As London Property Finders it is our business to know what’s going on in London, and the creation of two new tube stations is certainly big news in the property world. The Chancellor gave his backing to the proposed ‘Northern Line Extension’ at the end of November. This is part of a wider Nine Elms Regeneration project and the government is hoping to tempt developers into contributing towards the scheme, which is estimated to cost between £750 million and £950 million. With an agreed programme in place by 2013, the construction of the line extension is set to begin in 2015. It will involve extending the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line from Kennington further south-west, and creating two new stations: Battersea and Nine Elms.

Taken by EG Focus

Nine Elms is a 200 acre stretch of undeveloped land south of the river opposite Pimlico. Situated between Battersea Park and Vauxhall it is just over 3 miles from Covent Garden. The re-development of the iconic Battersea Power Station and Tideway Wharf into luxury flats is something that has been discussed for at least twenty years, and there have been more recent plans in place for the US embassy to relocate here from Mayfair in 2017. I believe that the Northern Line Extension is the key to ensuring the successful re-development of this area – a sentiment the developers involved share. This is best shown at http://northernlineextension.com/ where a website has been created and consistently updated with positive news stories relating to the scheme.

Knight Frank ear-marked Nine Elms as one of its 2012 “Hot Spots”. They have predicted an 140% increase in property values by 2016, with people paying around £1,800 per sq. foot, compared to  £750 per sq foot which property currently achieves in the area. The new tube links will bring this area within 11 minutes of the West End and the City.  In central London, location and travel-time are more often than not discussed in terms of tube stations and tube journeys and by putting Battersea and Nine Elms on the tube map it makes the area more attractive to young professionals, increases demand, and increases property prices in the area. At Manse & Garret Property Search it is unlikely that we will see many of our clients looking to buy in this area, as end-users.  Some of our investors may be interested purchasing property here as buy-to-let investments, but we certainly won’t be buying for them at £1,800 per sq foot!

Technorati Tags: Buy-to-let, Buyers agents, House Prices, House prices in London, northern line extension, re-development, transport links

Tags: Buy-to-let, Buyers agents, House Prices, House prices in London, northern line extension, re-development, transport links

As property search agents we regularly instruct surveyors on behalf of our clients to carry out full building surveys and valuations – whatever the value of the property in question,  and we were therefore very interested in a story in The Telegraph this week about the increase in litigation from homebuyers against surveyors.

According to some solicitors there has been a 20 per cent increase in the number of people attempting to sue their surveyors. Falling house prices have led home-owners to launch proceedings against surveyors for over valuing their properties in the first place.

For most buyers, a valuation for mortgage purposes is for the bank – not the buyer.  This means that there is no recourse for the buyer if the valuation is incorrect, even though it is the buyer who has to pay for something that is essentially worthless!

Although we are property search agents, our job does not end once we have found the client their perfect property – and we always recommend that our clients pay that little bit extra for a full structural survey and valuation, whether they are buying a pied a terre in the city or a mansion in the countryside. Without a good survey you don’t know what you’re investing your money in, and although obvious warning signs such as subsidence cracks and damp can be readily spotted, more serious structural issues are often not as obvious.

If your dream home should be hiding any problems then you can decide whether to walk away, or re-negotiate the deal to compensate for any work that is recommended by your surveyor. At Manse & Garret Property Search we do everything within our reach to ensure that our client is buying at the right price.

Technorati Tags: House prices in London, London Buyer's Agent, surveyors

Tags: House prices in London, London Buyer's Agent, surveyors

As London Buyer’s Agents we were interested to read a recent interview with The Telegraph (http://tgr.ph/n7WTGf) where Eric Pickles, the secretary of state for communities and local government has said that it would be a, “very big mistake”, to go ahead with any form of the Liberal Democrat’s proposed “mansion tax” on properties worth over £1 million.

A 1% annual tax applied to houses worth more than £1 million was first proposed at the Liberal Democrat party conference of 2009. The suggested threshold was later increased to properties worth more than £2 million, and this year the policy was refined further, with the Liberal Democrat Party suggesting that there should be a levy of 1% on capital gains tax from the sale of a property after the first £1million. .

This is an obvious attempt to make owners of high value property in the UK, whether British or foreign citizens, to pay up in order to share the burden caused by the national deficit, a questionable source of revenue when you stop to consider that an overhaul of the current council tax system has been estimated to cost upwards of £250million.

Although unlikely to temper overseas buyers’ zeal for good quality, high-end property in prime central London, a “mansion tax” is likely to dissuade middle-class British buyers from progressing up the property ladder. They are instead likely to decide to remain where they are, which would decrease the amount of property below £1million that comes onto the market, negatively affecting both ends of the market.

It is also possible for an astute property investor to buy property below the £1 million mark, and develop the property sufficiently after its official government valuation and still benefit from their investment, which makes the £1 million threshold seem rather arbitrary indeed.

There would be an uneven burden on home-owners in London and the South-East where the value of property continues to increase despite the recession. Eric Pickles rightly said last week that it would be, “imposing taxation on the back of changes in property value”. Following Eric Pickle’s interview it seems unlikely for now that any version of the “mansion tax” is likely to be passed under this coalition government, however much the Liberal Democrats want to replace the 50p tax rate for high earners with a tax for so-called “unearned wealth”. This would negatively affect people who are house-rich, but cash-poor, and whose life earnings have been channelled into their property, with a view of it being a retirement safety net, or a legacy for their children. Many people view their home as an investment, and I don’t believe that people should be taxed for choosing to invest their money well, and having their savings in bricks and mortar.

Technorati Tags: Buyers agents, government policy, Hackney house prices, House prices in London, London property, mansion tax, Property News, recession

Tags: Buyers agents, government policy, Hackney house prices, House prices in London, London property, mansion tax, Property News, recession