Mews houses are certainly not to everyone’s taste, unless they are unusually large, or have the benefit of parking facilities. Mews houses have this image of being “cool” bachelor pads, but the reality is quite different, largely they are small quite cramped and with little natural light. They can command premium prices, where the buyer owns the main house (originally attached to the mews) which by connecting to their house, creates a better living space with integrated parking.
Do famous owners increase value?
With regards to London property owned by famous people or featuring in films increasing its value, the answer is no. I very much doubt that my buyers would be shallow enough to pay more for a property which has been owned by a famous person, other than possibly with the exception of real historic value, or been used in a major film.
If anything it may detract from the appeal, as it becomes a “marked” property which is easily recognisable. If it is of architectural or special design interest and that is why it had been featured in a film, then this would have been reflected in the price from the outset.
Simon Barnes on Basements
The London Borough of Kensington recently announced a review of its basement policy. Simon Barnes comments:
I believe this review is a great idea and not before time. Developers and builders have become swept away by the thought of making excessive profits through creating basements, based on this obsession with ‘square footage’.
A desire to enhance the square footage of the house believing this will greatly enhance the value is misguided. Squash courts located in a newly created basement going under the garden are practical and with purpose; creating vast basements, or double or even triple deep basements are not because in reality much of this space will not be used and a house then becomes divided by useable space and simply redundant space.
[Read more…]
Prime London Property: Off-market sales
A short Interview with Simon Barnes about off-market sales
1. Is the concept of an ‘off-market’ sale good or bad from the seller’s perspective? Does it, for example, give their property a ‘mystique’ which can add value to the property?
Good, in that it enables a quiet sale without everyone knowing your business. In the current economic climate, where often assumptions are made that sales are forced for financial reasons and therefore can be bought at well below the advertised price – selling off market, usually prevents this. Also if the property doesn’t sell, it can be withdrawn and re marketed at a later date as a fresh property.
Do buyers get a disservice from off-market sales, because presumably many will not know of the properties being on sale? [Read more…]
Phone signals and broadband access
I’ve never across anyone in central London who was worried about mobile phone signals or broadband access; I would seriously doubt their seriousness about buying if they chose to reject a property on those grounds. After all, there are technical solutions readily available to improve broadband speeds and wifi if you wish to improve a service and money have the budget.