What to do re Frontage of a property

icklejulez

I was wondering if anyone could help me, Ive put an offer in on a property that currently is in a bit of a mess. Inside is clean and livable for now and we will have between 3k and 5k to spend on the garden and the frontage. What I mean by the frontage is it looks like it has previously been a shop,although all my family who have lived in the area dont remember it being a shop! The semi attached to the property is a shop!

It should of been a 3 bed semi with a round bay window both upstairs and downstairs. However at some point its had a small extension on the ground floor of approx 50cm and is now square. It is hidiously ugly however my dad seems to think it shouldnt cost to much to put a bay window on it. Hes a mager of window company. I would prefer to restore the property to how it previously would of been and knock out the extension rebuilding it as a round bay.

Firstly will this add or detract value from the property and secondly any ideas of price. If anyone thinks they may be able to help I can PM them a picture of the property. The house is in NW England by the way.

Thankyou!

icklejulez

Anyone on here this morning that can help me?

ormus

it will certainly add to the property. no one likes an obvious old shop for a house.
as regards price, its hard cause its an unusual job.
why not do a rectangle bay instead of a round bay? 1 or 2 bays?
i know my local dg company can supply a round bay window for 500/600 quid.
demolition? say 200/400 or diy? dont forget to hire the props!
then you need a bricky to build a half height round wall.

top of my head, max 1000 for the bricky, plus materials and the window.
install the window? max 200.
you will need a skip too! 100 squid max.

ps, havent mentioned a roof yet. need more info.

BobProperty

Where've you found now icklejulez? (Try me on whether it was a shop if it was somewhere I might know )

I generally agree with ormus, but would just add that you'll need Building Regulation approval for this work, both structurally and for the window(s).

ormus

forgot to mention one other major factor.
a mate of mine bought a semi yrs ago, next door to a shop. it was a very quiet shop (cant remember the trade/type) and there were no problems.
many yrs later, the shop closed and the new owners made it into a takeaway!
now the place is a nightmare late every night, the ex pub crowd etc etc..

mate is now trying to sell up. but his asking price has suffered a lot compared to others in the same rd.
just beware.

icklejulez

Yeah thats our biggest concern as we know the shop is having problems (by the way the property is next door to a commercial property) as it was doing 'extra' work in the garage round the back. Its a car parts and accessories shop if that makes it any clearer and the neighbours got them done for the 'extra' work in the garage to the rear. Since then the shop has been closing a lot and reducing its hours. The hope in our eyes is that there is only one quiet pub near by and there is already a chinese/chippy in a small shopping area on the other side of a busy junction to this shop. So hopefully no one would want to buy a property some distance away from the other shops or open another takaway and hopefully all the residents would appeal against a late liscence!!!

I know theres still a chance but Im hoping chances are slim. Anyone know by any chance who I could contact to see whether that would be given a green light to open late?

BOB: Thanks by the way but after our last property fell through in Bredbury we re thought a few things and decided to move home to family in Blackpool where we would of moved to eventially. Saves moving the kids in a few years and the kids will have a better quality of life with family around.

mixu

Sarah Beeny wrote about this in the Times recently... don't know if it's helpful or not?

How do you put a bay window back onto a Victorian terraced house that was horribly “modernised” in the 1970s? And is it worth it for what it adds to the value of the property?

P Bowen, Croydon

Bay window removals weren’t that unusual as many had subsidence problems because of poor foundations. Whether it is worth rebuilding depends on the immediate location (ie, in what condition are other houses on the street?) and the surrounding area (are there boutiques or pound shops on the local high street?). If both street and area are relatively “monied” then I think it is worth the investment.

It will be very disruptive — after all, the front of the house is being removed — so clear out the front room completely.

For a single-storey bay, you often don’t need more than a foot or two of foundation, but they may need to be dug by hand, so it’s probably best to hire a professional to dig and pour foundations.

Most importantly, get a good bricklayer to build the walls, as poorly laid bricks look awful. You’ll also need a joiner to construct the roof and a roofer to finish it off.

None of this is cheap. A single-storey bay will cost anything from £5,000 to £20,000 depending on what detailing you want and on how much work you can do yourself. As a rule of thumb, recreating a single-storey bay window should take up to a month.

http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/interiors/article1390440.ece