Converting my house into 2 flats for ex partner and myself

eddddy

jgh wrote: »

We did option 2 fifteen years ago. Best decision we ever made. Each of us has an affordable 2-bed flat instead of selling up and trying to find two properties cheap enough to buy for the money obtained from selling one.

Building-wise it was easy - block up one door, open up another door, put a kitchen in the upstairs flat and a bathroom in the downstairs flat.

Which is great, but it sounds like you probably broke a few 'rules'.

Planning and building control - if somebody decided to report you to the local authority, they might have issued enforcement notices forcing you to undo the changes.

Mortgage lender - if the lender wanted to be difficult, they could insist you undo the changes or pay back the mortgage.

Insurance - this is the really scary one. If the building burnt down, they might have refused the claim, if you were insuring it as one house rather than two flats.

Doozergirl

jgh wrote: »

We did option 2 fifteen years ago. Best decision we ever made. Each of us has an affordable 2-bed flat instead of selling up and trying to find two properties cheap enough to buy for the money obtained from selling one.

Building-wise it was easy - block up one door, open up another door, put a kitchen in the upstairs flat and a bathroom in the downstairs flat.

We converted a house into flats 15 years ago and that is not how you are supposed to do it!

Do you still have one set of gas & electrics bills?

To meet the correct building regulations costs a fortune in fireproofing, escape, soundproofing, insulation etc. Both properties should meet regulations for new conversions in every respect.

When the time ever comes to sell, you'll find some hurdles to jump. If the OP's ex sells straight away, they'd never get away with that!

andthethreebears

Our old neighbors did option 2 - (elderly brother lived downstairs) they were heartbroken when they had to sell his 'flat' because they had no control over who was going to live there.
They kept share of freehold and tried to impose a 'cannot be rented out' clause but no one wanted to buy half a house to live in, only landlords were interested.
They ended up selling incredibly cheaply to a single woman who made their life hell by knocking down the front boundary wall to allow easier access to 'her parking space' and she used the garden despite having no access granted, played loud music, was generally rather noisy and inconsiderate.
Basically I'm sure they wished they moved themselves.
So that's another thing to consider!

Old_Git

how much would it cost to do the work .
How much would it cost to buy your ex out as the house stands

jgh

eddddy wrote: »

Which is great, but it sounds like you probably broke a few 'rules'.
Planning and building control ...
Mortgage lender ...
Insurance ...

Planning/Building control know, mortgage lender knows, insurance knows. All good points to make though.

Doozergirl

jgh wrote: »

Planning/Building control know, mortgage lender knows, insurance knows. All good points to make though.

If the mortgage lender 'knows' it can only mean that the house remains under one registered title.
Building Control don't 'know' about stuff - they either receive an application or they don't. They're not going to say that a conversion isn't subject to regs. And what you've done isn't a conversion to regs.

To all intents and purposes, it's still a house that you've made unconventional changes to.