so the break-up of Britain’s rescued banks, announced last week, should be a positive move for the housing market. Although nothing is imminent, the disposals approved by the European commission will increase choice. Lloyds TSB-HBOS has a mortgage-market share of about 30%, so the split should be beneficial, and has been lauded by Which? and other consumer groups. Interview by Alexis Giles Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-05T10:11:22Z I remember arriving at the Xaverian Missionary Fathers seminary for the first time. It was a Saturday morning and I took three buses from my parents’ house on the other side of Lanarkshire, which is a big thing when you are 12. I wasn’t very streetwise; I didn’t have a clue where it was and I didn’t have a map. When I got there, I walked up in the mist and saw some boys playing football on the grass in front. It felt like another world, like going back in time. Tim Dawson Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-07T03:53:50Z What it is: Jane Cottage, an attractive stone house on a good-sized plot “in need of modernisation”. It has two reception rooms and four bedrooms. The garden, facing south, is surrounded by a stone wall. There is also off-road parking and a garage. Caroline Ednie Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-07T04:02:15Z A small twist on the traditional loft apartment has resulted in that rarest of property propositions in Edinburgh: exemplary new-build flats that are actually affordable. They have views of Arthur’s Seat to boot. Indeed, the £2.6m Microlofts development — which, as its name suggests, predominantly features compact apartments — has captured the credit crunch mood so well that, during the Edinburgh Doors Open Day event in September, it had 750 visitors. Some were looking to buy, but most were intrigued by the cutting-edge design of local architecture firm Studio Dub. Mike Wilson Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-07T03:50:53Z Kenneth and Ann Stephen found themselves among a handful of bidders for the house that was to become their home. Looking back, they are convinced that their obvious enthusiasm and knowledge of the building were the deciding factors in the bid going their way. Anna Mikhailova Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-05T10:07:10Z What it is: A former Sunday school with planning permission for conversion into a 880 sq ft home with one bedroom, one bathroom, a double-height reception room, a dining room and a terrace. Caroline Roux Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:39:31 GMT 2009-11-05T10:25:37Z There is a kind of handicraft being touted by many magazines as recession-savvy. It often involves pegs and hangers and bits of old fabric, and should not be given houseroom. And then there is patchwork, a practice so historically and anthropologically dense it is admired in the chicest of places. Ruth Corbett Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:37:41 GMT 2009-11-05T10:25:24Z The bargain: Nickel-plated bedstead Ruth Corbett Sat, 07 Nov 2009 12:31:09 GMT 2009-11-05T10:23:46Z When David Carter leaves his front door open, passers-by stop and stare and crane their necks to get a better look at the fabulously decorated rooms within. The property, 40 Winks, is claimed to be “the smallest hotel in the world”. Whether this is true or not, the three-bedroom Queen Anne confection (two guest rooms, plus Carter’s “private boudoir”) must surely be one of the most seductive. The interior decorator bought this elegant townhouse in the East End of London 12 years ago as a place to bring up his young family, but any resemblance to conventional family homes ends there. Rebecca O’Connor, Property Correspondent Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:01:32 GMT 2009-11-06T09:25:46Z House prices are up and the number of sales is rising, but homebuyers who are desperate to move are emptying the market. A rise in orders for sold boards from estate agents, against a much smaller increase in requests of for-sale signs, is the latest proof of the squeeze on stock. Alice Bowe Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-06T04:49:42Z I am a bit of a lazy gardener. I love my garden but I also love reruns of Inspector Morse, football and beer festivals — so I’m always happy when I discover an easier way to get my gardening done in time for the kick-off. I have founds lots of sneaky ways to enjoy a beautiful garden without spending all my time working on it. A couple of hours a week is all I need to keep it looking beautiful — and over the next four weeks I am going to share some of my secrets with you, so you can get a life, too. Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-05T03:39:08Z This is the ideal month for planting roses. If they are pot-grown, still feel free to open up and spread out the roots. Damian Whitworth Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-05T03:37:40Z Sitting on the floor of a cattleshed, at the business end of a cow, Chrissie Hynde is trying to get to grips with a set of udders. “Are there four of them?” she shouts above the Hare Krishna devotional music blaring out of a CD player in the corner. After a few moments of grappling, milk comes squirting into the pail between her feet. “Awesome!” cries the lead singer of the Pretenders. “I bet Jordan can’t do this.” Anne Ashworth: commentary Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-06T09:25:26Z The current antics of the property market are providing a boom-time nostalgia moment. Listen to the tales of gazumping, greed and sealed bids as buyers chase the few properties available — the shortage is particularly acute in London and the South East — and you could almost believe you were back in the summer of 2007 and Rihanna was singing Umbrella, the season’s chart hit.