So were house hunting at the moment, and rather to our surprise we have found an old farmhouse in need of some work and has a couple of incredible, historic (ie over 100 years old) outbuildings that are apparently sound structurally but would require some work doing inside.
In true pipedream style we're looking at buying the lot and converting the biggest, double storey outbuilding into a 6-8 person holiday let (one of them would make an awesome bike store as well!). Its an old joiners workshop but has power and water supply.
The whole lot is smack bang in the middle of a National Park so obviously it would all have to be done sympathetically to the surroundings and all that.
The question, where do i start? The farmhouse itself is uninhabitable at present and is rather damp so do i get a structural survey before anything else to see what surprised might be lurking in it?
If the outbuilding couldnt be converted then its no use to us really...so how do i find out the odds of gaining planning permission in the first place? Would i need to speak to the Planning Officer at the Park Authority first? I wouldnt have any plans to show them, so would i need to get an architect involved prior to this to draw up some plans or would a simple drawing on the back of a fag packet suffice..bearing in mind the outside of the building would remain looking the same as it does now?
Has anyone done anything similar to this? What were your experiences? Would you do it again?
ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH 🙂
Structural survey and find a friendly builder who can give you a vague costing as to what would be involved in getting up to scratch (and then add some). Then talk to the planning department - you can do this informally.
I've renovated my last three houses but not to this extent - the one thign I cans safely say it that it always costs more and takes more time than you ever expect!!
first thing you need , large bank balance
Sounds like a major undertaking...
I'd sort out the house issues first. Get the relevant surveys so you know what you're really getting into. Then call Kevin McCloud for Grand Designs-related TV rights and talk informally to planning, to see what the local precedent is.
Thanks folks. The other question i forgot to ask was about the mortgage. The house, outbuildings and small amount of land is valued at £325k. I have £50k in the bank, so would any prospective Mortgage Company view it as they would somewhere that was habitable? Or would getting a mortgage be more difficult due to its rather dilapidated state?
A recent job payrise means I will be putting away £3000 a month and that will go up even further in a few weeks as the better half has gone back to work fulltime, so the finances respect of getting the work done shouldnt be too much of an issue..so long as i can finance the initial purchase with a mortgage in the first place.
Some of the less critical work i can sort myself and a mate is very skillful plumber.
Of course its all still a Pipedream but what the hell, im going to have a look around next week to get a full appreciation of what might be involved. 😯
Get a quote, then double it, then add some more.
It will still run over budget.....
Make an offer subject to blah blah blah
Live in a caravan / log cabin on site whilst work carried out
You can get self build mortgages, that loan bit by bit as the build / renovation progresses
Ask yourself 100 times if you really wanna go through the hell/love of it all
Or would getting a mortgage be more difficult due to its rather dilapidated state?
Probably this. If there is a lot of work involved a mortgage co could agree the mortgage but not actually give you any money until certain parts of the renovation are completed to their satisfaction first.
So you have to fund the building works in the first instance.
I'd say the first thing you do is speak to the planners and see if they would have any problem with your initial thoughts.
The main thing to remember about buying old buildings is that if it seems to good to be true then it definitely is 🙁
If the planners agree in principal get a structural survey and then a rough idea of costs - then double that figure and you'll be closer o the real cost.
There will probably be a good reason why these buildings have not already been restored.
Cheers guys...my eyes are very wide open and im naturally sceptical of anything that looks too good to be true, like you say, it usually is too good to be true. A look around and then a chat with the Planning people is my first job i think. Then i'll go have a chat with the bank about getting a mortgage. Then i'll get out of cloud-cuckoo land and look for somewhere that needs sweet FA doing instead.
Only a 50K deposit wiht a 275k mortgage seems very high even if you do bring home 3 k a month. Add renovations cost and it seems you could end up in problems and never finish live in a caravan forever.
and if planning was likely, do you not think the vendors would have thought of that already?
If you need a caravan to live in, I've got one going cheap 🙂
Smog - been involved in several large scale renovations, and you need to be thinking of probably between £200,000 and £500,000 depending how far you go with renovation / standard of existing buildings / how much your architect charges / how much you want to spend on a biomass system (you would be foolish not to consider this as potential earnings from RHI on a commercial scale are large)
Unless you've enough cash (with yours' and other 'investors') to purchase, and then renovate to eventually move it into a mortgage and payback whoever lent you the extra cash - you'll always be struggling.
Its not 2007 anymore.
And as for converting the additional buildings, you should be ok if they have a 'unused agricultural buildings' policy - but will be restricted on been able to split/sell.
But if you do it, aim to convert outhouse first and live in that while you sort out the main house. It'll be easier that way.
This one?
do it, you will laugh and cry, jump up and down with excitement, almost get divorced, nearly go bankrupt but end up with a gorgeous home in the end even if you are way way over budget and a year longer than you thought.
where is this? i will come and do the stonework for you cheap if i can live in my van onsite and the riding is good