SCROUNGING squatters have set up home in two seven-storey mansions on London’s Park Lane — worth a total of £30MILLION.
The 20 crusties, some of whom sneaked in through an open basement door, are living rent-free yards from Madonna’s luxury pad.
They spend their time strumming guitars while letting three huge dogs foul the rooms.
The scruffy squatters boasted last night of the “magical” views of Hyde Park.
And the scroungers, whose presence in the exclusive area has horrified posh locals, asked: “Why would we live anywhere else?”
The hippies — aged 21 to 45 — moved into the properties, with a combined value of £30million, two months ago.
Since then they have rubbed shoulders with the mega-rich residents of the capital’s most exclusive street, lined with flash car dealerships including Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin.
Their seven-storey paradises share a clear view over the park, where the group walk their smelly dogs.
And one squatter, 27-year-old Martin, from Cape Town, South Africa, said: “The view at sunset over Hyde Park is just magic — especially from the penthouse. I really love it here.”
The loafers spend their time strumming guitars and creating “art” in the 12,000sq ft, 12-room homes.
They claim the properties — previously used as offices — had stood empty for about two years.

And they are able to live there because squatting is NOT illegal if entry to an empty property is not forced and there is no criminal damage caused by the squatters.
Owners must obtain court orders to boot out unwanted occupants.
The freehold to both properties is owned by the Duke of Westminster via his company Grosvenor (Mayfair) Estate.
There are also a small number of leaseholds, controlled by property investment firms based in Guernsey and the British Virgin Islands.
No legal action had been taken to remove the squatters last night. The owners only learned they had moved in when they were told by The Sun.
Inside, the magnificent homes are now a clutter of amateur art, acoustic guitars and overflowing ashtrays.
More dishevelled-looking squatters arrive virtually every day. Some stay weeks while others drift off quickly. The sole price of admission is an electric heater to warm the vast rooms — as there is no hot water or central heating.
Three huge dogs roam freely about the houses, leaving droppings everywhere.
Martin brazenly asked The Sun to urge its readers to send money and furniture.
He said: “A lot of those here have to get by on Jobseeker’s Allowance. There was no furniture, so we had to bring our own. If anyone could send us money or furniture it would be great.
“We’ve no TV and make our own music to keep ourselves entertained.”
He added: “There’s quite a large squatters community in London and we always pass on information. We’d noticed these houses had been empty for about two years. We got in through an open basement door.”

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2158953.ece

London luxury home prices had the second-biggest decline on record in January as would-be buyers struggled to secure mortgages from banks hurt by the global financial crisis.
The average value of homes costing more than 1 million pounds in London’s most expensive neighborhoods fell 3.7 percent from a month earlier, Knight Frank LLP said in an e-mailed statement Jan. 31. In the past 12 months, prices have slumped 21 percent, the biggest annualized drop recorded by Knight Frank.

“The sudden restriction of mortgage finance” was the main cause of the market’s decline last year, Liam Bailey, head of residential research at London-based Knight Frank, said in the statement. “This factor is continuing to cause problems for the housing market and the wider economy.”
The cost of buying a luxury home in the U.K. capital has fallen for 10 straight months, declining 21 percent since the market’s peak in March. The biggest drop since the broker started the survey in 1976 was 3.9 percent, recorded in October.

Financial-services companies in London may cut as many as 60,000 jobs by the end of 2010, according to research firm Oxford Economics. As a result, the market won’t rebound soon, Knight Frank said.
“Price falls should begin to level out towards the end of 2009, although 2010 is likely to see prices move sideways at best,” said Bailey. Knight Frank now expects prices to fall as much as 35 percent from their peak, compared with its previous estimate of 30 percent.