Boudicca Scherazade says she has ‘been crying every night’ and has ‘woken up in tears’ over her situation
An antiques expert says she feels trapped after being left to pay a £13,000 service charge bill when the prospective buyers of her Grade I-listed flat pulled out at the last minute. Boudicca Scherazade, 57, bought part of Garrick’s Villa, a stately home, in 1997 for £130,000 before buying the rooms she lives in now for £350,000 in 2001.
She has since restored the flat to its 18th-century design. The property, situated a stone’s throw away from Shakespeare’s Temple theatre, was built in 1754 and owned by the revolutionary English actor David Garrick, who redesigned it with the help of the famous neoclassical architect Robert Adam.
In May 2025, Boudicca put the property on the market for £1,025,000 and had interest, but the buyer pulled out after making an offer. This has meant Boudicca has been left to pay her £13,000 service charge – which she had not budgeted for as she was expecting the property would be sold.
Boudicca, a former music archivist and DJ, had anticipated that the new buyers would be able to cover most, if not all of the charge but the breakdown in the deal has left her short. She has been looking to leave London since 2021, but feels “trapped”, with no back-up buyers on the horizon.
Boudicca, now an antiques expert and seller, from Hampton, London, said: “The trouble is, I almost feel like the house isn’t wanting to let me go. It’s been a nightmare; there have been times I’ve been crying every night, woken up in tears.
“It’s an unusual property, it’s enormous, but I had an offer last June. They offered £200,000 under the asking price, and initially I was very reticent, but I want to retire to the countryside. I thought I was going to be walking free, but no, they pulled out at the last minute.
“Then the next day, I got the annual service charge bill. I was hoping to only have to pay a bit of it with the rest covered by the new buyers, but now I have to pay the full amount. It’s dreadful.”
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Boudicca has owned various rooms in the property over the last 30 years, but has listed two bedrooms, a balcony, a kitchen, a bathroom and 1090 sq. Ft Chinese drawing room for sale. The Chinese Drawing room, with a “20-foot” ceiling and 10-foot chandeliers, was restored as close to Robert Adam’s design as possible after a fire – “the mother of all disasters” – made the property uninhabitable for seven years in 2008.
Boudicca said that the flat’s authenticity is deterring potential buyers. She said: “I’ve put everything into this house. I’ve lived here for 30 years, it was the family home with my mum until she died in 2021.
“I’m very, very bonded to it, I have a tattoo of the house on my leg. I really am Mrs Garrick. There’s no question. After the fire in 2008, I turned the living room back into being the big Chinese drawing room as it was during Mr Garrick’s time – it was previously partitioned.
“I’ve turned it back to being exactly as it was, had a huge amount of support from English Heritage but in so doing, I’ve lost two bedrooms and a bathroom. Now, it’s a different scale and maybe it’s a bit daunting.”
Boudicca bought the property as a “subprimer” and now says she’s having to pay over £3,500 in bills and mortgage repayments. In the last year, she has turned over more than £80,000 from her eBay business selling antiques, but the unexpected service charge bill forced her to set up a GoFundMe to help her avoid going into arrears.
She has made an agreement to pay back the service charge at £1,000 a month, on top of her £2,000 a month mortgage interest running at 8 per cent, and £500 on council tax. The fundraiser, targeted at her wealthier clients, was a reluctant last measure prompted by her buyers backing out.
She said: “It’s been so humbling to see people donate, and it’s been an eye opener because it’s all the people that can least afford it, not the celebrities I provide for. My situation’s dire, but there are certainly people in worse situations.
“I’m putting all the money into the building’s insurance aspect of the service charge, and making sure all my donators get a nice antique present through as a thank you.
“I bought this when I was 27 – I just hope lenders can start to free up money so that young people have the chances that I had to come here.”
If you wish to donate, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/mrs-garricks-service-charges-fundraiser
