Questions Questions

lawtz04

Hello!

Myself and partner are looking to get our own place, but of course like the rest of the population cant afford it at the moment! I have a couple of questions for the experts which I would be really grateful if any of you could shed light on!

Questions ... : I was thinking (rare) and thought about lookin at properties that were shops, and have been empty a long time, and trying to trace the owners to see if they might like to sell, with a view to changing the use to residential. I thought if they've been empty a while, the owner either hasnt advertised, or can't find a potential business owner who's interested. Is there anything to stop me doing this, and if I can, is there another way of tracing an owner of the property other than the landregistry people? (they charge!)

there ... thoughts, musings, and ponderings if you will .... !!

Alan_M_2

There's quite a lot involved with converting commercial to residential and its very easy to open a can of worms, particularly with building regualtions.

If you do decide to go this route get it properly surveyed, discuss your ideas with the local Planning office before you commit etc, put in as much research as you can.

missk_ensington

If you can't afford to buy a residential property I can't see how buying a commercial property would be any easier, considering the fact that business dwellings (trading or not) are far more expensive.

If you're of the mind to go tracing people to get a cheaper deal, why not trace an unoccupied residential? Perhaps one that can't be rented. A good tip is asking EA's if they have any properties on their books that are up for rent and sale, many people do this when the place is costing them more than they can afford and they're prepared to accept whatever comes first rent or sale. When someone is struggling financially, probably paying two mortgages I'd say they'll reduce a lot more and more quickly than most other people.

To trace an owner Land registry is as far as I know, the only was and at £3 probably the cheapest (unless you fancy asking the neighbours if they have a name for who owns it). Council Tax/previous voters at address is another possible way, but I'm not too hot on this so wouldn't like to advise.
Good luck x

Doozergirl

What's a 'business dwelling'?

Debt_Free_Chick

lawtz04 wrote:

I was thinking (rare) and thought about lookin at properties that were shops, and have been empty a long time, and trying to trace the owners to see if they might like to sell, with a view to changing the use to residential.

If there is no residential use at all, you will need to apply to the local planning authority to change the use of the property. Even if there is some residential use, you probably need to apply to change the existing commercial/business use to residential.

You should do this before you commit to the purchase