Help Me Find a Renovation Project in Gloucestershire

After travelling the world, Jonathan Gibson has decided to settle down in Gloucestershire, and with the help of David Snell and the Plotfinder team, he went searching for the perfect renovation opportunity.

Our Plothunter

In his 35 years, Jonathan Gibson has travelled the world, sustaining himself from the rental income from various rooms in his London home and by working in restaurants, where he became a noted sommelier.

"Now I think I've done London," he states. "Its time I moved on. I've sold up and rented a flat in Monmouth whilst I give myself time to find a development opportunity and investigate the possibility of starting a new restaurant venture. I had thought about buying something in Monmouth itself, but I rather fancy the idea of living a little way away from the prospective business and I like the Forest of Dean, which is, of course, right on the doorstep."

Jonathan's got £250,000 in cash to put down and he's well aware that if he just went to the estate agent he could probably find himself something that he could move into right away. But that's not what he wants to do. "I fancy the idea of creating something fresh from something old and making a return in equity at the same time," he offers. "I could make more, I know, by building from scratch. But thats not my favourite plan and I venture to think that in this area there should be something thats waiting for me to release its full potential."

He's quite right on many of those thoughts. I know the Forest of Dean very well and it is undoubtedly an up-and-coming area, with many seeking new homes in the country now leapfrogging the higher priced Cotswold areas in favour of its fabulous scenery and undoubted bargains. "I think that practically 100% of our sales in recent times have been to incomers," one estate agent told me.

With the Plotfinder.net team, I put together a portfolio of opportunities for Jonathan to look at. Some were simple cottages that only needed updating. Some were rebuilds or plots, and some were properties awaiting someone to realise their full potential.

Option One: The Bungalow, Upper Lydbrook, Forest of Dean.
Price: 120,000.

The Expert's Opinion: The agent's details describe this as a deceptively spacious detached cottage in need of complete renovation with great potential for modernisation, a lovely south-facing walled garden and a pleasant outlook. I must have driven past this a hundred times or more without giving it a second glance, probably because, from the road and there are two to choose from it really doesn't look like a cottage and you have to get out of the car to appreciate it.

First of all, the garden is triangular in shape, slightly sloping, carved into the hillside with high stone walls on all sides. It is private and is beautifully laid out as a traditional cottage garden with stunning views across and down the steep valley in which this village is situated.

The property itself is on three levels, sandwiched between two roads that join further on down the valley. At the lower level, it looks almost as if it was once a shop, as part of the window is shuttered up. There is a door, which gives entrance to the single room with exposed stone walling. To the side of the building, steps lead up to the middle level, entered by a door from a halfway landing. This middle level has three further rooms, two of which open onto the gardens and one of which, the entrance room, has potential for further expansion upwards to provide additional accommodation. The top level has access from the higher road and provides accommodation that is basically the top floor of the cottage. The construction is forest stone under a natural slate roof.

The biggest drawback is the lack of any parking and, because of the levels, it really wouldn't be possible to get any on site, even if part of the garden were to be sacrificed. However, Forest Enterprise has indicated that it would be prepared to offer a license for car parking on land approached from the top road upon payment of an annual fee of £200. Application would have to be made for planning permission for a new access to the highway.

Our Plothunter's Opinion: This is a pleasant enough village. The valley is steeply sloped. I wonder if that would mean that the sun is limited, although perhaps were far enough up the hill to get it for most of the day. The road is fairly busy but thatll only be local traffic. The River Wye is at the bottom of the valley with all the water sports that are available there. There are some quite good pubs around here as well. The garden is a delight it would make a bijou bolt hole. Structurally it looks quite sound.

I think this one is quite quirky and has some possibilities, which need further investigation.

Option Two: Hillside, Harrow Hill, Forest of Dean.
Offers in the region of 140,000.

The Expert's Opinion: The property is described as a 2/3 bedroom detached cottage in need of complete renovation, on a good sized plot, situated on a quiet forestry track and having superb views over fields and countryside.

Its in a pretty bad state. The roof is basically sound but recent damage to the slates at the rear is letting the weather in. One gable wall is also showing signs of cracking beneath the ivy that clings to it and unless something is done soon, it is in danger of collapse.

The basic construction is solid stone walls, which were obviously plastered inside with lime and horsehair render, most of which has largely fallen away or disintegrated. In the recent past somebody has pebble-dash rendered the outside with a cement based material and this may well have led to some of the houses problems. Stripping all of that off would be one of the first jobs after the roof and would expose the attractive original stone.

Replacing this house would be difficult. Its built so that one gable wall and the whole of the rear elevation are tight against the boundary. Really, although there is a little land to the side with some sheds on, a small front garden and a larger section of garden, almost removed and along to the road frontage, there is little scope for any greater accommodation. Renovating this property, which has been empty for more than 10 years and would, therefore, qualify for the VAT to be zero rated on labour and materials would be the best thing to do. Any new property would probably run foul of restrictions from both planners and building control. Total renovation of the property would come to at least £80,000, which added to the original cost means final costs of around £220,000. And that, unfortunately, is what I reckon the final value would be, so there's nothing in it for Jonathan, unless this is where he really wants to live or can buy the place for less.

Our Plothunter's Opinion: My first thoughts were that this was a potential plot rather than a renovation project. On the other hand, with the complexity of the plot size and shape, its difficult to see how one could improve upon what's already there. And if you can't, then perhaps its better to think in terms of what could be done to improve it. In the end, all you'd end up with is a two bedroom cottage with some useful outbuildings and a large garden to the side.

The views are superb. Its a quiet spot and when the cottage is done up it'll be lovely. But for all the work I'd have to do, there would be nothing in it for me financially.

Option Three: Fossil Cottage, Mitcheldean, Forest of Dean.
Offers in the region of 160,000.

The Expert's Opinion: Plump Hill, which this property is off, probably has some of the best views in the county, looking south over a sweeping valley to the River Severn beyond. It is also a very busy road and the gradient means that the procession of lorries in low gear is a constant problem. Turning off the main road, down the very steep slope to the lane, is a tricky business. Driving back out again is almost life threatening.

There is no doubt about the views. They are wonderful and the garden just stretches away, seemingly without end, until one realises that at the bottom, the land drops away and there's another house below.

This cottage is sound. It is built into the hill hard up against the lane with no windows or doors to that elevation and with much of the lower floor below ground level. Would it have proper tanking? I wouldn't have thought so, but there was little sign of any damp ingress and the basic structure seemed unaffected by any damp problems.

The idea of modern facilities seemed to have escaped the previous owners. True, they have recently built a garage on land to the other side of the lane. But their priorities to the benefit of the car seem misplaced when one realises that there is no bathroom with this cottage. Instead, there is what is described as kitchen/bathroom! This is a new one on me and is, it seems, somewhere to cook and wash at a Belfast sink. There is an outside toilet and there is a cloakroom/WC on the first floor but true bathing or showering isn't on the current agenda.

Sacrificing one bedroom to create a bathroom would mean that this definitely became a two bedroom cottage. Extending over the position of the current outside toilet might be possible to provide either a ground floor bathroom or a utility room with a bathroom above. But that would shut off much of the cottages only access to the lane. On the other hand putting these rooms at that end would help cut down the road noise, which was all pervasive.

Our Plothunter's Opinion: For a property that's built into the hill, probably with no damp proofing, this is in remarkably good condition. The roof looked good and the property is, interestingly, built to the curve of the road, which makes for some unique roof lines. But its not an attractive building. It might have been in the past when it was a row of little stone cottages on the side of the hill, but now, the pebble-dash render and the road just seem to make it drab. You simply can't escape from the road noise and the vibration. Itd cost me at least £50,000 to put it right. Plus the £160,000, thats a total of £210,000, which represents a profit of £10,000.

Jonathan Chose... Option One: The Bungalow, Upper Lydbrook, Forest of Dean.

Our Plothunter's Opinion: "When I first saw this one I almost discounted it, but then I began to see that it had possibilities and as the day wore on it just grew on me until I really couldnt wait to get back and have another look. David and I did some investigating and we found out some interesting facts, not least the one about the possibility of parking being available. The next interesting fact is that it hasn't been occupied for at least ten years, which means that as far as Customs and Excise are concerned, its a conversion and I can, therefore, get all or most of the VAT back on both labour and materials. The next thing is that the left-hand, cottage side, of the property and the right-hand, shop side, of the property are on separate deeds. That means that I could develop the right-hand side as a one bedroom studio and the left-hand side as a two bedroom cottage complete with its own lovely garden. I could then either sell off the studio or let it out for extra income. I really think this one is worth going for and I'm going to see if they'll accept an offer."

Our Experts Summary: It wasn't until we found out more about this one, and the fact that it was, in reality, two separate properties, that I realised that there was more to it than met the eye. As a three bedroom split level cottage this was only ever going to be worth around £165,000, fully finished and renovated and that just didn't stack up. As a studio worth at least £85,000 plus a cottage worth at least £135,000, the whole thing is going to be worth around £220,000 for just about the same investment. Structurally this property is quite sound and, therefore, all were talking about is internal plastering, decorating and fitting out. It already has three separate entrances and, with it legally and historically being two separate buildings, I can't see much of a problem with the planners. Build costs could be kept to around £65,000, which, added to the asking price, means total costs of about £185,000. So, although there's not a fortune to be made, it still means an equity increase of £35,000. The big plus is, of course, the ability to rent out either side, either as holiday lets or on a more permanent basis.

The figures:

• Purchase Cost: £120,000
• Build Cost: £65,000
• Total Costs: £185,000
• Estimated End Value: £220,000
• Potential Saving: 19%

Our Experts Design Idea: The lower ground shop window would be replaced with a bay and the studio would gain access from the door beside it. The cottage would be best served by having its own entrance gate from the top road and a door from the garden.

Why not see what opportunities are on the Plotfinder Land & Renovation Database in your area by logging on to www.plotfinder.net?