You’re either part of the solution or you’re part of the problem. A London-based driver is the former, with a $45,000 solution to never finding parking: buying a balcony. This person, frustrated with endlessly searching for a parking spot in Kensington, secured a parking space on the street below a 128 sq ft balcony on Stanhope Gardens, near the Gloucester Road Tube station in West London. Interestingly, the terrace is registered as a separate property with its own title and a 110-year lease, according to the Daily Mail.
The space was listed for $64,000 with Next Home Ltd in July, but the new owner managed a discount, buying it for $45,000 along with an additional $1,700 for the annual service charge. It sounds like a genius solution, but it appealed to not just one but nearly 400 people. Agent Glenn Jacobs said that the property, bought primarily for its parking permit, had a whopping 400 inquiries, though not all were interested in the parking space. Some thought it would be an ideal location for art or dance classes.
Speaking to The Telegraph, he said, ‘It wasn’t something we’d thought of initially. I thought of every other thing. I got told of tents and canopies and all sorts of weird and wonderful ideas, but this one makes perfect sense.’ He added, ‘I think it’s a sign of the times: the poor are getting poorer, and the rich are getting richer. People who are struggling are more likely to view it negatively – like people in Chelsea putting up balconies for 50 grand.’ When parking spots become more expensive than cars, one has to resort to clever ways to find solutions, and this frustrated buyer certainly did.
Last year, a tiny parking space near Harrods in Knightsbridge, measuring just two meters in width and five and a half meters in length, was listed on Rightmove with an asking price of £85,000 (around $104,000). The balcony doesn’t sound like such a bizarre idea anymore, now does it?
