Month: June 2016

The Old Post Office in Winterslow will certainly get the stamp of approval by purchasers looking to secure a fabulous character home in a wonderful village location and where the beautifully landscaped garden is a bonus. This pretty village lies fairly equal distance between Salisbury and Stockbridge with the mainline station at Grateley just over eight miles away.

Believed to date back to the early 19th century this substantial detached house has evolved over the years, most recently benefitting from an attractive orangery which is open plan to the kitchen and provides a delightful dining area with French doors to the garden. The kitchen is well fitted with a range of cream Shaker style units, oak work surfaces, an Aga set in a brick recess with beam above, further modern range style double oven, and an adjacent utility area with further storage and space for appliances. These areas benefit from underfloor heating.

The sitting room has a brick open fireplace with a wood burning stove with a further family area with a bay window. The formal dining room has exposed ceiling timbers and French doors to the garden. There is also a study which has been well fitted with office furniture, perfect for those working from home. There is also a ground floor shower room.

Upstairs there are four good size bedrooms, two on one side of the house with the superb family bathroom between which has twin basins and a wide sweep of cupboards beneath. The split level landing leads off on the other side to the master bedroom, complete with its own shower room, and the fourth double bedroom.

The mature, well stocked landscaped gardens enjoy a good degree of privacy and there is also a gated driveway, a barn style double garage and separate timber building.

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Landlords and tenants: do you know if the rent and deposit your agent is holding for you is safe? Is it being held in a protected account or could your agent be using your money to help the cash flow of their business? Or to buy a new car or holiday?

Over the years there have been many horror stories of letting agents misusing their clients’ money, and in the worst cases going bust or running off with thousands of pounds of rents and deposits.

So what can you do to be certain your money is safe?

The answer is simple: choose an agent that is a member of SAFEagent. That way you can be sure they are part of a Client Money Protection (CMP) scheme which means the money they hold for their clients is protected.

As part of SAFEagent Awareness Week – which runs from 6th-10th June – Carole Charge, technical and compliance director at property specialist Leaders, answers four important questions to explain what client money protection is all about:

What is Client Money Protection?

Client Money Protection, also known as CMP, is an insured scheme through which tenants and landlords can seek recovery of their funds when misappropriation or fraud by an agent has taken place. If a lettings and management firm is part of a CMP scheme consumers are protected. Each scheme has its own scope and terms. You can ask your agent which scheme they are part of and obtain more details.

Do letting and management agents have to be a part of a CMP scheme?

No, it is not mandatory for agents to be covered under a CMP scheme which is why you should be cautious. However, it is a legal requirement for agents to display in their offices and on their websites……

A classic period farmhouse on the edge of Brockenhurst with outbuildings, a swimming pool and stunning views over its park-like grounds has come to the market.

Tile Barn Farm is a Grade II listed farmhouse believed to have been built in 1760 as the home farm to Brockenhurst Park.

The accommodation is arranged over three floors and benefits from a wealth of fascinating character. On the ground floor the drawing room, with its large open fireplace, flows through to a further sitting room area, also with a fireplace.

The kitchen/ breakfast room opens out onto the west facing terrace and gardens beyond, with an archway through to the dining room, also with French doors to the terrace.

The study has a range of book shelves and fine views out over the garden, and there is an office at the front of the house offering another reception space.

Three double bedrooms are arranged over the first floor, including the master bedroom suite with an adjacent bathroom and a separate family bathroom. Two further bedrooms are on the second floor, and a useful sixth bedroom on the ground floor with an adjacent bathroom could be an ideal guest suite for elderly relatives.

A range of outbuildings includes a detached home office, a games room which opens out onto a sheltered swimming pool area, stables and tack/feed rooms, manege and a 100’ barn.

The formal gardens lie to the rear of the property and provide a stunning backdrop. In total, the property extends to about 6.3 acres and there is direct access out to the Forest for riding and walking enthusiasts.

Giles Muddle, of Savills Winchester, said: “Tile Barn Farm is a classic period farmhouse with a wealth of character, stunning views and a great range of outbuildings. It is conveniently positioned for……

Traditional house in New Road

This period property is well designed and has bold architectural features and an interesting layout with large sash windows providing ample natural light and striking bay windows adding to the dimensions of the principal rooms.

Sympathetically restored, this traditional house in New Road at Colden Common has retained many original features and offers the best of both worlds.

The ground floor is dominated by the superb open plan kitchen which is fitted with contemporary units and has plenty of space for dining and relaxing, with stripped wooden floors having underfloor heating, and opening to the south westerly aspect of the garden. On the other side of the large entrance hall is a superb sitting room with a wood burning stove and bay windows providing recesses for furniture. There is plenty of space in the hall for coat and shoe storage and a cloakroom lies at the rear.

The stairs rise to a split level landing which branches off to three bedrooms, the large master bedroom at the front. The family bathroom is superb with Villeroy & Boch fittings including a bath and separate shower.

Colden Common has its own identity with a good range of local amenities and is also within easy reach of Winchester to the north. There are excellent road connections and commuters can catch the train at nearby Shawford.

The gardens lie on a roughly east/west axis and at the front there are well tended raised vegetable beds, shielded from view by mature hedgerows with gravel pathways giving access to all sides. The entrance door lies to the side and at the rear is a thoughtfully laid out garden which captures the midday and afternoon sunshine. The terrace at the rear of the house is perfect for relaxing on summer……

Mulberry House is an immaculate country house set perfectly in extensive manicured grounds which provide the residents with space and privacy and a wonderful amenity with an impressive swimming pool and pavilion off to one side together with a detached gym, double garage with apartment above and almost five acres to explore and enjoy.

Mulberry House is situated in a superb location on the edge of Oakmore Park at Durley in an elevated position with views across its own land and neighbouring farmland. Communications are first class with the M27 and M3 motorways nearby providing access to the south coast, South-West, London and the motorway network beyond. Southampton Airport is about 8 miles away.

Approached over a long driveway electrically operated wrought iron gates open to a further drive through an olive grove and arrives at a large parking and turning area to the front of the house and garaging.

The house has been remodelled internally to an exemplary standard including a Clive Christian kitchen and the spacious accommodation is well laid out, often with the focus on the view over the garden as much as the interior itself.

The superb drawing room, formal dining room, family room, kitchen and orangery all have direct access to the surrounding terraces and gardens and this time of year it is easy to imagine the natural flow out to the garden and swimming pool with guests retreating to the beautiful stone built pavilion should the weather take a turn for the worse.

There is also a study, utility and cloakroom on the ground floor.

Upstairs the galleried landing opens up to a lovely seating area in front of a tall window and leads off to a beautiful master suite with extensive storage and a stunning bathroom. There is a smart guest suite with……

Lindsay Johnn, from the residential team at Savills Winchester

Winchester has been revealed as a property hotspot in new research by Savills.

Savills Research has looked at how house prices have performed in each local authority over the last 20 years to reveal which areas show potentially more capacity for growth.

Winchester is among a list of 31 hotspots, heavily dominated by markets in the commuter zone, which appear to be the strongest performing part of the market currently.

The district of East Hampshire is also on the list as well as Rushmoor and Basingstoke & Deane.

“By running our analysis at a local authority level across England and Wales, we were able to identify the areas which show potentially more capacity for price growth, over the short to medium term,” said Lucian Cook, Director of Savills Research. “Unsurprisingly, the list is heavily dominated by markets in the commuter zone, such as Winchester, which offers excellent transport links. This reflects the changing nature of the market, where we increasingly see buyers look further out of London to locations that offer more space and good transport links for their money.”

Recent Savills analysis showed that for every additional minute of journey time away from London, property values fell by £3,048, and the saving tends to outweigh the hike in travel costs.

Lindsay Johnn, from the residential team at Savills Winchester, said: “We have already seen an increase in the number of households making this trade off and moving out of the capital. Analysis of Savills buyers in the London commuter belt shows 30% of sales over the first quarter of 2016 were to those relocating from London compared to just 23% during the same period in 2015. We expect this trend to continue as the ripple effect continues to……