First floor flat in Redcliffe Gardens, Chelsea for sale for just £150,000 in spite of having a 61 year lease; the street was made famous in a song by The Beatles
A flat in Redcliffe Gardens, Chelsea, SW10, the street where the man “who blew his mind out in a car” in the lyrics of A Day in the Life by The Beatles on 18th December 1966, is for sale for just £150,000 ($178,000, €162,000 or درهم653,000) in spite of being on a perfectly adequate 61 year lease.
The first floor studio offered does, however, come with an inevitable catch. It is unmortgageable due to having a protected occupant and is in need of complete renovation. Selling agents May & Co. state: “[Updating] would not be possible due to the sitting tenant.”
On the upside, the buyer will get £375 per month ($444, €405 or درهم1,631 per month) or £4,500 per year ($5,300, €4,900 or درهم19,500 per year) in rent and if and when the tenant departs, will see a likely significant uplift in value.
The 21-year-old man in question in the lyrics? He was a Dublin-born heir to the Guinness brewery fortune named Tara Browne. A friend of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Browne crashed his Lotus Elan into a parked van whilst driving at around 106 miles per hourwith his model girlfriend, Suki Potier. He was under the influence of alcohol and drugs and died the following day.
A Day in the Life
He blew his mind out in a car
He didn’t notice that the lights had changed
A crowd of people stood and stared
They’d seen his face before
Nobody was really sure
If he was from the House of Lords
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I had never heard about this incident before and I live around the corner. Thanks – a sad bit of local history.
The story is so hauntingly a saga of the 60’s era. His passenger Suki Potier, a model who survived, went on to date Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones. She moved in with Jones who drowned in his swimming pool. And Suki herself was killed in a car crash in 1981 in Portugal. I was responsible for getting a plaque installed at Mary Quant’s boutique Bazaar on the King’s Road. It’s now Joe and the Juice at 138a KR. I admit I am inspired and fascinated by that seminal creative era or the 1960’s.
What you need to find out is how old the protected tenant is. If they’re about to croak, it is well worth buying.
You’re buggered if they’re a teen.
Gosh. A cheap rent. Probably as desirable as a cupboard inside though.
Wrecking ball urgently required!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not worth 50 cents!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Destroy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!