You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
My wife's mum and dad have just told us they are considering selling their large house and we've been discussing options as one option is for us to move in and build a separate space for them to live in. Currently the house has separate workshops/garage with a combined sq ft of around 1,200. Is it possible to redevelop them to make a self-contained living space or would it be likely not to pass?
Another alternative (which would be a better solution due to eventual inheritance issues for my wife's siblings) would be to knock the whole lot down and build two properties (clearly in their own grounds) then we could live in one and the in-laws in the other then, when they pass away, it could be sold and the inheritance sorted.
Or are there any other options out there? My head is spinning - we would love to be able to live there as it's a lovely area with a huge (6 acre) field that would allow us to get a horse for our mad-keen horse-riding daughter but most options seem to come at a huge cost.
You know it's planning you actually need to be asking, but I'd have thought converting existing buildings would be easier (and quicker) to get permission for.
Whatever you do, get the siblings involved in the discussion now and find a solution that works for everyone.
Whatever you do, get the siblings involved in the discussion now and find a solution that works for everyone.
Yes that is ongoing - one of them doesn't want anything (he is financially very secure) but we need to consider the other. The whole thing is further complicated by the fact both siblings live overseas and have no intention of ever moving back to the UK so, as the MIL says, we're the ones lumbered with them as they get ever-older...
Whatever you do, get the siblings involved in the discussion now and find a solution that works for everyone.
Wasn't entirely clear to me that this idea had been discussed with the in laws either.
I don't really think there are hard and fast planning rules really in this kind of redevelopment. It seems to me that a decent architect with good design can gain approval where a poorly thought out solution would be rejected.
Wasn’t entirely clear to me that this idea had been discussed with the in laws either.
Yes it has been discussed many times over the last couple of years but they have just decided it is time to do something so want to know whether or not we want the property. It's bonkers though - they spend £100 a month on fuel for the tractor alone :-O I am not sure I want to be spending that on an ongoing basis!
they spend £100 a month on fuel for the tractor alone :-O I am not sure I want to be spending that on an ongoing basis!
What are they using it for?
What are they using it for?
Cutting the grass in the field and lawns (the MIL suffers badly with hayfever so they can't wild it). They used to have a farmer that came round and cut it then take away the bales but he's not interested anymore).
The council won't give you a commercial opinion. You really need a planning consultant who can take your brief and advise on what's possible and how to go about it. Feel free to drop me a DM
You know it’s planning you actually need to be asking, but I’d have thought converting existing buildings would be easier (and quicker) to get permission for.
Sketch some options, go chat (or probably email/zoom) the planners. May be a charge for this advice in some areas. May highlight other developments that have been rejected or accepted in their area. May highlight issues you would never even have considered (eg. if there are issues with sewage, traffic, schools that get cited as reasons not to allow further development in that specific area). Even if they list a load of problems doesn't mean its a no - just means you have a bigger risk and the architect can try to design around them.
One thing to think about though - if you get rid of the outbuildings where will you keep the horse food, tack etc. And with 6 acres I'm guessing there might be some sort of sit on mower etc.
That's before you consider the inheritance issues. Make sure you think through a situation where they aren't the occupants of the house, and its been sold to some random person. I know someone who did this 15 yrs ago and when "granny" died, the Annex became an AirBnB with a stream of odd folk turning up every few days many parking inconsiderately, putting rubbish in the wrong bins, knocking on the door to ask if they knew how to turn the shower on and just the general level of inconvenience that if you were getting £100/nt you would be fine with but they weren't - it had been fine with granny living on top of them, but not with strangers.
One thing to think about though – if you get rid of the outbuildings where will you keep the horse food, tack etc. And with 6 acres I’m guessing there might be some sort of sit on mower etc.
There is already a separate large tractor shed with ample room to partially convert / partition off.
6 acre
The important question is gradient - so are you going natural flowing downhill with tractor uplift or huge pump track for the MTB course?
Honestly is sounds like a great opportunity and one you might regret not taking in the future.
one you might regret not taking in the future
Yeah I know - I kinda wished we'd been in this position 10 years ago though - I can see the end of my mortgage in sight now and not sure I want to add to it. And also it would have meant our girls would have spent their childhood in such a lovely location. They are almost 13 now so they are coming out of the other side 🙁
If you apply for planning (and strongly recommend a decent planning agent) try and get permission for it to be a separate dwelling to the main house.
Just in the middle of a very similar project at the moment and the permission was for an annex only, which has prevented me from claiming works at the reduced 5% VAT rate for conversion of non-residential to residential, which would have been a very decent saving.
Theoretically you might have grandchildren in the next 10 years... do you want to be boring granddad or cool granddad with a pump track?
I get the mortgage thing (we should have ours cleared in the next 18 months) and I'm now thinking of everything in number of extra years I might need to work before I can retire and my life really start.
Obviously the practicalities of your folk getting older is not lost on you but that is just another reason to go for it. Speak to the local planners and see where there head is. In my experience the more they feels involved the better the outcome.
If they are anything like our local planners they will say no to everything you suggest that is small scale and domestic but next door neighbor will get permission for a new industrial unit.
Someone who knows the planners is essential imo / IME. The planners will charge you for ever bit of contact but someone who knows them will get one charge and loads of informal chats and bargaining backwards and forwards. It's all bent.
The whole thing is further complicated by the fact both siblings live overseas and have no intention of ever moving back to the UK so, as the MIL says, we’re the ones lumbered with them as they get ever-older…
Been there, done that, luckily my siblings were very understanding when I realised that having my dad come to live with us actually cost us £££
Re - the annex idea, have a long hard think about exactly how your in laws want to / will actually live out their years, it sounds like you'd be out in the sticks when them being closer to amenities might be a better idea for when they give up driving etc 🤔
it sounds like you’d be out in the sticks when them being closer to amenities might be a better idea for when they give up driving
It's not exactly out in the sticks (on the green belt between Harrogate and Knaresborough) and just about in walking distance of a supermarket and it is also on a bus route.
on the green belt between Harrogate and Knaresborough
👍 I've got some old friends either side of that spot, sounds like a no brainer. If you could get two eco houses built with ground source heat pumps in that land it would at least insulate you against future energy costs & the 2nd house could be the siblings inheritance?
Cutting the grass in the field and lawns (the MIL suffers badly with hayfever so they can’t wild it).
I used to do that {for about 13 years} until I realised just how much fuel a 70hp tractor uses for a pretty simple operation.
I now use a commercial John Deere mower that uses a fraction of the fuel for the same job.
Tractors are cool though 😁