Last time, we brought you the story that house prices in London are finally looking set to fall, and such a development would be welcome news for a city that has endured a bit of a rollercoaster over the last 12 months. 2014 saw Londoners looking to relocate en-masse, purely because prices had risen to such unprecedented levels that living in the capital was no longer practical. Some of the stories that arose from 2014 were genuinely absurd though, so here are a few notable examples…
Illegal Conversions
There were plenty of stories about incredibly ‘modest’ premises commanding utterly extortionate rents last year, but some of these tales brought into light just how out of hand the situation really was. One house in Clapham was probably earning its landlord around £40,000 a year…despite the fact that it had a tree growing through the wall. An actual tree. Described by an electrician as ‘the most dangerous site he had seen in 35 years’, the property has now been taken off the market.
Unique = Miniscule
Many miniscule premises were rented in London during 2014, but landlords tried every trick in the book to obscure that fact. A home with a bedroom suspended over the kitchen work surface was described as ‘creative’, ‘unique’ and ‘the smallest house in the world’. Other homes had rooms which could only be entered on your hands and knees. In lots of situations, small may not be a bad thing. Here though, there’s only so much that you can do to get away from the fact that tiny homes really are just that; tiny homes.
‘Investments’
We’ve all heard about buying property that has long-term potential, and many of us enjoy watching home renovation programs that show how a barren shell of a home can eventually be turned into something spectacular.  However, the last 12 months saw people buying what was essentially a passage between two shops, and purchasing 6 simple garages for £700,000. This latter was deemed an attractive prospect because of the lack of planning permission, but a garage is still a garage.
If you’re still curious about London property oddities in 2014, be sure to have a dig around online, as rest assured we’ve only given you a few of the standout stories from last year! This year though, it’s hoped that such tales will become far less commonplace. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you’ll be forced into housing a tree in your dining room just to afford a London property either, as there are plenty of great mortgage options out there. At Search Mortgage Solutions, we specialise in locating such opportunities, so contact the premier mortgage broker in London today by calling 0207 554 5685 or send us an email at enquiry@searchmortgagesolutions.co.uk.