Jeremy1

To add to this - Uni of Northumbria are building almost a thousand spaces in the Gateshead town centre development completing in the next few years (just across he water, on the old Get carter car park). Purpose built, brand new and a hop away from the fleshpots of Newcastle - got to think BTL will be affected.

>sigh< Well if I was, I'd have something to gain, but I'm not and I don't. I thought it worth writing because I liked the fact that earlier posters on this thread were doing someting that doesn't often happen in this arena - drawing a distinction between poor quality/positioned new apartments (Curzon Place, for example) and others (like Blackfriars) which may have something more to offer. I could have added that one of the pluses here is that the blocks are purpose built (not converted larger buildings) and this paid off in terms of construction solidity. They also pre-date many of the blocks that appeared at breakneck speed when the bubble came along which means build quality was not as compromised. I'm certainly not deluded enough to think that anything posted on a website like this can influence other people to buy a property. But hey - maybe I should think about the EA career path (maybe not... .).

Hi - thought I'd mention that I lived in Blackfriars Court for 18 months ago in the mid 2000s and really liked it. My partner & I rented before moving on to a bigger place elsewhere and the only real negative was the relative lack of space after a time - almost no storage and the second bedroom was really more of a spare room with a single bed for crashers. On the plus side was location (I walked to work every day) which is prime. Close to the shops/Stowell St and St James's but not particularly noisy (often very quiet at night, despite its centrality). There are trees and bushes around (in blossom right now) and the property was solidly built, with no noise leakage apparent. It felt very safe in our second floor flat. Not saying this would suit everybody, but I do think as city centre apartments go it's one of the best (I viewed several other places before selecting, including St Peter's Basin - too remote without a car - and Peel/Temple). I walked past yesterday for the first time in ages and felt positively nostalgic. As a starter home, could do a lot worse. It looks from the boards that several have sold recently (I haven't checked prices yet) and others have been let, so I suspect there may be some (rare) liquidity - at the right prices, obviously. (Although it looks like this is my first contribution here, I did post a couple of times a few years ago before losing my signing in credentials and I have nothing to lose or gain from making these points about Blackfriars). JF