Your honest opinions please , I need a reality check

[Oddsocksrus]

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-41120593.html?backListLink=%2Fproperty-for-sale%2FHigh-Halden.html&onetime_justRegistered=true&onetime_savedPropertyId=41120593#summary41120593

We are utterly sold on this, I need a realism shot I think.

1. This is absolutely at the top of our budget, we would like income from the flats to underwrite the mortgage to enable us to do the work required. What are the realistic chances of raising enough regular income to do this, reliably?
2. It needs work, walls need to come out, new kitchen, bathroom and an ensuite for the master bedroom.
3. The flats are sharing the garden, we are going to be driven mad by other people in our garden, aren't we?
4. At the moment we are in a nice semi, with only three houses in the middle of the woods, in the middle of bugger all. This is next to the Ashford road, I doubt if there is a time when it is quiet.. How much is that going to bug us?

For size, location, potential this is practically perfect and we would really love our next home to be somewhere with real character. We have pretty much outgrown this home though we love it because we have built on and extended it a lot making it ours. We are just bursting out of the seams.

Are we mad? It has been relisted think so the price is probably negotiable to a degree

I couldn't do it, if you are thinking of renting the flats to strangers. Use as a granny annexe or something at a push, maybe.
I just couldn't have a summer BBQ with two other lots of people having their own as well. I just like my privacy too much.
Not sure if the bank would take into account the rental income given that it's not a buy to let mortgage.
Looks nice though. But not with tiled floors in the bedrooms unless it's underfloor heating.

Wow, that's some spot - I can see the attraction.

Are the flats currently let? Holiday or ASTs? If they're not currently let, then its up to you how you arrange the garden - is there another part of the garden which you could let with the flat? Or don't give any at all (not all tenants want to look after outdoor space)? If the flats have been let in the past, then you could ask how much income they brought in and how long any void periods were. Holiday lets bring in larger sums through the summer but the costs are more ie cleaning, utilities etc.

A builder would be able to give you a price for the works, but its liveable in - ie you can get a mortgage on it in its current condition.

Is it listed? You need to find this out as it could affect your plans, and also check whether the permitted development rights have been removed when it was converted.

For the road, I can only suggest camping out at various times of day and watching the traffic. If its busy, and you need to turn right out of the drive, that could bug me.

Happily not listed, there are two bits of garden, the front and back are of a similar reasonable size so really one could be tenants one could be ours??

At present they are unlet, they did have tenants, then holiday lets for a bit, now just for visitors, I need to go back now with fewer stars in my eyes and make lists and ask the practical questions.
We can raise a mortgage for the whole, it's just the potential income would let us make it great.

I agree about those tiled floors! Ok in the med not in Kent! They would be one of the first to go/get covered. At present it is all off one boiler so that would have to change too!

When you say it needs work, so you mean it needs work to make it structurally sound, or that it isn't decorated to your taste, or that you think that building work could make it more to your taste?

It sounds like what you're saying is that it doesn't need any building works, but that you would like to do some, plus quite a lot of redecorating.

Would you be happy to move in and not do any building works? I'm concerned you may not be able to afford to do what you would like. What would your budget for building work and re decorations be?

You might try to work out how much you're planning to do (£15k for kitchen, £12k for new bathrooms, £5k for flooring?) and see how it all fits together with the potential holiday flat income.

Definitely do-able. Visit on a sunny day to decide which bit of garden to reserve for yourselves!

It's a bit of a niche house, really, isn't it? A 3-bedroom house with two separate 1bed flats suitable for holiday lets. I can see it would be great if you wanted to do a more upmarket B and B, etc.

Wow, I can see why you have fallen for it!!
Is there any way you can manage just to do holiday lets?? That way you won't have people around you all the time?

And partitioning the garden to have one for tenants and one for you is a good plan.

I would go for it. Because one day you won't need tenants and then it will be all yours - how amazing!!

Yes, but if she doesn't have tenants, she's going to have two spare flats, needing upkeep but not being used, which seems a bit of a waste.

Grendelsmum you are hearing my inner cautious voice,
I need to go and have a good look on my own and think hard.
Personally I would prefer to create something nice for a holiday let business rather than stuck with someone I'm not keen on for a minimum of 6 months!
work is both cosmetic and remedial- boarding, insulation etc
Walls, floors, bathrooms and kitchen
It will need some detailed costing, but it is entirely habitable for several years with none of this being touched

I agree with the 'over restoration' comment, that bloody fireplace for a start!

How popular is the area for holiday-makers? I can see it'd be an ace location for a family home, but how many people want to live full time in a one bed flat in such a rural setting? If the liable rental income is a critical factor, I don't think I could risk it.

Urgh! REliable, not just liable. Sigh.

I don't think it's a sensible buy, tbh.

Do you really want to run a B and B?

Do you really want to have to do up a fairly large and historic place on a fairly small budget?

It's lovely! I agree it needs bringing up to date a bit, but it all looks perfectly fine for the time being.

You could easily have one garden and the tenants have the other.
I would probably go for 6month lets at least to start with as it would be guaranteed income. Is the area really top holiday letting-land?

You will struggle to get a mortgage if you are letting part of the property out. Mortgage companies do not like this at all - if its one property it doesnt fall Into residential or buy to let.

Do check with your mortgage co whether they will allow it before you fall in love/make an offer. Especially if you are going to be relying on the income to pay the mortgage.

Why's it only got one upstairs bathroom for a house that size?

It doesn't look as if it's about to fall down so, if you like it and can afford it, why not?

I think it's lovely but no. The hassle of either tenancy or holiday let (all that marketing, upkeep etc) coupled with a likely very small market for 1 bed flats makes it just 1 big headache.

Is the mortgage something you can comfortably afford with all anticipated costs of renovation/redecorating? If yes fine. But if you will be stretched don't do it. I think a place like that has a limited group of people who would buy it which means if you decided you couldn't do it, you may be stuck with it for some time.

Which is the spare room when we visit

Could you portion off a bit of the garden with a bit of careful planting for the use of the flats, giving yourself a bit of private space.

Could you get away with having a 'lodger' in your house (but with a bit more private space than perhaps the traditional lodger gets) this might have positive tax implications on the rent, but you may need an open-able door between you accommodations to qualify. And this plan may not enable a mortgage if you need the extra.

By the time you buy this and move you will have spent tens of thousands on fees and stamp duty. What could you do to your current home with that money and would you like the result?

It's lovely and the non-listed is attractive, but would only consider buying if you're not dependent on the rental income for the first couple of years and:

have a clear idea of what you need to have done
are confident you can live with the rest until you can afford it
have a 10% - 15% buffer for anything that must be done immediately after you buy it

Good point elfycat..

Sadly we aren't able to anything further to extend our existing house.. We are skating on thin ice because there is a grotty lean to on the back (.grandly called the laundry but actually a damp, leaky hole to dump stuff in ) that we ought to have knocked down.. That could be done up, we cant have a bigger garage so can't put an office above..
The thing we really want is a play room/kids room and a grown up sitting room separate from each other. A very first world problem I know.

The down stairs flat has a connecting door into the barn, upstairs is truly self contained.

Dh is a landscaper and he has plans for the planting at the front to divide up the gardens :). He also thinks we will keep this house and let it changing the mortgage status as the rental would bring in almost twice the mortgage payments

Given the flats are both in the last house part, you would just be living in a square, 3 bed semi in the middle of nowhere. Is that what you want?

That should have been oasthouse, obviously!

holiday lets will be hard work and precarious.
long term lets risky if you have difficult tenants.
take an estate agent recommendations of how much rent you get, half it - si the mortgage doable?

this is more than just a house it is a whole new lifestyle choice.

personally, the outside is nice, the inside is not the great. but thats my opinion. I would be wanting to do at least 25k's worth of work to update it.

Have you checked out the council tax situation for the annexes? Potentially you could end up with council tax 3 bills at this house.

It looks stunning. The state of decor and size of garden far exceed what I expected from your OP. The garden is big enough to accommodate several BBQ's. Others have put practical considerations better than I could, but sometimes you have to give things a shot