1.    Tuscany, Italy

This medieval village for sale not far from Florence is described as a “unique development opportunity.”

30 buildings, “many of which are overgrown by thick vegetation”, so bring a strimmer.

The village was entirely self-sufficient and occupied until 1960 – earlier in the last century between 130 and 150 people lived and worked there.

Only 3,500,000 of those lovely Euros everyone is talking about.

2.    Courbefy, France

The one they’re all talking about – mainly because the £275,000 price tag wouldn’t buy a semi in many parts of the UK.

19 building, including tennis courts, a swimming pool, stables, family homes and even a village hall have all been put up for sale by judicial authorities in nearby Limoges – you have until  Friday to get a bid in.

It’s abandoned, overrun by vegetation, and, apparently, “only visited by drunkards and squatters”.

The Mail almost lost its mind over this one … maybe they’ll lend you Peter Hitchens to sort out the drunks and squatters.

3. Roccascalegna, Italy

This one’s a small village close to the coast and mountains in the province of Chieti. Ten properties, all in a right old state and in need of “structural and architectural intervention… The costs to renovate each unit is approximately €60.000,00, including plans and job directions.”

160,000 euros.

4.    Bomba, Italy

Rural village consisting of a group of buildings from one to three levels with a small church (not included) and surrounding plots.

€330,000

5.       Valle Piola, Italy

The small abandoned mountain village of Valle Piola consists of a church, 11 dilapidated stone houses and 2 farmers’ barns. Interesting proposal for the development of a boutique village/hotel – or so they say.

£485,000 /  Euros 555,000 

It may not be loved by some agents, but the Trip Advisor-style review site for estate agents looks like becoming essential reading for consumers.

They’ve just published highlights from a soon to be published list of the 500 best rated and 500 worst rated property companies in the UK as voted for by the public.

The most interesting finding is that in the top 500 small single branch companies fared the best for positive customer service reviews with 67% of the places.

The chains (companies with more than 30 offices), in contrast, managed just one firm in the top rated 500. Medium sized businesses (10-30 branches) didn’t fare much better with only 12.

However, not all small companies deliver – of the 500 worst rated agents,the majority group again was the single office operators with 55% of the ‘disapproving to shocking’ ranking places and the medium chain agents (10-30 offices) coming a close second with 20%.

At branch level the top 100 ranked individual branches are again dominated by the small companies and the single branch agents with 76% of the places coming from these categories. 24% of the top 100 branches were from medium and large chains.

It’s clear, says the report, “that some of the big players have some very highly rated branches and what stands out is that without the burden of being dragged down by the overall chain performance, these branches could be up their with the country’s best rated providers.”

But against that, the large chains fared poorly in the worst 100 branches with 48% of the total.

“The feedback,” the report concludes, “highlights that we are more likely to have a good property experience with a smaller company. However there are exceptions and so it is definitely well worth searching for customer reviews for every property agent before you short-list or buy.”

image: 100abandonedhomes.com

Nearly four in ten of us are putting off those maintenance jobs to save money…

News from the AA’s Home Emergency Resource centre is that British homeowners are trying to save money by not repairing their homes, or by fixing things themselves.

If you’re one of the 8% who’ve delayed getting their boiler serviced, 4% who are ignoring a leaking roof, or 2% with damaged locks beware.

Apparently we’re facing a collective bill of nearly £1.2 billion to put right the damage caused by our neglect or incompetent DIY, equating to an average of £398 each to rectify the problems.

The AA’s suggestion is that all of us who are neglecting our homes to save money, er, buy a home emergency response policy to cover the cost.

A suggestion that we’re sure will be welcomed by those struggling to make ends meet.

How do you follow a record that sold millions, stayed in the album charts for five years and was used as the soundtrack for one of  the most iconic films of the decade: The Exorcist?

This was the task facing Mike Oldfield when he moved to The Beacon, on Bradnor Hill near the town of Kington on the Welsh/English borders.

The second album was called Hergest Ridge – the name of a local landmark in these parts. The cover featured Bootleg, an Irish Wolfhound from Richard Branson’s The Manor studio, and a hand glider Oldfield liked to fly from the ridge.

Was it any good? Well judging by the samples below, it’s trippy, ambient stuff with folky overtones – so well atuned to long-haired flare-wearing types who like a bit of moody Celtic soul while staring at the ceiling.

Where Oldfield led, Enya followed – he has a lot to answer for!

No doubting his immense talent, though – the album lists him as playing Electric guitars, Glockenspiel, Sleigh bells, Mandolin, Nutcracker, Timpani, Gong, Acoustic guitar, Spanish guitar, Farfisa, Lowery and Gemini organs. It entered the UK album charts at number one, only to be displaced by its predecessor, Tubular Bells.

As for the house – it was built in the 20s and sits about 1,000 feet up on Bradnor Hill.

The views are awesome – but bear in mind that the place is a bit of a pilgrimage site for Oldfield fans … so don’t be surprised if you wake up one morning to find people called Blue Dolphin and Moonchildhippy cavorting on the lawn.

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Looking for a new owner to dive into some serious renovations…

For a building with a steamy past, look no further.

OK, no more Turkish bath puns, here’s a bit of history.

Built in 1864 to replace the Russian baths which had burnt down on the same site, the St Leonards on Sea Turkish baths only remained open for  five years because the the prices proved too high for the local clientelle (ladies 5 shillings including two towels and a sheet, and men a bargain at 3/6d).

The building was bought by nearby Uplands School and a swimming pool was added at the rear, and, according to Victorian Turkish Baths, the shapes of the windows and door were also altered, probably to make them more Christian in appearance.

Pic: Ion Castro Collection, ion@1066.net

Towards the end of World War II the building changed hands again and was used as a temporary church, and since then has been a glass factory and a workshop.

Although it has lost its minarets and balustrades, it does still have the original beamed ceiling, stained glass windows and staircase.

And the swimming pool, added in the 1930s is, apparently, still intact below the raised floorboards.

The St Leonards Turkish baths is now for sale for £245,000, and comes with planning permission for conversion into a four-bedroom property.

Towels and sheet extra.

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The latest findings from the BDRC Continental quarterly Landlords Panel research shows that in the fourth quarter of 2011, the number of ‘portfolio landlords’ – those with 20 or more properties – who reported making a loss rose from just 1% in the third quarter of 2011, to 8% in the last quarter of the year.

This was the biggest rise in the number of portfolio landlords making a loss since the Landlords Panel began in 2006.

At the same time, while portfolio landlords reaped the highest rental yields at 7%, average rental yields for all landlords fell in Q4 2011, down to 5.9% from 6.7% in the previous quarter.

In fact, the last quarter of 2011 saw rental yields for all landlords fall to their lowest level in the year. This is despite almost half (46%) of landlords having increased rents for tenants in the previous 12 months and one in three (34%) planning to do so during the first half of 2012.

Commenting on the findings, Mark Long, Director for BDRC Continental says: “Unsurprisingly, in a difficult economy a larger portfolio of property brings greater exposure to risk and those landlords are clearly feeling the impact of rising costs and a decline in profitability.

“This is the highest level we have seen of landlords with 20-plus properties making a loss, and the biggest increase between one quarter and another.

“In previous waves of the research the highest figure of loss making for this group was 4% in the third quarter of 2009. Some landlords are clearly feeling the pinch.”

The scheme was first, and famously, launched by Margaret Thatcher, and allowed council tenants to buy their home at a discount.

Last Autumn is was re-launched by George Osborne with the backing of housing minister Grant Shapps.

The Tory duo claimed that their plan to increase the available discount to a maximum of £50,000 would liberate many council tenants and allow then to buy their home.

Not so says Hometrack’s Richard Donnell.  His analysis shows that 65% of local authority tenants could afford to buy their home with a £50,000 discount.

However, only a small proportion of these are likely to be eligible for a mortgage as just 16% of tenants are in full-time employment.

And the £50,000 discount will not work for buyers in the country’s most expensive markets.  in London the discount required to make Right To Buy affordable is as high as 58% or £128,000.  In the South East the figure is £75,000

Donnell concludes: “ The £50,000 cap means that take-up is more likely to be in the most affordable areas of the country with a lower level of receipt per sale than currently.

“In Southern England where house prices are among the highest in the country, larger discounts are needed to make RTB affordable to tenants and this will inevitably limit take-up of the scheme.”

Pic: 60 Minutes

Well, OK, she’s moved into a 10-bed former convent…

While many of our home-grown slebs are buying in trendy North London, Grammy winner Adele has left the Smoke and moved into a rented £7 million estate in West Sussex.

The former convent has a helicopter hangar, tennis court, a couple of swimming pools, and a guest cottage, all within a 25-acre estate.

Just like Tottenham really.

Let’s hope boyfriend Simon Konecki is domesticated as our favourite singing superstar admitted to 60 Minutes that last time she tried independent living it didn’t go too well.

‘My life fell apart. My phone got cut off, my credit card got cut off, the house was a mess. It was awful.

‘I couldn’t function without my mum so I moved back in with her. I’d rather be defeated than one day come in and the rats would be eating me.’

We’re very glad she did.

http://youtu.be/gxTXuF6yxuY

Would you have the vision to see past a drift of swine?

Most of us can overlook terrible wallpaper, dodgy carpets and even a vendor’s smelly pets.

But a house full of pigs? Really?

Well, the owners of this beautiful converted Norfolk chapel did just that.

The building had stood empty for decades before the couple found it and decided to look past the trotters and, erm, deposits, to see the beauty of the 7,317-square-foot property.

It was a job that took eight years to complete, but the bath stone home now blends modern comfort with original features such as leaded, arched windows, Portland stone columns and a vaulted, wooden ceiling.

The Chapel, which is situated in the village of North Elmham, is on the market with Fine estate agents for a cool £1 million.

A price not to be snorted at.

© Copyright Nigel Mykura and licensed for reuse under Creative Commons Licence.

According to Home.co.uk asking prices for homes on the market in England and Wales have risen 0.5% since January ” despite poor market fundamentals”.

Those fundamentals include a surge in the number of homes on the market (up 12% year on year) and a dearth of buyers who can afford them.

It’s a no-brainer, says Home, that sellers will have to cut prices, and this draws a scathing rebuke from their analysts:

As we move through the first quarter of 2012 the UK housing market is experiencing  a  12%  increase  in  supply  of  property  for  sale  when  compared  to  2011.

In  a  thriving economy where mortgage credit is abundant, GDP rising above inflation and job  prospects looking good, such a rise in the numbers of properties entering the market  would be a sign of good fortune.

However, in the current context of unemployment figures at a 17-year high (and rising), a contraction of lending by banks to individuals, shrinking economic output and over-burdened consumers increasingly resorting to ‘pay-day loans’ to make ends meet, the foundations of a healthy housing market are deteriorating.

Over-pricing in the current economic climate is simply folly. False optimism usually  leads to disappointed sellers but, worse still, it could lead to a homebuyers’ strike  and consequently rapidly falling home prices. We’ve already seen such a scenario  play out in 2008. Properties piled up on the market and asking prices fell by 6%.

Only savage price-cutting and massive government involvement in the financial  sector averted catastrophe and got the market moving again.

No one would wish to see a repeat of 2008 but, with both asking prices and supply rising despite dwindling demand, this could be a recipe for another disastrous year for UK property.