Tag Archives: garden
Buying a home near a British stately home costs on average £40,000 more
Buying a house close to one of Britain's many stately homes can cost on average £41,000 more than in neighbouring areas, but they also grow in value, new research shows. The average house price in an area with a stately home was £319,203 in May 2015 compared to an average of £277,990, a premium of £41,213 or 15%, according to a study by UK lender, the Halifax. Indeed, it found that some 76% of postal areas with stately homes have higher house prices than neighbouring locations and overall prices command a premium relative to the surrounding area in 54 of the 71 stately homes covered in this survey. Homes close to Kenwood House in Hampstead Heath currently command the highest premium of £770,023 or 120% in cash terms, followed by Ham House in Richmond upon Thames at £513,918 or 116% and Ightham Mote in Sevenoaks at £231,230 or 82%. Outside southern England the areas with stately homes commanding the highest premiums are Tabley House, Tatton Park and Peover Hall and Gardens, all in Knutsford in Cheshire, with an average house price premium of £181,517 or 83%. In all, there are 14 areas with stately homes where properties trade at an average premium of at least £150,000. They include Winterbourne House and Garden in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham at £162,551 or 91%, Highclere Castle, setting of the TV drama Downton Abbey, in Newbury at £155,532 or 44% and Chatsworth House in Bakewell at £154,063 or 89%. The research also found that owners of properties in areas close to Britain's many stately homes have seen the value of their home rise by an average of £89,506 over the past decade, from £229,697 in 2005 to £319,203 in 2015. The 39% increase in the average property price is equivalent to a monthly rise of £746. In cash terms, the average price growth of £89,506 in areas with stately homes is more than twice the national increase of £39,311 or 22%, which has grown from £178,016 to £217,328 in 2015. Average house prices in nearly all stately home areas in the survey increased in the past decade. The largest price growth was in the area of Kenwood House at £822,810 or 140%, followed by Ham House at £451,123 or 89%, and Hatfield House in Hatfield at £228,367 or 71%. The only area to record a fall in average price since 2005 is Coleraine in Northern Ireland, home to Downhill House and Mussenden Temple at a fall of 10% or £12,977. However, there are 17 areas with stately homes where properties trade at a discount to neighbouring areas. The largest discount compared to average house prices is around Wimpole Hall in Royston, where prices are typically around £50,000 or 13% lower than in the county of Hertfordshire. This is followed by Saltram House in Plymouth with values £40,903 or 18% lower, and Osborne House on the Isle of Wight lower by £32,071 or 16% despite the house being… Continue reading
Research reveals differences between landlords and tenants on maintenance
There is significant confusion when it comes to where responsibilities lie in rental properties when it comes to issues relating to property maintenance and care, new research shows. The biggest discrepancy between what tenants and landlords believe relates to providing meter readings at the beginning and end of the tenancy period. Some 73% of landlords correctly think it is their tenants’ job to do this, but only 35% of tenants think so. The research from landlord and tenant insurance provider Endsleigh also shows that 60% of tenant respondents consider it as the landlord’s responsibility to touch up paintwork, yet 45% of landlords cite it as the tenant’s. Tenants and landlords are also unclear when it comes to the responsibility for pest control. Some 32% of landlords believe pest control is the tenant’s responsibility, yet 84% of tenants consider it as the landlord’s. Endsleigh, together with the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS), has created a responsibilities guide to clear up the confusion when it comes to rental property maintenance and care. ‘Relationships between landlords and tenants can become strained when rental responsibilities aren’t fulfilled,’ said Marcus Latchford, Endsleigh's lettings and landlords manager. However, sometimes it’s just a case of one side being unaware of their responsibilities. Individual contracts will often spell out who should be taking care of what, but the small print is often the last place people look,’ he added. Jessica Alomankeh, projects coordinator at the London Landlord Accreditation Scheme (LLAS) said that while most of the responsibilities for landlords and tenants are well understood by both parties but some things are still confusing. ‘Landlords deal with repairs to fixtures and fittings, boiler servicing, as well as arrange buildings insurance if the property is furnished. Tenants look after tasks such as keeping the garden in check and the internet installation. For tasks such as pest control and touching up paintwork, the landlord is responsible,’ she explained. ‘What’s more, at the beginning of a tenancy, landlords should provide tenants with an inventory pack, containing contact details of the current service providers. It’s then up to the tenant to check metre readings and set up new payments with the suppliers,’ she added. Continue reading
General election garden city manifesto pledges welcomed
The Town and Country Planning Association (TCPA) has welcomed the manifesto pledges for a new generation of Garden Cities from the major political parties but raised questions about their commitment to delivering genuinely sustainable new homes. The TCPA has campaigned for a new generation of Garden Cities for over a century and believes they can provide a powerful and unique model of development, and are much more than just homes with gardens. ‘We need brave political leadership in order to bring forward new Garden Cities, and the TCPA is keen to work with the new government to ensure that the socially just, high quality Garden Cities that the nation deserves become a reality,’ said Kate Henderson, TCPA chief executive. She pointed out that while the manifestos all pledge support for Garden Cities, none of them set out how these Garden Cities will be delivered, or how a new government will ensure that the new communities adhere to the Garden City principles. The Labour manifesto states that the party wants to boost housing if it is in power after the May general election and pledged to build a new generation of garden cities but Henderson says it fails to include any commitment to ensuring if and how new Garden Cities will meet the Garden City principles. ‘The Lyons Review sets out a clear mandate for the delivery of Garden Cities, and referenced the need to make their delivery mechanism fit for purpose with the recommendation to update the New Towns Act,’ she explained. ‘The Review also recognised the need to consider the quality of new homes, particularly in regards to of the need for space standards, high quality design and zero carbon standards. To deliver genuine Garden Cities we should act on these recommendations,’ she added. The Conservative manifesto states the party will support locally led garden cities and towns in places where communities want them, such as Ebbsfleet and Bicester but Henderson says that another of its proposals to extend the Right to Buy scheme risks undermining the achievements of genuine mixed communities. The Liberal Democrat manifesto is the most detailed and sets out plans for at least 10 new Garden Cities in England, in areas where there is local support, providing tens of thousands of high quality new homes, with gardens and shared green space, jobs, schools and public transport. It has also pledged to encourage rural Local Authorities to follow these principles on a smaller scale, too, developing new garden villages or suburbs as part of their plans for growth along with the creation of up to five major new settlements along a Garden Cities Railway between Oxford and Cambridge. Henderson said the TCPA would have liked to have seen references as to how these Garden Cities or development will be brought forward. Continue reading
