https://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/...taff-annexe-pool-gym-million-pound-isolation/
0 March 2020 • 7:00am
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Cairnty Estate, a 586-acre sporting estate with a new Georgian-style country house on the River Spey in Scotland, on sale for £2.65m
Whether a last-minute luxury rental in order to keep their own homes virus-free, or a sudden escape to a rural hideaway, those fortunate enough to have the means are in a hurry to tie up property deals that will see them self-isolate in luxurious seclusion over the coming months.
“We’ve just received a request for an ‘isolation property’ in Mayfair for up to £15,000 a week. The client already owns in London but wants a rental apartment nearby so his newly refurbished home remains uncontaminated,” says Penny Mosgrove, CEO of Quintessentially Estates.
As schools close, many wealthy Londoners who own country homes have already left town. “More space, fewer people and I’m told the food shortages and general unpleasantness in supermarkets is not happening in small villages, where much of the produce is local,” says Camilla Dell, managing partner at Black Brick buying agency.
In response to the sudden demand for upscale rural rentals, Strutt & Parker estate agency has just set up a country short-lets department, with families paying up to £20,000 a month for Cotswolds houses, says the agency’s Country director, Luke Morgan. Virtual viewing tools are proving essential, too, for Londoners in a rush to seal a deal before the city is in lockdown.
Ashe Grange, a Grade II-listed Georgian house near Guildford, set in eight acres, including separate staff accommodation, a swimming pool and tennis court, has an asking price of £2,308 per week. “A family from London viewed it on Monday and is moving in today for six months,” says Caroline Clark, Strutt & Parker’s head of lettings in Ascot.
But rural isolation may turn to loneliness as the UK gets increasingly locked down, warns Rob Fanshawe, from Property Vision buying agency in the Cotwolds.
“We have to manage our clients’ desire for isolation with the realities of the weather, mud, poor broadband and nobody around. But we are seeing pubs and eateries getting more entrepreneurial, village shops and take-away restaurants springing up,” he says.
Ashe Grange in Aldershot, an ideal property for self-isolation, set in eight acres
There is another solution: isolate with friends. Charlie Wells, director of Prime Purchase buying agency, just found a property in three days for two London families seeking a 10-bedroom house.
“They live pretty charmed lives and have had to cancel three or four holidays because no one is travelling, so they wanted somewhere to hunker down until it all passes, with a tennis court, swimming pool, stables and home cinema,” Wells says.
Money is no object for many in this situation. Agents are being told speed is of the essence, whatever the cost.
“They will pay for a year up front, but might only live in the house for six months, depending on what happens with the coronavirus and the aftermath,” says Jamie Jamieson, who runs an eponymous property search company. Norfolk has been the focus of the two most recent requests from families, with one planning to take the private tutor with them.
Unfurnished properties are no obstacle either; the tenants just call in an interior designer, providing they can turn around an isolation-fit home in a matter of days.
“The houses need to be at least 10,000 sq ft, with a staff annexe, pool and gym,” says Alex Willcock of Burbeck Interiors, who reports an increase in demand for empty new-build properties for rent across the commuter belt.
One person’s lockdown, however, is another’s lifeline – and for some, there’s no better place to be than London. A Qatari buyer completed yesterday on a £1.5m flat in Canary Wharf. Simon Barry, head of new development at Harrods Estates, reports: “He decided it’s the safest and cleanest place he’s seen in London.”
0 March 2020 • 7:00am
Premium
Cairnty Estate, a 586-acre sporting estate with a new Georgian-style country house on the River Spey in Scotland, on sale for £2.65m
Whether a last-minute luxury rental in order to keep their own homes virus-free, or a sudden escape to a rural hideaway, those fortunate enough to have the means are in a hurry to tie up property deals that will see them self-isolate in luxurious seclusion over the coming months.
“We’ve just received a request for an ‘isolation property’ in Mayfair for up to £15,000 a week. The client already owns in London but wants a rental apartment nearby so his newly refurbished home remains uncontaminated,” says Penny Mosgrove, CEO of Quintessentially Estates.
As schools close, many wealthy Londoners who own country homes have already left town. “More space, fewer people and I’m told the food shortages and general unpleasantness in supermarkets is not happening in small villages, where much of the produce is local,” says Camilla Dell, managing partner at Black Brick buying agency.
In response to the sudden demand for upscale rural rentals, Strutt & Parker estate agency has just set up a country short-lets department, with families paying up to £20,000 a month for Cotswolds houses, says the agency’s Country director, Luke Morgan. Virtual viewing tools are proving essential, too, for Londoners in a rush to seal a deal before the city is in lockdown.
Ashe Grange, a Grade II-listed Georgian house near Guildford, set in eight acres, including separate staff accommodation, a swimming pool and tennis court, has an asking price of £2,308 per week. “A family from London viewed it on Monday and is moving in today for six months,” says Caroline Clark, Strutt & Parker’s head of lettings in Ascot.
But rural isolation may turn to loneliness as the UK gets increasingly locked down, warns Rob Fanshawe, from Property Vision buying agency in the Cotwolds.
“We have to manage our clients’ desire for isolation with the realities of the weather, mud, poor broadband and nobody around. But we are seeing pubs and eateries getting more entrepreneurial, village shops and take-away restaurants springing up,” he says.
Ashe Grange in Aldershot, an ideal property for self-isolation, set in eight acres
There is another solution: isolate with friends. Charlie Wells, director of Prime Purchase buying agency, just found a property in three days for two London families seeking a 10-bedroom house.
“They live pretty charmed lives and have had to cancel three or four holidays because no one is travelling, so they wanted somewhere to hunker down until it all passes, with a tennis court, swimming pool, stables and home cinema,” Wells says.
Money is no object for many in this situation. Agents are being told speed is of the essence, whatever the cost.
“They will pay for a year up front, but might only live in the house for six months, depending on what happens with the coronavirus and the aftermath,” says Jamie Jamieson, who runs an eponymous property search company. Norfolk has been the focus of the two most recent requests from families, with one planning to take the private tutor with them.
Unfurnished properties are no obstacle either; the tenants just call in an interior designer, providing they can turn around an isolation-fit home in a matter of days.
“The houses need to be at least 10,000 sq ft, with a staff annexe, pool and gym,” says Alex Willcock of Burbeck Interiors, who reports an increase in demand for empty new-build properties for rent across the commuter belt.
One person’s lockdown, however, is another’s lifeline – and for some, there’s no better place to be than London. A Qatari buyer completed yesterday on a £1.5m flat in Canary Wharf. Simon Barry, head of new development at Harrods Estates, reports: “He decided it’s the safest and cleanest place he’s seen in London.”
