Truth about property and living on Sandbanks enjoying this stunning location

Sandbanks Dorset the truth

The press love Sandbanks and 2 years ago part of my long association with Sandbanks partially ended when I left with my family to live in Sotogrande Spain. Prior to that I had lived and worked in and around Sandbanks since 1979 at that time I started my first job as an office junior in an old established property management business earning £98 per month. My then boss had opened in 1937 and despite his years intended to work until he dropped. His home was a large house sitting on 1 acre of Sandbanks beach front with gates opening directly onto the beach at the rear and great views of Poole harbor from the front of the house. This property was sold around 1990 a time when property had crashed an acre on sandbanks which sold for under £1 million.

In 1992 I left my old firm to open up Tailor Made in Poole town centre and in 1999 we as a family business had bought the old beach goods shop on Sandbanks and reformed the premises into Tailor Made estate agents where my wife and mother in law took over the selling of up market property in the area from the sleeping agents that existed at that time. Good times followed on a rising market and Sandbanks made headlines as one of the most expensive places to live in the world. Then pre Crisis my wife and I sold our share in the Sandbanks estate agency and moved to Spain.

During the boom years at Sandbanks developers built and city dwellers bought, second homes, retirement homes and weekend retreats. Throughout those years the press fuelled with an insatiable appetite for Sandbanks visited and revisited the highs and lows but mainly highs of property news in this exclusive uk enclave.

So what is the truth about Sandbanks

Speculation has been rife about who is buying, who lives there, whether it will sink due to global warming and whether it is affordable.

Now having taken a step away from Sandbanks I feel a compulsion to provide some insight into the reality that I know to be Sandbanks.

The first thing people should know is that Sandbanks is a place of natural beauty offering a stunning harbour, beautifully maintained beach’s, nature reserves and an un-spoilt example of UK seaside life. Very popular for kite or board surfing in one of the safest bays in the country. Here you will not find any bingo, amusement arcades or night life. Sandbanks offers a couple of quirky waterfront hotels an up-market restaurant, a breakfast bar, water sport shop & schools, a post office newsagents, a holiday letting company, beach café, and of course Tailor Made estate agents and two sailing clubs. For those who think that Piers Morgan’s Sandbanks program was a true snapshot then think again. Having said that Piers Morgan repeatedly mentions the natural beauty of the place. Many people simply drive down by car do a circuit of the one way system get out at the beach car park and make judgment. To really enjoy this area you need to get back to basics. Arrive early ditch the car and walk. I recommend park in the main beach car park at Banks Road, breakfast in the parade at the Café then walk the beach westwards until you reach the public path leading back into the peninsula keep travelling westward and you will arrive at the quirky chain ferry, stop here and have a tea or coffee in the sea view bar of the haven before making the 5 minute crossing to the Shell bay nature reserve owned by the national trust a sand dune and Dorset heath land where apart from a small boatyard and café restaurant you will not come across any other buildings for many miles. As a teenager I would walk from Sandbanks to the old harry rocks via Studland but for that you will need to set a full day with a stop at the Studland Banks arms for refreshment en-route. Anyway if you have spent time over the ferry cross back to Sandbanks and take the small boat to Brownsea Island again a national trust nature reserve and a well preserved wooded island which make a beautiful location for picnics. How many of us have forgotten the joy and fun of a picnic and believe me Brownsea Island is the perfect place to spend a few hours. Then travel back from Brownsea (you can take a boat back to Poole Quay) to Sandbanks and once back follow the one way system as it takes you back to the main beach. Once you take a left from the ferry you will be tracking along the houses multi million pound homes that make the news headlines including Harry Redknapps gothic style mini mansion complete with a country cottage gate house. As you draw near to the parade there are a couple of public access paths taking you alongside the boat yards where small beach areas allow you to the shore edge of the harbor. Back on the one way system you are soon back at the parade. Café Shore restaurant is the hub of Sandbanks social life , the food is always great and the views are wonderful and the prices are strictly London for those that want to spend less the beach café offers you the alternative.

Who Lives on Sandbanks Having lived and worked on Sandbanks I always respond “well there’s Harry Redknapp and there’s Harry Redknapp” and whilst there are a few other celebrities and footballers living in the area none of them actually live on Sandbanks peninsula. Of course programs such as Piers Morgan suggest that the location is awash with celebs. Again the truth is that the majority of the people that Piers interviewed on the program were not from and never had lived on Sandbanks. The local business man more recently famous for his bankruptcy lived over 3 miles away and none of his bars night clubs or developments were on or that close to Sandbanks. The bar owner who hated Sandbanks had two years previously tried to buy there but having made an offer did not see the sale through and at the time simply disappeared, the estate agent had offices 3 miles away and had lost his market share of the peninsula 5 years before the program was made. All in all the program did not reflect the people that live or holiday on Sandbanks most of whom are British business people who shun any publicity and have bought on the peninsula because they love its natural beauty and the tranquility it can offer whilst still being part of a larger town.

Property Prices The house previously mentioned where i tended the garden 85 Banks Road occupying an acre on Sandbanks beach would pre-crisis have been valued at around £15 million. The family actually sold for £850,000 in 1993. So what can I tell you about values over the years in Sandbanks. Well those who bought on Sandbanks in the late 80′s took a hit in the early 1990s. Having said that in 1989 the same house with an acre was receiving bids of up to £2 million then the crash and the resultant sale for £850,000 move along 10 years to 2003 and the value if that house was available (8 townhouses were built on the site) £10 million (talking land value of course). By 2005 an acre on Sandbanks where you can enjoy two way views estimated £15 million. A conservative price now would be around 12/13 million

Another good example of historical values stems from my own experience in 1991 the market had turned and prices were tumbling I was in the market to buy and was looking for a deal. I bid £98,000 on a brand new apartment on the Esplanade Canford Cliffs in Poole 2 miles from Sandbanks the apartment had been on the market 18 months before for £165,000. The sale was quite advanced when I received a call from a fellow agent. He told me that he had bought an apartment on Sandbanks in Carina Court first floor flat on the beach with views he had paid £192,000 for the apartment and could not make the payments would I like to buy it for £105,000 but needed to be exchanged within 7 days. I was out in the car and immediately headed down to Sandbanks, I viewed it and immediately said yes to buying for £105,000 excitedly I phoned my Solicitors to tell them to withdraw from the apartment in Canford Cliffs as usual no one was available so I left an urgent message. Twenty minutes later I get a call to congratulate me I had exchanged on the Canford Cliffs property . Move on to 2006 the value of the 3 bed apartment in canford cliffs had increased to around £350,000 the apartment in Sandbanks was now £630,000. So here are some figures that those considering Sandbanks as somewhere to invest post credit crunch may like to think about.

Of course if you cannot spend millions on a property it does not mean you cannot live on Sandbanks apartments to buy start at 350,000.00 or maybe a town house for 650,000.00 alternatively rent an apartment or town house from 800 pcm

Its a fact that the second home places of natural beauty and the prime locations take a knock but when the market bounces back they do tend to bounce back quicker. Whilst I am no longer part of Sandbanks estate agency (only have a rental business there now in Poole town centre Tailor Made Lettings) my family members who now own the estate agency are starting to see the smart cash investors move in for Sandbanks deals. Sandbanks along with many of the other luxury hotspots around the world can take the knocks but in my view the long term investment is a secure one.

Sandbanks Sinking due to Global Warming As you are now aware from my earlier history I worked for a man who bought a large house on Sandbanks in 1950, he paid circa 40,000 for the house named “storm” where the development of 8 grey townhouses now stand also called “storm”(built by Seven developments). At the time he opened up his office in 1942 a small building plot on Sandbanks could be bought for around £800 still a sizable sum in those days. However plots in Canford Cliffs in much higher elevations could be bought for £1000 and were much easier to sell as the warning was that Sandbanks would sink within 15 years. Interestingly at the turn of the century the Sandbanks land was considered unsellable because it would erode within 15 years. When my old boss bought the house known as “storm” in 1950 he was warned that it was a gamble as the peninsula would be cut off from the mainland within ? yes you guessed 15 years. The same claims were made in the 80's and then the 90's. Pre credit crunch every time there was any press about Sandbanks they would find someone who predicted Sandbanks would be gone due to Global warming. In all my years I have never come across anyone who owned a property on Sandbanks with any hint of flooding, there are the odd problems where people have built basements and the tanking has failed but no flooding as a result of water levels apart from when storm drains block near Tesco Express. If you travel 7 miles around the harbor to Poole old town then on a high spring tide you will see flooding and Sandbags protecting many of the fishermen’s cottages was always a fact of life. My view is that Poole town will disappear before Sandbanks ever will. The cynics keep saying it will sink yet fact is that Sandbanks has grown. The beach is far bigger than it was in the 1970s and the groin system in place brings more and more sand onto the beach each year.

Would I live on Sandbanks I get very frustrated with people who believe everything in the newspapers. Its difficult to convey what makes a multi millionaire want to live on this penisula. To judge you need to have tried living there yourself. I spent 9 months in a rented town house on Sandbanks 150 meters from the chain ferry. As a family I can say it was a fantastic 9 months and we loved the seaside life. The only problem was that to live in a house of a size we needed with a large garden was no affordable. Still the 3 bedroom town house at 1200 pcm provided us with a super 9 month stay where I really made the best of beach walks, crossing on the chain ferry and exploring Studland beach and the Purbecks. Regular Ice-cream visits at the ferry area,fishing off the sea wall, membership of the haven hotel health club facility,beers in the waterside Haven Hotel bar watching the boats come in and out,evening Sail races from the Royal Motor yacht club,cycling along the prom to Bournemouth and back and hot chocolate and jazz music on a cold winters Sunday morning at Jazz'es Cafe. Even enjoyed being woken up early by the sea gulls. Sandbanks gave me fond memories and I understand that multi millionaires start with an apartment on the beach then end up upgrading to a waterside house. Francis Payne Tailor Made Lettings www.tailormadelettings.co.uk