Stratford Central by Telford Homes, E15, Part 2

As expected, the project is selling very well, with lots of interest from overseas investors.  This was my first blog post on Stratford Central a couple of days ago. I read in another report that Telford Homes is already building at full capacity.

Anyway, we have purchased from Telford Homes before. Their after-sales customer service is very good. So, even if you find any defects with your unit, they will rectify it promptly.  (Yes, there were some defects in our units.)

I have received some questions from several readers and let me go through them here.

1.Location of Stratford
Question: Stratford is in Zone 3.  Why is the location good?

Answer:  This is a very good question.  All investors should stare carefully at the London map and read about the area called Stratford before committing to any such purchase.  Stratford is 10km north east of Charing Cross (Zone 1).   It is 13 minutes by DLR to Canary Wharf DLR station.

Here are the rail links from Stratford (taken from wiki):

2.Location of the Tower
Question: How far is the tower from the Tube station?  Is it really one minute?

Answer: From all that I can see, the tower is at most 3 minute walk from the station.  You can check this out from the Google Maps.  You can also see this from the computer generated image of Stratford Central below. (taken from Telford Home's website)

3.Views From The Tower
Question: Are there good views?  Will there be new towers to block the view?

Answer: The immediate area looks very low build, see the picture below.  While nobody can predict whether more tall buildings will be allowed in the area, we can be reasonably certain that this place will never become like what we see in Singapore, a super congested HDB estate.  Also, the area close to the Underground station is the Olympic Area as well as the Westfield Stratford Shopping Centre. I think all the facilities will be preserved (i.e. not high rise towers)

See the computer rendered picture below.  The top 4 floors are penthouses, yet unreleased.  I think they will have gorgeous views.  I'm sure the pricing for the penthouse units would be very aggressive.

4.Noise from Tracks  
Question: Will there be noise from the tracks?

Answer: The answer has to be yes.  The issue is how much.  I think the lower floors that directly face the track may get a bit noisy.  Perhaps you want to consider buying a higher floor, or a unit facing away from the tracks.

5.Taxes
Question: What is the UK tax on rental?  What other tax expenses?

Answer: 
Income Tax (Self Assessment) is 20% after allowable expenses.  Singaporeans are not eligible for the personal allowances.

Council taxes are borne by the tenant, if tenanted out.  Otherwise borne by landlord.

Service Charges (aka maintenance charges) - Borne by landlord.  Check with developer.  These can be quite high.

Ground Rent - Borne by Landlord. Again, check with the developer.  Usually about 300 to 500 pounds a year.

6.Lease of the Property
Question:  The lease is only 200 years.  Is that ok?

Answer: Perfectly fine. Our properties in London are 125 years to 250 years.  We plan to sell everything in the next 20 years, so even the 125 years lease place is ok.

7. Are You Buying Into Stratford Central? 
No, we are not.  We have invested a substantial sum in London prior to 2014.  As I have shared in other threads, the prices have gone up substantially.  So, we are staying out of this one.


Important Disclaimer - . The views contained in this blog and blog post are entirely mine. We cannot be made responsible for any investment decisions you may, or may not, take. Nothing in this blog can be construed as professional investment advice, as we are NOT professional investors and we are ill qualified to give you any advice.  Read the blog at YOUR own risk

Royal Wharf London - Good Response to Oxley's London Launch, But How Good is The Location??

Royal Wharf London

It was reported in the Straits Times (21st March 2014) that "large crowds have flocked to the launch of Singapore listed Oxley Holdings first British Property."

This is the official website - http://www.londonroyalwharf.com/; many good details of the property are found on the website, so I leave the reading of those details to you.

Friends who attended the VVIP preview informed me that units were being snapped up like hot cakes, with entire blocks being sold out, even though prices were quite high. (ranging from 5XX pounds/psf to about 8XX pounds/psf)

The marketing collateral is extremely good.  I love the way they sell potential investors the promise of Canary Wharf prices (1,000 pounds/psf and above).  So, this place will be a great buy! 

Location, Location and Location
As the old saying goes, property is all about location.  Now, let us scrutinize the location of Royal Wharf.

This snapshot from Google Maps is very useful.  I have indicated the Royal Wharf site in red.  Is the location good?

Near DLR Pontoon Dock 

Docklands Light Railway

This development is a stone's throw away from the Pontoon Dock DLR.  However, look carefully at the London transport map. Understand that DLR, or the Docklands Light Rail, is a light rail system build to serve the Docklands area, including Canary Wharf. The network is limited, the capacity is not great.



How Convenient is DLR Pontoon Dock? 
Not very.  Pontoon Dock is pretty much on the outskirts of the DLR network.  The Transport for London website has very useful journey planners.  Using this, I got the following times:

a. Pontoon Dock to Canary Wharf - 10 to 12 minutes with one change at Canning Town Underground

b. Pontoon Dock to Tower Hill - 25 minutes, a number of changes

b. Pontoon Dock to Oxford Circus - 32 minutes, one change at Bank Undeground.

This pdf gives you the timetable information of the DLR from Pontoon Dock. I think there is no direct DLR to Canary Wharf.  You have to change.

Near Future Crossrail Station?  Not quite! 
I take issue with the marketing collateral on this point.  The marketing people will give you the impression that this development is near the future Crossrail Station.  One agent said it would be a "10 to 15 minute walk."

Coming online, 2018!

How near is near?  Look at the map above.  The future Crossrail (2018) station's position is already confirmed, and it would be located very near Custom House.  The Crossrail stop for Custom House is to serve the London Excel area.

Crossrail Route Map - http://www.crossrail.co.uk/route/maps/

1.5KM to Crossrail Station, from Royal Wharf
The walking distance from the Royal Wharf Site to the future Crossrail station is about 1.5km or 1,500 meters.  I leave it to the reader to decide whether a 1.5km distance to the nearest Crossrail station is a plus point for this property.  Take note, it takes 20 minutes to walk from Royal Wharf to Custom House.

Takes 20 minutes on foot to get here, from Royal Wharf

Noise From London City Airport? 

The site is very near London City Airport, which raises the issue of noise from aircraft operating from this Airport.  I have created an entire blog post on this issue. 

London City Airport serves more than 3Mil passengers per year.

Conclusion
In our opinion, and strictly our opinion, we do not think that the Royal Wharf development is in a good location.  It does not mean that it is a bad development. On the contrary, the plans look to be very impressive.

Do take note that the major public transport links like DLR and Crossrail will not change, at least for the next 30 years.  Further, London City Airport is not about to move. In fact, there are proposals to expand the Airport, however, these are under consultation.

Do check out my blog post on my walk at the Custom Excel area to give you a sense of how sprawling that area is.

Happy Investing!

----------------

DLR IS NOT THE FAMOUS LONDON TUBE! 

Mind the gap!