Has anyone bought a listed building before?

Phate

Phate

Phate

Caporegime
Joined
1 Nov 2003
Posts
35,691
Location
Lisbon, Portugal
Hi all,

Currently looking for a house with my partner, it'll be first time buying for me, 2nd time for her.

We've found a place that is ideal in almost every single way, it fits budget, size, location etc, we're going to have a look at it this week hopefully (awaiting a call back for an appointment confirmation)

One thing we noted in the description though, is that its a Grade II listed building.

I've done a quick google, and from what I can gather, when the building was originally listed it will have a list of items/specifications which need to be kept original or to a certain standard, otherwise it's yours to do what you want with.

Is that a load of hogwash? Or am I making some sense? :p

If anyone who has been through it and is knowledgable can share what they know I would be eternally grateful, it will help us answer a lot of questions. :)

TIA
Jake
 
Thanks for the help. Ill go see it and if we wish to pursue it further we'll look into getting a list of what's included. :)
 
Think long & hard before buyng a listed building, especially Grade 2, there are things you can do & things you can't do without listed building consent, something as simple as painting a door can result in the wrath of the local authorities conservation officer.

Conservation officers seem to vary from area to area, & how they interpret the rules, any work done, they expect it to be to a higher standard.
 
Last edited:
Listing can be odd. We renovated a grade 2 listed bakery and they wanted to see all the old 60s conduit and white plastic sockets. The idea was how the building has developed not just how it was first built.
 
Good info to know, will find out about the paint :D

I'm going to email one of my partners friends today, they are both local councillors and said friend worked on the property side of things last year, so I'm going to email him with a good list of questions and see what his opinion is from the other side of the fence. :)
 
Ours is Grade 2, it hasn't really caused us any problems, you just need to apply for listed building consent sometimes, but you get the planning people out and they'll tell you for free if you need to apply. Although if you ask them then they'll usually say 'yes', but as long as you're not doing anything that ruins the reason it's listed then it's probably good to remember that they don't usually have pictures of the inside of your house.

For example, our fireplace is a nasty 50's thing, the house was built in 1860something, I have no qualms about ripping it out and putting something more fitting in there as 1 - It'll be more in keeping than it was, and 2 - It was like that when I got there.

That's how I think anyway, I've got a family member in planning for the local council however which can certainly help in regards to knowing how far to push things.
 
Godinman, did you get a listed of what must be kept the same before you moved in? Can you tell us what it included please?
 
If you don't wish to conserve the natural decor up to the highest standards possible then don't buy a listed building - upkeep isn't cheap, you can't just slap things on it, hire an unskilled pole to do the work or make it uber modern inside. It's listed for a reason, to ensure the preservation of the beauty and history of the building - including the quality of craftsmanship.
 
Ever tried to get 18th century windows made ? to replace the one thats broken ? That's what happened with my brothers place in Winchcombe.
 
We didn't get a list as such, it was all a little vague to be honest. I'll ask my wife, she take much more notice of these things than me!

I know it mentioned the fact the one side of the old gateway is our responsibility (we're a lodge to an old estate). I'll check but I don't think we had a proper list, there may be written notes on the original listing tho.
 
godinman said:
We didn't get a list as such, it was all a little vague to be honest. I'll ask my wife, she take much more notice of these things than me!

I know it mentioned the fact the one side of the old gateway is our responsibility (we're a lodge to an old estate). I'll check but I don't think we had a proper list, there may be written notes on the original listing tho.
Click to expand...

Hehe, if you could ask that would be great, thanks :)

Viewing on Saturday at 2pm
 
Phate said:
Godinman, did you get a listed of what must be kept the same before you moved in? Can you tell us what it included please?
Click to expand...

Jake,

Take a look at this link (its the next step from maccapacca's) http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/...n/process/national-heritage-list-for-england/ on here type in the street that you're looking to buy in and if its anything like the Historic Scotland website you'll be able to click on the property and view what parts of the building / grounds are listed. It should give you a better idea of what restrictions you may encounter if you decide to change anything.
 
Derek W said:
Jake,

Take a look at this link (its the next step from maccapacca's) http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/...n/process/national-heritage-list-for-england/ on here type in the street that you're looking to buy in and if its anything like the Historic Scotland website you'll be able to click on the property and view what parts of the building / grounds are listed. It should give you a better idea of what restrictions you may encounter if you decide to change anything.
Click to expand...

Ah didn't see this, cheers.

*looking*
 
pitchfork said:
If you don't wish to conserve the natural decor up to the highest standards possible then don't buy a listed building - upkeep isn't cheap, you can't just slap things on it, hire an unskilled pole to do the work or make it uber modern inside. It's listed for a reason, to ensure the preservation of the beauty and history of the building - including the quality of craftsmanship.
Click to expand...

this is what we think they are, high quality buildings of significant importance, what they really are are just old buildings or of significant importance to restrict what can be done on them, almost nothing to do with quality workmanship just the last of that construction method.
 
Personally, I wouldn't touch a listed building. Seen and heard too many horror stories where people have wanted and needed to do X but they weren't allowed to resulting in more expense and time wasted.

Especially annoys me when people buy listed buildings that are near dead because they've been untouched for so long only to have heavy restrictions put on them while restoring it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom