There is a single garage for sale locally through an estate agent.

Not much to look at, but could be kinda handy as it is fairly near my house and we could use some more storage space for various toys.

It’s well over-priced at 10k, I’d probably be offering more like 5k.
I’d probably just raise the cash through a personal loan, rather than any kind of mortgage.

I’ve never done anything like this before – do I need a solicitor for such a (relatively) small property purchase?

What other fees would I need to look out for?

Solicitor would be a good idea, how do you know its theirs to sell, land registry, was it built with planning permission, access rights etc ? Solicitor shouldn’t be mkre than a couple of hundred so very worthwhile I would say.

Not much to look at, but could be kinda handy as it is fairly near my house and we could use some more storage space for various toys.

Not sure how you’d insure anything in it, except with an all-risks policy – or if the stuff’s no value, then lob it. Or look at renting one (my MIL gets £10 pcm for hers).

Thanks jamba. That sounds sensible.

So would I make an offer on my own and then get a solicitor involved if the offer is accepted? Obviously at this sort of price I don’t want to pay out too much until I’m sure I’m getting the property.

Anything else I need to look out for?

Solicitor would be a good idea, how do you know its theirs to sell, land registry, was it built with planning permission, access rights etc ? Solicitor shouldn’t be mkre than a couple of hundred so very worthwhile I would say.

+1

I’d avoid.
There’s a sign saying you’re not allowed to park in it. 😉

you dont need a solicitor, but without one you do need to be comfortable navigating your way through the Searches (or have confidence that some of the more extravagant searches are unnecessary), TR1/AP1 land registry forms and SDLT1 forms too.

there is a good deal of guidance online from LR and HMRC to help complete these forms. I’ve just been doing it for a friend on a low value, intra-family transfer, so risks are low. You will need to make your own judgement.

Not sure how you’d insure anything in it, except with an all-risks policy

Hmm good point. Not sure about other stuff, but the insurance on my bikes covers them anywhere provided they are properly secured – so chained up in a garage should be okay.

Or look at renting one (my MIL gets £10 pcm for hers).

I’m on the waiting list to rent one locally. But they are in short supply. I know they guy that’s ahead of me on the list and he has been waiting a couple of years.

I did have an agreement to borrow some space in a neighbour’s double garage, which was handy – but they have since moved out 🙁

Do you have any room at home? That sort of money will buy you a very nice garden building that would do what you need, and keep everything in your back garden.

Do you have any room at home?

Nope. It’s a pretty small terraced house. We have outbuildings (old outside loo and coal bunker) in the back yard but they are pretty much stuffed full. Extracting a bike, tools and workstand is a ten minute job, which is annoying.

We have a small planted back garden across the lane, which some neighbours choose to flatten and turn into a garage, but we’d rather keep ours cos the kids play there.

Bugger me, that’s not much less than we paid for our first house……

you will be buying land so yes you need a solicitor for the reasons set out above plus to ride on his insurance in relation to any mistakes. I am a “qualified ” solicitor i would not do my own conveyancing.

you only need to instruct a sol when you have agreed to buy , don’t sign a contract until a solicitor is instructed and tells you to.

Thanks crankboy.

What other fees and taxes am I liable to be hit for? Just trying to get a rough idea of total cost.

Ive bought a few garages as part of my evil buy to let empire. Never used a solicitor. There are a lot of potential pit falls over ownership and access but in general it is a simple process but you do need to tick every box. There is a book by Which? that goes through the steps. The first time was worrying for me but the last one was a breeze.

sorry for delay
this is a made up answer murder and drug dealing are more my thing:
1 search on land reg make sure it is the vendors land to sell and not subject to a mortgage or other debt, few quid

2 local search make sure local authority don’t plan to knock it down etc £60 £100.

3 other “local” issues eg coal mines cant imagine an issue re a shed a house i owned had a pit shaft covered over nearby.

4 fee to register your ownership £20 to £40 depends if the garage is a whole registered title or is being subdivided off.
taxes as many have pointed out on here i ain’t financially astute stamp duty 0% or 3% if btl or additional home rate. no vat.

Not sure about other stuff, but the insurance on my bikes covers them anywhere provided they are properly secured – so chained up in a garage should be okay.

You might be surprised. Our garage is in the garden, but separate from the house, so an ‘outbuilding’ for the purposes of insurance. It was tricky to find somewhere that would cover the bikes. With a lot of policies you could pay quite a bit to specify, say, £5,000 of bikes with away-from-home new-for-old cover and then find out that there’s a separate “outbuildings” section that says that regardless of any other cover, anything stolen from an outbuilding is only covered up to a combined total of £500.

The AA were able to create a policy for me to cover out buildings or cover items in my rented garage. It was a bit pricey for the first year but dropped dramatically with 1 years no claims.