Tired of London, not tired of life

I first hauled myself out of Macclesfield around a decade ago and, after a fleeting stop-off in Nottingham, where I abjectly failed in my attempt to seize fame as a latter day, chubby Robin Hood, I found myself living in Clapham.

Did I enjoy my stint in Sairf West Larndan? I certainly did, but given my propensity to binge beyond my means and the proliferation of bars, clubs and e-coli ridden takeaways, I soon found myself knocking on the door of gout.

When gout wasn’t in, I’d be sniffing round to see if Type 2 diabetes was home. Whilst this was truly a glorious time in an already gluttonous existence, there came a point when I had to put my club-foot down.

Where next, then, on my odyssey of discovery? Well, I thought long and hard before deciding it was about time to make a break for the country. Time to bite the bullet, screw my courage to the sticking place and immerse myself in any number of other clichés.

Could I handle the commute? Was I really man enough to get on the overland train at 07:39 every morning and change at Finsbury Park?

Would I miss the edgy 24-hour glamour of ‘town’? Would a quaint market town really be a suitable location for a loquacious bar-propper-upper such as myself?

To answer those questions, I’ll simply ask them again. Could I handle the commute? Was sauntering onto a practically empty train, sitting down, spreading out and reading a newspaper at 07:39 more or less pleasant than shoe-horning myself between half a dozen sweaty city workers on the Northern line at 08:15?

Would I miss the late-night hollering of disaffected youths and my bi-monthly trip to the garage to have my kicked-off wing mirrors replaced?

Is the last train out of ‘town’ at 01:11, and does this leave plenty of room for Soho booze-hounding, whilst also allowing the option of a genteel, countrified night on the tiles if the mood so grasps me?

And there it was.

I realised that what I really wanted was to live in a sedate, picturesque, Waitrosey town but without removing the possibility of spontaneous, Central London debauchery.

I found it in Hertford, and, nine months on, can say with hand firmly on heart, that it’s the best move I’ve made since I slapped Gary Kasparov with a checkmate at the 1998 World Chess Championship held at Macclesfield Leisure Centre, before absconding to Gretna Green to marry Keira Knightley [citation needed].

Rob Phillipson is National Key Client Manager for FindaProperty.com

Everyone’s aflutter over Twitter. Its trajectory over the last few months has been as steep as North Korea’s recent ’satellite’ (cough) launch; but unlike the Korean rocket, Twitter continues to rise and rise (insert Vaughan Williams ‘Lark Ascending’ allusion here).

I’d like to brag that FindaProperty.com was one of the pioneers of the medium, but we were somewhat sluggish to jump aboard the bandwagon - November 2008 to be precise.

And like most of the Twitterati, I remain unsure as what exactly Twitter is good for. Real-time search engine? Global noticeboard? Or just a few million people letting another million people know what they’re eating for lunch. Or tea. Or that they are now awake. In case you were interested. Which you weren’t.

Anyway, some of the more web 2.0 savvy, switched-on estate agents have also decided to catch onto the tailfeathers of the little blue bird and are now tweeting with the best of them.

Some use Twitter to announce they’ve got new properties, some tweet about property-related news, whilst others gaze silently around in wide-eyed wonder, as bemused as our very own Sales Director, but gamely determined not be left behind: 

Should you wish to follow them, here’s a selection of Estate Agents on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/BayEstateAgents

http://twitter.com/Beresfords

http://twitter.com/BigBlackHen

http://twitter.com/CBSlade

http://twitter.com/cwhr

http://twitter.com/IsleoWightHomes

http://twitter.com/jacquidaley

http://twitter.com/knightfrank

http://twitter.com/LifeResidential

http://twitter.com/marshandparsons

http://twitter.com/squarefoot

http://twitter.com/Squires_

http://twitter.com/thelettingsite

http://twitter.com/townends

If I’ve not mentioned your agency on Twitter, then let me know and we’ll start following you. But only if you follow us first: http://twitter.com/FindaProperty.

Quid pro quo, Clarice. Quid pro quo.

Our guys in the Research Team have some interesting news to report.

On Monday March 23, FindaProperty.com attracted 174,014 unique visitors. This is the highest daily level we have seen since daily tracking records began in mid-2006.

How do we explain this?

It’s partly down to the fact that in the week preceding March 23 we had two big events: the launch of our McDonalds Best Chance Monopoly promotion (win 2 x £300k to buy a home) and our partnering of Google to launch Street View UK.

But our research team also say the rise in visitor numbers is evidence of a pick-up in market activity: since the start of 2009, the number of visitors to FindaProperty.com has been 8.6 per cent higher than the same period in 2008.

In March, unique visitors to FindaProperty.com were up 6.7 per cent month-on-month and 8.6 per cent year-on-year.

Is the market enjoying a spring revival? We’d love to hear what’s happening in your neighbourhood.

We wrote about this subject on FindaProperty.com ealier in the week.

Here’s a helpful video about the changes, which took effect on April 1.

Thanks to Ciara over at Royals of Rent for alerting us to this YouTube source.

1. Thisismoney Message Boards: “Sanity returns - but at what cost?” wonders greybaby. I’ve often asked myself the same question, baby. Lively discussion of homes, mortgages and house prices from the best personal finance website in the business.

2. SingingPig: Don’t let the name put you off, it’s got nothing to do with farm animals! Busy and informative property forum that all landlords should bookmark.

3. 4homes: Need to share your passion for Kirstie, your devotion to Phil? This is the place to do it. Lots of practical discussion, too, about buying, selling, DIY, design. And, quite recently: MOLES!

4. Period Property Discussion Forum: You are not alone:  yes, there are other people who need to talk about linseed paint, sash windows, ledged doors and George Monbiot’s scurrilous attack on the AGA.

5. LandlordZone: Active forum that gets down to the nitty gritty: deposits, evicitons, sub-letting, inventories … and whether a dehumidifier is tax deductible. Well? Is it?

6.  FT Discussions: High octane discussion of editorially posted questions. The place to be if, like Ides_of_March, you can say this sort of stuff: “I think the rental situation is too far removed from the fundamentals of the K cycle to gain much of an insight.” Me too, Ides, me too.

7. Swarb Law Forum: Informative legal forum addressing landlord/tenant issues. “What about the duty to mitigate you keep banging on about?” Hairyloon asks Faithless … yeah, Faithless, what about that then?

8.  Moneysavingexpert Forum: Very active forum with lots of chat about property. Searched in vain for “the drinks are on me” thread.

9. The Move Channel Forum: Big property focussed forum. Tenants & renting is the busiest thread at the moment, and Germanjulian is worried about “Draft Excluders and a weird landlord!”

10. DIYnot Forum: Ok, look, there’s a bank holiday weekend looming.  Get advice first and take warning from their disasters thread: “Gas Pipe ARGGGHHHH!”.  I_am_fubar reveals that “looking into how to plumb has caused me to have some rather odd nightmares about waking up and my walls have all washed away.” Don’t say you weren’t warned!

Have we missed any? If so, send us your recommendations.

This week’s graph is from the FindaProperty.com Rental Index for March.

The solid line shows the monthly change in rental values while the red dotted line shows the monthly change averaged over three months.

What’s interesting about this is the gradual slowdown in the pace of price falls, a trend matched by the slowdown in the amount of stock coming onto the market.

Both trends suggest that the rental market may be close to the bottom of the current cycle – it’s too early to call it yet, but it certainly interesting, and not without significance for the sales market.

Go to this page to read the full FindaProperty.com Rental Index for March.

What’s happening to rents in your area? Let us know using the Comment link below.

Street View, West End Lane, West Hampstead, zoom out to explore area.

After moving to London 18 months ago, I initially struggled to settle – a small town girl trying to find her place in the big city.

I tried my hand at living in the leafy suburbs of South West London and then I tried the hustle and bustle of Central London.

But, after a bit of soul searching, I happened upon West Hampstead…a great little pocket of North West London. Okay, our Head Office is based here, but regardless of that – I love it! Let me tell you why…

1.    Peaceful: It’s a peaceful retreat from the clamour and chaos of the City. Don’t get me wrong, West Hampstead still gets busy. But, as soon as I step off the train after a hectic day at work I can feel the pace slow right down, take a deep breath…aaahhh, I’m home.

2.    Connected: There are two train stations, one tube station and countless buses linking the jolly West Hampstead residents to the rest of London. You can be in Central London in 15 -20 minutes or South West London in 30 minutes!

3.    Cafés & Restaurants: Spoilt for choice when it comes to cafes, restaurants, and quirky shops. I’m still working my way round all the scrummy places to eat and pubs with cosy fires and beer gardens.

Somewhere I can definitely recommend is Cini’s on Mill Lane. You can read my views on it at The Greene blog.

Or another great place to try is Little Bay, a lovely Bistro on Belsize Road – it’s fantastic value for money and has a truly unique ambience with an old fashioned Moulin Rouge, theatrical feel to it – you can even enjoy your meal from one of the balcony tables.

Ooh, I mustn’t forget to mention Elephant Walk on West End Lane –delicious Sri Lankan curries…yum! Or if you’re happier cosying up at home with a takeaway, then The Bombay Bicycle Club is divine – a nice comfy Indian treat.

4.    The Heath: Just up the road, you have Hampstead Heath… ideal for long country walks, whether it’s crisp and frosty or bright, beaming sunshine.

Then, you can pop along to Hampstead with its old fashioned boozers, independent cafes and funky boutiques.

One of my personal favourite places to visit whilst here is the Freemasons Arms on Downshire Hill. Unless it’s a Sunday, then I’ll be tucking into a mouth watering roast in the humble surroundings of the Holly Bush on Holly Mount.

5.    Regents Park: Heading in another direction, not too far away, you have Regents Park. There are beautiful landscaped gardens, a boating lake, an open air theatre and lots of little cafes to visit along the way.

6.    Architecture: The architecture in West Hampstead takes you back a few years. Hints of Art Deco London are scattered about on the tree lined avenues that hark back to a proud and affluent era, where you can imagine horses and carts, ladies with parasols and top-hatted gentry promenading in the last rays of the evening sun.

7.    Mansion Blocks: Mixed in with that there are striking, red brick mansion houses that demand attention. They’re not only compelling to look at from the outside, but offer huge space and comfort from inside also. Alexandra Mansions, Malborough Mansions and Lyncroft Mansions are prime examples of these imposing buildings. Read more about these at The Greene blog.

8.    Mix of People: There is an eclectic mix of people living in West Hampstead, which makes it an appealing place for anyone to live. I’ve noticed, though, that it’s mainly ambitious young professionals – which is what attracted me, to be honest.

Well, there’s some food for thought. If you haven’t already fallen in love with the place, I’m sure I could chew your ear off for half an hour over a coffee in one of the quirky cafes on West End Lane.

Probably in Le Brioche or Café Plus sipping a coffee and tucking in to some scrambled eggs on toast!

Naomi Buffery works in Greene & Co’s marketing department and writes their The Greene Blog.

After all the excitement of having the offer accepted I calmed down and got straight on the phone to the bank. I wasn’t prepared for the response I got.

No longer lending at 90%. WHAT?!

How can things change so quickly? I had only spoken to them a week or so before and they had said they would definitely lend me 90%?

They started talking insanely about taking out a loan to top up my deposit money, but when you’re taking out the biggest loan of your life, the thought of another one doesn’t really appeal.

I got straight on the phone to another lender and my excitement quickly turned into a blind panic as I got the same response. And then another. And yep, you guessed it, another.

I made an appointment to see a building society the next day who said they were still lending to first-time buyers at 90% but after we had gone through the hour-long process there was a ‘computer says no’ moment when an alert message flashed up on the screen saying 85% only. Great.

I was so annoyed that I could have slapped the poor mortgage manager. And I was starting to worry that I might lose the flat.

I spent the evening doing some more phone bashing and eventually found someone who would lend to me. Made an appointment to visit an actual branch the next day (prefer to do this stuff face to face) and then bingo, we were done: first-time buyer mortgage at 90% on a fixed rate for 5 years.

It is a high rate, I know, but I have done my sums and I can afford it. I hope that down the line I make money on the flat and this will compensate for the limited deals available to me now.

I completed all the forms and I am just waiting for the final, final mortgage offer from the head office and then all systems go.

I am confident but still slightly nervous that anything could happen at any time. I think the mortgage company is waiting for the lease extension before they go in and do their initial valuation. Not entirely sure what is happening. Should probably make a call…

Anyway, the vendor seems to be moving things on and is showing no signs of pulling out - she has packed up the flat and I went round to check out the cooker and fridge that were practically brand new so taking those off her hands for a fair price.

I am so glad I rented unfurnished two years ago as I now pretty much have everything I need to fill the flat. I can’t imagine where I would find the money to buy a bed, sofa, and other furniture. It was all part of my master plan and seems to have paid off.

I want those keys!

It’s been a busy old week here at FaP Towers.

Yesterday we had the launch of the McDonald’s Best Chance Monopoly – we’re sponsoring the two £300k prizes to buy a home.

Today we’re very happy to be partnering Google in the launch of their innovative Street View addition to Google maps.

Street View allows you to view and navigate 360 degree street-level images of 25 UK towns and cities.

We’ve been busy checking it out all morning and we have to say – it’s awesome!

But don’t take our word for it – take a look for yourself on this sample property ad.

Look for the yellow “Pegman” icon on the right-hand side of the property description and then click “Show Street View” to display the pop-up map page.

Click pic for details

Here’s a video of how Street View works, followed by one on privacy and how to get Google to remove an image.

We’ve been asking our users what makes a home?

As you probably know, pretty much everyone in Ireland lives in either a castle or a cottage, so to celebrate this undisputed fact, here are some castles you can currently buy there.

Most of them are of Norman provenance, and they obviously weren’t big on floor-to-ceiling windows, the Normans.

But if security was your main concern, and you’d always wanted a balcony from which you could pour boiling oil on marauding locals, they were the lads to go to.

Grand Designs: it was very different back then!

Click the pics for full details