We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.

This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide

Converting Commercial to Residential Properties

geekygreeky
geekygreeky Posts: 1 Newbie
in House buying, renting & selling
Hello,

I have done some online searching around converting commercial properties to residential properties, it appears the process is fast-tracked by the government until spring 2016 but my question is broader.

Does anyone know what the difficulties are in buying a (cheap) commercial property and converting it to a residential one?

e.g. are there other fees/taxes? is the reconstruction costs the main deterrent? are there legal restrictions?

I'd appreciate any pointers to articles/guides that cover this topic.

Thank you! :D

Disadvantages of buying a cheap commercial property and converting it to residential 4 votes

Reconstruction and building costs
25% 1 vote
Council or legal restrictions
75% 3 votes
No big disadvantage, just infrequently done.
0% 0 votes
No big disadvantage, this is frequently done.
0% 0 votes

Comments

  • cloo
    cloo Posts: 1,291 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I don't know what permitted development does re covenants on building use... I'm not sure whether it bypasses them, or it's just something the big developers can manage to sort out. I've not heard of individuals making these conversions yet, so I wouldn't be surprised if there are hidden costs that might be offputting.
  • slopemaster
    slopemaster Posts: 1,584 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    I had thoughts of doing this when I saw a commercial property up for sale cheap, which was on a residential street, so I thought it should be easy to get planning permission for change of use.
    Lucky I phoned the planners to check. Although in the middle of a residential area, there was 0% chance of permission being granted because it's near a river and therefore in a flood risk zone.
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    The biggest challenge will be finance.
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 18,509 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    I haven't really researched this, but my perception is there are quite a few big schemes - like converting redundant warehouses, factories etc.

    But there isn't much small scale commercial property around, which would make desirable homes.

    Perhaps one exception is redundant corner shops, or sometimes even small parades of local shops - because they are in established residential areas.

    There are also quite a few redundant pubs and hotels in residential areas, but it seems that there is more value in demolishing to rebuild residential, rather than converting.
  • lincroft1710
    lincroft1710 Posts: 19,395 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Where I live nearly every office block has been or is being converted to apartments.
    If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    lincroft1710 wrote: »
    Where I live nearly every office block has been or is being converted to apartments.

    There are companies that specialise in such projects.
  • lincroft1710
    lincroft1710 Posts: 19,395 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Thrugelmir wrote: »
    There are companies that specialise in such projects.

    Several companies involved in these conversions, Latest development could have over 50 apartments. My point was that so many commercial properties are now being converted to residential. My former hometown has seen 3 pubs. either converted or demolished to make way for a total of 12 homes within the past year
    If you are querying your Council Tax band would you please state whether you are in England, Scotland or Wales
This discussion has been closed.
★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 354.1K Banking & Borrowing
  • 254.3K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 455.3K Spending & Discounts
  • 247.1K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 603.7K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 178.3K Life & Family
  • 261.3K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.
Update Your Picture