Advice needed for first time buyer... pros and cons of this house at first glance...

[mrspuddleduckie]

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-46903475.html

I don't even know where to start, what to look for - this is all so terrifying and all we've done is one viewing!

It is very sweet and seems to be good value for a 4 bed, character cotswold property.

I'd be wondering about how busy that road gets (the A361), will there be traffic noise and whatnot from large trucks and lorries passing through ? The house is very close to the road.

In the pictures it looks like the left hand side as you look at it on the garden photo is a new extension with a new roof. The other half of the house, the old half looks to have an old section of roof, check when it was last done and I'd be getting it double checked. Also make sure all of the permissions and paperwork are in order for the extension and bear in mind that you would be probably unlikely to be able to extend again if you wanted to add to the building at a later date, as it has already been significantly added to.

What about local facilities? Shops, schools, GP?

How about broadband services?

I can't see a full description for the house so it's tricky.

thanks for your reply Eugene - we actually live a mile or two down the same road, and the noise isn't too much of a problem at all - also, there is another home between this house and the road, so it's not right on the roadside. Local amenities and schools will be about a mile further than we are now, but not too much of a problem as we drive

Yes, there's a newer part of the house tacked on, which is now the kitchen. It's been extended as much as allowed (still small compared to our huge rental at the moment) but I'm hoping to take out the wall that divides the kitchen and ground floor bathroom to create one kitchen diner. I just need to find out if this is allowed (not sure where to start there!)

Do you have to buy a house before a conservation officer will visit it and give a verdict?! And do you have to pay them... I'm pretty confused

Is it bright enough in rl? Hard to tell from the photos, but the windows in some rooms seem small. Brightness/darkness is something you'd notice immediately on a viewing though.

It's a lovely place.

I'd definitely want to get the situation established about what your limitations are with being grade 2 listed if you want to do work on it. From our recent experience I'd want to know the situation re: asbestos (presumably the last buyer had that checked?), woodworm and damp issues.

I'd want to view with the windows open in the bedroom to check out noise levels and go when the neighbours are home to hear what can be heard through adjoining walls.

Without a floorplan it's hard to tell but seems a good price and somewhere you can move straight in without doing anything - you'd need to add another 200k to get something like that where we live!

Definitely get the full building survey for a property of that age and construction. We made our offer subject to survey because it was an older extended property.

Do you have kids? Do you need all four bedrooms as bedrooms? ( rather than office / spare room etc) One of the bedrooms looks a long way from the rest.

That said, it's cheaper than I'd have expected a four bed in chipping norton to be.

If you decide to offer on it, use stamp duty to your favour in negotiating as well - try to get it for under £250k or for the seller to pay a proportion of the stamp duty.

No practical advice but just want to say, wow, it looks lovely!

There is a floor plan. Bedroom 4 in the cellar? I would check the cellar has been converted to habitable standards. Most planning authorities have their policies on line with regard to planning and conservation areas. Detailed information usually incurs a fee. Not sure about speaking to the Listed Buildings officer, but you can ring and find out. Altering a listed building may also be online. Otherwise, looks like it has a lot of potential and is in a great town.

Consider how you would get your furniture upstairs - looks like may be narrowish winding stairs. What is the cellar bedroom like?

It looks lovely but I would be wary of the Grade II listed status - can end up very expensive to maintain as there are strict rules about what you can and can't do. You need to investigate.

You would need permission to take walls down and will need good justification for it (not just because you want to!). Taking on a listed building means you have a legal duty to undertake repairs sympathetically - this can cost more.

You could take a look at the listed building property owners club. It looks gorgeous though!

Bedroom 4 may have some damp and has awkward access to WC at night.

Bedroom 1 has awkward access to WC at night.

Stairs may make it difficult to get furniture upstairs.

Hall and reception doors clash - reception door needs to be reorientated.

Electricity or telephone cable crossing garden - see if you can budget for this to be put underground in some way.

Local primary is outstanding.

Lawn may need an insecticide as there's patchiness.

Roof will probably need attention very soon.

Grade 2 listing means only outside repairs are really an issue - there is more latitude with the inside than people often think (unlike Grade 1).

Who lives the other side?

Grade II listed? Not impossible, but can be painful.

why are they selling?

no front view - where do you park? Is it is a nightmare to drive in and out?

back garden faces almost south. Nice. Means front may get little sun though.

impractical bathroom. How do you use that shower without getting water everywhere?

I would worry about bedroom in the cellar too.

Also sofa against the back door - what's that all about?

I think you may need small, minimum furniture - one bedroom doesn't appear to have any room for a wardrobe.

Looking at the floor plan, it seems that the kitchen and downstairs bathroom are both in the new extension: in that case, removing the dividing wall shouldn't be much of an issue from a planning/conservation point of view. Our local conservation officer won't give a verdict on anything without an application for planning permission being submitted but they will give you general advice on what they consider to be permissible and what your obligations are. Might be worth trying to get an appointment with yours.

What's the central heating system? Ask the vendors if you can see copies of their gas bills or oil delivery statements. I know from (chilly!) experience that solid stone constructions usually have little internal insulation, plus with this house you're contending with presumably original single glazed sash windows, the replacement of which the Grade II listing will impact, the back door right in the living room and staircases opening direct into rooms which you'll lose heat up.

It's a beautifully presented house, which makes me suspicious of why there are no photos of the cellar or attic bedrooms. I'd pay attention when you're there to the cellar one particularly for signs of damp.

I'm wondering if the cellar bedroom has any windows.....

Hmmm and I've just had a quick look elsewhere on rightmove and this cottage is not priced as a 4 bed. It's priced as a two/ three bed I think. practically nothing else with 4 beds is in this price region....

This one for example was marketed for more with clearly smaller rooms and no lovely garden. Of course the location may be premium I suppose.

It looks very nice. The only thing that I'd be thinking about would be mostly what others have already said. The fact that it's a listed building so planning permission for alterations is more complicated. Then it doesn't say what type of heating. And stairs in the lounge I find a bit cold as all heat seems to disappear upstairs. Still plenty of people have this layout.And also the converted bedrooms.

It's too cheap Something is not quite right My guess is that the relevant permissions are not in place or that it is miles out of school catchments.

I think it adjoins a pub.

Concerned, I think it's probably next door to Jeremy Clarkson. Value would plummet then.

There is likely to be some sort on ongoing issue either with:

1. Damp in basement bedroom
2. Cable running across garden
3. Party wall/boundaries