Apparently, Lambeth Council have "take action" against as many as 400 squatters who were reported to have taken control of a south London housing estate called Limerick Close, emptied, but not secured, by the authorities. According to locals, the place had been turned into party central... music late into the night, bottles and bombfires everywhere. The news is that bailiffs with battering rams paid a visit to the site, and encouraged the squatter to leave. But when people leave one place, they have a habit of turning up elsewhere. It's physics. In this instance, they've turned up at William Gardens, in Putney, where they've taken control of a Ministry of Defence building, recently used by soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

The late Sir Ian Gilmore's Old Isleworth home - a mock-Georgian mansion on Park Road - is for sale. Gilmore edited and published the Spectator in the 50s, was Defence Secretary in the days of Edward Heath, and Lord Privy Seal for Thatcher, before a high-profile falling-out in the 80s. He had lived at Ferry House for more than 50 years, and the property has hosted visits by many of the big names of British politics. According to the Times, it's looking a little ramshackle in places, but it's big and has a fascinating history and superb location. It's with Savills, listed at £3.75m, and particulars (pdf) are here.

Technorati Tags: celebrity, London, property, real estate

An interesting Merryn newsletter, on developer scams, buy-to-let gullibility, the Batoum Gardens house (tasty) heading to auction and what a central London agent let drop recently:

One agent caught off his guard told me a few weeks ago that going on his experience prices are already off 10-15% in some areas.

It's an interesting read. Catch it here.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

The Telegraph takes a peak inside Chiswick's Oddfellows Hall... a Victorian building, built by the masons, and featuring four entrances and four addresses. It's been used as a wedding venue and an artist's studio, before the current owner - an estate agent/property developer - snapped it up for £385,000 in 2002 (I know, I know) and gave it a radically modern re-fit. Now it's all plasma screen in the bathroom ceiling, under-floor heating and cinema rooms. What's it doing in the Telegraph? It's for rent... £3,900 a month, from Featherstone Leigh. I can't find Japanese water feature nor wet room of it on the FL website, but luckily you can see more pictures here.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

An Acton man has been put on the sex offenders register for seven years after being found guilty of wiring a camera between his bedroom and the communal bathroom, so that he could watch his flatmates [not pictured] showering. His plan was apparently scuppered when one resident discovered a lens in the wall, and followed a wire up the outside of the building to the man's attic room.

[via Londonist]

Technorati Tags: London

According to a survey by Savills, the following addresses are potential candidates for future primeness. The important driver is an influx of professionals combined with nice existing stock, preferably Victorian or Edwardian homes. The advantages to being "prime"? If you've been reading the Rat and Mouse at all over the last few years you'll know that prime London tends to outgrow the rest of London, indeed the rest of the UK. So here goes:

• Tooting ("the new Notting Hill")
• White City
• East Acton
• Tulse Hill
• Camberwell
• Fortis Green
• Finchley
• Brondesbury
• Willesden Green
• Cricklewood

[via the Times]

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

HKR Architects have put in a planning application for a giant shopping and residential development opposite Ealing Broadway station. The new Arcadia Centre will feature Ealing's first skyscraper, designed by Foster + Partners, and architecture journal AJPlus has turned up the first image...

Technorati Tags: architecture, London, property, real estate

Monevator.com is an interesting new personal finance blog with a healthy distrust of the finance industry and an emphasis on personal responsibility. Here, you'll find an examination of the relative costs of buying versus renting in the W6 neighbourhood. It's a good read, and the end result suggests there's little value in buying. However, variables that are harder to quantify and calculate include the freedom to turn a house into home exactly the way you want, and - of course - the market. Certainly, it's fair to say residential properties boom days are likely to be (ought to be) over for the immediate future. But mortgages last longer than the immediate future... and although house price crashes and negative equity have been realities, it's difficult to find a full mortgage term in which properties haven't been a sound investment.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

If I've read the very good housing strategy PDF for Hammersmith and Fulham correctly (here) only 3,000 people have registered for affordable housing despite the maximum wage [with which you're allowed to apply] being £60,000.

But 50% of residents rent...

The posters for the affordable housing scheme are all over Hammersmith. So why aren't people signing up??

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

According to this, from Australia, Williams is considering leaving LA to move in with his best friend and former housemate actor Jonathan Wilkes, plus Wilkes' wife and son. Apparently, Wilkes has been spotted house-hunting in Chiswick.

Technorati Tags: celebrity, London, property, real estate