A Grand Design

cazmanian_minx

As the nutter who's just tried (and failed!) to buy a Grade A listed derelict watermill, my advice would be:

1) Ask a surveyor to do you a condition report. We found out that the roof beams, which looked sturdy as anything, all had wet rot where they rested on the walls and the whole roof needed replacing, rather than the slates just needing putting back on.

2) Cost everything out before you make an offer and allow at least 25% of the total cost as an extra contingency budget.

3) Before the survey, tell the surveyor what your plans for the building are and ask him to include an estimate of what it will be worth when it's finished - do the figures stack up? The watermill would have needed to be insured for £980,000 because that was its estimated rebuild cost, but would only have sold (had we wanted to, which we wouldn't have) for around £400,000.

4) Make sure you can borrow against it. Most self-build/renovation mortgages require you to a) prove you have enough income to borrow enough complete the whole project and b) require a detailed timescale showing you'll be finished in 12 months or less. If you just want to buy the building, camp in it and do it a bit at a time, try someone like The Ecology Building Society, who'll lend on heaps of stones in fields, but their interest rates are fairly eye-watering and you'll be locked in for 4 years unless you fancy a redemption penalty.

5) Beg, borrow or steal a copy of How To Rescue A House by David Ireland. It's full of useful info, including details of all the various grants available.

It's a wonderful thing to do, but if you go ahead there'll probably be plenty of times during the conversion process that you wish you'd never heard of the place!

Caz

kriss_boy

1) Is ground rent money id have to pay for the upkeep of the land?

2) I thought it would be mortgagable simply becuase part of it is occupied?

3) I dont wnat to buy it to make money. I want to buy it because its a place to live with character, but it also has potential and if I feel like attempting to rennovate it I could give it a go. I need a house and I need to get on the property ladder.

4) We dad and I have almost finished rennovating a bungalow. New windows, heating, electrics, we've completely drylined every external wall, we've completed reinsulated the attic, put 2 velux sun tunnels and acquired 8 more velux windows. we've completely redone the facings/skirtings and plasters damaged walls and painted them. we've put in an en suit inbetween two of the bigger bedrooms. we've put french doors into the sunlounge. knocked out the old coal cellars. we added a vesubile by shifting the front door two feet further out and putting a second screen.

Sarah beenie would tell you that would all cost £40,000 but so far we've spent under £8,000. And all we need to do now is the kitchen and the roof this summer.

Generali

It's a massive risk but could be a really fun (and lucrative) project. If you're going to do it, do it with your eyes open though. Pay properly for legal advice - make sure you know exactly what you're buying, what you can and can't do and what you may be forced to do (e.g. make certain types of repairs to a listed building).

kriss_boy

I dont understand why its a massive risk... its the price of a flat... and it has a habitable wing?!?!

The onyl risk i can see is deciding to rennovate it and ploughing money into it only to realise its too big a job...

But its primarily a house to live in. Whether or not i then decide to attempt to expand the accomodation into the run down wings is another question.

Generali

As I see it, the biggest risk is that by buying the property, you may be taking on a liability, e.g. to maintain it to a certain standard. That could be very expensive.

IMVHO, all investment is about risk. The better you manage your risks, the better the chance of making money. I think it sounds like a cracking project, all I'm advising is that you make sure you understand exactly what you're buying.

kriss_boy

I'll definately check to see if its listed... and if I have an obligation to maintain it from slipping further into ruin.

Is it possible its not listed building? or are all buildings like this listed nationwide.

If the occupied living area is fine... and I have no obligation to maintain the other run down wings.... then Im very tempted to buy it.

The final decision to weigh up is how inconvienient would it be with the public having right of access to have a nosey around the surrounding grounds....

Generali

Yup, DYR. A good solicitor should be able to direct you.

Doozergirl

lynzpower wrote: »

dooz is the job too big for you & Mr Doozer???!! :eek: never thought Id see the day!

Mr Doozer, having either balls of steel or no brain (love him), would take on a pile of stones! I'd take it on but the maths would have to add up! Assuming that because it's cheap that it provides value for money or a good investment is really, really wrong!

I'd eat my hat if a 13th century building weren't listed and something that size, we're talking mammoth expense, even for a self-build.

If only a small part of the building is habitable then I doubt very much it would be mortgageable in the traditional sense. We bought a listed house where the lady had only lived there until a few months previously. We still ended up with 100% retention and they wouldn't give us a penny until it was finished and worth three times what we'd asked for. Fun, fun, fun!

OP you really need to do your homework on this. Big time. You need to spend out on the full survey, architects and get in touch with planning before you do anything. I think 'building under construction' means that part of it has been derelict for so long that it wasn't properly classified in whatever year they started the system (by system I mean the distinctions between residential, commercial, business and the grades in between). In my mind it may be even mean that there is no permission for it to be residential at all.

At that price, it's got serious issues.

sheraz2

Buy it, burn it to the ground and then sell it as building land!!!!!

seven-day-weekend

kriss_boy wrote: »

I'll definately check to see if its listed... and if I have an obligation to maintain it from slipping further into ruin.

Is it possible its not listed building? or are all buildings like this listed nationwide.

If the occupied living area is fine... and I have no obligation to maintain the other run down wings.... then Im very tempted to buy it.

The final decision to weigh up is how inconvienient would it be with the public having right of access to have a nosey around the surrounding grounds....

Yes it is quite possible that it is not listed. Your local Planning Department will be able to help you on this.