Freshly Social

In the tough economic times that we are, and have been experiencing for the last couple of years, everyone is on the looking for enterprising investment opportunities. Property investment is definitely on the up and up, especially considering the rapid rate at which the prime London property market is growing. Many people are still undecided about whether to invest in their own properties, or invest in a property fund. This article takes a look at the four main advantages of putting your money into a UK property fund:

1. Professional Investment Advice

Despite recent good news that the London property market is on the up and up, the remainder of the UK property market is still struggling to recover from the recent global credit crunch. The most affected it seems, are young people looking to buy their first house. Statistics show that young professionals are putting their relationships, marriages and the idea of having children on hold until they are able to purchase a property in the UK.

£1 Million Houseboat for "sail"

So, you’ve been searching everywhere for the perfectly located London Property, however it seems all the most desirable central London property locations have already been snapped up and the current owners are unwilling to let go of their prime estate. Fear not! A slightly new craze to be entering the London Luxury property market recently is that of houseboats. With docking locations being primarily central, you can be assured that you will always be in walking distance of your work, a major tube station as well as your favourite pub.

This week awkward small talk at dinner tables and in office lifts throughout central London will surround the weather, no surprises there.

Central London estate agents, investment bankers and other professionals will congregate around water coolers as usual, and converse about the weather as usual.

But for the first time in years it’s something genuinely worth discussing and not just a back up topic for the socially bland. The weather is in fact making headline news as the coldest winter for 30 years continues to cause a scene all over Britain and beyond.

Fulham is a good place to live for a number of reasons, not least for the fact that it is home to both Stamford Bridge and Craven Cottage. So who would want to buy Fulham property aside from rowdy football fans? Lots of cool people, that’s who.

Wikipedia told me that Fulham means either “place of fowls” or “place of mud” or “land in the crook of a river bend belonging to a man named Fulla”. Well the land does not belong to Fulla anymore.

Money talks; money makes the world go round; money is power: the idioms based around money are endless for the plain reason that this particular dirty word occupies quite an important place in our global consciousness. In keeping with the general obsession with money, we’ve compiled a list of the most expensive items ever sold in Britain and the world.

Most expensive house in Britain

Good news for Putney home owners is that house prices have risen significantly in the area recently. A report released jointly by the Land Registry and PutneySW15.com shows a 12.2% improvement in Putney house prices in the last quarter. However, at the same time, flat prices have fallen by a surprising 8.8%.

James French of Douglas and Gordon, London, attributes the rallying Putney house prices to improved buyer confidence and the supply of houses falling below the rekindled demand. The estate agent, Putney, also said that business has been good from a house sales point of view.

Source: John Victor Cooper of Putney

Houses are no longer affordable to the average Joe. Twenty years ago, teachers and clerks could comfortably buy a pad in Putney but the zooming house prices, which started before the recession and are likely to continue after it’s over, have put paid to many people’s plans to buy property through an estate agent in Putney. There is, however, one solution to this and it comes in the architecturally displeasing form of modern high rises. High rises blocks make property inexpensive and compact to house Putney’s burgeoning population, but they are also eyesores and take away from the ‘village feel’ of long-established London boroughs. What Putney now finds itself in is a catch 22. Does the municipality give permission for the high rise flats and offices that are so desperately needed in the UK in order for people to be able to buy property or do they give in to local pressure and allow overcrowding and sky rocketing house prices to continue?

The Turkish Riviera features as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Scattered ruins from the empire of ancient Greece and Rome still remain in rare abundance in this sun soaked destination (300 sunny days a year).

Visit the Acropolis at Xanthos or the rock tombs and Roman theatre of Antiphellos to begin your explorations. Aside from its rich archaeological history, the Turquoise coast offers a feast of natural delights. The Turkish Riviera is like an island paradise, but venture further inland and you can, figuratively, lose yourself in the lush forested mountains of Antalya, for instance.

Internationally famous celebs have made their homes in Chelsea for decades and apartments and penthouses in the exclusive tree-lined borough are still highly sought after by the rich and famous.

King’s Road in Chelsea was home to some of the world’s top rock and pop stars in the sixties and seventies, including the celebrated Beatles and Rolling Stones.  For centuries, the nearby Belgravia square was the most fashionable place to live, with the Duke of Bedford once occupying  house number 6.  While London has expanded and changed around the boroughs of Chelsea and Kensington, the area still remains relatively unchanged and one of the most exclusive places to live in the world. Chelsea nightclubs are where you go if you want to spot celebrities and even nobility, as even Prince William and Harry have started taking an interest in the area recently. Walking though Chelsea, you’ll be unaware that it is teeming with celebrities living out their lavish lives behind sometimes modest-looking closed doors.