Students living in Riverside luxury

October 21st, 2008 by admin | Filed under Daily News, Global Credit Crisis, Loans, Mortgages.

Hill house, the luxury riverside development on the banks of the Thames at Thamesmead was sold out before it was completed at £250,000 for a 2 bedroom apartment and £400,000 for a penthouse suite. Today, the development lies largely abandoned, swarming with vermin and drug addicts.

Built by Persimmon 2 years ago, the development has become a pointed reminder of the ravages of the credit crunch. The once glistening balconies and marbles hallways are now run down as front doors have been barricaded by metal sheeting to stop squatters. The amazing thing about Hill House is that of the 84 separate units that were initially sold; an unbelievable 82 have been repossessed. Apartments that once sold for £250,000 are now changing hands for less than half that amount or £115,000. The penthouses are fetching barely $135k. Soaring mortgage rates and huge hikes in the cost of living have seen almost all the buyers pushed past their limits and hit by heart-breaking repossession orders.

Taxi driver David Adaiat is one of the two original buyers hanging in there despite his home having lost more than HALF its value. He bought his third-floor river-view apartment for £269,995 at the height of the buying frenzy in June 2006 as a family home for his wife Esther, 38, and their teenage daughter Dami.

Shattered David said: “I’ve just had the place valued after my mortgage deal came to an end.

“They told me it’s now worth just £130,000. I nearly fell through the floor. It’s unbelievable. That’s so much lower than we paid.

“This whole place has become like a ghost town.”

Most of the repossessed properties are standing empty with only a few souls brave enough to live among the cockroaches, rats and squatters. The once pristine grounds are overgrown and the development itself is a complete mess since the maintenance fees are left unpaid. A far cry from their initially £250k price tag, now the units are being bought up by local housing associations and rented to grateful students for under £400 a month. The students who live there can’t believe their luck. Thanks to the credit crunch, they have great pads…it’s just a pity the neighbours aren’t a bit more sociable!