Any helpful resources for renovating a derelict property?

[buckeejit]

We're in the process of buying an old property in a seaside town about 40 mins drive away. Its been empty a while & needs everything doing - there are dead birds in it & all sorts!

I want to draw up a list of jobs/tradespeople that will need scheduled & the order. This will be a holiday home so empty until it's completed.

Are there any good resources for this?

Thanks for any help

Are you managing the project yourself? If budget allows, it might be worth hiring a project manager to oversee it - that way all the jobs that rely on other jobs being finished first won't all fall out of whack if you have problems with one tradesperson (personal experience bias...).

Sounds exciting!

Also, if it's been vacant for over 2 years then I believe you can claim back the VAT on the project...

I just double checked. It's not all of it - and it's worth checking the eligibility, but it would still be a saving.

Thank you! Sadly but also (probably stupidly), excitedly about managing ourselves as no budget for PM! My cousin is a QS & he has confirmed VAT reduced to 5% as vacant 2+ years 😁

Is it an old house? If so, SPAB are brilliant. Have a look at their website.

@DailyFailAreTwats - that's a great site thank you!

It is an old property but bastardised considerably by current owner about 30 years ago. There's no continuity on the street so not much for us to be sympathetic to. Good that anything goes as I would like to add a balcony &/or Juliette balcony to it if budget & planning allows

The Period Property Forum is useful and full of people who understand older properties, lime mortar, damp in old buildings etc. www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/index.php

Something like the Haynes Victorian and Edwardian House Manual might be useful: The Victorian House Manual (2nd Edition): How They Were Built, Improvements & Refurbishment, Solutions to All Common Defects https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0857332848/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_nXSxDbKC95R3Q

If you look on Houzz there’s a series of threads by a poster called resh (I think) who renovated a large derelict Victorian house. Think after 5 threads he is now on the garden. He’s given lots of useful info along the way. He also used the 5% rate and it was a bit tricky - I think he had to order everything via his builder to make it work, which meant being very organised and also having a builder who didn’t mind some extra admin.

Thank you both - that's really helpful 😁