What is your dream home? If you are a music fan, the thought of listing Sir Elton John and Brian May among your neighbours might be rather tempting – but would you really want to own what has been billed as the most expensive home in the UK? One of the most important things a buyers agent such as Elite Property Search will do is find out exactly what you want from a home before helping you find properties to view. While the recent Euro millions jackpot winners could afford this house several times over, the question remains as to whether it would be right for them. . . Or indeed for anyone in the premier property market.
Updown Court in Surrey has a checkered history. It was bought out of receivership for £20 million back in 2002 by Leslie Allen-Verco, a self-made property developer. His company, Rhymer Investments, have since spent more than £30 million on renovation work, and the property was recently on the market for £75 million.
No sales have been forthcoming, however, and the price has been busted down to £50 million, with rumours rife that the owners will take £40 million. So, what do you get for your money?
The house has 103 rooms, including 24 bedrooms and 23 bathrooms. It also boasts five swimming pools, a cinema, a squash court, bowling alley and even a panic room to hide in if needed.
Set in 11 acres of grounds and with 46 acres of woodlands you’ll never be short of space. But as Max Storey, director of buyers agent Elite Property Search explains, that may not be the whole picture. . .
“Updown Court came to the market for £70 million six years ago, and its asking price was recently increased to £75 million, making it the most expensive house outside London. The asking price has been reduced, but is £40 million enough to spark interest from buyers?
“Probably not. £40 million would only cover the build cost, as the property is full of gratuitous and distasteful lavishness such as 16 carat gold taps, mosaic walls and black Italian marble walls that even extend into the boiler rooms!”
There are also several issues arising with the empty property: “If Elite were the property buyers agents then we would certainly be drawing our clients attention to the fact that although the property may not have ever been lived in it already looks dated. The water in many of the pools is turning green and starting to smell, and the many fountains in the garden may look attractive but they are really just there to mask the road noise from the M3 that lies at the bottom of your land.”
Road noise is a big no-no from most elite property buyers. Max believes that the property is too big to be a home to even the most ostentatious of buyers.
With Elite Property Search, you can expect honesty about any property you may want to view, and with so much money at stake this can only be a good thing. So, if you are looking for a ‘super’ home, what would Max advise?
“The super homes that are still selling tend to be built in more of a traditional style and do not tend to be larger than 15-18,000 sq ft,” he says. “Any buyer that could afford such a home would be able to pick one up for around £12-15m, a fraction of the asking price of Updown Court.”
If you are looking for a premier property, contact Elite Property Search today for confidential and trustworthy, honest advice.
Contact Details:
Contact name: Max Storey
Elite Property Search
Bristol and West House
Post Office Road
Bournemouth
BH1 1BL
Tel: +44 (0)1202 766566
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.elitepropertysearch.com/
