We fancy a Church!

Since I need to keep my mind distracted; let's call it a "rebound" effect after having to let go the pretty girl (as per analogy used in last post).

It's time for hunting again. Quick check of latest auctions, property sites etc... (More covered on hunting process in previous post)

Anyway, so that beauty came to my attention:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/commercial-property-for-sale/property-36170160.html

And after a quick talk with my friend/co-investor; turns out he likes churches too! 

Here a few pics from the viewing last Saturday. What a beauty!

 .... But it comes with some issues... As we call it internally: "the beauty has hairy legs" 

In fact lots of hair indeed: it has subsidience (the ground is givingway), is far-ish from public transport (17mn walk), has no planning permission to convert to residential yet, and is in a non "up and coming" zone 4 spot... Not the end of the world, but nearly (sorry, sounding a bit like a London snob here!)

But despite all this... Have to admit that even if unshaved... It's a beauty indeed!

A proper entrance!

Stained glass windows - exterior 

Stained glass windows interiors

More interior. Lots of space to divide in flats! 

No comment. 

And here visible hair! 

And here too! 

Letting the beauty go.

I don't want to jinx things, but....  

Happy to announce that a very acceptable offer has been received.... Rejected, increased, still rejected... Increased again and finally accepted.

If all goes to plan, within a couple of week a 50% profit on investment will be crystallized. That's over a 18 months timeframe, so pretty decent when keeping in mind the market grew only 5% or so over the period.

Also to mention is the fact that the sale is for a shell and planning permission only. So the entire phase two of the works is still to be carried out by the purchaser.

Question arising: is it the right time to exit and should one not have carried out the complete project to lock in maximum profits?!

Answer is: not sure! I do actually believe that there is still potentially another 150k at least in the project if carried through to completion ....and since there is currently nothing lined up to reinvest it would be tempting.

But somehow as with any gambling, one should know when to exit the casino.

So purely from an investment perspective it's the safe option, and given that all the eggs are in one basket (and there another investor involved): it feels like the right thing to do.

However from an architects perspective it's like giving a newborn baby for adoption!

Now I know many might say that I should just cash in and be happy....
But I can't help being a "senti" (shortcut my wife uses for "sentimental"). I have gone through the spaces so many times in my head, thought about finishes, details, viewpoints, light angles.... And and and...

Creatively speaking one could argue it's the equivalent of seeing a beautifull girl go off with another guy after a flirtatious night out with her! (Could take the analogy further and make it more graphic but...)

Having to learn to let go... And go hunting again I guess.

Don't mind the price tag.

Exciting days.

After keeping it wrapped in the estate agents drawer, we felt it was the right time to see what the market reaction would be at this stage.

After having had serious interest while still in the draw, we thought we might as well put it out there and see what happens.

The potential buyer (who had not quite enough cash to stump up and ended up with a offer just too low to accept) was excited by the thought of coming in at an early stage to have the freedom to specify finishes and layout to his requirements.

So we thought there must be other architecture  enthusiasts who would be able to view beyond the chaos on site and possibly enjoy being part of the creative process. 

So voilà.... If anybody in the www wants an absolute unique property in trendy Hackney....

 "My people will talk to your people" as my friend always says (I have the feeling it's a quote from the Asterix and Obelix - the one where the Romans plan is to destabilise the village harmony  via the introduction of a hyper inflated capitalist system trading with obelisks ... A hilarious must read by the way!). 

http://www.themodernhouse.net/sales-list/lavender-grove

Ps: apologies if some may percieve the price tag as "obscene" but am sorry its not me its London! 

Hand drawn Hackney!

A couple of days back i have had the pleasure to receive the full set of visuals From Warren. 
and WHAT VISUALS! 

I am simply going to let his work speak for itself. 

Courtyard 1 

Courtyard 2

Courtyard 2 view from bedroom 4

Plans 

Double height -dining / sitting room view 1

Sitting room view 2

Sitting room - view 3

Master bedroom

Areal view 

Drama on the Riviera!

Not all smooth sailing on the Italian Riviera...

Another title for this post could have been "An ongoing saga on the Riviera"

After weeks of: research, visits, international property solicitors "advice" (and bills), italian speaking "geometras" (planning technicians), research on average temperatures (and other weather related matters).... The list could go on...

In short all boxes ticked: 40mn to international airport, seaside, stunning view, a project (of course has to be!) , affordable ( for a faraway dream that may turn out to be only used for a week a year.. After years of planning and foreign language builders!) 

Bottom line is after gathering all my strength and finally putting an offer for that humble little shed and adjacent piece of land (with that absolutely gorgeous view!)

I have to add here that there is quite a leap of faith from my side on this project.... Italian building laws are not only obscure and strangely flexible, but also scarily slippery!

.... But the views!!!!!!

Anyway. The deal was one offer for the building and a tiny bit of land, and another offer for additional land from another party to gain the right to enlarge the footprint of the existing shed.... (Not going into planning details here)

Agent puts the last bit of pressure and says another Italian buyer from Turin is interested has put an offer, but if you put a little more... (Pls note the use of the oldest trick in the book!)

So here we go offer gets signed and faxed. And accepted!

Butterflies of excitement... Dreams of sunny and lazy days (next to "The mother of all cactuses" *see picture below) flood the hypothalamus with happiness hormones...

BUT, BUT, BUT... 2 days later; The seller of the additional land turns around and says:

"I own half the hill... And actually I don't accept the offer for the bit i originally wanted to sell because instead a the little bit that you need, I want to sell the whole hill for an additional 4x what you wanted to spend!"

(Am paraphrasing a little but you get the picture!)

After all these days of daydreaming... Back to reality (of the dodgy world of Italian real estate!)

Apologies ... That turned out to be a long post! 

Now a few pictures (that speak more then a thousand words)  on which the daydreaming was based!

The " mother of all cactuses "

The shed!

The saga ... To be continued. 

Beauties in faraway lands....it must be an addiction.

This post is admittedly a little off topic.

Its not about the hackney project; but still essentially about special spaces.

What would a true addict do during a well deserved break?

You guessed it: look for derelict spaces with potential!

Let me just show you a couple of pictures.

Dreams of faraway lands with an edited selection of beauties...

Very special in Brindisi.... 

Surrounded by old olive trees and a distant sea view. 

& serious dimensions. 

 

Otherwise, something more modest in Bordigehera? 

with a cactus!

 palm trees... And a south view to die for!

Or back to Puglia: Bari with this cute little "Trulli" 

Stunning stonework. 

The pool is not there... But if i close my eyes... 

Or a fish processing garage in Monopoli?

With a backyard 

Overlooking a perfectly swimable little port? 

There was also the troglodyte ("carved out of the rock) olive oil mill, the Masseria..... And and and...

 

Surprises...

Its been a while since the last post and this is not for lack of action.

In fact there's been so much action both on the fashion side...( but am not going to dwelve on this ... This blog is for the other side of my schizofrenic self.... The property and architecture addict!)

So the battle on site has been fierce!
- 80% of the structural walls of the existing house have been supported.
- the entire perimeter of the basement in the garden has been set with retaining walls. (Without any adjacent fence or garden collapsing!)

However... As with any old house... Surprises surprises are always just lurching ... In this case behind the rendering.

Despite the initial accessment of the structural Engeneer being positive..... A surprise bill of between 25- 40k is to be added to the structural bill.....

The external walls of the house need to be lowered by an entire storey and rebuilt!  I forgot to mention the roof also needs to be taken down and rebuilt!

The below pictures should give a sense of the action on site these days. 

Ps: Tomorrow.... Some BBC filming for "Homes under the Hammer" .... Will try and make a post on it..... Am two minds about it somehow. 

getting there! 

What is left of the side return.... 

The flank wall.

Honey... What happend in the living room? 

Pls note we are retaining the "character" 60's tiles