Is this the most expensive place to study in Britain? A survey by the Guardian University Guide 2007 reveals that Imperial College, London, has the highest priced student accommodation in Britain, charging more than four times the cheapest university-managed flats at the University of Teesside.
Undergraduates starting at Teesside this autumn can find rooms from £32.50 a week. But at Imperial, based in Kensington, west London, a single room with en-suite facilities is £144 a week (£624 a month). To be fair to Imperial, it does offer cheaper rooms, starting at £58 a week, but these are triple occupancy and will hold little appeal.
Total university applications are down this year by 4%-5%, largely because of the introduction of £3,000 annual tuition fees, but also because of fears that student debt levels outstrip the value of a degree.
On Saturday 8 July, Mortgage Express celebrates ten years of offering buy-to-let mortgages.
In 1996 Mortgage Express became the first lender to offer a dedicated mortgage product for buy-to-let investment, and has gone on to establish itself as a leading lender in this sector, with a market share of 20 per cent.
Andrew Moss, buy-to-let product manager at Mortgage Express, commented: We have increased our lending balances on buy-to-let loans by 20 per cent over the past year which demonstrates the continuing strength of the buy-to-let sector. High house prices and a growing population have meant that more people are now renting for longer, fuelling the demand for rental property. Amateur landlords who have enjoyed success with one or two properties now have the confidence to further increase their portfolios.