Why your dream home may just be up in Scotland’s northern reaches August 26, 2010 THE number of holiday homes in the UK is on the rise, according to research by Knight Frank. After declining in 2008, the number of British second homes swelled 2.6 per cent last year and is set to rise another 2 per cent this year. So with demand once again on the up, buyers should [...]
FOCUS ON: WEMBLEY, HA9 August 26, 2010 CENTRAL APARTMENTS From £230,000 Ideal for first-time buyers, this new development comprises 113 apartments. All flats are open-plan and have their own balconies with views as far as the London Eye. Contact: St Modwen’s on 0844 371 1301, www.wembley-central.co.uk MIDHOLM £470,000 It’s in need of some modernisation, but this three-bed detached property is an ideal [...]
PROPERTY NEWS August 26, 2010 BACK TO THE BOOM YEARS FOR PUTNEY The property boom years are back, at least in Putney. An eight-bedroom house in Heathview Gardens has just sold for £5.3m, one of the highest prices ever paid for a property in SW15. Russell White, franchisee of Winkworth Putney who handled the sale, said: “The Putney sales market [...]
SELLING August 26, 2010 MANAGING DIRECTOR, PROPERTY HUNT Q.Dear Russell, with property prices projected to fall and interest rates forecast to rise, should I buy? A.As with anything to do with property, it is all about timing. The latest surveys – whether they are from the major lenders, the high-street banks or the online property portals –are all pointing [...]
Looking good, kid: autumn style August 26, 2010 WHEN I was a child in the US, back-to-school fashion (we didn’t have uniforms) was a matter of two new scrunchie hairbands and a new pair of spandex rose-patterned cycle shorts. Oh, and a side pony tail. These days, kids from middle class families are expected to be almost as fashionable as their parents. More [...]
The angry wannabe queen August 25, 2010 THE RED QUEEN BY PHILIPPA GREGORY Simon & Schuster, £18.99 MEGA-novelist and Tudor historian Gregory returns to her new series, The Cousins’ War, with an instantly, electrically gripping story about Margaret Beaufort. Who? Indeed. Beaufort, the grandmother of Henry VIII, was merely a shadowy character on the edge of The White Queen, Gregory’s previous book [...]
GOING OUT August 25, 2010 IT may still be peak holiday season but in our cosmopolitan capital you can complete a world tour whenever you like by taking a glamorous (if slightly less exotic) journey around London’s more exclusive international nightlife. Starting with Japan, the chic Kyashii has just re-launched on Upper St Martin’s Lane offering a sophisticated, ultra modern [...]
Should Daddy David really take leave now? August 25, 2010 ANDREW WATSON YES AS experienced a father as David Cameron may be, he absolutely needs to be around in these first formative weeks not just to build a relationship with the baby, but to help his wife and older children adapt as well. Crucially, he must establish a pattern of involvement that will last long [...]
Feisty, fun, and a little confused August 24, 2010 THE Mazda3 MPS was once the most powerful front-wheel-drive hot hatch you could buy, an accolade that now belongs to Ford’s Focus RS. Even so, it’s quite possible you may not even be aware of its existence because the model before this one was so understated there was literally nothing about the way it looked [...]
CAR TALK August 24, 2010 CITROEN’S LIMITED EDITION HOT HATCH This is the DS3 Racing, the latest hot hatch from Citroën. With a specially tuned 1.6-litre 207hp engine, a top speed of 146mph and a 0-62mph time of just 6.5 seconds the car has been extensively modified by Citroën’s Racing division. The car has an upgraded chassis, running gear and [...]