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REUBEN JOHN WORKS for the Paul Simon estate agent, and his job is to sell a beautiful one-double bedroom, top-floor flat with its own private balcony in one of London’s most sought-after areas, Muswell Hill.
The flat is being offered at the bargain price of £300,000 (€410,000). London has one of the hottest property markets on the planet right now, and this seems like an incredible deal. It is easily worth hundreds of thousands more in any other location.
There is just one problem… but first, let’s take a look at the flat. Decent enough, right?
So much space – something rare for a flat n London.
However, this apartment isn’t for everyone.
It happens to be where serial killer Dennis Nilsen lured between nine and 12 young, homeless gay men and prostitutes, with the promise of food or alcohol, and murdered them.
Nilsen moved into Flat 23D, Cranley Gardens, in North London in October 1981 and was arrested 16 months later when the drains became clogged with pieces of rotting corpses.
He used to chop up the body parts and flush them down the toilet. This is what it looked like when Nilsen lived there:
It has been over 30 years since those gruesome events, but it looks as if people still cannot see past Nilsen’s legacy to the incredible real-estate deal that is now on offer in lovely, leafy North London.
The estate agent Paul Simon is upfront about the flat’s history. Its website says:
John, the Paul Simon agent for the property, tells Business Insider:
When we initially marketed the property, we were inundated with enquires and booked an average of eight viewings a week. We are now only achieving minimum interest, say one or two enquiries a week.
The Cranley Gardens flat was sold at auction for £250,000 (€340,000) in August 2013 to a developer that, according to a Business Insider source, wanted to renovate the property and make a bumper profit. It believed it was going for nearly £100,000 (€135,000) less than comparable properties in the area at the time.
The owner did a great job:
It looks nothing like the time Nilsen lived there:
However, the owner has struggled to offload the property since last year.
The flat may have a past but John, who said he would happily buy the flat himself if he had the budget and was looking to buy in the area, highlighted some of the positives of the flat.
If the property’s history wasn’t an issue for people this property would be going for around £375,000 (€510,000). It would also have a return of 5% for buy-to-let investors who could rent it out.
It even has a private balcony, which is rare in London flats at this price.
One prospective buyer remarked to John that the property had “killer views”:
John said people are only offering “ridiculously low” offers at the moment but remains optimistic: “The right buyer will pop their head up, we hope.”
It can’t help that even some of his co-workers won’t even go into the property to show people around.
“One of my religious workers said he felt the presence of Jins (ghosts) and refused to do viewings,” said John to Business Insider.
That leads to a crucial question: is the property haunted?
Being a person of logic and science, I don’t think it is. Saying that, just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there. So I’m sitting on the fence with that one, like any good estate agent.
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2 years after I moved into my property a neighbour told me that the previous owner hung themselves from the attic. If I had of known this I probably wouldn’t have bought it but we are very happy here and love it. Glad I didn’t know. Would prefer to still not know but can’t unhear something ;)
It’s the price that would piss me off.. It’s a flat for feck sake!
It’s London…. Everything is insanely expensive in London, esp property
Eh no. Those tiles in the kitchen are scandalous!
Go on Kong put in an offer!!! I know you wanna lol
€410,000! And they call that a bargain?
Don’t think I could do it. Not because of ghosts or anything. I just would never be truly at ease knowing what happened. Also, I’m sure if you went around the apt with a UV light there would still traces of blood….
Don’t believe everything you see on telly, blood doesn’t show up under a uv light.
Whatever about Nielsen’s flat, I wouldn’t want to live in the other flats or even in the house next door.
Exactly. Ghosts can go through walls ;)
I couldn’t do it. I know I couldn’t help but imagine all the awful things that happened there. I couldn’t ever be at ease!
Yeah and the selling agent is hoping someone “will pop their head in” and buy it. Hope not out of the drainage system!
I don’t see the problem.
Would the new owner have to flat share with Nielsen or something?
Living somewhere that I know for sure nine people were horribly murdered? Eh. Pass. Not sure what the location (or the price) would have to be to tempt me.
It’s a tiny flat and it looks , but apart from it’s sordid history, like a shoebox and the surrounding neighbourhood isn’t very encouraging either , so it looks very overpriced to me and not a good investment. The bubble is about to burst in London , I think.
Wha? Muswell Hill is lush. Great area.
Wouldn’t bother me. People have died all over the place. I don’t believe in ghosts either.
I’d be thinking about it all the time. Wondering are the pipes still the originals, could there still be remains somewhere….shudder
Imagine being on your own while having the worst fear, inducing hangover of your life in that place.
Oh sweet Jesus. You just described my worst nightmare, one I didn’t know existed. I can never unsee what I just imagined.
It’s not about ghosts or even death, it’s about the resonance of the horror and terror of the multiple murders that took place there. For sensitive people, the energy of events like that clings like the blood someone mentioned still being there.
Those ‘energies’ you speak of are not in the flat Jo, they exist only in your head.
10/10 Padraig.
The shite I hear from some people:
“the clouds just disappear when I imagine it”
“Nice one. Can you make that one disappear?”
“No, thats too big.”
“Young, homeless gay men and prostitutes”. Also know as “young men”.
It’s called being descriptive, stop being politically correct.
so julie..homeless and prostitutes are not worthy of a mention in your pc world?
Julie……nobody said they weren’t young men. His MO was specific, it’s not politically incorrect to be specific about who his victims were!
Killer views. Haha
Think of all the space for activities…
I read a book about Nilson so my answer is most definitely no, maybe one murder you could get past but not 9
Yeah… ’cause floorboards have memories. Take the bargain
Too expensive for a flat, damn you London xD
But yeah I’d totally live in it
What’s the problem? Once you’ve boiled up a nice meal you’ll be grand.
As far as I remember Nielsen lived on Melrose ave, in Willesden Green, I lived on that avenue too, his address was 195 I think
Yeah, just off Chichelle rd. My uncle lived near him too. Him n my dad used to show me the road…
Did they get the drains unblocked? Too soon????
Who’d really want to live there in all honesty, ok, it might make for some interesting yet gruesome dinner conversation if you could ever manage to get some friends round but I’d imagine that that novelty would soon wear thin. That kip should’ve really been raised to the ground years back as a mark of respect to Nilsson’s victims, mind you that’s not to say that If I had enough spare spondulix, I wouldn’t buy it just for the craic, then freak-out all the neighbours by constantly flushing the toilets & running up & down the stairs all night long.
The owner will be making a killing
I never understand why such things affect people. If anything, it makes an interesting story to tell people. It’s not like living in that flat will make you a killer, or will make someone kill you, or even will have any bearing on your own life.
I think people don’t like the fact that 16 people were murdered and chopped up in it. That’s 16 chances of hearing foot steeps and doors creaking and other stuff to put the chills up you. Personally I don’t believe in ghosts, but most people do.
I’d rather live in a shed or on the street then live there
have your say