Househunter
Member
- Messages
- 40
Hello all.
I'm interested in buying a Georgian cottage which is part of a terrace, and which --- as far as I can tell --- has been altered without LBC (and possibly also without planning permission).
My gut instinct tells me to run a mile, but it's a nice house and, other than the LBC/planning aspects, ticks all the boxes.
...Which is why I find myself here.
I've searched the forums, reading through a number of posts dealing with this type of scenario (e.g. here, here, here, etc.) and have found answers to some of my questions.
Still, I'd like an expert opinion (preferably from a Conservation Officer or former CO --- I know there are a few around here) on whether there really is any point in buying a listed building which has had work done illegally on it, or whether it's simply asking for trouble.
The building in question was listed in the late eighties, and has had some major changes made to it. The ground floor, formerly two rooms (kitchen and living room, I'd guess), has been knocked into one large room, and a modern brick (or block) and UPVC extension complete with double glazing added at the rear to accommodate a new kitchen. I have looked on the local council's planning portal and can find no application for the work (which I'm told was done about seven years ago), so I'm assuming it's not legit and would lack LBC, too. Along the gables a couple of bright white bargeboards have been added (about four years ago), that stick out like sore thumbs. Also the chimney has been redone, although that was apparently at least twenty years ago (perhaps before the listing), and is more or less in keeping with the rest of the building (it looks like the others in the terrace, albeit newer). There may be other alterations that I've failed to notice (for example, I wonder whether the secondary glazing had LBC), but these were the egregious ones.
I'm the sort that seeks to abide by the rules, and I can't see myself living happily under the threat of being ordered to make sizeable, very costly and massively inconvenient changes (e.g. having to demolish the kitchen, rebuild the outside to the CO's specifications, reinstate the partition wall and install another kitchen). At the same time, I do want to retain as much of the building's character and history as is possible: I don't want to turn a charming old house into a Barratt Home (not that there's anything wrong with the latter, of course, but you know what I mean).
I've looked at getting listed building indemnity insurance, but I think the very fact that I'm aware of works that are likely illegal means that I would not be able to obtain such insurance, or --- if I did manage to take out such a policy --- that any claim would be rejected. ...And other posters have voiced their scepticism about such insurance anyway.
One final complicating factor is the neighbours. Even if I began setting the house in order legally, I am concerned that in so doing, I'd inadvertently draw the attention of the Conservation Officer not only to my own house, but also to the other houses in the terrace, with potentially costly and most unwelcome results for their owners. I certainly don't wish to buy a house, doing things by the book (which is the only way I'd proceed), only to end up causing strife for the neighbours, and be thoroughly hated by them thereafter.
As I say, I'm minded just to forget it. ...But it's a pity, since I'm one of the conserve/restore types that the listing authorities no doubt wish to encourage into buying listed buildings, and yet I find myself turned off the property precisely by the fact that it's listed! Indeed, it occurs to me that the only people likely to be interested in buying this property would be those who don't care that things were not done by the book on the property, since they've no intention of doing things by the book themselves.
Anyway, I've gone on long enough: apologies for the long post.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I'm interested in buying a Georgian cottage which is part of a terrace, and which --- as far as I can tell --- has been altered without LBC (and possibly also without planning permission).
My gut instinct tells me to run a mile, but it's a nice house and, other than the LBC/planning aspects, ticks all the boxes.
...Which is why I find myself here.
I've searched the forums, reading through a number of posts dealing with this type of scenario (e.g. here, here, here, etc.) and have found answers to some of my questions.
Still, I'd like an expert opinion (preferably from a Conservation Officer or former CO --- I know there are a few around here) on whether there really is any point in buying a listed building which has had work done illegally on it, or whether it's simply asking for trouble.
The building in question was listed in the late eighties, and has had some major changes made to it. The ground floor, formerly two rooms (kitchen and living room, I'd guess), has been knocked into one large room, and a modern brick (or block) and UPVC extension complete with double glazing added at the rear to accommodate a new kitchen. I have looked on the local council's planning portal and can find no application for the work (which I'm told was done about seven years ago), so I'm assuming it's not legit and would lack LBC, too. Along the gables a couple of bright white bargeboards have been added (about four years ago), that stick out like sore thumbs. Also the chimney has been redone, although that was apparently at least twenty years ago (perhaps before the listing), and is more or less in keeping with the rest of the building (it looks like the others in the terrace, albeit newer). There may be other alterations that I've failed to notice (for example, I wonder whether the secondary glazing had LBC), but these were the egregious ones.
I'm the sort that seeks to abide by the rules, and I can't see myself living happily under the threat of being ordered to make sizeable, very costly and massively inconvenient changes (e.g. having to demolish the kitchen, rebuild the outside to the CO's specifications, reinstate the partition wall and install another kitchen). At the same time, I do want to retain as much of the building's character and history as is possible: I don't want to turn a charming old house into a Barratt Home (not that there's anything wrong with the latter, of course, but you know what I mean).
I've looked at getting listed building indemnity insurance, but I think the very fact that I'm aware of works that are likely illegal means that I would not be able to obtain such insurance, or --- if I did manage to take out such a policy --- that any claim would be rejected. ...And other posters have voiced their scepticism about such insurance anyway.
One final complicating factor is the neighbours. Even if I began setting the house in order legally, I am concerned that in so doing, I'd inadvertently draw the attention of the Conservation Officer not only to my own house, but also to the other houses in the terrace, with potentially costly and most unwelcome results for their owners. I certainly don't wish to buy a house, doing things by the book (which is the only way I'd proceed), only to end up causing strife for the neighbours, and be thoroughly hated by them thereafter.
As I say, I'm minded just to forget it. ...But it's a pity, since I'm one of the conserve/restore types that the listing authorities no doubt wish to encourage into buying listed buildings, and yet I find myself turned off the property precisely by the fact that it's listed! Indeed, it occurs to me that the only people likely to be interested in buying this property would be those who don't care that things were not done by the book on the property, since they've no intention of doing things by the book themselves.
Anyway, I've gone on long enough: apologies for the long post.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
