Part commercial property (cafe/restaurant with home above)

student100

After losing our ideal home because our buyer pulled out and we couldn't find a replacement in time (thanks, Brexit!) we're stuck back looking for places to move to.

One property that is in the area we are looking at and has been on the market for some time (price reduced a little while ago to slightly below the price of the house that fell through) is actually currently a cafe/bar on the ground floor with first and second floor living accommodation, and private garden (for the accommodation) to the rear. The stairs to the accommodation are accessed through the cafe area.

My wife has always had long term ambitions of running a cafe, and maybe now is the time to think about that.

If we were to buy this property, we'd be living in the upstairs accommodation as our main home. But I understand because of the cafe part on the ground floor, we wouldn't be able to get a normal residential mortgage.

So some questions:

• Does anyone live in a similar property and own it with a mortgage (e.g. a pub or cafe, shop with flat above etc)?
• If so is it a commercial mortgage you have?
• Who is the mortgage with?
• How does it compare with a residential mortgage? I guess rates are higher?
• Is there any issue getting a mortgage on such a property if you do not currently have any business track record? The property is listed at a price that we could afford it as just a house (from my salary alone if necessary), we wouldn't be reliant on the business income, though the plan would be to set up a cafe business run by my wife.
• How do I go about finding a mortgage broker who could arrange such a mortgage?

Thanks

societys_child

How do I go about finding a mortgage broker who could arrange such a mortgage?

I'd start by contacting local brokers and asking them.

martindow

There have been a few threads in the Small Biz section regarding the pros and cons of running a cafe. They may be worth searching out to read.