Renovations: General Checks

ABOVE: This lodge house has realised its potential thanks to a makeover by designers Back to Front (01252 820984). It has benefitted from being rendered, new timber windows, a new driveway and landscaping scheme, new bargeboards and a new roof covering and shape.

Start with the HIP

Any property you investigate will have a Home Information Pack (HIP). Look at the ‘office copy of the registered title’ and, in particular, at the Property Register which lists any pathways, access rights, shared drives or other rights of way, and consider if these affect privacy and security. Look at the Charges Register to see if there are any restrictive covenants that might limit your use of the property. If these restrictions already appear to have been relaxed or breached, they may not be enforceable. The local searches will list any Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) which could influence your plans to extend or change the garden.

Don’t forget, too, to investigate any planning issues that might affect your scope to remodel or extend the property — in particular, if the house is listed or not.

Are the boundaries clearly marked?

To avoid any disputes with neighbours or misunderstandings about what you are buying, compare the boundaries on the registered title plan (in the HIP) with those on the ground. Check on the condition of fences and walls owned by the property.

What’s the area like?

You can transform the house subject only to money, planning controls and your imagination — but there is little or nothing you can do to change the area, so drive around and take a good look. Research the area using Google Earth (earth.google.com). Visit at different times of day, especially rush hour. Use upmystreet.com for local information on things like schools, businesses, transport links and employment prospects. Also have a look at the state of neighbouring properties — again, you won’t be able to have any influence on them.

Do an environmental check

Avoid buying a property that is on land that is in any way contaminated. Flood areas should also generally be ruled out unless you are building from scratch, as getting round the problems associated with flooding is much more difficult in an existing property. You can check a site’s history, flood risk and contamination risk via Envirosearch for £41.70 (landmark.co.uk).

Are there any other problems you can solve?

Make a list of all of the property’s faults and then work out whether or not there is anything you can reasonably – and viably – do to resolve these issues. Less obvious ways to improve a property include the following options:

• Relocating the access
• Creating a private drive instead of shared
• Changing the principal elevation from back to front
• Extending a short lease
• Buying all or part of the freehold and granting a new lease
• Buying adjoining flats and reverting to a house
• Making the garden more usable
• Improving privacy
• Opening up the garden to improve lights and/or views

ABOVE: Some things to look for in a potential renovation property include (clockwise from top left): Flood risk; signs of damp; extension potential; old windows. BELOW (clockwise from top left): Outdated plumbing; conversion potential; signs of failure; old electrics.

Don't forget to get a proper survey

In the current property market there are some bargains to be had, but this doesn’t mean you can afford to be any less vigilant when it comes to assessing a property’s condition. It would be a false economy to buy any building without commissioning a detailed survey from a chartered surveyor (find one via rics.org.uk) but even before you go to this expense you can learn to spot a great deal yourself by using our checklist, allowing you to make a suitable offer, subject to survey.

Further reading:

• Renovations: Assessing the Potential
• Renovations: Assessing the Structure
• How to Spot and Solve Problems when Renovating Old Houses