Johnny Depp and his private island
It is hard to imagine what living on a private island would actually be like until you have done it. One such person who owns an island is actor Johnny Depp, his island paradise is in the Caribbean.
The island is around forty five acres in size and is known as Little Hall’s Pond Cay. However, [...]
Millionaires drop by half
In 2007, there was an estimated 500,000 millionaires in the UK, but according to recent figures this has now halved to 250,000 and the main culprit is the fall in property values.
The research carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research found that in 2007, there were 489,000 millionaires in the UK, but [...]
Village put up for sale
As unbelievable as is it may sound, an entire village has been put up for sale. Most people may have thought that this sort of thing did not occur in this day and age, but clearly, there are although the owners of the village happens to be a charitable trust.
Linkenholt is a standard English village [...]
Squatters who have taste
An organised group of squatters have moved up market and taken over a seven storey building in the heart of Mayfair that is said to be owned by the Duke of Westminster and have an estimated value of £30 million.
Apparently, there was an open door in the basement of the building, which allowed the squatters [...]
Country houses near bottom prices
Large country houses are never really affected by the market fluctuations in the same way that other properties are, this is because these houses are few and far between and when one eventually does come onto the market, there are plenty of buyers willing to take them on.
However, in these market conditions there has been [...]
The Moon belongs to?
As far as we know the USA, is the only country ever to have reached the moon, so does this mean that they own it? Well this very delicate subject it has been nearly forty years since the first men stepped on the moon and with increased interest in lunar projects does actually own the [...]
October 28, 2008Non Google street level view
When looking for a new property online or in the press it is difficult to get a clear idea of what the area around the property is like. After all estate agents photographs only show you the good points of the property and would not necessarily show you the factory at the end of the [...]
October 9, 2008Who gets the house?
This is a story which is often mention in TV programmes but in reality it is rarely done, we are talking about is dividing up the house when a couple separate, some people have radical ideas on how to get over the credit crunch.
This particular couple are from Phnom Penh and their idea is not [...]
The UK’s most expensive property
It may not come as too much of a surprise that it is Buckingham Palace which is classified at as being the most expensive piece of property in the UK, with a value of just under a billion pounds!
But it is what you would expect to see from house that has seven hundred and seventy [...]
Property crash in Spain
Spain has long been the retirement choice for many Brits who have worked hard all of their lives and decided that it is time relax in the sun. However, as the coasts of Spain over the past twenty years have been inundated with investment properties, which has flooded the market.
But now the Spanish authorities are [...]
Prince Charles, property tycoon!
It is sometimes hard to realise that the likes of Prince Charles are actually multi millionaires who are heading up huge corporations with a turnover of millions of pounds.
However, it is true, the Princes main business goes under the banner of “The Duchy of Cornwall” this is where the bulk of his income comes from. [...]
When is a garden, not a garden?
Most people believe and rightly so that when they buy a house that the garden is theirs to do with as they please within reason. But there some authorities within the UK who would like to think that they can go around deciding exactly what you are allowed do in your own garden.
One man, Michael [...]
Mexicans to claim land in Texas
No, this is not a call to arms, or an attempt by the people of Mexico to retake parts of Texas, although to some people who live in the lone star state, could be thinking that an invasion is on the cards. But it is rather a call to the wealthy Mexicans to get onto [...]
June 18, 2008Refugee day comes to London
To hammer home the plight of refuges a replica village appeared in Trafalgar Square yesterday, complete with the burnt remains of the huts and other items, it is meant to show what is it must be like to be driven from your home.
Around the village was a makeshift refugee camp, with tents and sack [...]
Squatters Rights still causing problems
This is something that does not come up much these days, but squatters can be a total nightmare for the property owner. Imagine buying a house and doing it up, you get the stage where you are ready to move in, only to find that there is a bunch of squatters inside and there is [...]
June 9, 2008More mortgages to choose from
There is no wonder that the finance industry is in such a state, you just have to look at the amount of weird and wonderful mortgages that are available in the market:
Muslim mortgages
Unusual home mortgages
125% mortgages
Builder deposit mortgages
Self certification mortgages
Shared equity mortgages
Shared ownership mortgages
Euro mortgages
Commercial mortgages
Guarantor mortgages
Buy-to-let mortgages
Clearly these products have been created for a [...]
No takers for free land
The promises of free land have encouraged people to travel across oceans before, but when a run down area in northern Japan decided that the only way that there town would survive is to drawn new people in, there was only one thing that they could offer.
So the signs have been displayed and the offer [...]
Celine Dion’s house wasting water
The world famous singer Celine Dion has spent such a long time in the Las Vegas heat that you would have thought that she would have realised that water is a short supply in some places and even if it is not short supply wasting water is just wrong.
Yet in the new Florida home of [...]
The price of homes still falling
With house values dropping for the eighth month in a row in England and Wales there has to be some concern as to where this is going to stop, are the prices going to fall further or will the price of property recover?
The problem that faces all of us at the moment is the simple [...]
Property pain in Spain
For many years now moving to Spain, whether it is for retirement or just to have a change of life style has been a dream for many brits some of whom have managed to pickup their root and make the move over to sunnier shores.
But recently the property market of there has been struggling just [...]