Ladymere Place, Godalming

A two-bedroom long leasehold apartment acquired from Charterhouse School — opened up, fully refurbished, and held in the YayYay portfolio for long-term let.

Ladymere Place sits within a private gated development in Godalming, a few minutes from Charterhouse School itself. The flat YayYay acquired was a tired two-bedroom long leasehold apartment, sold by Charterhouse School — the historic public school founded in 1611 by Thomas Sutton on the site of the London Carthusian monastery, and relocated to its present 250-acre Godalming campus in 1872. The school's connection to the Godalming property market is centuries deep; the disposal of Ladymere Place was a quiet transaction by an institution with significantly older roots than most of its neighbours.

YayYay acquired the flat in tired condition, secured the freeholder's permission to remove internal walls and create a modern open-plan living arrangement, and undertook a complete refurbishment. The property has been retained in the YayYay portfolio and is let to long-term tenants — typical tenancy length on YayYay's held assets is three years or more.

Opening Up the Layout

The original layout was the cellular arrangement typical of late 20th-century apartment design — kitchen, dining, and living separated into individual rooms. Working closely with the freeholder, YayYay obtained permission to remove the internal walls between these spaces and create a modern open-plan kitchen, dining, and living arrangement. French doors at the far end of the open-plan space open onto the development's communal gardens, drawing daylight through the entire flat. The new arrangement transforms how the property lives whilst respecting the building's structural and party-wall constraints.

Retained Heritage Archway

In the master bedroom, the original arched opening leading to the en-suite was retained and reinterpreted as a feature. Most refurbishments would have squared off this kind of period detail in pursuit of a cleaner contemporary line; YayYay's instinct was the opposite — to preserve the curve and let it carry the character of the room. The new frosted-glass sliding wardrobe and modern en-suite finishes sit comfortably alongside it without competing.

Specification Throughout

The flat received a complete refurbishment: new handle-less gloss kitchen with quartz worktops and integrated appliances; new bathroom and en-suite with large-format tiling, walk-in shower, recessed niches and chrome fittings; new oak flooring in the principal living areas with carpet to bedrooms; full Lutron lighting control system; new joinery throughout. The specification was deliberately set higher than typical buy-to-let refurbishment standards — a recognition that long-tenure tenancies (three years and over is typical for YayYay's portfolio) reward investment in finish and detail.

Held in Portfolio

Ladymere Place is one of the apartments held in the YayYay long-term let portfolio. The model is straightforward: identify a tired but well-located asset, undertake a thorough refurbishment to a specification that supports premium tenancies, and hold for long-term yield. Tenant retention is the key metric, and the typical tenancy on YayYay's held assets exceeds three years.

Scope of Works

Acquisition from Charterhouse School; freeholder permissions for layout reconfiguration; removal of internal walls and creation of open-plan kitchen, dining and living; complete strip-out and refurbishment; new handle-less gloss kitchen with quartz worktops and integrated appliances; new bathroom and en-suite with large-format tiling and walk-in shower; new oak flooring; full Lutron lighting control system; new doors, joinery and decoration throughout; ongoing portfolio management and long-term letting.