Month: June 2011

Monmouthshire grand design up for sale

Kemeys FollyJust two years ago it was on Channel Four’s Grand Designs programme but now the grade II listed property is up for sale at £2.75m – more than three times the £830,000 banker Dean Berry and his public relations executive wife Sarah paid for it.

The story is at Wales Online

Sadly it’s not available on 4onD at the moment – c’mon channel 4 – allow us to drool over this project once more!

However it is on rightmove – so drool away here at Kemeys Folly
5 bedroom house for sale
Guide Price of £2,750,000
Kemeys Folly, Kemeys Inferior, Nr Newport, NP18 1JR

The daily mail is running a story on this today 25th July 2011 – this is a month since the article I posted about it originally.

New housing show from Channel 4

Architect George Clarke leads Empty Homes Campaign

Does your area need better housing conditions? Want to do something about it?

Channel 4’s George Clarke is presenting a new TV series which will campaign on housing issues across the UK. The campaign offers you the chance to share your housing problems and join the search for solutions.

Across the country high rental costs, long waiting lists for council houses and difficulty getting mortgages are forcing many people to live in cramped conditions, stay with friends or family, and give up the dream of owning their own home.

It’s been described as a national housing crisis – ordinary families are being priced out of the market and there are 5 million people on the house waiting list. Yet, a million homes in this country lie empty. George’s campaign aims to combat the housing crisis, and one of the key questions we’re asking is: Could empty homes be put to better use?

If you, or anyone you know, is struggling your housing situation, or want to find out more about the campaign, contact the Homes team:
Email: homes@tigeraspect.co.uk
or
Call the Homes team on: 0207 544 1663

Alderley Edge – footballers pad?

neon breakfast barThis posh pad in Alderley Edge is pretty spectacular if you like neon

There are several other rooms with neon lighting in. I don’t like it. It’s all too shiny and modern for me. For £3,995,000 I’d want a huge swimming pool, gym and loads of land. All of which I can get for that much easily in Devon! However Alderley Edge is an expensive area partly due to all the footballers living there. They’re welcome to it!

The Kingston Estate

The Kingston Estate looks amazing. It’s not just a house it’s a whole business which is the only thing that puts me off. I’m afraid I’d want to swan around the place on my own not have to run it as a business.
It’s an 8 bedroom house for sale
With a Guide Price of £2,750,000
The Kingston Estate is in Staverton, Totnes, Devon

Whilst mooching around I found their official website which mentions it’s been on the Hotel Inspector! So I’m going to watch it now and see if it’s as lovely as the photos look

It’s a show I watch sometimes but I don’t remember this one.
First broadcast at 21:00 26 Aug 2010

Available until 22:00 26 Aug 2011

Grand Designs – the very first one

If you’re a fan you might have already seen the very first one back in 1998.
It’s a great show where the budget is so reasonable you’ll be shocked!
Grand Designs Series 1 episode 1 – A couple in Newhaven face a race against time as they build their dream home on windswept cliff-top site in time for the birth of their baby.
Plot costs them about £80,000 and they spend another £80000 building the house.
It’s a kit build and sticks mostly to schedule!

Well worth watching just so you can be wowed at how little they spend. It’s not the most grand of designs but it’s still a pretty nice house!

Enough bedrooms – 13!

Tidwell manorHow many bedrooms is enough? 13 would be plenty for most families I think. If you’ve got £1.35M then this wonderful house could be yours. It’s not got a huge amount of land with it, only two acres, but it’s a massive house!
Tidwell Manor – Budleigh Salterton, EX9

Elegant, three storey, early Georgian former manor house.
Listed as being of architectural or historical interest Grade II* and stated as being “a medieval manor, but the house completely rebuilt, probably on new site, in 1725”.
Built of Flemish bond brick with sash windows beneath a slate roof with parapet, typical of the architectural period.

Don’t want to buy a house that needs an arrow

Red arrow

I don’t want to buy a house which needs an arrow pointing out which one or which bit it is. I want the next house I buy to be individual enough in location to stand out.
Is there anything wrong with that?

When an estate agent takes a photo of a terrace he can usually do it so as to ensure you know which house is for sale. It worries me when estate agents can’t manage to take an indentifying photo.
Sometimes they seem to pick strange angles to stand at which means they capture the whole of the building even if you’ll only be buying a part. Are red arrows really pointers to the estate agent not taking the right photos?