Mortgage for commercial to residential change of use

em-see

Hello everyone,

I'm currently considering buying a property to renovate and have found an interesting looking building within my budget. Unfortunately, it's a commercial property - meaning I will need planning permission to change its use to a residential property. This is not a huge problem, and I'm confident that I can overcome all the associated obstacles, however I'm struggling with how to get a mortgage for it.

According to the mortgage providers I've spoken to so far, I can't get a residential mortgage on a commercial property - I would have to do the renovation work first, then get a valuation.

I can afford to pay 1/3 of the asking price, but need to find a mortgage that will cover the rest. I also don't expect renovations to last longer than 1 year & would hope to have planning permission in 2-3 months.

I'm hoping someone here can give me some advice or suggest some options.
Could I get a commercial mortgage as an individual? Would it be more expensive?

Also - I'm a first time buyer, so I don't have any mortgage at present.

Thanks for any help you can give