Would you ..

[FlyingCircus]

Buy a house with the intention to demolish and rebuild eventually. It comes with 5 very overgrown acres in a popular area. Amazing hacking straight from the front door.

We'd be looking to live in a static caravan on site whilst we demo and start rebuilding the house and build a yard.

Anyone done this? Am I completely insane (I fear the answer is yes but aren't we all?)

 

[blitznbobs]

I’ve built a house in a sheep shed… does that count?

 

[Tiddlypom]

Is improving the current house on the site not an option?

 

[nutjob]

I would definitely do this if I was younger, my house was bought as a plot and we designed it ourselves and had it built. You have the additional problem of demolishing the existing house but presumably the services are connected and you might be able to reuse the foundations. I would buy a larger rather than smaller mobile home as you will probably be in it longer than you think but its a yes from me!

 

[HopOnTrot]

Maybe
Not with kids though (my eldest has ASD and he would go insane in a static), I’d probably rather remodel the original, any reason why you’d demolish rather than remodel?

 

[ILuvCowparsely]

Buy a house with the intention to demolish and rebuild eventually. It comes with 5 very overgrown acres in a popular area. Amazing hacking straight from the front door.

We'd be looking to live in a static caravan on site whilst we demo and start rebuilding the house and build a yard.

Anyone done this? Am I completely insane (I fear the answer is yes but aren't we all?)

We nearly did it was a field 7 acres, with building permission for a house. Sadly owners decided to stay and do and live in it, but then we bought this place.

Just going on what you typed yes I would - but if the house was fixaupper then that is what I would do.

 

[SEL]

Definitely. My mum's friend did exactly that except they built 2 properties so lived in the old bungalow while one was built then demolished the bungalow and built another on the site of it and sold that.

 

[Jambarissa]

If you've thought through the practicalities of living in a caravan for months and are sure you have the funds needed then go for it.

It seems to happen quite often round here, we have a lot of weird prefab houses set in half an acre that used to be council houses and are ideal for this. It does look like some people run out of money and have to pause, one seemed to take over 2 years and they had a baby in that time.

 

[AmyMay]

Absolutely yes.

 

[Beausmate]

Yes! But we'll need a thread detailing the build

 

[blitznbobs]

Just remember it will take at least 6 months longer than you plan for and plan every detail before you start. Literally on the first day of the build the builder came to me and asked me to show them EXACTLY where the hob was going …

 

[Rowreach]

Yes and cheaper tax wise to build from scratch than renovate.

 

[silv]

Yes go for it, but bear in mind that it will cost much more than your budget and take much longer than you anticipated, but will be worth it when it is done!

 

[FlyingCircus]

I am glad to see you guys are just as encouraging with (potential) horsey properties as you are with horse purchases

Sadly our dream home purchase fell through after being on/off a number of times, so this would be Plan B (or actually E I think!?). We already know the layout we'd like for the house as have been hankering after it since I saw it 10 years ago The yard would be very available for H&H to design with me if we do go for it! I know I want an L with 5 stables (for 3 horses...), tack room and a wash bay but other than that I've not really thought much further ahead!

 

[FlyingCircus]

Is improving the current house on the site not an option?

Not easily. The configuration is kind of awkward and too small for modern day living. We did contemplate just extending out the back, but it is a very old building with problems with the foundations and various other issues.

It's a lovely cottage and very pretty, so anything we'd replace it with would be in keeping and we'd try to save or replicate as many of the features as possible.

Unfortunately just not economical to improve.

 

[Merry neddy man]

Has planning permission been granted to demolish the existing property and rebuild a larger property on the plot? If not have you enquired with the council if permission would be given to do so? If it would be allowed, could you build on a different area on site ( maybe next door to assist with easy connection of mains services) live in the existing property while building the new one and then demolish the current property.

 

[FlyingCircus]

Has planning permission been granted to demolish the existing property and rebuild a larger property on the plot? If not have you enquired with the council if permission would be given to do so? If it would be allowed, could you build on a different area on site ( maybe next door to assist with easy connection of mains services) live in the existing property while building the new one and then demolish the current property.

Not yet, we're really at the "do we want to commit the next 12 - 18 months and all our money to this?" stage at the moment! But we will definitely be discussing with the council potential for a new dwelling and stables on the plot before we commit.

Ideally we'd buy something that already exists, but it's either not in budget or isn't for sale There doesn't seem to be much on the market this year so far.

 

[ycbm]

If I was half the age I am now, yes I most definitely would for the location you describe.
.

 

[Trouper]

Absolutely go for it but I have a formula for these plans - it costs half as much again and takes twice as long as you think it will!! However, for me, the setting of a house is all and if you have the chance of land around you then you probably won't lose out financially in the long run.

The local planners may restrict you to the same footprint as the original building so you may have to get creative in the design stage so good luck with your discussions with them.

 

[Polos Mum]

We bought a derelict house that had been empty for 5 years, the floors had fallen in (you could see into loft from kitchen) and there was thick green mould on all the walls !
I wouldn't have left my dog in it overnight but we got a mortgage because the gas was connected and the toilet flushed !!

We did only pay 5% VAT on refurb as we were bringing it back into use - which was a nice surprise on the budget side that we didn't know until we bought it.

We lived in caravans in the yard (with a 4 y/o and 12 month old!) and all our stuff in shipping containers.

10 years on it was well worth it - house just as we want it and now far beyond what we could afford

Definitely go for it but plan 12 months of arguing with planners before you even move a brick - could you live in the house while you do that??

Then budget for 2 x what you think now - so at least £3k per m2 of house you have in mind plus stables / fencing etc.. That will allow for £30k of paperwork costs (which our extension was recently!) and £15k to upgrade electric meter box (new cable required over 4 meters of council land) or whatever else madness it throws up.

If you don't spend that - fabby - you will have spare to treat yourself to a new pony. But if you start off with a healthy budget then the pressure is reduced a bit.

 

[Lucky Snowball]

Yes. Definitely. Good luck.

 

[Equi]

I’ve not done it but it is the dream. Making a home the way YOU want it to work..having nice shiney new stable block where you want it in a configuration that works for you? Bliss.

 

[Nonjumper]

Not easily. The configuration is kind of awkward and too small for modern day living. We did contemplate just extending out the back, but it is a very old building with problems with the foundations and various other issues.

It's a lovely cottage and very pretty, so anything we'd replace it with would be in keeping and we'd try to save or replicate as many of the features as possible.

Unfortunately just not economical to improve.

As it's 'very old' and 'pretty', you firstly need to find out if it is listed and/or in a conservation area. If you answer yes to one, or worse both, of those things chances are you won't be able to demolish and replace it without a massive legal battle. We weren't even allowed to reinstate the downstairs WC in our listed cottage, and a neighbour got a cease and desist and a massive fine after, stupidly, replacing the windows in her cottage.

However if it turns out that neither of these things are an issue and I had the budget then yes this is something I would consider. But I do agree with previous comments that you need to budget well above what you think it will cost and expect it to take years rather than weeks or months. Both my brother and sister recently extended and had new kitchens put in their properties, from the time of planning and initial estimates the costs had tripled by the time work actually started.

Taking on a task like that will test your finances, your relationship and your mental health.

 

[starbucker]

Buy a house with the intention to demolish and rebuild eventually. It comes with 5 very overgrown acres in a popular area. Amazing hacking straight from the front door.

We'd be looking to live in a static caravan on site whilst we demo and start rebuilding the house and build a yard.

Anyone done this? Am I completely insane (I fear the answer is yes but aren't we all?)

If moneys no object, in desirable affluent areas its incredibly common to buy a big plot with a bungalow flatten it an build a large 5 bed with double garage on. Planning wise you'll get a easier ride with there being something already on the site within the correct use class. But allow for:

3-4 months design period and extra time and £££ for bat surveys. tree surveys, ecology surveys...
13 weeks planning, expect this to be extended by the planners requesting more and more info (if goes well - add 6 months for appeal / redesign to get through planning_)
4 months for technical drawings to be produced (a more detailed level from planning drawings to build from) and building regs application
2 months enabling builder/ may be longer if in high demand
12 months build (add 12 months and £50k if skipped step 3 or client want to not appoint a main contractor to save a few pennies )

If you plan to be 'in for christmas' , add 9 months

Definitely recommend contacting a local architect rather than going direct to a builder they will make the process so much smoother and many will do the initial chat at no cost

 

[starbucker]

Also you can check if its listed here:

Search the List: Map Search | Historic England

Explore over 400,000 listed buildings and historic places on the National Heritage List for England.

historicengland.org.uk

Feel free to PM if want more planning advice

 

[Tarragon]

Definitely yes! We lived in a static caravan for three and a half years while building our house.
Don't underestimate the costs and time it takes to do a build and the overwhelming number of decisions you have to make! It can be exhausting.
We didn't have children when we did ours.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Not easily. The configuration is kind of awkward and too small for modern day living. We did contemplate just extending out the back, but it is a very old building with problems with the foundations and various other issues.

It's a lovely cottage and very pretty, so anything we'd replace it with would be in keeping and we'd try to save or replicate as many of the features as possible.

Unfortunately just not economical to improve.

It's so much better to knock something down and build what you want if the property is falling to bits and is not big enough anyway.

I would do it.

 

[SantaVera]

Yes I would buy

 

[SEL]

Not yet, we're really at the "do we want to commit the next 12 - 18 months and all our money to this?" stage at the moment! But we will definitely be discussing with the council potential for a new dwelling and stables on the plot before we commit.

Ideally we'd buy something that already exists, but it's either not in budget or isn't for sale There doesn't seem to be much on the market this year so far.

You can probably build something energy efficient and modern on the plot if you are starting from scratch (ground source heat pump for instance)

The build itself doesn't have to be a complex 'grand design' type

 

[Miss_Millie]

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that I don't think it's right to demolish a historic house and rebuild a modern one in its place unless the house is completely derelict (in which case it would be classed as abandoned and you may struggle to get planning permission if it is in open countryside and outside of the local plan settlement boundary).

If you can afford to demolish a house and build a new one, why not just buy an empty plot with planning and leave the old cottage to someone who would want to restore it? I think that old buildings are an important part of our country's heritage.