Advice about a renovation project and viewing

expat_jo

Hi

I am after some advice please. We are going to view a property tomorrow which is Grade 2 listed and is "in need of renovation" (to quote the ea blurb).

The house is in a perfect location and we are considering doing it up and it becoming our 'forever' home.

We have not done a renovation job before - we would obviously get a full survey and fully price up the repair before going ahead if we like it but I was wondering what we should ask the estate agent and what we can expect. It's being sold with no chain so I think the owner must have gone into a home / died as it is very old fashioned inside. Could we expect the estate agent to know how much renovation would cost (or would this depend on whether the estate agent is interested / has a clue about these things)?

Anything obvious we should be looking for?

Many thanks in advance.

googler

I wouldn't expect the EA to know what it will/might cost you to renovate it.

His/her job is selling houses, not modifying them or quoting for modifying them.

Gem_

As someone who lives in a Grade II home I can share my experiences:

It's really just the same as any old house - expect to need a rewire, the plumbing could well be lead pipes, the windows might be rotten, etc

They didnt have such acurate measuring so the rooms might be out by quite a long way - a nightmare for fitting a new kitchen or bathroom (my kitchen is a full 1/6ft wider at 1 end than the other and it is only 10 foot wide!)

If you do have to repair anything then you will probably need listed building concent. For example you cannot replace windows with double glazing without getting permission. There is a subtil difference between a repair and a renovation. Repairs are fine but renovation might not be.

We sometimes wonder if the planners would rather our houses fall down than that we repair them in a modern and convienient way :mad:

You can look up the listing online at English Heratage for free. I suggest you do this. anything that is mentioned on the listing can't be changed. This could include things on the inside of the property. E.g we have to have a red painted front door and cannot change the woodburner for a different style fire.

On the plus side - old houses haven't fallen down yet so the chances of them staying sound during the years that you live there are better than any new build :rotfl:

Good Luck, old houses are so much more fun ...

Gem

expat_jo

Thanks for the replies.

Gem, I am struggling to find the link for the English Heritage site. Is it the Heritage Gateway I should be looking at? I can find the house on britishlistedbuildings.co.uk

Can I just check, when you decided you wanted it, what process did you undertake / who did you need to check the house? A regular surveyor or someone speciaist?

Thanks again.

DVardysShadow

googler wrote: »

I wouldn't expect the EA to know what it will/might cost you to renovate it.

His/her job is selling houses, not modifying them or quoting for modifying them.

More colour to that picture. I would expect the agent to appear very confident in answering the question, although possibly delivering a vague answer.

Get a full survey done and start to get it costed from there.

expat_jo

Thanks all. It will be interesting to see. I am really not sure what to expect. I am guessing you can get specialist surveyors for listed properties for the survey?

westlondonbuyer

Do you have loads of spare cash and are you passionately in love with this particular house? Otherwise I wouldn't touch a listed house with a bargepole (and I grew up in one). You're restricted on the work you can do, the materials you can use, and even sometimes the workmen you can employ. You have to ADORE it, because the costs of restoring it will almost certainly not be economical. On the flipside, 99/100 they are gorgeous houses, so I do sympathise:)

poppysarah

http://www.heritage.co.uk/apavilions/glstb.html
What category is it?
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]• Grade I buildings are of exceptional interest[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]• Grade II* are particularly important buildings of more than special interest[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]• Grade II are of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them[/FONT]


[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]You need to speak to the listed building officer at the council - and bear in mind you'll need specialist workers which will cost a lot more than you plan for!


[/FONT]

expat_jo

Thanks all. We went to see it and the layout (even with extensions - if we could get consent!) wouldn't work for us. Have to say I am slightly relieved because as westlondonbuyer says it was gorgeous and perfect from the outside.

Now, (kind of) lets hope no other listed buildings come up tha do fit. Not this house hunt anyway ...!

Doozergirl

Glad you've walked away from it - planning to knock around layouts etc and extend, you have to brave with a listed house as there is no planning democracy where they are concerned - you're at the mercy of your allocated Conservation Offier...

expat_jo

Hi Doozergirl. Yes I am aware of that. I was planning to give the Conservation Officer a call if we'd liked it to try and suss out how 'open' they are to change. Quite glad I don't need to now. Will keep an eye out to see what happens to it. Quite interesting to see what it goes for and what the new owners do.