How To Rescue An Empty Home

How To Be A Good Property Developer by Rescuing An Empty Home

Following on from our comments on the scandalous amounts of empty homes which are going to ruin, I thought we would talk about how to invest in them.

The picture here is of an empty home in Ireland that we rescued and renovated. Buying an empty property may seem a daunting project, but with a little time, know-how and money, a home can be restored to its former glory. David Ireland from The Empty Homes Agency has advice for a successful house rescue.

Finance and Legals

According to The Empty Homes Agency, there are an estimated 870,000 empty homes in the UK and enough empty commercial property to create 420,000 new homes. First consider these key points before you decide to invest in an empty property:

• Make sure you are allowed to do what you want to the property. It’s all very well having imaginative plans to redesign the property into the house of your dreams but if there are legal restrictions, or if it’s a listed property, you may not be allowed to.
• Work out a proper budget before you start. Rescuing a house doesn’t have to be expensive, but if you run out of money half way through you’ll be skint and homeless.
• Build the right team of people to help you. Choose architects, builders and conveyancers who you can work with and will help you, not fleece you.
• Choose the right building materials for the job. There’s a range of alternatives for every eventuality.
• Check out available grants. Lots of organisations may be prepared to subsidize your costs. Many councils offer empty home grants if you have owned the property for more than 6 months.

Finding An Empty Home

About one in 20 homes in the country is empty. Once you start looking, you’ll see them everywhere. Try the following options to get your search off the ground.

• Local council – Your local council will probably have a list of all the empty properties in their area. Some councils will be happy to let you see the information, but beware that others may not be so open. If they won’t disclose the information you could make a written request – you’ve got a legal right to request it.

• Estate agents – Their shop windows don’t want to be cluttered with pictures of wrecks, but that doesn’t mean to say that they haven’t got some houses in need of rescuing in the back of the filing cabinet. So, make sure you ask to see what’s available.

• Online auctions – Auction catalogs are a good place to find empty properties that are for sale. On the web look out for specialist websites that specialise in empty properties. Always have a solicitor look at the paperwork before attempting to buy from auction. Many have weird covenants attached which are not always evident.

• Land for sale - More often than not building land for sale has already got a house on it that the seller is inviting you to buy to demolish. Often the house is beyond saving but sometimes it’s salvageable.

Who Owns It?

Once you’ve found an empty property, how do you know who owns it? It may be as simple as asking the people who live near by. If you explain to them why you want to know, they will probably be happy to tell you.

Many properties are registered at the Land Registry. For a small fee you can look at the register and see who the owner is. The HM Land Registry website for England and Wales is:www.landregisteronline.gov.uk, the Registers of Scotland Executive Agency is:www.ros.gov.uk and the Land Registry of Northern Ireland is: www.lrni.gov.uk.

Local authorities have different policies on disclosing this information. If your local authority won’t tell you, you could put the request in writing citing the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Councils employ Empty Property Officers whose job it is to get empty properties back in use. The officers work by persuading owners that it’s more valuable to have a lived-in property than to have it vacant. They often have good contacts and can help to match up property owners with ready-made schemes and local housing providers. If this is unsuccessful, many have powers to compel owners to do something about the property, these include:

• Compulsory purchase – As a last resort, the local authority has the power to buy a empty property with or without the owner’s permission.

• Enforced sale – If the owner has debts to the council secured on the property, the council can require the owner to pay them back. If they don’t, the council can force the property’s sale in order to get its money.

• Publicly owned empty property – A little known power lurks on our statute books called PRODS – a Public Request to Order Disposal, which can require public authorities to sell buildings they are leaving empty.

If your local authority has nobody who can help, why not lobby for some changes? The local press are often very interested in the waste of empty properties. Owners don’t like the adverse publicity and it can shame them into action.

These are some of the lenders offering mortgage products particularly suited to rescuing empty properties: The Ecology Building Society, Buildstore, The Co-operative Bank and the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society. However, do search on the internet for other recommendations.

Disposal

If you’re an owner of an empty property and are struggling to sell, there are a number of options open to you. Most estate agents will be able to sell the property for you, but if the market is failing, it’s best to refer to a specialist. Look out for estate agents that specifically market properties to developers. It’s also possible to advertise through a self-build plot agency that advertises properties to those wanting to restore or redevelop them.

Consult your local authority’s empty property officer, who will be able to help you to find a use for the building. Usually they will only use legal sanctions when a voluntary solution is not possible. Also, local housing associations or your local council can sometimes buy properties to restore and let out.

Are you affected by empty homes? Whether your experience is the nightmare of living next to an empty home, owning an empty property or the challenge of rescuing one – the independent charity The Empty Homes Agency (EHA) would like to hear from you. Visit the EHA website and share your story. The information you provide will create a unique record and resource that will enable people to better understand the problem of empty homes and help encourage more people to rescue them.

Article excerpts from the BBC.

LIKE THIS POST? THEN PLEASE SHARE IT WITH OTHERS!

Click Any Of The Buttons Below- or Click Above Right To Tweet It now!

Dont Be Shy! We Would Love Your Comments too-And We Always Respond.Thanks!