House purchase woes (Any help OcUK?)

Bromhead

Bromhead

Bromhead

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Joined
11 Nov 2012
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Location
Staffordshire
Hi guys,

We're currently in the middle of purchasing a house, we are in the very final stages of this, survey all complete and searches done.

There seems to be one very final hurdle. I will give you a bit of a back story to explain the issue further - The house was built, lived in and then an extension was built, this extension was classed as commercial and was used over the years by several businesses, the house itself remained residential as I understand it.

It's essentially just a massive detached house, but with the extension being commercial, said mortgage lender has confirmed they would need documentation to change this to completely residential. Now for my questions, if you've followed me this far. :)

* Would the sellers have not had to have this documentation themselves in order to actually secure their own mortgage at the time?
* Should they be unable to produce said documentation - how would they go about changing the classification - dare I ask, how long would that take?

Thanks for any thoughts/comments.

Disclaimer - I have used Google-fu, I have asked my own Solicitors (waiting to hear back from them), but I find OcUK always has some helpful tips/comments. And it's just nice to share. :D
 
1) not really sure, it depends on the who the mortgage company was. The extension I assume is attached to and owned by the house. Was it ever leased / rented out?

2) change of usage from the local council (assuming it was ever designated as such with the council in the first instance). Couple of weeks tops assuming nothing untoward.
 
Yeah just apply to to the council for a change of use. Be nice to them and you might be able to speed it up. They work to something stupid like an eight week deadline so they laze about all the time.
 
1) they would have had a mortgage on the house, then submitted planning for the extension for commercial use, with another mortgage say.

2) change of use, might sound simple, but could be a nightmare, in this climate it should be OK, have a chat with planning to see their opinions on it, always good to keep them in the loop from early on
 
@django - In answer to your question, as far as I'm aware no it was never leased or rented. The residents at the time also ran the business at that time also. This changed hands a fair few times over the years. Also yep the extension is attached and owned by the house.

@Soundood - They didn't have two separate mortgages, when the sellers purchased this, the house itself and the extension were already built, they would have had one mortgage for the entire property.
 
Also, the responses so far seem to be that I should be contacting the Local Authority in order to change the status? Is this the case or would I need the sellers to do that? :/
 
I'm no expert, but if it's being sold as a house with an extension for commercial use then I wouldn't expect the seller to change it (and I doubt they would). You would be buying it as-is and would be your decision to get it changed after purchase.
 
I'd be on the phone discussing this with my solicitor to be honest. Quickest and most stress-free way of doing it. Your solicitor will provide you with all of the answers that you need and coud set in motion anything that needs rectifying or doing.
 
Assuming the vendor is happy to wait for it to be sorted, you will have to agree with them who applies for the change of use. Personally, as a purchaser I'd want to control it myself and have any costs deducted from the purchase price. Unless, it was advertised at the time of sale that there was a commercial element to the sale, in which case, you'll probably have to pay for it yourself.
 
A property can have an office space up to 50m2 and still be classed as domestic. Over that then it would be classed as commercial premises.

Speak to your solicitor to get the seller to get the 'Change of Use' changed from commercial to domestic. When approaching the council for a normal planning permission they normally outline 2 - 3 months (in my experience) to grant permissions but I'm sure since you're looking for a simple change of use this time frame should be reduced. But knowing what councils are like this isn't necessarily true!
 
Thanks for responses. I have discussed it with solicitors who have basically advised it's the bank's decision and this is what they would want. Also the property was never advertised as having a commercial element, it was all advertised as residential.

Derek your solution seems ideal. Could you elaborate further. As it is commercial, can it be switched to domestic straight away without issue so we can rush the purchase through?

Any link or reading material you can point me towards would be very helpful so I can advise my solicitors
 
Which council is the property registered with?

You should be able to find the application documents on their website to apply for change of use. Usually depends on the LA's planning policy as well, but as many of them in the wake of the "housing shortages" are changing them to opt for allowing more residential conversions, it may be that this is viewed as a positive for those purposes.
 
It gets messy placing a planning application on a property you dont own, it needs to be done ideally by the current vendor otherwise you are going to have to serve notice on them etc etc.
 
What was the commercial part actually used as?

The reason I ask is that 10 years ago my parents purchased a house in norfolk that had a working post office in the front, they both came as a package and my dad became the post master.

Roll on now and my parents want to quit the post office and turn that extension back into residential but the council will not allow it as it is claimed as needed by thr local community.
 
eashton said:
I can help you with a change of use application if you like.
Click to expand...

LOAM said:
It gets messy placing a planning application on a property you dont own, it needs to be done ideally by the current vendor otherwise you are going to have to serve notice on them etc etc.
Click to expand...


Its something that should be undertaken by the existing vendor, whilst it can be done by the OP he should be asking them to do it to A. Not incur upfront costs and B. Prevent having to serve notices on the existing vendors and inuring additional (21 days iics) delay.
 
Yes, to me if they are selling the house entirely as a residential property then the entire thing does need to be a residential property and they should bare the cost of changing its usage.

However, if they were selling it as part commercial/part residential (eg in a more general context, a flat above a shop) then the barrier is you trying to finance and it would be between yourself and the bank.
 
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