Barton Wyatt’s top 10 reasons to move to Virginia Water.

Barton Wyatt’s top 10 reasons to move to Virginia Water.

by Viv Uncategorized United Kingdom

A year ago Virginia Water, which includes millionaire’s paradise Wentworth, hit the headlines with the staggering news that: “Virginia Water is the first and only town in the country with an average house price of more than £1m.”

A year on, the figure has continued to rise. The average Virginia Water home now weighs in at a hefty £1,161,882, a 8.41% increase from a year ago, according the Zoopla’s latest figures.

So what makes this village so incredibly attractive to buyers and why do people continue to pay seven figures plus to live at this coveted address? Specialist local estate agent, Barton Wyatt, has compiled a top ten list of insights into this very special village.

  1. Wealth attracts wealth

It is true that wealth attracts wealth and this can certainly be said of Wentworth. The prestige of living in the same street as a top golfer, a king or a TV star is certainly something special. And there are no shortages of celebrities and captains of industry dotted around the Wentworth estate. This is not a middle class housing estate where the Joneses try to outdo the Smiths: in Wentworth all the residents are either wealthy or they are staff.

  1. The green green grass of home

Anyone that has had the pleasure of visiting the Wentworth Club to watch the European PGA tour and wandered the hallowed fairways will have been amazed by the leafiness and luxuriance of the estate. It is completely understandable why in 1923 WG Tarrant embarked on creating this unique estate. Despite the fact that many mansions have access directly onto the four golf courses on Wentworth, it is virtually impossible to see most of the houses from the greens. The abundance of vegetation and foliage between the spectators and the mansions ensures that their privacy remains entirely intact.

  1. The Wentworth Club

Members of this distinguished club are likely to feel rather privileged to be a part of something that is so spectacularly British and yet completely international at the same time. There are several historical codes of conduct which one must abide by: all basically around the use of mobile phones and appropriate clothing – jeans are not allowed, strict clothing codes for particular sports and some hats are permissive but absolutely never a baseball cap worn the wrong way round. Traditions like this are tolerated by the members as it creates an air of undeniably English peculiarity.

In addition to world class golf, the Wentworth Club offers tennis courts, indoor and outdoor pools, plentiful activities for mums and kids and of course an extremely delicious fine-dining experience comparable to Caprice and The Ivy, as they are all part of the same company.

  1. Shopper’s paradise

Shopping in Virginia Water offers everything a small parade of shops should do, taking care of all those routine daily needs. Meanwhile, a 10 minute drive takes you to up-market Ascot or the wonderful High Street of Windsor, which is packed with interesting boutiques, delicious delis and a plethora of great places to eat.

  1. Easy commute to London

Every commuter’s dream is to achieve a door-to-door journey in under an hour and many residents are able to do just this. Six trains depart daily between 6.45 and 7.45 am for the early birds, whisking commuters directly to London Waterloo with no changes and in as little as 42 minutes.

  1. Schools

A major driver for many people moving house is access to good schools and the abundance of schools in and around Virginia Water extends to a rather long list. The best option is talk to the local estate agents for advice; the Barton Wyatt sales team has years of experience in advising on schools in the area both for their own children and their clients’.

 

Regardless of whether families are looking for a small private school, a grammar or a distinguished public school, there are choices close by. It is worth mentioning that both TASIS and ACS are very close and popular with international parents who reside on the Wentworth Estate. These two schools take international pupils from all around the world and educate them predominantly to the American education system, which ensures easy entry for higher education globally.

  1. A haven of peace and tranquillity

Buyers moving to the area will love the peace and tranquillity that pervades the sleepy lanes of Virginia Water. The density of woodland and greenery brings with it an abundance of wildlife, birds and insects. They too will love living in the area where the air is clean and they can thrive in this rural retreat. The lake at Virginia Water, part of ‘the Royal Landscape’ was first damned in 1753 .  Until the creation of the great reservoirs, it was the largest man-made body of water in the British Isles.  This beautiful setting has lured many species of both fauna and flora to the area.

  1. Keeping busy

Moving to a new area is often daunting as people are leaving friends and family behind and forging new relationships. However moving to an area with lots of things to do makes this process much easier.

It is not just golf and the Wentworth Club that keep Virginia Water going, there are clubs for all sports. Angling, cricket, football, rowing, swimming, polo – the list is endless! For children there are Cubs, Guides and Scouts, not to mention the junior sports teams that run year-in year-out. Alternatively for bigger days out visit Windsor Castle, Legoland, Thorpe Park, Savill Gardens and many, many more attractions that are right on the doorstep.

  1. Space to breathe

Existing covenants on the Wentworth Estate have stopped developers buying up the wonderfully large plots and building lots of houses or ‘in-filling’. This has meant that privacy is still optimised on the Estate and each plot retains substantial grounds. It has also guaranteed that the Estate is still exclusive and kept prices high: the fewer the houses, the more desirable they are. Many have likened Wentworth to Beverley Hills –large spacious plots with majestic houses, long drives and discrete ironwork gates all part of the mystery.

      10.   Great community spirit

With its very own community association, the good folk of Virginia Water are able to be involved in their local area as much as they wish. Helping with the annual Christmas party and lighting of not one but two Christmas trees which is a firm favourite for villagers.  Events like these turn a village into a community and if you want to get involved you will be welcomed with open arms!

For more information on the stock of wonderful houses that are available to rent or purchase from Barton Wyatt, contact the helpful team on 01344 843 000 or visit www.bartonwyatt.co.uk

Follow them on Facebook here:                https://www.facebook.com/bartonwyatt

Or on Twitter here:                                         https://twitter.com/BartonWyatt

Byte the bullet and get up to speed with how technology can benefit your property business at OPPLive 2013

by Charlotte Ashton Uncategorized

As frustrating as it can be when your PC freezes or you lose that Word document, there’s no getting away from it – we’re in the 21st century, the digital age, where 2.4 billion people worldwide use the internet, 1.15 billion log on to Facebook each month and Apple can sell 31 million iPhones in a quarter (Q3 2013 forecast).

 

The benefits of embracing the latest technology, be it fresh lead generation channels, managing your databases on the move or taking your marketing to the next level with Augmented Realty, are undeniable but with the pace of change so great, it can be hard to keep up. This is where the Byte Size mini conference at OPPLive 2013 comes into its own.

Byte Size brings genuine experts and real insight to this vital subject and is a must-attend for those who want to get to grips with the way in which technology should be shaping – and improving – their businesses.

Xavier Wiggins, OPPLive organiser, comments,

“With technology being such a hot topic within the industry, we have gone the extra mile to secure some world class speakers including US internet entrepreneur Brad Inman, founder of Inman News and Shameem Golamy, Head of Rightmove Overseas which attracts over 151,000 unique visitors per week, to share their expertise on how property companies can best operate in this digital age.”

An integral part of the overseas property’s leading industry event, OPPLive, the Byte Size mini conference will be held on Thursday 28th November 2013 commencing with The 8 bit breakfast – an introduction to the key concepts of using technology in business (plus a full English breakfast!).

The conference will then comprise a series of engaging seminars featuring a range of guest speakers from a number of disciplines and global markets addressing issues including email marketing, use of mobile technology, ten ways to double your productivity, managing and using data, next generation CRMs as well as the Penguins, Pandas and veritable zoo which is SEO today.

Byte Size delegates will also be able to join the expert speakers for dinner at iFood! Held at Café des Amis in Covent Garden, just minutes from the prestigious Central Hall venue in Westminster, property professionals will have the opportunity to discuss what they really want from technology and how to get it.

With limited places available for each seminar session, visit http://www.opp-live.com/byte-size regularly for more information and bookings.

Delegate passes are now available to purchases online here http://www.opp-live.com/buy-delegatepasses/ with a special Early Bird Rate of £195 for one ticket or two tickets for £295 available until Friday 6th September 2013.

A dream Italian holiday on a budget? Surely not!

by Charlotte Ashton Uncategorized

Italy is world’s 5th most visited country (WTO) but 2nd most dreamed of destination (Virtuoso)

Italy takes 5 of top 10 places in list of most expensive destinations (Trivago)

·         Luxury 5 bed/5 bath property in Le Marche costs just £185k (Appassionata)

Italy has never been viewed as a cheap holiday destination. Yet with its awe-inspiring scenery, Blue Flag beaches, fabulous cuisine and ancient architecture, it remains a top tourist destination, attracting more than 45 million visitors per year. It is the fifth most visited country in the world and also the fifth highest tourist earner, according to the World Tourism Organization’s (WTO) 2012 Tourism Highlights report.

Despite its leading position, the latest Virtuoso Travel Dreams survey has revealed that still more people want to visit Italy than currently do. The country came second in the list of worldwide dream destinations, beaten only by Australia. This year’s survey also included some newly categorised data, with five distinct types of travel personalities providing information on their preferred holiday options. Italy came top in three categories, second in one and third in another, cementing its position as a top holiday destination with a wide range of individuals.

So with holiday budgets seeming ever more squeezed, is it possible to visit Italy without breaking the bank? For smart travellers, the answer is a definite yes. By opting for ‘newly discovered’ regions such as Le Marche, which borders Tuscany to the north-west and the Adriatic Sea to the east, holidaymakers can enjoy authentic Italy at its best, while avoiding the hefty price tag of more traditionally visited areas.

Le Marche is a region of incredible natural beauty. The rolling, hilly land has over 170 km of coastline and includes the Sibillini Mountain national park, as well as featuring numerous attractions such as the remarkable Frasassi Caves. The cuisine is wonderful, aided by the 16 varieties of truffle found in Le Marche. For those on a budget who don’t plan to sample the tartufi bianchi(which can cost well in excess of £1,500 per kilo), local truffle oils, butters and pastes abound.

Accommodation in Le Marche doesn’t have to cost the earth either, if you know where to look. Family-run company Appassionata offers fractional ownership of its five bedroom/five bathroom luxury home Casa Leopardi for just £185,000. Appassionata’s founder Dawn Cavanagh-Hobbs explains,

“So many people dream of owning a holiday home in Italy but assume they simply can’t afford it. If they do save up enough, they spend the first week of every holiday cleaning the house, undertaking minor repairs and tackling the overgrown garden.

“At Appassionata we wanted to enable people to live the Italian highlife for just a fraction of the cost. Our owners are able to enjoy their own luxury holiday home for five weeks of every year, including its private swimming pool and the estate’s all-weather tennis court and basketball court. They even get to share in the produce from our vineyards, olive groves, lavender plantation and truffle orchard!”

Naturally, interest in Casa Leopardi has been intense. However, a couple of fractions remain available to savvy holidaymakers looking to live the Italian dream. Appassionata are even offering two years of free maintenance fees (worth over £7,500) for purchases completed before September 2013.

Despite its expensive reputation and dream destination status, all it takes is a little imagination for Italy to become an affordable, indulgent holiday hotspot for the whole family. So while budgets are tight and holidays matter even more than they usually do, smart travellers are heading for Le Marche.

For more information contact Appassionata on 0039 073 465 8775, visit www.appassionata.com or take a video tour of Casa Leopardi

Mind your language!

by Charlotte Ashton Uncategorized

 “For perceptions about older people to change we need to change the words we use to describe them,” says Jane Slade, editor of Retiremove …

 

“In the same way that house builders are modernising the kind of accommodation they are providing for the older generation we need to modernise our language when describing older people and stop using out-moded and patronizing terms such as: ´elderly´, ´doddery´, ´demented´ and ´infirm´,” says Jane.
And she is not alone. Jane Ashcroft, the dynamic chief executive of the Anchor Trust (www.anchor.org.uk), one of the country´s largest providers of housing for the over 55s, is amazed that there are still organisations that have the word ´elderly´ in their name.
“It is so patronizing,” she said.
“´Elderly´ may be all right if you are describing your cat but not your grandmother,” adds Jane Slade.
“The problem is ´elderly´ implies a lot more than old age. It is a loaded term suggesting frailty, of little use to human society, of unsound mind, and probably not long for this world.
“Negative, patronizing and offensive terms to describe older people must be deemed as unacceptable as using pejorative terms when describing gay or foreign people.
“At best the language evokes a time when people lost their teeth at aged 30 and worst when women were strapped into corsets,” adds Jane.
“We also need to modernize the terminology we used to describe accommodation for older people.
Places called ´sheltered housing´, ´assisted living´ and ´nursing home´ do not sound appealing and don´t encourage older people to move there.
But much of the modern accommodation being provided today really is a world away from the cramped, pokey, dark places of the past. So let´s find some new ways to describe them. Some housebuilders are coming up with new descriptions such as ´later life apartments´, ´studios for seniors´, ´homes for active living´.
Many of today´s retirement villages are like five-star hotels and modern ´nursing homes´ are bright, spacious and positively cheery places.

Even the word ´bungalow´ is given the thumbs down. Now marketeers talk about ´lateral living´.

´Flats´ have already become ´apartments´, ´bed-sits´ are ´studios´, ´health centres´ are ´spas´ and even the ´care home´ is being phased out. We must get rid of ´elderly´ phrases and usher in a new generation of words that more accurately describe an active, savvy, population of older people.

Retiremove.co.uk offers a roundup of useful information and anecdotal interviews of retirees that have made the move, to provide inspiration and encouragement for people helping loved ones make their next move.
For more information visit www.retiremove.co.uk or contact Jane Slade on jane.slade@retiremove.co.uk.

Unsung, undeveloped and eminently affordable, Albania has all the attractions of its Balkan brothers – without the crowds and considerable expense!

by Charlotte Ashton Uncategorized

As soon as you cross the historic boundary of the Iron Curtain, prices (and crowd levels) drop dramatically. Compared to the millions who descend upon London, Paris and Rome each year, a mere fraction make it to the glorious interior, villages and beaches of Albania leaving it wide open for discovery.

 

For decades it was the hidden gem of the Balkans but now tourism levels are on the rise. Indeed travel across Eastern Europe as a whole is on the up with occupancy rates increasing more than 7.5% in 2012 according to the European Travel Commission. 
 
 
Today’s Albania offers young, lively cities, incredibly beautiful natural scenery and extremely open and friendly people eager to show off their country, all at a price that can’t be found elsewhere on the continent. What’s more, Albania remains one of the few undiscovered paradises in Europe, seemingly unaffected by the eurozone crisis. 
 
 
Peter Walshe, Marketing Director of Lalzit Bay Resort and Spa located on Albania’s Adriatic coast comments,
 
 
“Albania joined NATO in 2009 and has its eye on EU membership. The official currency here today is the Lek and the exchange rate between it and other major world currencies alone should be enough to draw international tourists to Albania.
 
“Real estate is also now a new chapter for Albania as more and more foreigners realise the Albanian property market’s potential with its opportunities for growth and rental return or purely as an affordable alternative for a fantastic holiday home.”
 
 
Indeed statistics show that Albania attracted over 4 million visitors last year and with arrivals up by 277,000 in the first nine months of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011, expectations are running high for the nation’s tourism market in 2013. 
 
 
Peter adds,
 
 
"More and more tourists are arriving in Albania with numbers steadily increasing each year. Now is an exciting time for the country both in terms of tourism and its economy; it’s now being given the recognition it deserves by tourists and the international press alike and has recently been voted a top value destination by the reputable Frommers.”
 
 
Lalzit Bay Resort and Spa is responding to this increased demand by offering individuals the opportunity to become a part of this growth economy. Investors can purchase studios, one or two bedroom apartments or villas in a divine Adriatic location from as little as €35,000, a fraction of the cost of buying a home in one of the more established European resorts. Owners also have the benefit of a fabulous holiday resort to enjoy with family and friends or to rent out to holiday makers.
 
 
Splendid natural scenery, the lowest property prices on the European continent and of course, Albanian hospitality which is second to none, makes this jewel of the Balkan an affordable luxury not to be missed. For more information contact Lalzit Bay on 0845 125 8600 or visit www.lalzitbay.com.