Would you buy this building project

[Livingbyariver]

I am going to view this building today, it was an 18th century mill.

Externally the building is wind and water tight.
internally it is one huge space with no partitions or walls and is a complete blank canvas.
i am not concerned about getting tradesman as my husband and sons are in building trade.
I am not daunted by the thought of a project like this.
i am fully aware of the costs of materials.

The negatives for me. I currently don’t have neighbours and living here would mean having neighbours .

The side I am showing you in the photo is north facing. South facing is parking. Garden east facing. Road to the west.

The river in this part is shallow for an adult and it has never burst it’s banks here although it has up stream and down stream.

The AIBU is

UR BU living next to a river
URNBU living next to a river.

Finally, what questions would you ask when going to view?

How close are the neighbours?
is it insurable?
what, if any, utilities are on the property? (gas, elec,,water, sewer)

The river and potential for flooding would give me pause. But if the price was good enough I would risk it and consider flood risks in my renovation work.

The insurance premium would be high with living so close the water op. But it looks stunning x

Would you be willing to link? Looks fascinating and wonderful.

The picture is the back of the building. Neighbours at the front but with lots of mature/established growth to screen them off.

However, I have many dogs, dogs bark, neighbours complain.

Part of my thought process for this location is a natural hydrotherapy space for dogs in the river as it is shallow enough for me to get in the water with them.

River also full of trout and Pike. You need a permit to fish. I have spoken with fishermen who fish this river and they have never known this area of river to burst its banks, but with water levels changing and climate change, this is my worry.

We don’t have gas in this area but water and electricity available.

Hood shout about insurance, I might phone my insurance company and get a quote.

Will post a link if I rule it out after viewing. Don’t want competion 😁

Is it listed? If so your renovation will be much more time consuming and much more expensive than you could ever imagine.

Wow that's gorgeous but I'd also be concerned about being so close to the river. Not just because of the potential for flooding but for subsidence too.

thats On my list of questions, about it being listed.

however, I never thought of subsidence, good shout, thank you

It would be too close to the river for me.

If you are used to living somewhere quite isolated with no close neighbours where your dogs can bark as much as they want I would continue to search for a similar property to renovate.

Looks like a great project but I wouldn't want to live so close to other people.

It looks like it has the potential to be a fantastic property, but I wouldn't want to be so close to the water, or other people. 😁

In that picture, the river looks like it is undercutting the bank below the wall.

Insurance won’t cover you for ‘natural riverbank erosion’. This could be extremely costly.

Read up on your rights & responsibilities as a landowner next to a water course. It’s basically, in a nutshell, you do everything the Environment Agency say you should do to the letter, and have all the responsibilities with none of the rights.

In fact, looking at that picture again I would say I wouldn’t touch it, not even with a very long barge pole.

I previously worked in architecture and surveying and I would not buy anything like this x

You can do a search through the Environment Agency website to see if it’s ever flooded and I think even what risk it would be as sea levels rise. We lived in a house that’s flooded whatever anyone tells you you cannot completely stop the water coming in. We loved the house but the stress and damage caused by flooding made it too much in the end. On a positive note you will be able to get insurance although the premium and excess will be considerable. If it is at risk of flooding you are unlikely to be able to raise a large mortgage.

If you have many dogs. Wouldn't you prefer something a bit more isolated?

why?

whys it been abandoned half way through doing it up?

No, just wouldnt. I live further away from a river than this, but find insurance tricky to find and more expensive than if we didn't.

I plan to move due to increasing water levels. We've never flooded and I want to move before we do.

Loving all these constructive comments. Thank you

Re dogs….
I have 6 large breed dogs. I’m not a breeder, more of a rescuer. 4 of them are neutered. You can’t over walk them but swimming would be an excellent form of exercise, build up there muscle tone etc, although in a river it would be controlled and I would be in there too.

If I stay where I am, I would possibly invest in a hydrotherapy pool for them, but they are not cheap!

Neighbours……in my previous house, I had the absolute neighbour’s from hell. The were horrific and I sold up and vowed I would never have neighbours again.
However, it’s like having Kielland forceps rotation at birth with 52 stitches, 5 years later you forget the trauma and decide to do it again 😁

It has been abandoned due to very sad personal circumstances of the owner

If I stay where I am, I would possibly invest in a hydrotherapy pool for them, but they are not cheap!

I haven't looked into hydrotherapy pools, but surely a total property renovation, plus moving costs, pricy insurance, potential subsidence, and the possibility of flooding is going to be far more expensive than buying a pool?

Whinge, your comment made me laugh, thankyou.

Taking everything on board!

It's a lovely building, but personally I wouldn't want to move from a house with no neighbours to having them again. I would think it may also be tricky getting a mortgage due to the flooding risk. Does your husband have a surveyor friend who could come along to the viewing to give his advice on the potential risk of flooding?

What is drawing you to this property over where you are currently living?

What is drawing me to this….

The house I am in was a project but I was limited in what I could do and it’s not the home of my dreams. It certainly isn’t a house I can grow old in as too much external maintenance.
I love the area I live in, the fact I have no neighbours, the privacy I have so everything about the location I love.
The house, I do not love. Even though we have stipped it back to bare walls to insulate and modernise. The house doesn’t work for me and my family’s needs.

I think with this building, as it’s a blank canvas internally, I could make it work and consider our old age in with it. Extra wide stairs to accommodate stair lift, bla, bla.
Land wise I would be down sizing which is probably a good thing!

However, if the river wasn’t to pose any issues, it’s very idyllic, but I am being realistic.

viewing shortly, will update when I’m back.