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David Ireland |
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David Ireland is the main advisor to the BBC series How to Rescue a House. He has worked in housing for the last fifteen years, directly helping people with their property problems, and now, through his job at The Empty Homes Agency, he is affecting national policy. He also puts his money where his mouth is: ten years ago he and his wife bought and restored a neglected cottage in South West London. Passionate about how property can make our lives better, David’s goal is to help everyone make better use of their own home, a new home, or an empty home.
David Ireland is an expert in property - but better than that, he's done what he talks about. David shares with us his top tips on to how to rescue a house and turn an unloved property into the home of your dreams…
5 REASONS TO RESCUE AN EMPTY HOUSE
You can save a piece of this green and pleasant land. There is a huge house building programme planned in England, and much of it will involve building on the countryside. Every home that is created out of an empty property should mean one less new one needs to be built.
You can create the home you want, not the one somebody else wants to sell you. Sure neglected homes need work, but they should be priced accordingly. You can spend the money you save on getting it exactly how you want it.
Less competition. Most neglected homes are not on the market, and even those that are for sale tend to get marketed less vigorously than other houses. This puts you as the potential buyer in the driving seat.
Pay less VAT. Out of every pound you spend on renovating most houses 17 ½p goes to the government. But it’s different for many empty homes; you may only have to pay 5p in the pound. Some empty properties are even exempt from VAT altogether.
No property chain. One of the most awkward aspects of moving house is relying on a whole chain of buyers and sellers to coordinate their transactions. The only way out of this is if you buy a property with vacant possession, an empty property in fact!
5 PLACES TO LOOK FOR A HOUSE THAT NEEDS RESCUING
Learn to ask the right questions to estate agents. Estate agents don’t want to clutter their shop window up with pictures of wrecks, but that doesn’t mean to say that they haven’t got some houses in need of rescuing from the back of the filing cabinet.
Auction catalogues are a good place to find empty properties that are for sale. Also look out for specialist websites like Empro.co.uk that specialise in empty properties.
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 others are not so open. If they won't disclose the information you could make a written request - you’ve got a legal right to see it.
Building land for sale: More often than not it’s already got a house on it that the seller is inviting you to buy to demolish. Often the house is beyond the pale but sometimes it’s salvageable.
Keep your eyes peeled. About one in twenty homes in this country are empty. Once you start looking you’ll see that they’re everywhere.
5 TOP TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL HOUSE RESCUE
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 on the property you may not be allowed to.
Learn how to 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.
Chose the right building materials for the job. There’s a range of alternatives for every eventuality. Some choices are good for your pocket, some are good for the environment and some are just less hassle for your builder.
Don’t bank on a grant, but see what’s available. Rescuing an empty property meets the objectives of lots of organisations some of them may be prepared to subsidize your costs.
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. Budget £200 to spend on a treat for yourself at the end. It'll help keep you focused on sticking to the budget.
