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WILTSHIRE LIFE - January 2003
 All
Part of the service ...
As
I sit at my computer writing this article it is “throwing
it down with rain”. Last night I went to a meeting of Downton
Parish Council, of which I am a member. One item you can
be sure will be on the Agenda is a report from the Water
meadow and Flood Defence Committee. I hope by the time this
article is published it will not be once again in our minds
as it was two years ago.
My wife pointed out to me an article in one of the daily
papers where it was reported that insurance companies have
refused to rule out premium hikes for homes at risk of flooding,
as the Government urged householders to do what they can
for themselves. However fears that insurers would refuse
to cover many homes at any price appear to be receding.
Halifax, whose policies are underwritten by Royal &
Sun Alliance have said that its nearly 2 million existing
clients would be covered against flood damage until 2005.
New customers however will be covered only if they are buying
a house from a previous owner who held a mortgage with either
Halifax, Bank of Scotland or Intelligent Finance. Churchill
Insurance and Direct Line have apparently said that they
will continue to provide household insurance indefinitely
to customers on flood plains. It would seem to me that reading
the various articles there does seem to be some contradiction
and the advice given loud and clear is be careful and do
your homework.
The situation is not all gloom and doom, for I have seen
several properties this year fronting prominent rivers and
streams and most owners have told me that whilst many of
the waterways are obviously up there has not been any major
problems. Currently available with the agents Knight Frank
of Cirencester is Witches Cottage, situated at Easton Grey
near Malmesbury. This four bedroomed house has a garden
of 1.3 acres from which there are riverside views of the
Avon. The price guide is £625,000.
The Old Mill at Bulford, north of Salisbury also presents
itself serenely, as seen in the picture above. It has fishing
on the River Avon and mill stream extending to about 365
yards double and single bank. With the mill house there
is a separate cottage requiring improvement. The house itself
has five bedrooms and three reception rooms all in grounds
of 1.8 acres with a price guide of £700,000 and is
being handled by FPDSavills of Salisbury.
I also saw a comment the other day from a residential and
letting agency, advising investors to be wary of buying
premium-priced river properties. The mistake that many buy-to-let
investors make is to buy a property which they would like
to live in and not one that is suited to the requirements
of potential tenants. The argument is that tenants would
probably like a water view, but they may not want to pay
the higher rent, which the landlord believes it should command.
On the Thames the location may add 20% to the price but
rarely to its rental value.
Written by Michael Chandler FRICS.
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