Hyde Park flat bought for £1,000 in 1974 now on sale for £3.7m
The four-bed Hyde Park flat bought for £1,000 that’s now worth MILLIONS: Owner whose mother lent him cash to buy run down home in 1974 is selling it for £3.7m
- The flat in a Georgian home on Great Cumberland Place near Hyde Park was bought for only £1,000 in 1974
- After extensive rennovations costing up to £350,000 the flat has been put on the market for £3.695 million
- The current homeowner said it was a ‘slum’ and resembled a ‘squat’ when he first moved in with 10 flatmates
A flat in London is selling for £3.7 million almost half a century on from when it was bought for £1,000.
The four-bedroom home was branded a ‘slum’ when it was first taken on in 1974 by current owner Colin, who did not want to reveal his full name.
But after extensive restorations and improvements over the past 46 years it is now on the market for £3.695 million.
The home is located in a Grade-II Georgian terrace house on Great Cumberland Place, one of the quietest streets in bustling central London.
It has a new large kitchen-dining room extension at the rear with a skylight and builders are currently repairing the parapet and balcony to prepare it for new owners.
The refurbishments to the 1,790sq ft flat close to Marble Arch are said to have set Colin back by £350,000 over the years.
The central London flat was bought for £1,000 almost half a century ago but has now been put on the market for £3.69 million
The home is located in a Grade-II Georgian terrace house on Great Cumberland Place, one of the quietest streets in central London
The property was described as a ‘slum’ by homowner Colin when he first moved there in 1974, but the flat has undergone extensive rennovations
They were clearly necessary though as Colin said there was no central heating when he first moved in.
Colin, a retired sales and marketing manager, told Metro: ‘Our flat was really a slum. More like a squat.’
Paint was also peeling from the walls, and an ancient gas heater provided the only hot water for the single tiny bathroom.
After the refurbishments, it now has an additional two bathrooms.
Colin said: ‘When the houses were built, Great Cumberland Place was a very prestigious address.
It has a new large kitchen-dining room extension at the rear with a skylight to make the property as light as possible
A team of builders are also currently repairing the parapet and balcony to prepare the property for new owners
The property listing says there are oak floors in the hallways and lobby areas, while some rooms and bedrooms are carpeted
‘Alexander Murray, who became the 8th Earl of Dunmore, lived there with his wife for four years from 1901, while in far more recent times Madonna and Guy Ritchie had two houses down the road.
‘But it really suffered in the war and the flat, when I first lived there with five of my friends, was a truly primitive place.
‘It was freezing cold with no heating except a gas Aga water heater and an electric bar heater.’
Colin first started living in the flat, which is on a street of Georgian terraces built in the early 1800s, when he rented it along with 10 friends in the 1970s.
The flat has four-bedrooms and three bathrooms, and there are plush carpets and oak floors throughout the property
When Colin first moved in there was no central heating and only one small bathroom. The property now has three modern bathrooms
The homeowner first bought the property for £1,000 using money he borrowed from his mother to take over the lease
Colin has put the property up for sale for £3.695million via lordestates.com, although he would be happy to rent it for £1,450 per week if the property does not sell
The apartment also has a terrace area to allow the light in, while builders are currently also improving the balcony area
The refurbishments to the 1,790sq ft flat close to Marble Arch are said to have set Colin back by £350,000 over the years
All the tenants wanted to move out, but instead of leaving Colin took over the lease for £1,000, borrowing money from his mother to take on the property.
He later took out another 74-year-lease for £40,000 after joining up with the four other apartment owners in the building, which was then extended to a 125 year lease at a further cost of £35,000.
Legal fees for extending the leases and other cases have also totalled up to £150,00 over the decades.
Colin has put the property up for sale, although he would be happy to rent it for £1,450 per week in order to keep hold of it as he is sad to let the property go.
The ground floor apartment has oak floorbards in the hallways and lobby area, and the bathrooms are dressed in marble.
The property is now on the market for £3.695million via lordestates.com and the lease on the property is not due to expire until the year 3007.
