Renovating a Grade II Listed Building

Soldato
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I've found my new dream house!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67925147.html

It's a shame it's Grade II listed so i imagine it's not simple to fix it up

Has anyone ever done anything like this before or have any experience? I've been reading and i'm a bit confused as one website suggested it could be exempt from VAT on repairs but then in another paragraph it says that repairs do not fall under this exemption.

I'm well aware it would be a massive, massive project and could financially cripple me, but from the photos could anyone with a bit of experience give me an idea of the costs involved. Would £100k cover it? £200k?

Obviously if i decided to pursue it further i'd get proper quotes and surveys done. There doesn't look to be any evidence of damp that i can see so whether that suggests the roof is alright i'm not sure. I imagine that would cost a forture


I do like this bit though
Second Floor
2 Attic Rooms
Suitable for adaptation and creation into further living/dormitory space (Enter at own risk)
 
Soldato
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Yeah, i think i need to do a lot more reading. Looking at the price it's very reasonable and if i can spend £400k and get it all up to scratch then i think it could be worth it and we'd have an amazing forever home. Even that would probably be a push though and i wonder whether it's a possible option if you don't have huge contingency funds.

Will have a watch of that programme.
 
Soldato
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Considering everyone on Grand Designs spends 25-50% (or more!) above their original budgets I think you'd need a decent contingency fund. I'd have expected planning a new build from scratch would probably be easier to plan than something like this too?
 
Soldato
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Money pit and a bit of begging forgiveness instead of asking permission.
If/when involving the conservation officer/s, always come across sympathetic to the building and its roots.

Considering everyone on Grand Designs spends 25-50% (or more!) above their original budgets I think you'd need a decent contingency fund. I'd have expected planning a new build from scratch would probably be easier to plan than something like this too?

Not all of them, but quite a few and those that do are mostly because they think they can get away with sacking off the architect and being a project manager... rookie mistakes.
 
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Caporegime
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You'd need to speak to the local conservation office to get an idea of what they'd want keeping and what modifications you could do first before even thinking about a budget.

Just looking at the pictures I'm going to say the main things will be windows, the currently exposed beams and the panels. That's what gives it the character.

The windows and the panels especially will be a serious amount of money to get restored. The dark panels in pics 7 / 8 you'd probably need to get the panels inspected and then agreed with the conservation officer of which ones are too badly damaged to repair so they can be replaced, same wood, same finish, same design etc.

£££££ then add a few more £££££.
 
Soldato
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Three hundred square meter greenhouse! You can pay for the renovation from your new pot business.

And yes very nice, some great outbuildings to work with, I would be so in love with that greenhouse, shame there is no internal photo of it. House needs serious love but what an opportunity.
 
Soldato
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Speak to the local conservation officer to see what they see as the important parts and what would be acceptable to alter/replace - it's a huge house, will eat your budget quickly... buy it and replace one of the outbuildings with a 400k new build house....
 
Soldato
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Huge money pit. Just as an example, a friend of the family bought a fairly similar grade II listed building and spent over £20k on just the windows because they had to be replaced to a like for like specification.

Without significant upfront work and surveys it's impossible to know whether it will cost you £100k or £300k to renovate it.
 
Soldato
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That could be used in a Hollywood horror film. What a freaky place. Who was living there that had nothing but an armchair and a barbell. Absolute money pit if you're looking to renovate and move on, but huge potential if you're in it for the long term. I'd imagine it would cost a lot of money to heat too.
 
Soldato
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If you're serious about the property, ask about optioning the property for 3 months to give you time to thoroughly check out everything. You don't want to spend a lot of money checking only to find that someone else has bought it!
 
Associate
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having lived in old and grade 2 listed houses most of my life - my dad loved them - they don't need to be a money pit.
just get a good surveyor. very good.
windows can be restored quite easily, roof the same, plaster lime rendered etc etc....
one of the main problems people run into is trying to make them modern, ie insulation, wrong plaster, wrong windows and this will cause major issues further down the line etc. etc this is where the conversation officer can helpful. ok it may seem like they are being a jobsworth but if they truly understand an old building and how they work then they can be really useful.
also good to remember that a good carpenter, sash window chap, old school plasterer can make it like new without having to replace or tear down much.
 
Associate
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When I worked for a building company, we did some work on a listed building for a client and the conservation officer was a real PITA. Wanted to approve every last thing. It all had to be done “as existing” and some of the things they wanted were just utterly ridiculous.
 
Soldato
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Think as you all say it's very much a pipe dream and not something i could realistically go for. Maybe in 20 years when i'm in a much different position.

My wife and i made a decision to stay in our house for another 5 years a while back but i keep looking! Problem is there's a few things we want to do (front door, bathroom and carpets) which will cost about £6k so we either do it now and i stop myself looking or we just do something cheap like the carpets and look earlier.
 
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