Purchasing B1 Commercial to turn to Residential

Big_Zee

Hi,

I've been looking to purchase a BTL property in London for a the past few months, and one property has come up that seems an interesting prospect - its a commercial property (B1), which has the potential to be turned into residential - in-fact it is currently looks to be currently used as a residence, and the structure is more appropriate to residential than commercial.

The price is roughly 3/4 of what it would be if it were residential as opposed to commercial, so it seems pretty good value - but obviously there are hoops to jump through. The property is unfortunately not freehold, but is on a lease of 96 years.

Can anyone give me some advise with regard to things to look for, possible pitfalls etc etc.

Thanks for your help

Doozergirl

Have a look at the planning portal.

Unless I'm mistaken, converting B1 to C3 is essentially permitted development until 2016.

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/commonprojects/changeofuse/

Premises in B1(a) office use can change to C3 residential use, subject to prior approval covering flooding, highways and transport issues and contamination.

The potential problem is funding. You won't get a resi mortgage yet.

The other question is why hasn't the current occupier already got the permission to gain the value themselves? I wouldn't ask them directly, lol!

But I remember reading that it was possible for councils to designate some areas as exempt from the prior approval window. I think it is a hard thing for them to do though, so you might be alright!