2016 Trend
Five things you didn't know about living in the City
You might think of the City of London as a square mile of iconic towers and slick office blocks. Which of course it is. But there’s a lot more to this tiny city – one of only two London districts with city status – than banking, trade and financial services.
Settled by the Romans in the 1st century AD, the City was heavily populated right up until the 18th century. Today, there are only around 7,500 permanent residents in the Square Mile, but new transport links, the regeneration of several of Smithfield’s market buildings.
The City is criss-crossed with ancient alleys and passageways, each with a story to tell.
For example, on the corner of Giltspur Street and Cock Lane there’s a golden statue of a boy, marking the point at which the Great Fire of London stopped. The Great Fire razed more than 13,000 houses and nearly 90 churches.
Some of the best restaurants in London are to be found in the streets around Barts Square, including The Modern Pantry (St John Street), Club Gascon (West Smithfield), St John (St John Street), Smiths of Smithfield (Charterhouse Street) and Polpo (Cowcross Street).
Great old pubs include Ye Olde Mitre (Ely Place), The Hand & Shears (Cloth Fair) and The Jerusalem Tavern (Britton Street), where William Hogarth and Samuel Johnson were once regulars.
2016 Trend
Prime Algarve property sees rise in demand
While Portugal’s national housing market has seen only tentative improvement in recent years, prime Algarve property has shown a marked upturn. In Quinta do Lago, for example, the very best properties have exceeded their pre-crisis peak.
The rise comes as many wealthy individuals find themselves fully invested in first-tier cities, where prices are at a high plateau, and are now looking at second-tier cities and leisure retreats like Quinta do Lago.
Consequently stock levels remained low, which has been a major driver of price growth as demand has returned.
Central to the appeal of the Algarve is its excellent connectivity to the rest of Europe. Annual passengers numbers at Faro airport exceeded six million for the first time in 2014, an increase of 34 per cent of the previous decade.
The airport provides direct links to 80 destinations across Europe, of which 23 are to UK airports. Faro airport is undergoing a €32million expansion and remodelling programme that will result in a 25 per cent increase in peak passenger flow capacity. Therefore, with its low levels of supply and a product tailored to the luxury second home market, we believe prime Algarve is in the perfect position to benefit from strengthening demand in the years to come.
Home Decor
A 'living rent' could solve the housing crisis
It’s a sensible question – while in theory, lenders have to take steps to ensure you can afford to keep up the monthly repayments (as much for their own sake as yours), buyers can still end up saddled with a mortgage they can’t afford.
There are a number of mortgage calculators online, such as the one provided by SPF, which give a good general idea of how much a mortgage will cost per month, taking into account the price of the property, the deposit available, the length of the mortgage and the rate of interest.
Mortgage calculators don’t usually factor in the other costs associated with a mortgage, such as arrangement fees.
While these are mostly one-off costs, they still need to be considered when deciding whether you can afford a mortgage. They will all be tabled in a mortgage illustration document which your lender should provide.
The terms of the mortgage may also affect your decision: are there missed payment fees or early repayment charges? The latter could be significant if, for example, you’re planning to use part of your pension to pay off your mortgage early. And if you’re getting one of the less common types of mortgage, such as an offset, you will need to consider whether you can afford to devote enough of your savings to make it worthwhile.