Property News (CORRECTED)

CORRECTION (PUBLISHED 25 AUGUST 1994) APPENDED TO THIS ARTICLE

Kensington to disappear?

Kensington will disappear off the parliamentary map if the Boundary Commission has its way, and be shared between two other constituencies.

Owners in the south of the borough will be happy enough merging into Chelsea, but Notting Hill Gate residents might not be so happy about being run by a left-leaning council running North Westminster & Regents Park, however. Property values north of Holland Park Road would almost certainly suffer from the implications of council tax, parking and school policies.

Praise for agents

Plaudits appear to be pouring into a competition to select the best firm in Britain. Apparently a premium is attached to their peace-keeping skills during these tortured times. 'Without them we would have probably murdered the vendor, said one entry.

How many others will say they would happily throttle their agent? You can cast a vote in the competition, organised by UCB Home Loans and the National Association of Estate Agents, by picking up a form from a local agent or ringing 0645 401400.

Small print trouble

Few buyers get around to reading all the bumf they sign when buying a house, leaving it to solicitors to spot problems. But a few lines of tiny scrawl could land you in court, said Brain Whitfield of the Household Mortgage Corporation.

While most covenants in deeds merely allow people like the electricity board on to your land, there are exceptions. One encountered by HMC prevented the owners keeping pigeons, and another stopped the owner parking outside their garage. Even hanging out washing can land you in court.

Summer lull

The price of new homes has levelled off in the summer lull, according to a survey by the House Builders Federation. The same number of people visited sites in July as in 1993 but they bought more homes.

While the growth in sales has slowed, most builders expect these to increase during the rest of the year.

CORRECTION

Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council is not to be abolished as a result of Boundary Commission proposals as reported yesterday.