Buying, selling and letting - April, 2001

In the 80s and 90s, millions of homebuyers were sold the dream that their endowment mortgage would enable them to pay off their home loan early and make them plenty of money. For many of these people however, the dream has become a nightmare.

Millions of borrowers with endowment mortgages have been warned that their policies are no longer on track to pay off their home loans, and they actually face big bills in order to put things right. However, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), the official industry watchdog, has claimed that lots of endowment holders are doing rather better than they might think. But the FSA is also keen to point out that this shouldn’t stop borrowers from complaining.

If you have an endowment mortgage, you need to remember why you bought it in the first place, find out the status of your policy and work out what steps you need to take in order to repair your finances. Only then you should consider making a complaint or requesting compensation.

The questions to ask

You were probably sold an endowment mortgage by a lender or financial adviser who highlighted the perceived benefits. Advisers at that time felt the past performance of endowment policies was so good you could expect a tax-free lump sum surplus after you paid off your mortgage. You may have been lead to believe you would be able to pay off your mortgage years in advance of the expected date and possibly save thousands of pounds in future interest payments on your mortgage.

Another perceived benefit was that interest-only mortgages were more flexible than repayment mortgages. Each time you moved home, you could take your loan with you and top up the loan. However, with a repayment mortgage, each time you moved you had to clear your debt and take a new home loan. Since your payments were structured so that you paid mainly interest in the early years, you wouldn’t have paid off much of the loan.

So were the advisers wrong? In the past, tax relief on mortgage interest payments, or MIRAS, meant that it was tax-efficient to have an interest-only mortgage backed by an endowment as the government was effectively providing a helping hand with your mortgage costs. Today, there is no tax relief.

If you have an endowment backed mortgage, your provider should have written to you with a status report, showing how much your endowment is currently worth and also the expected final value of the policy assuming three different growth rates.

The endowment provider will have done a projection of how much your endowment should be worth if the fund grows at four, six or eight per cent each year for the remainder of the term. The letter will highlight any shortfall that may exist when the time comes to repay your loan.

The letter sent by your provider will be termed as either a ‘green’, ‘amber’ or ‘red’ letter, depending on how well or badly your endowment policy is expected to perform.

·    A green letter is one where your endowment is expected to produce sufficient funds to repay your loan in full at all three growth rates. In theory, this means you have little to worry about.

·    An amber letter warns that your endowment will not be repaid if the funds grow at four per cent, but should be all right if six or eight per cent growth rates are achieved.

·    A red letter, however, is very bad news. This letter warns that you face a shortfall even if your fund continues to grow at an optimistic eight per cent.

If you get a letter warning that you face a shortfall, the worst thing you can do is to cancel or sell your endowment policy and take no remedial steps. You will only be storing up financial trouble for later. Almost as bad would be to stop paying your endowment premiums and take no further action. Be warned that if you ignore the letter, you will have little chance of any redress from the provider at a later date.

So what options are available to help make sure your loan is repaid? The provider will probably suggest that you might increase your monthly premiums (and should state by how much) in order to achieve enough to repay the loan at the growth rates of four, six and eight per cent. A big adjustment to your premiums may be needed to meet the target at four per cent growth. Remember also that increasing your premiums still won’t guarantee your mortgage will be repaid in full.

Your provider may also suggest you extend the endowment term by a year. On the face of it, an extra year’s premiums (at the current level) may seem a cheaper option than increasing your payments straight away. But don’t forget you will also have to pay an extra year’s interest on your mortgage, which will run to thousands of pounds, and your loan may still not be repaid. This is not a cheap option.

You could also switch part of your mortgage to a repayment loan, which means you will pay off some of your debt. Hopefully, your endowment policy will cover the rest of the loan. This will mean a big increase in your monthly payments but may allow you to repay your loan in full.

Another option would be to switch to a flexible mortgage and start making regular or one-off additional payments to start reducing your outstanding debt. This could be the most cost-effective option.

The letter will recommend you take further independent advice and suggest that you talk to the adviser who arranged the loan in the first place. However, there’s a good chance that you won’t be able to find the original adviser, and you may not trust their advice anyway, since they sold you a disappointing product in the first place. In this case, you’ll need to find another adviser or talk directly to your existing lender and see what they suggest. Don’t forget to check out other lenders too, because they could have a solution. If you think you were sold an endowment mortgage in error, you may decide to complain (see box below), but bear in mind that the industry watchdog, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), has warned that many borrowers do not have grounds on which to make a successful complaint. The bottom line is that it will cost you money to sort out your endowment problem.

How to complain

Firstly, contact the company that sold you the endowment and ask how to go through their complaints procedure. If you are unhappy with the outcome, contact the Financial Services Authority Ombudsman on 020 7964 1485.

Its reputation precedes it, but is misleading. Its residents swear by it, even as they swear at it. Bowie was born here, riots have broken out here and a strong, if at times grudging, sense of community survives. Brixton has long been known as the centre of London’s Afro-Caribbean community. It is also favoured by artists, clubbers and radicals of all stripes. Johnny Turner visits the true urban heart of the capital. Photos by Neil Esposito.

Travelling

Cost Brixton is on the outer edge of Zone 2. A weekly travelcard covering Zones 1 and 2 is £18.90
Underground Brixton tube on the Victoria line will get you to Oxford Circus in 12 minutes; Stockwell tube gives you the choice of Victoria and Northern lines
Train Services Brixton station to Victoria takes seven minutes
Buses Served by numerous services into the West End; the City-bound can take a 133 into Liverpool Street

Drinking

Babushka Plush and pleasantly decadent vodka den. 40 St Matthew’s Road SW2. 020 7274 3618

Brixtonian Havana Club Vision of Cuba as upmarket cocktail hour, with great food. 11 Beehive Place SW9. 020 7924 9262

Prince Albert Unfussy place to play pool and dominos. 418 Coldharbour Lane SW9. 020 7274 3771

Dogstar DJs and much more – but avoid on weekends. 389 Coldharbour Lane SW9. 020 7737 1016

Duke of Edinburgh Perfect for the beer garden season. 204 Ferndale Road SW9. 020 7924 0509

Clubbing

Mass Deconsecrated dance palace. St Matthew’s Church, Brixton Hill SW2. 020 7771 7099

The Fridge Cavernous space with capacity crowd. 1 Town Hall Parade, Brixton Hill SW2. 020 7326 5100

The Plug Specialist nights, friendly atmosphere. 90 Stockwell Road SW9. 020 7771 7099

Gigging

Brixton Academy Guitar bands, dance music, slumming stadium acts. 211 Stockwell Road SW9. 020 7733 8924

Dining

Bah Humbug An excellent experience, pricey but nice. 020 7738 3184, www.bugbar.co.uk

Satay Bar Imaginative noodle dishes in hip, bustling atmosphere. 447 Coldharbour Lane SW9. 020 7326 5001

Helter Skelter Eclectic and imaginative menu, world food. 50 Atlantic Road SW9. 020 7274 8600

Terra Firma Great for a leisurely breakfast – bring friends or Sunday papers. 272 Brixton Hill SW2. 020 8671 8992

Pangaea Excellent, cheap pizza and pasta. 15 Atlantic Road SW9. 020 7737 6777  

Shopping

Joy Funky ladies’ fashion, accessories and gifts. 432 Coldharbour Lane SW9. 020 7787 9616

Brixton Wholefoods  Looking after mind, body and planet – naturally. 59 Atlantic Road SW9. 020 7737 2210

Tesco For the essentials. 13 Acre Lane SW2. 020 7441 9400

Red Records CDs and vinyl for that urban groove. 500 Brixton Road SW9. 020 7274 4476

Marketing

Brixton Market Rock down to Electric Avenue for a lively mix of stalls, cafés and characters

Granville Market Indoor market, Afro-Caribbean food to tattooes. Coldharbour Lane SW9

Station Road Market Second-hand clothes and more. Station Road SW9

Reliance Arcade Bizarre place selling everyday things. Brixton Road SW9

Exercising

Brixton Recreation Centre Swim, gym, sauna and classes. Station Road SW9. 020 7926 9779

Viewing

Ritzy Cinema Legendary rep cinema offers the newest and best in film. Brixton Oval SW2. 020 7737 2121

Windmill Nearest surviving windmill to central London. Built in 1816 for local millers Ashby and Sons, now maintained by a local community group. Windmill Gardens SW2

‘KFC corner’ Stand at the corner of Brixton Road and Coldharbour Lane, in front of what must be the largest chicken joint in the world, and watch life swim by. Grumpy bus-stop tut-tutters, decidedly dodgy characters, socialists with megaphones, white-gowned Christian proselytizers with guitars and tambourines. Pause if you have the time and savour the scene.

Buying

Brixton is moving up in the world, as skyrocketing central London prices have forced buyers slightly further out. Rather than kick yourself for not having bought a flat for £60,000 a few years ago, you may as well get on the ladder now as the area’s popularity looks set to continue. Hot Property lists a wide range of homes here, from Grade II listed Georgian houses to studio flats above commercial premises. See our online listings at www.hotproperty.co.uk/search.

No home is maintenance-free, but what do you do if your new home goes wrong? In the case of Fairclough Homes’ Brockwell Gate, you simply call in the customer care team. Stephanie Thomson discovers how handy it can be to have a handyman on site

All home owners expect their home to need maintenance from time to time. A leaking roof or problems with plumbing are the kind of issues that go along with owning a property. But what if you choose to buy a new home? Shouldn’t everything be perfect?

Unfortunately, new homes are prone to teeting problems as building materials need time to ‘settle in’. Developers understand that this can be hard for buyers to accept, particularly if they’re expecting a ‘hassle-free’ purchase.

A high level of customer service is increasingly common in the new homes industry. New home owners may buy their homes even before they’ve been built or make some of the decisions about how their homes are finished. As a result, many buyers develop a long-term relationship with the sales advisers on a development – some keep in touch long after the homes have all sold.

A formal approach to after-sales service has been less common, but developers are starting to recognise its importance. ‘In my experience, a complex site requires an on-site, after sales presence,’ says Ian Pontefett, the after-sales manager at Fairclough Homes’ Brockwell Gate. ‘If purchasers have problems, it helps if they can speak to someone face to face.’

As well as on-site advisers like Ian, Fairclough have also established a mobile customer care team, staffed by five experienced maintenance experts, to tackle any necessary repairs as quickly and efficiently as possible.

It’s a system that seems to be working well for Brockwell Gate, Fairclough’s development of apartments and townhouses in Tulse Hill, SW2. Says Ian, ‘I know every customer who has moved into the first phase of the development, which is almost complete. The modern houses are sophisticated, and I can advise on controls and adjustments. If there are problems, I can often rectify them quickly myself. Otherwise, I can call on the team as a whole for backup.’

Like many modern developments, Brockwell Gate offers a considerable variety of designs and layouts. Three-bedroom apartments, priced from £199,950, have an octagonal lounge as a central feature. The four-bedroom townhouses, starting at £272,000, have an open-plan kitchen/conservatory, and many benefit from excellent views over the park.

For more information about Fairclough homes, visit their website at www.faircloughhomes.com or ring the Brockwell Gate sales centre on 020 8678 6999.

Top maintenance tips

Peter Ball, the manager of Fairclough’s mobile customer care team, offers the following tips for maintaining your new home.

Read the NHBC handbook you are given for your new home on completion of purchase. This sets out the builder’s responsibilities. It also details things for which you are responsible, such as servicing the boiler or filling minor cracks in plasterwork – normal parts of the ‘settling in’ process a new home goes through.

A great deal of water is used in the construction of new homes. Condensation may appear on windows for the first few weeks, but this is easily cured with adequate ventilation.

The emulsion applied to the walls of new homes is a special finish that enables new plaster to ‘breathe’. Do not paper the walls for the first year you live in your home and, when you do, make sure you seal the emulsion first with a primer such as PVA size to prevent paper from lifting.

As with many older homes, woodwork is prone to some shrinkage and opening up of joints. Although the woodwork will be painted and finished when you move in, you should be prepared to repaint woodwork after about two years.

Make sure you know where to turn off water, gas, and ‘tripped’ electrical fuses and how to do this. Remember that smoke alarms are very sensitive, and may go off if you burn the toast.

Before you move in, take the time and trouble to carry out a careful final inspection with site staff. If there are problems, write in immediately. Aside from being an annoyance to live with, problems can get worse if left alone.

Andy Stuart, Editor-in-chief of Your Mortgage magazine looks at what’s possible if you and your bank account need a break

Holidays – most of us love them. Unless you’re a workaholic who tucks their mobile into their bathers on a Caribbean beach and can’t enjoy their morning guava juice without a copy of the Financial Times, the chances are that you look forward to valuable time off too.

But holidays can be expensive. Living on £2 a day as a backpacker in Thailand is all very well, but many of us like to splash out and treat ourselves when we’re away from home. These days, as a home owner, there is no need to save up in advance in order to pamper yourself. If you have a flexible mortgage, you can simply take a payment holiday – stop paying your mortgage for a month or two – or even 12 if you qualify – and spend the money on enjoying yourself instead.

The concept of voluntarily taking time out from paying your mortgage is still very new – and remains alien to many people. In the past, if a borrower skipped a payment it generally meant that their finances were in trouble or a divorce was going through. But these days that does not have to be the case. Now, more than 40 mortgage lenders will allow you to take a holiday for any reason – you don’t even have to tell them why. Sounds great! But by all accounts not many flexible mortgage borrowers are exercising this option.

‘The most popular flexible facility is the overpayment, where borrowers choose to pay off their mortgage early or build up funds in an efficient way,’ confirms Peter Timberlake of Legal & General. ‘This far outstrips any other flexible facility in popularity. But the next most popular is probably the payment holiday, because it fits in with people’s lifestyles.’

Because society no longer has a job-for-life culture our financial profiles can be volatile. So the ability to take a payment holiday if you are out of work for a while and have to regroup your finances, for example, can come in very handy. Or you may have a baby, and find that your money is needed elsewhere for some time.

But some lenders insist that you should not be given the option of stopping mortgage payments unless you have made overpayments in the past. This is the most disciplined type of flexible mortgage – and it could stop you ending up in financial hot water.

‘With our flexible reserve product you can take a payment holiday for as long as your overpaid amounts exist. Rather than allowing you to underpay or take a payment holiday right away, we insist that borrowers have these overpayments in place, then take advantage of them,’ says Timberlake.

Otherwise the danger is that borrowers could underpay for ever and a day and never clear their mortgage, which defeats the object of a flexible homeloan. ‘This is why we don’t offer payment holidays with our flexible deal,’ says Charles Haresnape, head of mortgage lending at NatWest Mortgages. ‘Our deal is called the Foundations mortgage, and we believe that people should build on their foundations and make at least a minimum payment every month.’

Haresnape admits that payment holidays could be arranged if necessary, but reckons that customers simply are not asking for them. If you like the idea of a payment holiday, or feel that a break would really make your life easier for a spell, then go for it if your lender allows. But bear in mind that summer doesn’t last forever, and you will have to pay for the holiday at some point.

In spite of increasing awareness, ‘dodgy’ builders still swindle home owners out of £3.5 billion pounds a year for structural, plumbing and roof repairs.  But how do you choose the right builder? Ed Walker investigates

It’s a home owner’s horror story. You engage builders for urgent structural repair, only to find yourself on a downward spiral of unforseen costs, extra damage and work falling behind schedule. But is it really just a question of luck, or are there things you can do to lessen your chances of falling into the cowboy trap?

Each household in the country spends, on average, £169 a year on emergency repairs that require the services of a builder or plumber. It’s a situation that provides an ideal opportunity for a cowboy operator to make a killing. ‘It is advisable not to leave house repairs until an emergency occurs, when people are often too rushed to worry about checking references,’ says Ian Davis, the Director General of the Federation of Master Builders. ‘Choose your builder carefully and draw up a maintenance schedule with him. This will not only reduce the likelihood of an emergency, but your home will look smarter and be more comfortable to live in, and it will help to increase its value.’

Although a maintenance schedule may seem like an expensive measure, it can save money in the long term. Small problems like a leaky pipe or a few damaged roof tiles are quick, cost little to repair, and can lead to further damage if left unchecked. And using a builder regularly allows you to develop a working relationship and acts as a valuable contact in the event of a real emergency.

Even if you choose not to hire a builder for regular maintenance, it helps to be aware of reputable local builders and plumbers before you find yourself in the position of needing one immediately. Talk to friends and neighbours, your estate agent or architect, and compile a list of possibilities you can refer to when you need them. You can also find a builder through the Hot Property website – just click on www.hotproperty.co.uk/improve.

Look after your interests

Help guard yourself against unscrupulous builders by taking time to find the right one and actively monitoring the work they do for you. The following points should help:
·    Get estimates from two or three different builders to help determine how much the job should cost.
·    Get a written specification and quotation for any work you want done.
·    Make sure the builders are giving you quotes for the same job. An itemised quote should give you a rough idea of what work needs to be done, and each builder’s list should be similar.
·    Choose a local builder wherever possible – the distance a builder has to travel may be a factor in their quotation.
·    Be clear on what the quotation includes. If the job requires new fixtures or disposing of old ones, make sure this is included in the price quoted. If you need to select fixtures (such as new tiles), make sure to do this well in advance to avoid any delays in the building schedule.
·    Ask your builder for references and the names of previous clients. Talk to your builders’ clients and, if possible, arrange to see examples of work that’s been done.
·    Avoid changing your mind or adding to the job once work has begun if at all possible – this can cause confusion, add to your costs and create delays. Confirm all changes, even simple verbal exchanges, in writing.
·    Agree times and amounts of payments if this is required during the course of the work. Be wary of making large payments up front and avoid paying for work in cash.
·    Find out whether your builder offers a contract or covers their work with an insurance backed warranty. Many builders who are supported by a trade organisation will offer this.

For more information and help in choosing the right builder, visit the Federation of Master Builders’ website at www.fmb.org.uk or the Hot Property website at www.hotproperty.co.uk/improve.

John Simon, who lives in North London, discovered for himself the high cost of using the wrong builder. ‘I wanted to have an extension built, and spoke to a builder who quoted me £20,000 – it seemed like a good price and was lower than some other estimates I got, so I agreed to pay him the deposit he asked for and he started the job. A week later, the builder said that he had underestimated what the work would cost and asked for an extra £5,000. When I refused, he stopped work completely – just left the job half done. He also cemented our locks shut, and put new locks on many of the doors and windows, taking the keys. Luckily, I had friends who were able to suggest another builder who finished the work. The whole thing was a nightmare, and cost much more than it should have.’

The number of new homes being built in England and Wales has fallen to its lowest since the Second World War. But the situation in London and the South East is much worse. Ed Walker investigates

In its Housing Commission Report published late last year, the Greater London Authority said that 43,000 homes will be needed in London over the next ten years. Mayor Ken Livingstone said that, ‘28,000 of these should be “affordable” to reduce the number of nurses, teachers and police officers fleeing the capital’s high house prices.’ The actual number of homes being built in the whole of the South East last year was 13,000 – less than a third of what’s required.

As the Shelter Policy Unit observed nearly two years ago: ‘Failure to build adequate levels of housing in the south east region will lead to new households being unable to obtain accommodation; the need of existing households not being met; increased sharing; the use of inappropriate and often expensive temporary housing and homelessness.’

However, the government’s policy of forcing the private sector to pay for social housing may be backfiring. According to Pierre Williams of the House Builders Federation, ‘There’s now so much pressure for developers to pay for ever-increasing quotas of affordable housing that many sites are no longer economically viable.’

A shortage of suitable sites for new developments and clashes with local authority planners add to the problem. But according to Gordon Amos, director of the Town and Country Planning Association, it is unfair to put the blame on local planners, who have to answer to the public as well as manage the government’s strategy of using private developers to provide affordable housing. ‘Planners are using the only resources available to them to provide housing for those in need.’

But the House Builders Federation maintains that it is the shortage of housing in the capital that is forcing prices up and out of reach of key workers. ‘We understand why Mr Livingstone is calling for more affordable homes,’ says Pierre Williams, ‘but his demands are making the situation for key workers worse. Developers cannot and will not take on loss-making projects and yet this is what they are being asked to do.’

Caroline Cambridge and her husband John are doing up the kitchen of their Victorian maisonette in Highgate. Sounds straightforward enough – but things rarely go as planned in the world of home improvement. Johnny Turner looks at an everyday story of hope, heartbreak, setbacks and eventual triumph

What made you decide to improve your kitchen?

We had extended our mortgage to do up the entire flat, and the kitchen was the finale. We started off thinking, ‘let’s not spend too much, just put new doors on’. We looked into doors, and finding new doors to match the cupboards wasn’t easy. So the cupboards had to go too. We ended up doing the whole thing: new cupboards, sinks, taps, cooker, hob and extractor – everything.

How long has this been going on?

It started about five weeks ago. I thought it would take a while. We had a built-in deadline as we’re going on holiday to Australia next weekend – we knew it was a risk but we went ahead anyway. At the moment we have no kitchen. We’ve been living on takeaways and restaurant meals for three weeks, which gets very expensive.

Talk me through the process.

The first guy came in and did the basic structure, getting it prepared. That took a week – he had to take out a partition wall. Then for the next stage, someone else came in – he decided he had to rip everything out the first day. I hadn’t expected we’d lose the use of our kitchen so early on. We ordered the cupboards, so there was a week’s gap while we waited for those to arrive. It took him about five days to put in the cupboards and other things. John decided he wanted a stone worktop, so there was another week’s wait while they made a template for the worktop and waited for it to arrive. And when they were installing that, it broke – the thin panel in front of the sink just snapped. So that caused a delay while we waited on another one. That was the freakiest thing that happened, but the guy was very apologetic. The theory is they’ll come back five days from now with the new worktop. What I’m sitting in right now is a room with lots of lovely cupboards in it, bare walls, wires hanging out. If it all works to plan they come in very early Thursday morning and we’ll have a cooker and sink etc. by Thursday night – but bare walls. We’ll have to do the finishing touches when we get back from Australia.

How did you find the people who rebuilt your kitchen?

My husband’s in the furniture design business, so that has been helpful. We dealt directly with the different manufacturers. And we hired the people to install the various bits through contacts my husband has made.

What would you do differently if you were starting on this now?

I wouldn’t have done it so near to the time I was going away – that leads to unnecessary stress. Also, I see now that we did one or two things the wrong way round. We have a wood floor in the kitchen, and we spent £500 having it sanded and varnished before we had the kitchen work done. That was a mistake – it’s got a bit of wear and tear on it now. Ideally, I would have put in more cupboards, but that would have cost too much. I would advise people to think about the potential for stress when you’re a couple who both work – you have to talk it out and make sure you’re both happy. And if you decide to give this decision over to the other person, be prepared to live with the result. Also allow for it to cost more than expected – we’ve gone over budget by about £800 and it could have been a lot worse.

Any plans to embark on similar projects in future?

We’ve still got a few bits to do on this once the basics are all in place. But we’ve run out of money for the moment. I think it will be about two months after we’re back from holiday that we’ll put the finishing touches to it. The important thing is having a working kitchen until then – the worst thing has been living without a kitchen.

For a full range of kitchens, see our website at www.hotproperty.co.uk/kitchens

Camden Town is all things to too many people. Frequenters of the stretch between Mornington Crescent and Chalk Farm tube stations know when to pounce, where to aim, when to leave the place alone. The sheer breadth of choice is overwhelming. Whether you want to be entertained, annoyed, amused, intoxicated, fed, preached to, begged from, ignored, listened to, educated, pampered, bargained-up, let down, pierced, fleeced, jazzed, rocked or rolled – all manner of experience is available here. Johnny Turner samples the scene and Neil Esposito takes snapshots.

Travelling

Underground Northern line tubes at Camden Town (exit only at weekends until 7.30 p.m.), Chalk Farm and Mornington Crescent
Silverlink Train Services Camden Road and Kentish Town West stations
Buses Comprehensive network from central and north London.

Drinking

The Purple Turtle Groovy watering hole for scenesters. 61–65 Crowndale Road NW1. 020 7383 4976

Bartok Plush and popular, with soothing music. 78 Chalk Farm Road NW1. 020 7916 0595

Spread Eagle Unpretentious local. 141 Albert Street NW1. 020 7267 1410

Black Cap Famous gay pub with nightly cabaret. 171 Camden High Street. 020 7428 2721

The Lock Tavern Excellent roof garden. 35 Chalk Farm Road NW1. 020 7485 0909

Clubbing

HQ Get Loose on Saturdays. West Lock, Camden Lock Place NW1. 020 7681 6044

Underworld Famous indie nights. 174 Camden High Street NW1. 020 7482 1932

Camden Palace Dance nights as well as live gigs. 1a Camden High Street NW1. 020 7387 0428

Electric Ballroom For the discerning dancer. 84 Camden High Street NW1. 020 7485 9007

Gigging
Jazz Café World-class acts in intimate surroundings. 5 Parkway NW1. 020 7916 6060

Monarch Indie rock and more at Barfly. 49 Chalk Farm Road NW1. 020 7916 1049

Dingwall’s Mid-sized venue for top-flight talent. Camden Lock NW1. 020 7267 1577

The Forum Possibly the best music venue in London. 9–17 Highgate Road NW5. 020 7344 0044

Dublin Castle Indie guitar hopefuls. 94 Parkway NW1. 020 7485 1773

Falcon Tiny room but good sound. 234 Royal College Street NW1. 020 7485 3834

Marketing

Camden Market Street fashion, a variety of food including fantastic falafel, music, home accessories and, above all, crowds. Open Thursday to Sunday.

Camden Lock Antiquarian books, gifts, crafts, jewellery and some worthless tat. Open seven days a week.

Inverness Street Market One of the area’s last remaining fruit, veg and flower markets, located in this newly gentrified street.

Stables Market A sprawling goodie-bag, quirky and varied, every weekend.

Electric Ballroom This nightclub becomes a market on Sundays, selling vintage and one-off clothing.

Dining

Belgo Noord Blond beer, mussels and chips. 71 Chalk Farm Road NW1. 020 7672 0718

New Culture Revolution Noodles and fresh juices. 43 Parkway NW1. 020 7267 2700

Café Delancey French bistro, great for a weekend breakfast. 3–7 Delancey Street NW1. 020 7387 1985

Marine Ices A Camden institution, excellent pasta, pizza and ice cream. 8 Haverstock Hill NW1. 020 7482 9000

Sauce Veggie heaven. 14 Camden High Street NW1. 020 7482 0777

Shopping

Camden Bikes Cycles and supplies. 3 Camden Road NW1. 020 7485 1372

Intermura  Furnishings and interior design. 27 Chalk Farm Road NW1. 020 7485 6638

Sainsbury’s For the essentials. 17–21 Camden Road NW1. 020 7482 3828

Vintage Magazine Company Also framed posters and movie memorabilia. 247 Camden High Street NW1. 020 7482 0587

Swear2 Cool shoes and more. Stables Market, Chalk Farm Road NW1. 020 7482 6336

Rhythm Records CDs and vinyl, from mainstream to out-there. 281 Camden High Street NW1. 020 7267 0123

Exercising

Camden Town Gym 193 Camden High Street NW1. 020 7482 4524

Fitness First 128 Albert Street NW1. 020 7284 2244

Viewing

Primrose Hill 62 acres, with a panoramic view of the city from its summit

London Zoo Talk to the animals or hang out by the penguin pool. Regent’s Park NW1. 020 7722 3333

Odeon Camden Fanatical about film, apparently. Parkway NW1. 020 8315 4229

The Roundhouse Art installations, theatre and circus performance in historic former railway terminus. Chalk Farm Road NW1. 020 7424 9800

Laughing

Jongleurs Comedy Club The finest in stand-up. 11 East Yard, Camden Lock NW1. 020 7428 5929

Boating

Jenny Wren Cruises Float towards Little Venice on Regent’s Canal. 250 Camden High Street NW1. 020 7485 6210

Star-spotting

Writer Alan Bennett, professional naughty brother Liam Gallagher and broadcaster Joan Bakewell are among the local luminaries.