Buying, selling and letting - October, 2007

With its recent accession to the EU, already-popular Bulgaria has seen its profile rise even higher. Those looking for a holiday home or investment at a reasonable price would do well to look here.

As with many former Eastern Bloc countries, Bulgaria is quickly shaking off its past and is embracing – and being embraced by – the modern market. The difference between Bulgaria and some of the other neighbouring countries, however, lies in its year-round appeal.

Both winter sports enthusiasts and sun worshippers are well catered for. The Black Sea coast is a very popular summer retreat, and the good-quality developments that have sprung up host holidaymakers from all over Europe and Asia. Sunny Beach and Golden Sands are two of the more touristy resorts, with a ready supply of holidaymakers – great for the investment purchaser.

For a more low-key and naturally picturesque location, there is the town of Byala, situated on a picturesque coastal peninsula between the two international airports of Varna and Bourgas (50km north and 80km south respectively). Tourists and artists are devotees of this beautiful spot, which has been compared the region to the South of France due to the its views of lovely green rolling hills and effervescent light.

Byala also has wonderful views to the blue sea with gorgeous sunrises and sunsets. The mountains of Bulgaria offer another facet of the country's abundant natural beauty. Skiers flock to Bansko, a modern, high-quality winter sport resort, whose slopes, lifts and accommodation are highly rated by skiers of various levels of experience.

Even outside the snowy season, Bansko pulls in tourists with its mix of nature and culture.

In the summer you’ll find an abundance of outdoor activities with hiking, mountain biking, riding and whitewater rafting nearby in beautiful Pirin National Park. Getting to Bansko is getting easier and easier, with a new motorway putting the area within an hour and a half’s drive from the capital Sofia. This is sure to make this already popular family-oriented resort even more sought-after.

There is also a new airport planned. Bulgaria’s status as an EU member state will translate into tangible benefits in the form of even further improvements to infrastructure – definitely good news for the investment buyer.

Bulgaria’s wonderful combination of ‘foreignness’ and accessibility, its fascinating history mixed with modern-day comfort and its very affordable property prices ensure its continuing success in the market.

Check out what’s hot in the property market in Bulgaria here.

Brits have come a long way from the make-do-and-mend days, when luxury was not only not a common goal but could even be seen as suspect. Now, in these days of plenty, luxury takes many forms, from ostentatious display to restrained elegance and back.

When applied to the home, luxury also has many faces, and what is particularly impressive is when it seems to come out of nowhere, providing a reassuring reminder that quality is all around. Johnny Turner looks at two such homes on the market currently.

At Highmount, Chorleywood, Rectory Homes has created three statuesque properties on The Clump, one of the areas most highly regarded roads.

Keats House, Shelley House and Wordsworth House are arranged over three floors and each has an internal layout and specification that is tailor made for full and busy family lifestyles.

A notable feature of the homes is the light and spacious kitchen and breakfast/living area with wide-aspect glazed doors leading to the terrace. Keats and Shelley also feature a media room on the second floor and a further, sixth, bedroom, in addition to the five bedrooms and four bathrooms on the first floor.

There is also, on the top floor, a kitchenette and en suite shower room. The combination of space and internal layout enables flexibility for large and smaller family units with accommodation for extended family members to stay and enjoy a degree of independence and privacy. The landscaped gardens benefit from the retention of established trees and shrubs to enhance privacy and security, alongside new lawns and border planting.

With electronic gated access, security is a strong feature of the homes, which also have a NACOSS-approved intruder system, video entry on ground and first floor and smoke detection.

The homes are priced from £1.75m to £1.895m. The Clump is a few minutes’ drive from junction 18 of the M25 and is off the A404 Rickmansworth Road. The show home is open Friday to Tuesday 10am to 5pm and Monday 1pm to 5pm. To make an appointment to view call 01923 778569 or visit rectoryhomes.co.uk.

At Willowbrook, Belvedere has taken the bar to another level by specifying a highly effective advanced fire sprinkler system that employs immediate targeted fire suppression. In using this system Belvedere has been able to introduce a significant amount of glass into the infrastructure of the building, including glass balustrades to the staircase and landing, an inspirational floating glass bathroom and the extensive use of glazed doors. Architect Stan Beanland, of Ipswich-based Beanland Associates said: ‘In the domestic arena the system Belvedere has selected is the most advanced of its type and to my knowledge has not been specified before in a single dwelling.’

Willowbrook is on the market with Buckinghams at £2.95m 01344 845050. Belvedere.uk.com

When you think of flat shares you most likely think of ten Aussies living in a terraced house in Clapham, with beer boxes as tables, stacks of pizza boxes outside the back door and three people living in each room – including the lounge.

However, these days flatshares are no longer populated by young poor students sharing to keep costs down. In fact our recent survey revealed that more and more people are living in shared accommodation because the property ladder is just too hard to get on to.

Of the 465 people we surveyed, 61 percent of you said you have been forced to live in flat or house shares for longer than you expected to as a consequence of the property boom.

Eighty-five percent of you expect you will have to live in flat or houseshares for between one and five years before you can buy, with a significant three percent expecting it will be over ten years.

In the current property market, with rising house prices, interest rates and stamp duty combined with a lack of affordable housing making it harder than ever for first-time buyers it really doesn’t come as a surprise that so many people are being forced to delay buying and prolong their shared living situations.

What will prove more interesting is how this trend will affect the market in years to come. With more and more people anticipating spending up to five years - and some much longer - in shared housing, we will presumably continue to see an ever-increasing demand for rentals in the future.

For landlords this is very good news; however, will it put further pressure on first-time buyers as affordable properties are bought up by buy-to-let investors?

We will see. In the meantime, for those of us who are in no hurry and have accepted we will be living in shared accommodation for the foreseeable future, the HotProperty survey also revealed some tips for living in harmony with your housemates.

If you are the kind of person who doesn’t wash regularly, plays loud music late at night and eats other people’s food without telling them, then you are probably in the running for the worst flatmate award – you voted unhygienic, inconsiderate and dishonest people the worst flatmates.

On the flipside, winning traits included being considerate, friendly and tidy, with a small percentage of you saying that attractiveness also helped! Which might explain why one in five of you has also become romantically involved with your flatmate.

There might be something to be said for living in flatshares after all though - one in five of flatmate’s romantic relationships lead to marriage!

Other interesting findings:

• 13% of you would prefer to view photos of the  existing flatmates than the house and room
• 59% of you think location is more important  than  price
• 63.6% said public transport is the most important  thing to be close to, with work coming in second, at  20%
• The majority of English people would prefer to share  with English flatmates, over flatmates from Europe, Americas, Africa, Asia and antipodeans (42%)

Check out HotProperty Flatshare to find your new room.

The green home is the home of the future. Everyone, from civic leaders to actors to politicians, has something to say about why it is important to conserve and re-use. Global warming’s last few non-believers have been shown the facts and we homeowners and prospective buyers must factor into our decisions an awareness of the effect our home has on the wellbeing of the wider world.

Newly built homes are at the forefront of the march towards green-ness. Building a home, after all, takes a lot of energy and is a major source of CO2; any savings we can make as we build the next generation of dwellings is worth pursuing.

There are many ways developers these days are trying to achieve this. If you are shopping for a sustainable home it is worth bearing in mind the following ways developments can be socially and environmentally responsible:

Build affordable low- and zero-emission developments

This includes looking at ways to make developments self-sufficient. Zero-emission development Hockerton Housing Project (HHP)Hockerton.demon.co.uk - one of the first zero emission developments in the UK - generate its own clean energy, harvest their own water and recycle waste materials, minimising pollution and CO2 emissions. The houses are among the most energy efficient purpose built dwellings in Europe. The five houses in the project make use of the thermal mass of the buildings, passive solar heating and the thermal gains from appliances and body heat.

Green homes 

Being green doesn’t only mean being environmentally friendly. It also means designing developments that complement and blend with their natural habitat. Eco-friendly developments should be built with consideration for the landscape. They often offer superb outdoor living and water features, which in turn promotes wildlife and foliage growth.

Sustainable construction

Enquire about the materials used to build. Most eco-friendly developments will only use materials from renewable sources, and waste during the building process is kept to an absolute minimum.

Carbon footprint

Many eco-friendly developments these days offer community projects to lower emissions such as car pools and in-house car club schemes designed to reduce car dependency. Location is also crucial. Developments logistically placed nearer city centres and major transport connections also help lower emissions by reducing travel.

Energy efficient homes

Have the developers considered any energy saving devices in the construction such as solar energy? Energy efficient developments may also offer a monitoring service for the resident’s gas, electricity and water consumption to encourage responsible use of energy.

Visit:

Zedhomes.com

Inspacehomes.co.uk

Kingerleehomes.co.uk

Barratthomes.co.uk

Winter is upon us and with it comes higher bills and increased energy consumption.

With the recent introduction of HIPs and the need to have an Energy Performance Certificate for all three and four bedroom homes, this issue is more salient than ever.

Do your bit with our energy saving tips:

1. If every household in the UK installed five energy saving lightbulbs, electricity equivalent to the output of a typical power station would be saved each year (according to Energy Saving Trust).

2. Turn your thermostat down. Reducing your room temperature by 1°C could cut your heating bills by up to 10 percent.

3. Is your water too hot? Your cylinder thermostat shouldn't need to be set higher than 60°C/140°F.

4. Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows.

5. Always turn off the lights when you leave a room.

6. Don't leave appliances on standby and remember not to leave appliances on charge unnecessarily.

7. If you're not filling up the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher, use the half-load or economy programme.

8. Only boil as much water as you need (but remember to cover the elements if you're using an electric kettle).

9. A dripping hot water tap wastes energy and in one week wastes enough hot water to fill half a bath, so fix leaking taps and make sure they're fully turned off!

For more information visit Energysavingtrust.org.uk