The Winner Takes All ; Lumbered with an Unsellable Flat in a Crumbling Building, One Couple Had a Brave Idea, Says Fay Sweet. They Bought the Block

Evening Standard - London › August 18, 2004

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Summary

CORA Kemball-Cook had no idea what a property rollercoaster she was boarding when, 20 years ago, she bought a flat in central Brixton. The end of the white-knuckle ride is now approaching, but its highlights have included buying the freehold of the entire block it stands in, buying out the other owners and evicting some squatters. But the result is a handsomely refurbished redbrick Victorian mansion block, with its leaking roof repaired, its collapsed drains fixed and the flats habitable once more.

"In the early 1980s, when everyone was saying that property was such a good investment, I decided to buy my first flat," says Cora. She paid Pounds 22,000 for the two-bedroom home close to Brixton Tube station.

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The Winner Takes All ; Lumbered with an Unsellable Flat in a Crumbling Building, One Couple Had a Brave Idea, Says Fay Sweet. They Bought the Block

"The mortgage seemed a huge amount, and the building was a bit rundown, but it was in a perfect position for public transport and close to the police station, wh...

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