Property
Woman is raffling off stunning two-bed city centre flat and £10K spending money for just £5
‘I feel like a lot of younger people have less of these opportunities… So I thought maybe I could help somebody get themselves on the property ladder’
A newly refurbished city centre flat is up for grabs in an incredibly unique raffle opportunity.
Sushma Sharma will be giving one lucky winner the chance to own her two-bedroom city centre flat completely mortgage free, all for the price of an expensive Northern Quarter pint.
It’s no secret that property prices have been rising to unaffordable levels for the last couple of years – and, out of the half a million people living in Manchester’s city centre, a vast proportion have had to settle with renting rather than enjoying the luxury of owning their own property.
Sushma Sharma
Well, a new opportunity that could make the dream of being a homeowner a reality has now arisen.
Sushma bought the flat, which is located just a stone throws away from Deansgate and Manchester Cathedral, in 2002 when property prices weren’t so costly, and now wants to give someone else the opportunity to own the place she has called home for the last two decades.
Speaking to Proper Manchester, Sushma, who works as a school teacher, explained: “This flat has been my home, and I’ve absolutely loved living here.
Sushma Sharma
“It’s south facing so very light and airy and the windows are huge. From here, I’ve watched as Manchester has changed so much over the years.
“Though what I’ve really loved is the location – I live on my own, and I’ve loved being able to feel safe coming home. I’ve taken full advantage of living directly in the centre and having all the city’s best bars, restaurants and galleries right on my doorstep.”
Sushma paid to have the property fully renovated around five years ago, so it now includes a utility room, brand new flooring, a new kitchen and a larger bathroom.
Sushma Sharma
Yet despite her happiness in the flat, when her mum died after a long battle with lupus two years ago, she was spurred to make some big changes in her life: “I could continue to love living here, but I’m feeling restless – after losing my mum two years ago, I’m wanting a change of scenery.
“Because I’m fifty-three, I feel like I had a lot of better chances to be able to buy and own my own property. I feel like a lot of younger people have less of these opportunities because things are so much harder.
“It makes me really sad, so I thought maybe I could help somebody get themselves on the property ladder.”
Sushma Sharma
Sushma explained that she could very easily sell the flat through an estate agent, but it would give her more pleasure to be able to do something new and to help someone at the same time.
And thus, the flat raffle idea was born.
Hosted on the competition app and website, Raffall, Sushma has 50,000 raffle tickets up for grabs. Priced at just £5 each, the winner of the final draw will get the two bedroom flat complete with a car parking space, service charges paid for a year and £10,000 spending money.
Sushma Sharma
The property will also come with a TV, integrated kitchen appliances, a washing machine, sofa, coffee table, double ottoman bed and double wardrobe.
And, if all 50,000 tickets are sold, Sushma will not only donate £5,000 to Lupus UK, a charity helping those living with the rare and incurable illness, but will give another £10,000 to a different ticket holder in a second prize draw.
“That could be a deposit for someone else to get their foot on the property ladder themselves.”
Do you fancy your chances at being a city centre homeowner? If so, get your own raffle ticket here, and make sure to follow the raffle’s official Instagram page and Facebook Page for updates.
The raffle ends on Sunday, August 22nd at 9pm.
Property
New apartment development with huge gardens and outdoor space opening this year
Make sure you check these out!
Manchester is getting a stunning new apartment development this autumn, set in beautiful landscaped gardens.
Acer will be the first residential development to open at Square Gardens, located in the First Street area.
Monthly rental for each apartment includes utility bills, super-fast wi-fi, use of all communal facilities and 24/7 security.
Square Gardens / Acer
You can grab a co-living apartment starting from £935 per month, studios from £1540 per month, and apartments from £2120 per month.
From one-bed apartments to studios and shared apartments, there will be 1,187 living spaces when it opens its doors.
It’ll be home to one of the city’s biggest communal outdoor spaces, with this ethos mirrored inside with several apartment spaces dedicated to co-living.
The community feel is also seen in the various lounge and social spaces, as well as co-working and meeting areas.
Square Gardens / Acer
Acer will boast a large, state-of-the-art gym on site, as well as media rooms, private kitchen and dining rooms to use, and regular resident and community events.
The development’s co-living apartments range from three to five bedrooms, all fully furnished with en-suite rooms, while there are also studio apartments and one-bed apartments – with separate bathrooms and open plan kitchen and living areas.
Head HERE to find out more.
Property
Plans for new tallest tower said to be ‘the landmark of Manchester’
Plans for the new tower will place it among Europe’s tallest high rises
Property developer Salboy is set to submit plans for a new tower which will be the tallest in the city among a cluster of skyscrapers.
If proposals are approved, the 241m (790ft) high Viadux 2 scheme is expected to take four years to build.
Salboy’s Managing Director, Simon Ismail, has said it is going to be ‘the landmark of Manchester’, the BBC reports.
Once completed, the new skyscraper will overtake Deansgate Square’s South Tower at 201m (695ft) high and dwarf the Beetham Tower at 169 m (554ft) high.
“We purposefully wanted to go for the tallest residential building in Europe… it’s a flagship building,” Mr Ismail told the BBC.
The Viadux 2 tower will hold around 800 apartments, providing homes for residents looking to live in Manchester, where housing is in great demand.
Mr Ismail said much of that demand for homes in the city was driven by ‘postgrads staying on, the largest student population in Europe, and a cost of living that’s half of that in London’.
Salboy says it has already provided about 4,000 homes in Manchester, and as long as there is ‘massive demand for homes, the firm will continue to build, Mr Ismail said.
The developer is also working on St Michael’s Tower with the former Manchester United footballer Gary Neville.
Manchester has seen a huge boom in skyscrapers over the last 10 years, with an ever evolving skyline.
Mr Ismail says he has ‘no idea’ how long the city’s skyscraper boom will continue, but that he never believed it when people had previously claimed ‘the bubble was going to burst’.
Adding: “When you look at what Manchester’s got behind it, it’s got too much backing it up, industrious people and a history of doing things right.”
Subject to approval, Salboy hopes to start work on the tower sometime this year.
Property developer Renaker has built a collection of skyscrapers at Great Jackson Street, along the southern border of the city centre.
The firm has also built towers at Colliers Yard in Salford and has started a scheme to build four skyscrapers at Trinity Islands, by the River Irwell.
Renaker has received more than £500m in loans from the Greater Manchester Housing Investment Fund – which was launched by George Osborne when he was chancellor of the exchequer in 2014.
The funding is loaned to developers by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and is then paid back. The value of the loans has now reached £942.5m with more than 10,500 new homes being supported from it so far.
Property
New build-to-rent community launching in Manchester neighbourhood named ‘best up-and-coming place to live’
Some stunning properties on offer
A new build-to-rent community is launching in Piccadilly East, the city centre neighbourhood named one of the ‘best up-and-coming places to live in the UK’ by the Sunday Times.
The Castings will be a new creative hub, owned by the people behind the five-star Lowry Hotel, and situated behind Piccadilly Station.
Made up of studio, one, two and three bedroom apartments, the development on the cusp of the Northern Quarter and Ancoats will feature a host of amenities.
The Castings
This includes a new yoga room and gym, a games room, private dining spaces and a work hub. There will also be three food and beverage outlets on the ground floor.
Piccadilly East was named in the Sunday Times’ list of best places to live in 2020, located within walking distance from the bars and restaurants of Ancoats and the Piccadilly Basin.
Cloudwater and Track brewery taprooms, Diecast, Ducie Street Warehouse and the soon-to-open Co-op Live are all also nearby.
The Castings
As the name suggests, the 350 design-led apartments are inspired by the casting of metals, incorporating industrial shapes, flowing forms and molten textures.
On the imminent launch, The Castings community manager Dave Evans said: “In just a couple of months, we’ll be welcoming residents into our new community. The focus for The Castings has been to create much more than just apartments; it’s a whole new lifestyle, with the best service and living experience that Manchester has to offer.
“Piccadilly East is a really exciting area to be part of which already contains some of the most exciting venues within the city, it’s the next generation of Manchester, and following on from the footsteps of Ancoats we hope to continue to create the next bustling creative hub in the city.”
The Castings
The prices for the new scheme start from £1150 per month for a studio apartment, £1250 for a 1-bed apartment, £1525 per month for a 2-bed and £2175 for a 3-bed apartment.
You can book in for viewings now, with move-in dates from June. Register interest here.
Find something to do in Manchester
Powered by 
The VR gaming experience at airport where you can escape reality
The new FREE Christmas night market with over 40 traders from across our region
Free one-day Christmas festival returning to Stockport to kick off festive season
Simmons Bar opens first Northern site in Manchester with free drinks at launch party
The prestigious Manchester Art Fair is back in town for its 16th year
