Here is a must-read article for you about London houses.
You'll have heard about the way in which the rich are digging down to create basements and super basements under their houses.You'll have heard about the planning fees some of them have had to pay; about the swimming pools, gyms and cinemas; and you will have heard about the disruption to their neighbours' peace.
But I wonder if you have thought about how it is done.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Ed Smith explains in the article. You somehow get a mini digger or two through your back doors or windows (just about possible without destroying the entire structure of the house). Then you dig.
But you then have the problem of having a digger that has dug itself so deep, it can't drive out again (diggers can't go up spiral staircases). So what do you do?
You could get in a crane and lift it out, but these diggers are only worth £6,000 or so, and cranes don't come cheap in central London.
So, it turns out you get it to dig another hole big enough for it to fit into. Then you cover it up with a bit of gravel and a pouring of concrete and you leave it there.
The result? There are some 1,000 diggers buried in London (assuming this isn't a joke surely it is worth dismantling the diggers for scrap if they can't come out whole).
And developers are now coming across a second generation problem: when they go in to dig another basement level down, their path is blocked by "abandoned diggers from the last round of improvements."
This is clearly financially rational to a degree why pay more to recover something than it is worth on the open market. But it is also completely bonkers given that the average basement cinema is very unlikely to ever be actually used. Sacrificing the country's mini diggers to create them seems rather unproductive.
If anyone has any evidence that the above story (first read in the New Statesman) is nonsense, please do let us know. We have our doubts.
-
House prices rise 2.9% – will the recovery continue?House prices grew by 2.9% on an annual basis in September. Will Budget policies and ‘higher-for-longer’ rates dent the recovery?
-
Nvidia earnings: what to expectNvidia announces earnings after market close on 20 November. What should investors expect from the semiconductor giant?
-
Beating inflation takes more luck than skill – but are we about to get lucky?Opinion The US Federal Reserve managed to beat inflation in the 1980s. But much of that was down to pure luck. Thankfully, says Merryn Somerset Webb, the Bank of England may be about to get lucky.
-
Rishi Sunak can’t fix all our problems – so why try?Opinion Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement is an attempt to plaster over problems the chancellor can’t fix. So should he even bother trying, asks Merryn Somerset Webb?
-
Young people are becoming a scarce resource – we should value them more highlyOpinion In the last two years adults have been bizarrely unkind to children and young people. That doesn’t bode well for the future, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
-
Ask for a pay rise – everyone else isOpinion As inflation bites and the labour market remains tight, many of the nation's employees are asking for a pay rise. Merryn Somerset Webb explains why you should do that too.
-
Why central banks should stick to controlling inflationOpinion The world’s central bankers are stepping out of their traditional roles and becoming much more political. That’s a mistake, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
-
How St Ives became St Tropez as the recovery drives prices sky highOpinion Merryn Somerset Webb finds herself at the epicentre of Britain’s V-shaped recovery as pent-up demand flows straight into Cornwall’s restaurants and beaches.
-
The real problem of Universal Basic Income (UBI)Merryn's Blog April employment numbers showed 75 per cent fewer people in the US returned to employment compared to expectations. Merryn Somerset-Webb explains how excessive government support is causing a shortage of labour.
-
Why an ageing population is not necessarily the disaster many people think it isOpinion We’ve got used to the idea that an ageing population is a bad thing. But that’s not necessarily true, says Merryn Somerset Webb.
