IT IS too late now to have a pint with all the Beatles, but you can move into their former watering hole. The Heroes of Alma, the London pub where the Fab Four liked to down a swift one after a hard day’s night at Abbey Road, is now a stylish five-bedroom semi and on the market for £3 million. The conversion is slick, but you may get more than one Beatles fan knocking on your door. Knight Frank: 020-7586 2777.
Trouble with your builders? If your plans to convert the loft or build a new extension are collapsing like a house of cards, you can fix it with the help of reality TV. Channel 4 is looking for cases where builders and homeowners are at loggerheads over a failing project. The show aims to put the works back on track with the help of a building industry mediator. Contact the producer on 020-7290 0674 or davidm@bettytv.co.uk.
Some housebuyers like brand-new homes, others like a bit of history. La Cachette in Littlehampton, Sussex, certainly has a past. Back in the 1920s the proprietor of this three-bedroom cottage was accused by a malicious neighbour of sending poison-pen letters. Despite there being little evidence, Rose Gooding was convicted and sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment with hard labour. Fortunately, as a result of her husband’s letter to the Home Secretary, the case was quashed and Mrs Gooding was paid £250 in compensation. It turned out that the malicious mail had been written by the neighbour herself. But Mrs Gooding still spent the rest of her life in Littlehampton. She must have liked the house. The agent, Jackson-Stops & Staff, describes it as a “pied-à-terre within easy walking distance of the seafront”. Yours for £230,000. Details: 01903 785313.
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Homes belonging to British pensioners are worth more than £1 trillion, says Economic Lifestyle, a company that would love to help the retired to release some of this equity. Apparently the value of pensioners’ property shot up by nearly £50 billion during 2005 alone — that’s roughly £8,000 for each of the nation’s 6.3 million retired homeowners. Pensioners in London, Scotland and the North of England saw the largest increases. But not all benefited. Those living in East Anglia and the South West saw the value of their house fall. If you want to tap into the wealth under your roof call: 0800 0433366 or www.retirementdreams.co.uk.
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Good news for landlords. Rental yields (annual rent as a percentage of the property’s value) rose in England to just over 6 per cent at the end of last year, after falling for six months, according to Landlord Mortgages.
SUSAN EMMETT
susan.emmett@thetimes.co.uk