Super-rich buying up 'Downton Abbey estates' to escape pandemic

Sales of £15m-plus English country homes breaking records as wealthy families ‘recalibrate their priorities’

The world’s super-rich are seeking to escape from coronavirus lockdowns in cities by buying multimillion-pound English country estates to create Downton Abbey lifestyles, complete with butlers, cooks, housekeepers and armies of gardeners.

Estate agents are reporting a surge in sales of vast country estates and former castle properties, which until Covid-19 struck had become increasingly hard to shift as the richest of the rich instead opted to live in luxurious skyscraper penthouses, on tropical islands or superyachts.

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How to keep a property transaction on course Nottingham Estate Agents

The collapse of a property sale can have a far greater effect than just disappointment or irritation – it can cost sellers thousands. OnTheMarket offers the following tips to keep your transaction steady. The numbers According to YouGov, a staggering 300,000 transactions collapse each year.  Almost a third of sales collapse due to the buyer’s […]

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The office block has had its day. But what will replace it? | Simon Jenkins

Cities emptied by the coronavirus can focus on cultural activities, while the countryside we flee to must be protected

Does a Christian need a church? Does a shopper need a shop? Does an office worker need an office block? We know these places help bring people together and can deepen the experience. But when the coronavirus has passed I believe the truth will be revealed. Technology means that we can perform most of these tasks from anywhere, including home.

After the first lockdown, surveys suggested that the office’s days were numbered. Since the 1990s, the internet has supposedly liberated white-collar workers from their desks, but it has taken a pandemic to truly break the ritual. When the initial lockdown ended in the summer and Boris Johnson ordered the nation back to work, surveys in July reported that most workers wanted to split their time between working at home and in the office. Even so, there was an assumption that most businesses would eventually return to almost pre-pandemic practices.

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Homes for sale featured in TV and films – in pictures

Locations used in Doctor Who and Doctor Dolittle or by models and pop stars

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How to get the best out of a virtual viewing Nottingham Estate Agents

Virtual property viewings are increasingly helping movers find their perfect home – particularly with the current coronavirus lockdown restrictions in place. In-person viewings are still permitted across the UK, but Government advice on home moving in England states: ‘Initial viewings should be done virtually wherever possible.’ Buyers and renters can take a peek behind a […]

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How to grow a verge garden: 'Since I've been doing my gardening, I know half the street'

Transforming underutilised urban spaces into productive or beautiful gardens has a host of benefits

Kate Nightingale wields a pair of secateurs in her footpath garden in Camp Hill in Brisbane’s east, and passersby keep stopping to chat.

Related: It’s official: allotments are good for you – and for your mental health

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How to grow a verge garden: 'Since I've been doing my gardening, I know half the street'

Transforming underutilised urban spaces into productive or beautiful gardens has a host of benefits

Kate Nightingale wields a pair of secateurs in her footpath garden in Camp Hill in Brisbane’s east, and passersby keep stopping to chat.

Related: It’s official: allotments are good for you – and for your mental health

Continue reading...

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What to do if your home isn’t selling: Five top tips Nottingham Estate Agents

Waiting for your home to sell can be incredibly stressful. Here OnTheMarket agent Austin Gray suggests five ways you can help get the ‘ball rolling’ The idea of selling your home, especially for the first time, can be a daunting one, let alone if the property isn’t selling. No sale period is the same so […]

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Estate and letting agent survey results: August 2020 Nottingham Estate Agents

In August OnTheMarket undertook a comprehensive survey of our agent partners to gauge their views on the state of the market in their areas and other issues affecting them and their businesses. We had a great response from agents up and down the country, providing their feedback on local resale and rental prices; levels of […]

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Keep the home fires burning? Don’t even think about it!

They’ve kept us warm for thousands of years, but a new study says open fires may cause more pollution than the traffic on a busy road

Name: Open fires.

Age: As old as mankind.

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Keep the home fires burning? Don’t even think about it!

They’ve kept us warm for thousands of years, but a new study says open fires may cause more pollution than the traffic on a busy road

Name: Open fires.

Age: As old as mankind.

Continue reading...

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What proposed changes to leasehold law could mean for you Nottingham Estate Agents

In England alone there are an estimated 4.3 million leasehold homes – but the law regarding leasehold and freehold in the UK has been controversial for a long time. Now the Law Commission has proposed a series of changes which will make it easier for people to buy the freehold or extend their lease. The […]

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'How does one wash up without this?' Zoë Foster Blake on her three most useful objects

As you might expect from someone who has spent months in lockdown, the objects the writer has come to rely on are unashamedly pragmatic

Slowly emerging from months of lockdown in Melbourne, the writer and beauty entrepreneur Zoë Foster Blake has had plenty to occupy her time.

She’s released a new children’s book, Back to Sleep, illustrated by Mike Jacobsen, which is a role reversal of the typical bedtime story. And she’s been making playlists. A lot of playlists.

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'How does one wash up without this?' Zoë Foster Blake on her three most useful objects

As you might expect from someone who has spent months in lockdown, the objects the writer has come to rely on are unashamedly pragmatic

Slowly emerging from months of lockdown in Melbourne, the writer and beauty entrepreneur Zoë Foster Blake has had plenty to occupy her time.

She’s released a new children’s book, Back to Sleep, illustrated by Mike Jacobsen, which is a role reversal of the typical bedtime story. And she’s been making playlists. A lot of playlists.

Continue reading...

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Palm Springs comes to Surbiton: the airy villa shaking up Britain's quintessential suburb

The commuter haven is hardly known for its cutting-edge architecture. So how did a California-style dwelling end up in its tranquil streets? Our writer explores an inspirational build

It is surprising, for a profession dedicated to erecting very large, very expensive and very durable structures, that architects are never taught how to actually build. In the five years of education in Britain, there is the occasional module on structural principles and the odd lecture on bricks, but most students graduate without a clue how to build a building.

So when you encounter that rare species of architect who has worked on a building site, it shows. Design decisions take into account the practicalities of how things go together, rather than an idealised image being handed over for others to resolve. Such things as the weight of a breeze block and the process of hand-trowelling a concrete floor are given due consideration, as are ways of saving time and money.

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Let there be light: 10 simple ways to brighten your home – from pale pink walls to changing bulbs

We may be confined to home as the days draw in, but here’s an expert guide to maximising the winter light inside

Things are looking gloomy – seasonally speaking, if not also metaphorically. It was one thing to be locked down when the days were long and the heatwave heavy, but we’re facing a run of dark months, mostly indoors. Here are some expert tips on staying on the bright side, and maximising winter light.

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Let there be light: 10 simple ways to brighten your home – from pale pink walls to changing bulbs

We may be confined to home as the days draw in, but here’s an expert guide to maximising the winter light inside

Things are looking gloomy – seasonally speaking, if not also metaphorically. It was one thing to be locked down when the days were long and the heatwave heavy, but we’re facing a run of dark months, mostly indoors. Here are some expert tips on staying on the bright side, and maximising winter light.

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A first time buyers’ guide to finding your new home Nottingham Estate Agents

Finding your dream home can seem a daunting task as a first time buyer but OnTheMarket can help ensure you stay ahead of the game because we’re in business to improve the way you search when buying your first house. How do I know what I can afford? To understand what you can afford to buy, […]

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Country diary: this delicate centipede is the gardener's friend

Allendale, Northumberland: Fang-like modified legs near its front contain poison with which to inject prey such as slugs

Marigolds are still flowering in our veg garden, glowing bright orange against a dark mulch of new-laid compost. Between rows of carrots, beetroot and coriander in seed is a wooden board for walking on. I lift it carefully to see what’s underneath. Clods of compost stick to its underside along with worms, slugs and a centipede, chestnut brown, fast-moving and scuttling away to hide.

I often find centipedes when working in the garden: among crocks in the bottom of terracotta pots, in rotting leaf mould, when moving stones or dead wood. I pick this one up and it runs from one gloved hand to another in a fluid movement, repeating this over and over as I keep swapping hands. I drop it into an observation pot to count its legs: there are 15 pairs, one to each segment of its flat body. Fine antennae explore the pot and coil like some waving sea creature. Living in dark places and feeding by night, centipedes rely on antennae rather than eyesight.

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Country diary: this delicate centipede is the gardener's friend

Allendale, Northumberland: Fang-like modified legs near its front contain poison with which to inject prey such as slugs

Marigolds are still flowering in our veg garden, glowing bright orange against a dark mulch of new-laid compost. Between rows of carrots, beetroot and coriander in seed is a wooden board for walking on. I lift it carefully to see what’s underneath. Clods of compost stick to its underside along with worms, slugs and a centipede, chestnut brown, fast-moving and scuttling away to hide.

I often find centipedes when working in the garden: among crocks in the bottom of terracotta pots, in rotting leaf mould, when moving stones or dead wood. I pick this one up and it runs from one gloved hand to another in a fluid movement, repeating this over and over as I keep swapping hands. I drop it into an observation pot to count its legs: there are 15 pairs, one to each segment of its flat body. Fine antennae explore the pot and coil like some waving sea creature. Living in dark places and feeding by night, centipedes rely on antennae rather than eyesight.

Continue reading...

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