Would you buy a grade 2 listed cottage?

[Jameshow]

I've seen a lovely 2 bed grade two listed cottage.

In a great location wrap around garden. On market fir 30% less than market value due to the fact it needs some modernization.

I like it because I could buy it cash and do it up as a project.
It's get nice features and has upgraded windows not sure about listing on them....

Would you buy it?

What are the pitfalls.

 

[Spectric]

Location is everything, if you are happy with that then get a good full survey and then providing it is not a major project for your age then what is stopping you.

 

[Sachakins]

Has to be an Eyes wide open buy.
Not a Rose tinted glasses project.

Also consider if your asking about its listing, then come sale time others will think even harder, as at the moment it looks like a good deal because of its price to you. If you spend another 25% on top, then come sale time, it's not going to benefit of a bargain buy as it is now?

 

[Billy_wizz]

Personally wouldn't as don't like being told what I can and can't do!
Also I've been told that costs can spiral even for relatively simple things but have no personal experience!

 

[Blackswanwood]

Assuming it’s a project for you to live in I’d say do it if you like the house.

We bought our house which is Grade II and needed a lot of rescuing. The Society for Protection of Ancient Buildings were a big help. Everyone had a horror story to warn us off doing it and a few things cropped up but nothing that couldn’t be sorted.

I’d suggest getting a structural survey but before choosing which surveyor to use having a conversation with them (the actual surveyor rather than the PA) to make sure they understand anything that you want extra attention paid to.

 

[niall Y]

The sort answer is - yes.... but then I probably need my head read.

I also ,have an interest and enjoy working on old buildings. I'm lucky enough to have some of the skills needed to do the work myself. But, if you don't have these then it could prove costly. Especially if remedial work needs to be done, based on a survey, before you move in. There could also be constraints if you wish to extend the building further at a later date.

You need to know what the listing entails, Whether it is just the exterior, that has to be kept looking as it does, or if it extends to the interior and even the plaster - lime and not gypsum.

 

[Sideways]

Any sort of listing, even "locally listed", is a car crash.
Your project is dependent on the opinions, prejudices, biasses, stupidity, unreasonableness, ignorance and self interest of a whole bunch of people who you have no influence over and no comeback against.
It might work out OK, but has the potential to be a pit full of money and frustration.

 

[Blackswanwood]

Any sort of listing, even "locally listed", is a car crash.
Your project is dependent on the opinions, prejudices, biasses, stupidity, unreasonableness, ignorance and self interest of a whole bunch of people who you have no influence over and no comeback against.
It might work out OK, but has the potential to be a pit full of money and frustration.

I haven’t found that to be the case at all but could just have been lucky. Is your view based on an actual experience of owning a listed property?

 

[Sideways]

I haven’t found that to be the case at all but could just have been lucky. Is your view based on an actual experience of owning a listed property?

Of listening to the neverending tales of woe of friends who did.

 

[RobNichols]

No

 

[Corset]

As a letting agent grade 2 is no big deal. Just find out what the listing relates to and work from there. It will limit some options but its normally fairly straighforward. Assume that anything that relates to the lsiting will be slower and more expensive everything else is standrd property stuff. i had a property witha grade 2 listed windows, these were made bespoke and cost more but once approval was granted was no big deal. I have had a few odd ones over the years but nothing that caused a panic. Grade 1 is a lot more painful and should be considered a project of love rather than prudence

 

[spanner48]

I've seen a lovely 2 bed grade two listed cottage.

In a great location wrap around garden. On market fir 30% less than market value due to the fact it needs some modernization.

I like it because I could buy it cash and do it up as a project.
It's get nice features and has upgraded windows not sure about listing on them....

Would you buy it?

What are the pitfalls.

I've seen a lovely 2 bed grade two listed cottage.

In a great location wrap around garden. On market fir 30% less than market value due to the fact it needs some modernization.

I like it because I could buy it cash and do it up as a project.
It's get nice features and has upgraded windows not sure about listing on them....

Would you buy it?

What are the pitfalls.

BE CAREFUL. My house was not listed; but the local council Planning and Conservation Officers tried to insist it was. I've had 8 years, two Plannng Appeals and thousands of pounds fighting with them, before finally winning. Some Conservation Officers are reasonable, well-informed and have done their homework. Mine were not.

In principal, a Grade Two listing only covers the outside. So rooves, chimneys, gutters, doors, windows [including glass, cills & lintels] and brickwork. If you're not planning on changing any of these, you should be OK. Otherwise NOT.

And bear in mind that artisans and contractors qualified to work on listed buildings charge maybe twice that of ordinary workers.

 

[Amplidyne]

Of listening to the neverending tales of woe of friends who did.

Quaint cottages tend to be a money pit. I've been there. Quaint cottages that are listed tend to be a money chasm. I've got at least one friend. . .
So the answer to "would you buy a listed cottage is, "no". Not unless that is you have very deep pockets, or just fairly capacious pockets and the capability and desire to do work yourself.

 

[deema]

Well having lived in a listed building and having a son who owns an estate agents I can honestly say that I would never ever buy another listed building. There are restrictions if you follow the rules, and a grade 2 means that to do anything externally you need conservation approval. Thats both expensive, time consuming and dealing with some (usually) silly person who has no clue about anything but insist you preserve every scrap of wood.

From a resale perspective, it’s a rare breed these days who will buy a listed building, so prices are soft (that’s why the price you’ve git is sooooo low!), they stick around like a bad smell haunting estate agents. You won’t see the kind of returns you would on virtually any other kind of house, it’s a money pit.

In summary, if you like having someone telling you what and how to do any form of maintenance on the outside of your house, have ridiculous planning restrictions, a house that won’t be easy to sell and won’t appreciate in value like most other houses go for it.

 

[Fitzroy]

We lived in a Grade II listed property a number of yeas back and conducted a host of internal and external modifications with no real issues. Looking at other replies above it seems it is very driven by local officials, with positive and negative experiences.

I was looking at buying a listed property recently and we wanted to extend it, I used the local planning portal to see what had been approved recently on other listed properties locally, helped paint a picture of what was being passed and also the type of issues being highlighted assessments/reports.

 

[deema]

@Fitzroy has a good point, the hassle of living with a listed building depends totally on the conservation officer in your area. They can be realistic or a complete wally. Make an enemy of them at your peril. The rules state you can make minor repairs, but that’s a matter of interpretation. One persons minor is another major. Anything other than ‘minor’ needs approval. Without it you it’s a criminal offence with you potentially having to undo the work and reinstate to their specifications a large fine and if there’s ever room in prison a remote chance of a custodian sentence.

So let’s say you want to repair some timber, you should approach the local conservation officer to find out if they consider it minor. Well, they will have to visit the site to determine, they will then officially tell you what they think, which you should prepare yourself for, is that they do indeed deem it to require a full listed building consent. Why wouldn’t they? Well because they are employed to do this type of work, if nothing needs full LBC they need fewer of them! Self preservation of your job comes into play! Now, that all costs money, it’s not free, and every visit is a further drain on your finances.

So they determined you need full LBC, so you have to prepare a full work specification, detailing what timber will be used, species, possibly whether it’s air or force seasoned, what joints you will use, what glues, fillers and then treatment of the timber afterwards to protect it (some work may need be deemed requiring a specialist approved heritage tradesperson or what ever they call them these days eg lime mortar pointing can trigger this). All of which they have total control of whether they will approve or not. So there is another bill. Next they will want to inspect the work. Potentially at different stages of it being done to make sure their happy that your in compliance and it’s being done to a standard they approve of. Each visit they can pass or fail and you have to comply with their every whim. Each visit is a further cost.

So, what would have cost you say £20 to do in a modern house you can be staring down a bill of £1,000. The joys of owning a listed building!

 

[treeturner123]

Agreed. Plus, don't touch thatched places, the cost of insurance especially if you have an open fire!!

Phil

 

[Blackswanwood]

We lived in a Grade II listed property a number of yeas back and conducted a host of internal and external modifications with no real issues. Looking at other replies above it seems it is very driven by local officials, with positive and negative experiences.

I was looking at buying a listed property recently and we wanted to extend it, I used the local planning portal to see what had been approved recently on other listed properties locally, helped paint a picture of what was being passed and also the type of issues being highlighted assessments/reports.

I think you've hit the nail on the head.

There needs to be an acceptance if you buy a listed property that there's a different set of rules you will need to adhere to. I do wonder if the view that planning officials are being unreasonable is sometimes wholly or in part more down to the applicant simply wanting the rules to not apply to them.

 

[spanner48]

Any sort of listing, even "locally listed", is a car crash.
Your project is dependent on the opinions, prejudices, biasses, stupidity, unreasonableness, ignorance and self interest of a whole bunch of people who you have no influence over and no comeback against.
It might work out OK, but has the potential to be a pit full of money and frustration.

My son-in-law studied Urban & Regional Planning at Uni - the standard base for both Planning and Conservation Officer positions. He reported that, at the final exams, it was like a knife: all those who had worked, studied and covered the ground, got 1sts or 2.1s. They all went into building, construction and development; as did he. All those who had shown little interest, had 'coasted' and done no more than the minimum necessary, got 2.2s and 3rds. They all went into local authority planning and conservation positions.

The jobs were not well-paid; but they gave the opportunity to exercise unlimited power over applicants, with no responsibility. A typical planning or conservation bleat "Not in harmony with the local vernacular" means nothing more than "I don't like it". Then your only avenue of appeal is to a Planning Inspector – him- or herself almost invariably an ex-Planning Officer!

You have been warned.

 

[duke]

Out of ignorance say and abandoned listed 11 dwelling won't sell and just sits there with no attention and further decays to the point of demolition due to costs for repairs which scare buyers away, What has been achieved with the heavy regulations.