Buying a house with a "granny flat"?

chuckles1066

Has anyone done this?

This is on behalf of a friend and her hubby.......yes, it's not for me!

I might be 44 and feeling about 80 but I'm definitely not a granny because there are dangly things between my legs that I notice when I have a shower

Anyway, my friend's kids have finally fled the nest (yayyyy!) and the pair of them and her mother are looking at both selling up and moving to either Devon or Cornwall.

Any advice I can relay to them? I'm assuming buying a house with a ready-built granny-flat might be limiting their choice of properties? Wouldn't it be easier to buy a property and then build whatever's needed on the back?

All replies will be thanked and appreciated

Strapped

chuckles1066 wrote: »

Has anyone done this?

This is on behalf of a friend and her hubby.......yes, it's not for me!

I might be 44 and feeling about 80 but I'm definitely not a granny because there are dangly things between my legs that I notice when I have a shower

Anyway, my friend's kids have finally fled the nest (yayyyy!) and the pair of them and her mother are looking at both selling up and moving to either Devon or Cornwall.

Any advice I can relay to them? I'm assuming buying a house with a ready-built granny-flat might be limiting their choice of properties? Wouldn't it be easier to buy a property and then build whatever's needed on the back?

All replies will be thanked and appreciated

All I can say is, I hope they BOTH own expensive properties already, if they want to move down here, given the level of house prices, esp. for the type you describe

merlinthehappypig

We have spent the last 6 months looking for a property where my wife's parents can live with us.

In our experience most 'annexes' are poorly designed and/or built. Usually there are converted garages that have been done poorly or adaptions of an existing house that aren't suitable for elderly people. On the odd occasion that the annexe has been decent, the house has been poor.

Obviously budget makes a difference. We had a budget of around £500000 and couldn't find anything in the Devon area that suited. Cornwall is a little cheaper, but we felt that was too far away from everywhere else.

We decided to buy a nice house in a good area and build an annexe to our own specification. Building something on seems much cheaper than paying an exorbitant price for something someone else has done which isn't quite right..

Debt_Free_Chick

chuckles1066 wrote: »

I might be 44 and feeling about 80 but I'm definitely not a granny because there are dangly things between my legs that I notice when I have a shower

Me too That reminds me .... I must get a bikini wax :rotfl:

Wouldn't it be easier to buy a property and then build whatever's needed on the back?

It rather depends. You are effectively asking if you can apply to create a new dwelling - albeit, with the new dwelling being ancillary to the main dwelling. A granny annexe is, effectively, a self contained dwelling. That constitutes a "new dwelling" or "new residence" in the area and the extent to which this is allowed is determined by the local council's Local Development Framework.

I would have thought that new dwellings in that area would be strictly controlled - so building a new property would be very, very difficult. An annexe might be possible - but it really depends on the footprint of the plot that the existing property occupies.

All in all .... I would say that looking for an existing property with an existing annexe would be easier. In particular, I would have thought that an existing property with an outbuilding already approved as a holiday let would be an ideal proposition. However, there would be planning restrictions on a holiday let that would prohibit all-year-round occupation .... nevertheless, getting this changed to an annexe would (IMHO) be easier than applying for permission to create a brand new annexe.

Suggest that your friends visit the local Council Planning dept and speak to them first ... then local EAs.

You never know .... looking for a property with an existing annexe might just be fruitful.... it's a limited market and Cornwall surely has its fair share of suitable properties.

HTH

merlinthehappypig

It's much easier to get permission to add an annexe or extension if the people who are going to live in it are elderly or disabled. If it's just an extension for children or simply to make the house bigger then it might be more difficult.

We've spoken to planners in a number of counties and all said that, obviously subject to normal planning considerations, that it was unlikely that an annexe for disabled, elderly relatives would be refused. In addition, as far as we have been told, the building work won't attract VAT.

We looked at holiday lets in the grounds, but they mostly had restrictions on how long for and when they could be used. Most holiday lets and completely separate annexes attracted their own council tax. Most internal annexes didn't.

It all depends on what you want.

Becks045

We purchased a house with a seperate 'granny annexe' a few years ago for investment reasons. We saw it as two houses for the price of one. Whilst the rental income is very good we are now trying to sell but it is giving us problems due the fact that our target market is so small.

Properties with a granny annex have such a limited market that they can take time to sell. Something worth bearing in mind in case you ever find your self in a position where you need to sell.

If you are building a granny annexe try and make it as flexible as possible with regards to layout. Also ensure you get utility meters installed so the annexe has seperate bills (something we did, well worth paying the extra for). And also think about the access issue, for example in the future you or a buyer may want to use the annexe for working from home/renting out so if its shared access it may put people off.

Best of luck with the build. And if you change your mind on location we have a great property in Kent with an annexe!