How To Find Homes That Need Renovation

Finding Renovation Potential

Katherine Sorrell explains how to chase downwardly the perfect wreck to turn into your dream home

Are you looking for the perfect renovation project? A property that needs only the correct amount of work, and so that your coin volition stretch as far equally possible and y'all'll end upwards with a home that's exactly every bit you desire it? Well, at that place are enough of opportunities out in that location – if yous know how to notice them.

According to the Empty Homes Agency, which campaigns to bring abandoned properties back into utilise, there are currently about 800,000 empty homes in the UK, of which about 280,000 take been empty for more than six months.

And repossessions, many of which are in need of care and attending, are ascent all the time: the Royal Establishment of Chartered Surveyors says the number could increase past fifty per cent this twelvemonth.

Read more than: Complete Guide to Renovating a House

Not to mention conversion possibilities, such as commercial premises, including pubs, which have been closing at a rate of 27 per week since the smoking ban started in July.

How to hunt for a renovation

If you know the surface area you're aiming for, your first port of call is local manor agents. But renovation projects aren't necessarily top of their list of priorities, says David Ireland of the Empty Homes Agency. "At that place are a lot of properties up for auction but they are not heavily promoted by estate agents," he says.

Building surveys for home renovation projects

Man measuring wall

Reworking an existing property is a neat way to reach a tailored home and It's of import to assess the structure of an existing house before starting a renovation projection.

Even though you're not building from scratch, the scheme can deliver a space that's bespoke to your household'southward requirements, which is why no two renovation ventures are e'er the aforementioned.

Regardless of what you lot program to do with the belongings, any project will require a conscientious and well-informed assessment of the original building and its chapters to be altered, extended or in-office demolished.

How to appraise a property before carrying out renovations

"Get to know the local agents and brand clear what you desire. Information technology'south amazing how the properties are there, but not necessarily the kickoff time y'all ask. Most estate agents don't want to clog up the windows or their newspaper advertisements with things that look like wrecks."

You should also scour local papers – both for agents' marketing and private pocket-size ads – and get to know the expanse really well but by walking effectually. You never know when you might spot a dandy-looking house with an overgrown garden, boarded-upward windows or other signs of neglect.

General property websites, which are free to use, are always worth a try. Acquit in mind, though, that you commonly have to search by expanse rather than property type, so you'll take to trawl through hundreds of places to find the right run-down dwelling house for y'all.

Specialist websites, on the other paw, can be a greater help, though they tend to charge a fee. Skilful ones to try include PropertyRenovate and PickUpAProperty.

If renovating a celebrated edifice interests you lot, several organisations publish catalogues of 'buildings at hazard,' for which you unremarkably have to pay.

Learn more: Period Renovation Blog

The term may mean almost across repair, or merely that architectural features are in danger of being lost. The catch is that although the buildings in question may take been neglected, their owners may not necessarily want to sell.

Another useful road is to contact local regime, which are obliged by law to keep lists of empty properties – though nether the Data Protection Act they're not allowed to tell yous well-nigh them if they belong to individual individuals.

For all other properties owned by businesses, utility companies, government, local agencies and so on, you can make a request in writing under the Freedom of Information Act of 2000, and in theory you lot should receive a long listing of empty properties and their owners in that area.

Land appraisal: A farmhouse ripe for renovation

Farmhouse in bedfordshire

Kath and Angie Scholes have been looking for a renovation opportunity and take spotted a promising just tired looking farmhouse on the edge of a Bedfordshire village.

The couple have three children between them and need at least 4 bedrooms. This property only has iii, and so will demand an extension equally well equally a thorough refurbishment to bring it upwards to modern standards.

Kath and Angie are unsure almost the kind of planning permission that would exist required for the project. Could this be a viable opportunity for them to create their dream home?

Read our planning proficient'southward assessment

"Look a no the offset time, but if you phrase information technology correctly and are persistent you volition somewhen become an reply," says David. "You won't know whether the properties are for sale or non, so you'll have to practise some farther detective work. But if you lot do find one that's suitable the good thing is that you might not exist in contest with any other buyers."

He as well recommends searching for derelict backdrop on land advertised as a building plot, as sometimes the property in question may be suitable for renovation rather than pulling down and rebuilding.

According to Raymond Connor, chief executive of BuildStore, the number of available plots has increased by virtually 35 per cent since the start of the credit crunch last summer.

David says: "Many of the plots are but that – a plot of open land. But these are becoming increasingly deficient and most plot-finding lists accept a big list of plots with empty and redundant buildings on them.

"Some of these are wrecks that are no skillful for anything other than demolishing. But you may be surprised how many recycled house projects you can notice this way."

One final tried-and-tested route is auctions; always a prime source of run-down properties, whether the seller is a mortgage company, housing association or private individual.

"Auctions are a quick and decisive way of disposing of property, which is why neglected backdrop that don't have immediate saleability are oftentimes sold through them," says David.

Finding the renovation opportunity

Old wall

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Whether you're looking for a plot of state, renovation or conversion opportunity, yous'll discover information technology hither. All-time of all – information technology'due south free to subscribe!

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Pubs, shops and other wrecks

Information technology's possible to buy a run-down shop, cafe, office or other type of public or commercial building with a view to renovating and living in it yourself – though the latter would require planning permission for change of apply and you should ever talk to local planning officers before you purchase.

The large story these days is the auction of pubs. According to specialist pub investment banker Paramount, the market is being flooded with inexpensive empty pubs, as a combination of inexpensive supermarket beer, rise costs and the smoking ban have taken their toll on the trade.

Manager Gavin Sherman says: "We sell about 200 pubs a year to individuals, businesses and agencies looking to keep running them, convert them into houses or flats, or knock them down and rebuild. Now is a skilful time to buy, considering there are a lot of pubs coming on to the market and fewer developers out there, and then in that location is less competition amidst buyers."

Tracking down the owner

If yous've spotted your ideal ruin but take no idea who owns it, commencement by contacting the Land Registry (come across contacts box), which can likewise tell you the property'due south address via its aerial land locator system.

Most backdrop have a registered possessor, but, says David Ireland, finding them tin can exist tricky, equally quite often the Country Registry will tell you that the owner is living at the empty property.

"The council should take a forwarding address for council tax purposes, simply they all accept different interpretations of the Data Protection Human action," he says. "Some will permit yous see the council tax register, but others won't exist and then open. Effort putting the asking in writing, citing the Freedom of Information Act of 2000.

"If the empty belongings is surrounded by other properties, very frequently the owner will have some sort of informal organisation with a nearby household to proceed an eye on it, choice up the post, or whatever. If you knock on several doors yous're likely to detect out who this is. Or ship a letter to the empty property's address, and endeavor to see inside the front door and whether it'south lying on the mat.

"If non, it's been picked up or redirected and should achieve the possessor. Also, there'south no reason why the council shouldn't pass a letter of the alphabet on. If y'all're really stuck there are private investigation agencies, merely that really is a last resort. The information is out there, it'south just a question of chasing information technology."