House opinion

[gtmark]

Ive recently bought a 2 bed semi in sunny rural wales with plenty of garden (about 40ft wide and 300 long) and seperate garage, house itself has had loads of work done, new roof, rendering, wiring etc... so its only internal cosmetics and the garage to sort.

My next door neighbour is lets just say, step-toes decendant house is a mess, needs LOADS of work and has never had wiring done but its the mirror image of mine with the same amount of land, would make an awsome detached house.

he is considering selling up in a few years and its going to be CHEAP , has anybody every turned 2 seperate semi's into one house? and whats the complications involved, do i need planning etc??

To give you an idea, i paid 60k for my house and its structurally perfect with only cosmetics needed, so his is going to be cheap

[terranosaurusdoug]

Never done owt like that before but if I had the chance I would be more concerned about the legalities than anything practical

[jims-terrano]

I'd be contacting your local planning dept at the council for advice. You could also contact an architect and have an initial consultation which may well be free.

Good luck and what an amazing opportunity, I'd be grabbing it with both hands.

[gtmark]

Thanks guys, ive sent the planning office an E-mail to find out some info, but will prob take a few weeks to get back to me. ive searched the internet for information, but it seems its something thats not commonly done, or if it is its not documented

Thats why i moved so far out from where i used to live, the house come on the market, and it was STUPIDLY cheap (and the amazing view from my windows) Even my father said a house that cheap is probably a basket case, After the first viewing it turned out it was a little gem

Ive told my neighbour to not put it on the market when he decides to sell up but come straight to me

Legalities are the only thing that are really worrying me, construction i can handle myself, thankfully we are on oil up here so i dont have to worry about getting a gas supply capped

[Fez_uk]

Where abouts in wales are you? South?

[gtmark]

Originally Posted by Fez_uk

Where abouts in wales are you? South?

Yeah south mate, Just outside ammanford in a little villiage called Cwaen Cae Gurwen

[jims-terrano]

Buy the house whatever and refurb it, could be a nice place to rent or sell for a profit.

If you start basic refurbishment like roof, damp course, windows and doors you can then investigate whether it's feasible to make one house out of two or other alternatives.

I'm envious as you appear to be in a win win situation.

[gtmark]

Originally Posted by jims-terrano

Buy the house whatever and refurb it, could be a nice place to rent or sell for a profit.

If you start basic refurbishment like roof, damp course, windows and doors you can then investigate whether it's feasible to make one house out of two or other alternatives.

I'm envious as you appear to be in a win win situation.

Thats a good way of looking at it, i know rental values up this way are lower than lets say down in the bigger towns , but the views ive got are spectacular, no neighbours front or rear so that may account for something

I dont mean to make anybody envious The house itself is a right state, but its solid...i estimate about 4 skip fulls of just rubbish alone before work starts

[jims-terrano]

That's the best sort of house to buy

If you do end up renting then you can start with 6 month let to begin with and then if you get an oik you can turf them out easily. It could be a long term investment like a pension really couldn't it.

I had a similar opportunity about 20 years ago and I've regretted not buying it every time I think about it.

Good luck and hope all goes well.

[gtmark]

Originally Posted by jims-terrano

That's the best sort of house to buy

If you do end up renting then you can start with 6 month let to begin with and then if you get an oik you can turf them out easily. It could be a long term investment like a pension really couldn't it.

I had a similar opportunity about 20 years ago and I've regretted not buying it every time I think about it.

Good luck and hope all goes well.

Yeah i dont want somebody else to buy it otherwise id be regretting it down the line lol

Thanks, wont be for a while so fingers crossed it all goes well

[rustic]

Where we last lived, a guy over the road bought the adjoining semi and made it into a large detached. He had been living in one half for years. This is Staffordshire, might be ok in your district of Wales.

Do your homework, two semis could be worth more than a detached.
Depends on market forces, worth talking to a local estate agent, but CAUTION, don't give them your address, as they could target your neighbour as a potential client.

Well business is business lol.
Rustic

[gtmark]

Originally Posted by rustic

Where we last lived, a guy over the road bought the adjoining semi and made it into a large detached. He had been living in one half for years. This is Staffordshire, might be ok in your district of Wales.

Do your homework, two semis could be worth more than a detached.
Depends on market forces, worth talking to a local estate agent, but CAUTION, don't give them your address, as they could target your neighbour as a potential client.

Well business is business lol.
Rustic

Thanks for the heads up, To be honest this part of wales is slowly on the increase so 2 semi's could be worth more in the long run

My only thought is that finding property in this area which is large is very hard as all the houses were built by the minors when the pits were open, so they are small houses but decent amount of land with them, i wont be selling this property for a long long time if at all, as its been said i cant loose either way i go, buy to keep, sell or rent its a win win lol

[macabethiel]

There is a house on the Main Road near us and the previous owner a Solicitor knocked a pair of unusually large 4 bedroom semis into one giving it 8 bedrooms. He put an adjoining door in the lounge,hallway and landing made one kitchen into a utility room. One half was mainly used by the Au Pair until their two boys grew up.

About 25 years later it changed hands when the solicitor died and prior to sale his widow converted it back to get more money out of the sale. They just bricked up the 3 doorways and it was pretty much back as it was.

We have quite a few houses in our area that have been made into one with extended families living in one half. I think you generally pay lower rates when it is one dwelling. I don't think planning is a big issue as its essentially internal alterations from two existing buildings that already comply with building control / regulations.

[jims-terrano]

That was my thoughts, knocked through carefully to give the option of returning back to semi's after your children grow up. Best of both worlds.

[solarman216]

As a builder I can only add that any alterations need to be authorised by building control and any certification needed be complied with, this includes plumbing, electrics and and structural alterations, ie knock through s etc, if not and these are picked up on eventual resale it could well jeopardise the sale (it is all about solicitor speak) solicitor may act for you on purchase with errors in the paperwork , but same solicitor acting for your buyer will pick up those errors and mess up the sale, Rick