Expert Panel About: Sarah Beeny

Comments

1. Hi there, Would anyone be able to tell me if my ex-council 3 bedroomed flat would decrease in value if the new block of flats is built in front of the building where my flat is? Southwark Council has got a planning permission to build literally on the pavement and on the only grass area in front of the building three to six storey buildings, parking and shopping facilities? It is complete madness!!!!

   Posted by Biba Broz on 14/11/2009 23:41:48

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2. Property Ladder is great. I know that Sarah gives confidence to many women, who sometimes feel out of place in the decision making when it comes to their homes either in renovation or style and Sarah boosts them. I am not by any means suggesting that is how it should be as there are many competent and very capable women out there doing their own DIY and dreaming up their own concepts for improvement in their homes. Just that Sarah provides great advice and doesn't let the team down! I will now be a typical male and say she is also very easy on the eye!

   Posted by Chris Builder on 20/09/2009 11:39:17

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3. Our 4 bedroom detached house has 2 medium sized bedrooms, a slightly smaller en-suite master bedroom (yes, the master is not the largest room, believe it or not) and a small bedroom. Would we devalue our house if we converted the small bedroom into a bathroom and merged the existing bathroom into the master bedroom and ensuite to make a much larger master bedroom? We would end up with a 3-bedroomed house with much larger rooms.

   Posted by JMG on 15/09/2009 21:16:16

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4. can you give us an advice plz.We are undertaking some jobs on our new property, the builder will soon start to fit the kitchen, he quotes us for an oak floor but people told us to go for tiles as i could be easier to clean also energy efficient, we dont know what to go for,any idea?Job will start in the next 2weeks.Thanks.

   Posted by Nadine on 28/08/2009 21:35:16

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5. Hello Sarah / 4Homes team, Hope you can help. Me and my boyfriend are first time buyers, and have put an offer on a house that has been accepted. It needs a lot of work, but that's what we wanted. What we didn't want was a survey saying it needs underpinning! It is a probate property, for which the executer kept the building insurance up. Even if we can get the underpinning dealt with and paid for by the vendors buildings insurance, what position does this put us in if we go through with the purchase? I have read many stories and reports saying that we will find it hard to insure, and to sell on when we do come to move. Is this the case we are faced with? The ground in Sussex on which this building is built is clay, which is prone to movement. Does this offer any movement with the insurance? Surely a house with under-pinning is better than one without? The problems lie on the external side of the house, not the party side and it is a 1950's 3 bed semi. Any guideance you can offer will be great; we are massively confused. Thanks, Gemma

   Posted by Gemma on 28/08/2009 14:07:27

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6. Advice needed. We are looking to buy a house in a conservation area, but it needs significant work done to it to make it a home! however, it is a very good price in a good area. We have been working with a number of architects on options,but there is one big issue...... The plot is tight and we have 2 trees on the boundard line that would need to come out, to make any extension work possible. We can't seem to get clear advice on what to do about them. ie take them out no permission, speak to the neighbours and then take them out, or speak to the council. There isn't a preservation order on the trees, but it seems, that there is no clear way to handle this issue. Any advice appreciated.

   Posted by Mel on 27/08/2009 11:50:57

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7. Hi Sarah, we bought a 1930's 3 bedroom end of terrace in South London in 2007 and are planning to move in about 4 years. We were planning to knock down the wall between the kitchen (12'1x 7'7)and the dining room (17'9x 11'5) to create one room. Would we get the amount we spend back or should we just keep the two rooms separate and replace the existing kitchen units? I would really appreciate your opinion. Many thanks

   Posted by Jane on 20/08/2009 21:31:14

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8. Hi Sarah.I have had my property on the market for 6 weeks and althouth I have had viewings not firm offers have been made. It is in immaculate condition throughout and i wonder at what point would you advise nn lowering the price. It is realistically priced but I am anxious to see before autumn/winter.

   Posted by Michelle Goodall on 19/08/2009 14:28:51

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9. Please help. My 3 bed house has been valued at £200,000 to £220,000 and a two storey extension we have planning permission for would only add another £30,000, so it is not feasible. We would only like to stay here another two years and have spent the last three renovating the entire property. The garage and shack of a outhouse still require updating. We are considering knocking down both and building a single storey side extension to accomodate a fourth bedroom and extended kitchen. We can achieve this for about £10,000. A cheaper alternative would be to update garage using existing walls and slab to convert into fourth bedroom and spend £1000 on updating lean to. I would like your opinions on this,thanks

   Posted by Powellrnbw on 15/08/2009 12:22:26

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10. Hi Sarah, I love your show and watch it all the time and get some great ideas. I do a lot of diy myself through necessity as I can't afford the professionals. My query is where can I find out about removing a chimney breast from my downstairs. The chimney breast in right in the middle of my two bedroom house and takes up a lot of space. The house was built in the early 1950's. Is this possible and if so does it cost a lot. I would like it removed from the house altogether but I would not like to damage the property. Can you help?

    Posted by Jo Gardner on 17/07/2009 05:10:32

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11. Hi sarah , i am after somne advise please . i have a two bedroom flat which is suffering from a small bathroom. to give myself more room in the bathroom , i was thinking about removing the bath altogther , and replace it with a shower cubicle. Do you think that not having a bath would detract from the price of my flat ? or can i "get away" with not having a bath in the flat. cheers

    Posted by stephen on 24/06/2009 07:51:55

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12. hello there, im thinking of buying a 1930's semi, which hasn't been touched for some years, i want to keep as much of the the 1930 features, the plaster work is in good condition, and want to paint the walls white, but im on budget, do you think it would be ok to paper line the walls, or best to re-skim the walls..? thanks

    Posted by gary on 27/04/2009 19:30:35

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13. Hi Sarah I am in need of some advice about a Georgian house we have just purchased in South Wales. The property has two single storey extensions either side of the main house and there is a disused workshop to the rear of one of them. There are a total of 15 rooms in the house, and although this is great, the two extensions mean that there are a lot of rooms on the ground floor that I am not sure how to utilize and the layout is a little haphazard. I was wondering if you would be able to point me in the direction of someone who can help us to re-work the space that we have to our best advantage. The extensions are from the 1950’s and 1960’s and although they are not attractive I would like to keep the footprint of these structures and redesign them to be more in keeping with the period of the property. In addition to this we also have a large cellar and there is a possibility they we could convert the attic. I hope you are able to advise me as to a company or consultant that could assist us. Many thanks Sara

    Posted by Sara Alford on 15/03/2009 21:08:02

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14. Hi please help and give me advice. I have a main house with annex in same garden by it. Annex is supplied by oil from the main house and elec though has a meter. It existed and was furnished and used as part of the house by previous owners over 11 years ago in addition to me 5 years. It had shower kitchen bedroom furnished when I arrived. The Council came and banded annex and house separately. I have had friends and logers and my mortgage co said it was fine to have a lodger in my house or annex and I did not even need to ask them as I am living on site. The council have asked for a certificate of lawfulness to be filled in of existing/development. I did not build this, it was existing. Now Council saying I may have breached planning, and they are trying to say it is an outbuilding. It is not, it has been part of my home and used by previous owners for over 15 years. Is pebble dashed and has a chimney, chimney breast though no fir used. I wanyt o have friends lodgers as a room to let schem, it is a small place and get's utilities from main house, though meter separate so a guest/lodger can pay their own electric. Small gap between annex and my house 2.5 feet approx and both parts made of same materials, bick and stone and pebble dashed. I have it on my plans and bought the property as one. The annex/cottage was listed on agents details with kitchen, shower room etc. Please clarify. They have now sent me a Planning contravening notice, saying I may have contravened and have 3 weeks to answer. Please advise ASAP. I have always used it as one property. Thanks

    Posted by Heidi on 14/03/2009 21:03:53

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15. Hi there sarah, me my mum and step dad have just purchased a 2 Bed victorian end terrace. through 1 of the 2 double bedrooms is the bathroom. . . down stairs there are some little out buildings coal sheds etc i was wondering what do you think would be best to do just leave the bathroom up stairs, extend the kitchen and open it onto the garden or put another bathroom down stairs ? when plan to rent this property out for about 5 years? regaurds jaymie!

    Posted by Jaymie on 10/03/2009 21:59:18

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16. Hi Sarah, can you help? My boyfriend and I own a 4 bed 1922 house. we are replaciing windows and central heatng but cannot agree on the kitchen/downstairs toilet, currently an outside 'netty'. Is it bettter ( with a limited budget) to create a large dining kitchen by knocking a supporting wall down between the kitchen and miniscule breakfasting room. or spending slightly less and putting the outside loo inside and creating a uttility room but leaving the kitchen and tiny separate breakfast as separate rooms? We cannot afford both. Your comments if you are still doing his would be very welcome as you are always right on your TV programme!

    Posted by pat on 28/02/2009 22:26:12

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17. Hi Sarah. Congrats on a great show and books.Me and my partner are renovating a 1930 semidetached property with three bedrooms and 2 living rooms. The third bedroom upstairs is really small and next to the main bedroom. would it be a good idea turning that smaller bedroom into an onsuite and the second downstairs living room into a larger third bedroom? we are also doing an open plan extension downstairs so we would end up with three larger bedrooms, one with onsuite, but lose one living room downstairs but that would be compensated with the extension. Thank you

    Posted by Daniela on 07/02/2009 23:08:49

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18. Hi Sarah. I'm hoping you can provide some advice on my long-running property saga. I live in the top flat in a old Glasgow tenement and a survey discovered extensive dry rot in my flat and the one directly underneath. The flat downstairs is rented and the landlord has refused to enter into any discussions with me on repairs. I am unable to carry out any repair work in my flat without his cooperation as the work would not be guaranteed. I am desperate to move on and I wondered if you had any advice on how to deal with this? Thanks

    Posted by Anne on 27/01/2009 21:32:51

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19. Hi Sarah. COuld you please give me some advice. I have the opportunity to buy the 2 up 2 down terrace next door and have a number of questions as to the potential. Could we easily extend through to creat a 4 bedroom house and extend the down stairs floor space? Thanks Joe

    Posted by J_K_R1 on 30/12/2008 19:58:28

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20. Hi there Sarah. Myself and partner are in a bit of a muddle. We bought a converted victorian ground floor flat 2 years ago and sadly the soundproofing is so awful that we have decided to move. In this climate I am aware that it is very rough but I was wondering if you had any ideas on how to sell ( I am worried prosepctive clients will view it and hear the upstairs ). We have had ceilings lowered and upstairs have tried but it is still bad. HELP :-) No seriously - this is from a very stressed home owner who was hoping his and his partners life would be happy where we are. Thankyou so much, Jamie

    Posted by jamie on 22/12/2008 16:26:09

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21. Hi Sarah In anticipation of my mother needing accommodation we added a third story to our very small modern estate house with the idea of a kitchen-less granny flat on the first floor. Originally, FF two small doubles, and a standard bathroom. In the extension we created a 20 sq m bedroom with en suite and a 10sq m double. The house floor-plan is only 4.5 by 6.5 m. There was/is no possibility of enlarging front or rear. It is a small house on a very small plot. The house is now 'top heavy' with four bedrooms and a GF 20 sq m living room and a 10 sq m kitchen diner. My mother is such that she cannot now come, so on the FF one bedroom is to be an office and the other could be a second living room. The cost was £30k Is there anything else we can/could/should have done? Scarlett PS I wonder how you manage to control your frustration when first timers etc. fail to recognise your advice contrary to their ideas. It often seems so obvious.

    Posted by Scarlett on 16/12/2008 20:54:05

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22. Hi Sarah, I watched a show of yours a while ago and there was a plant that you suggested to the people, this plant deodorise's the air. It can get rid of smells like a family pet. I have been trying to get the name of this plant but have had no joy. Would you pbe able to let me know what it was and were I can get one. Thanks

    Posted by Alex Lloyd on 15/12/2008 15:44:55

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23. My sister due to an accident is disabled and has been awarded an amount of money to build a bungalow for all her needs, we would like your imput if possible as this is a one and only house for the rest of her life.

    Posted by Kathleen Walker on 22/11/2008 21:49:23

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24. Hi Sarah We have purchased a dorma bungalow. There is a small kitchen 2 rooms downstairs, living room separate bathroom and toilet and a gareage attached. Upstairs in the dorma is a very thin dark room and a square box room. To meke better use of the space i thought of making a kitchen/ diner the upstairs as one room with ensuite and also converting the garage to a bedroom so it would be a 3 bed house but the rooms will all be of a good size. Would this keep value in the house better than leaving the garage and only having 2 bedrooms?? Your advice would be appreciated

    Posted by sarah on 12/11/2008 12:48:54

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25. Dear Sarah, Having watched property ladder over the years and enjoyed seeing your expertise prevail on numerous occasions regarding the varying building projects undertaken i find myself needing some of your expert advice for myself (well actually for my Dad). My Dad retired approximately a year ago and lives in a 30 year old detached house with my step mother that he had built from scratch. Now in his late sixties and looking to spend the rest of his days there he would like to renovate the original house and bring it up to scratch and also make it more user friendly. He has an old anthracite boiler that he can no longer fill to heat the home so has asked me to look into this. I am currently chasing oftec companies for oil heating systems but to date have not received even a reply to quote for a new system. this is just the tip of the iceberg as he has recently appointed an architect who relieved him of over £50,000 in fees for a new design and planning permission. My Dad promised his wife an Art / Music studio which was also included in the design. Unfortunately my dad told the architect his budget was at the most £300,000 and as to be expected the build on the new design has been quoted at £420,000. This leaves my Dad in a predicament. If he goes ahead then he will be completely broke and in debt or he looks at getting another architect in to look at the design and make changes to reduce costs. I work for a national house builder and therefore had a pretty good idea that he would be taken advantage of as he knows nothing of this tyoe of work and costs. Your professional advice would be so beneficial to him and may just allow he and his wife to move forward without taking all of their life savings in the building project. I am sure you get these requests all the time but i had to ask. Obviously we would pay for your assistance and guidance and would love to be able to use a trustworthy company (like i am sure yours is) to complete the build once we have reviewed and redesigned where necessary. The House sits alone about a mile from the nearest village and 5 miles from the nearest town (wellingborough). Your thoughts would be very much appreciated and any help you can provide would be invaluable. Kind regards Justin Gaggini

    Posted by Justin Gaggini on 01/11/2008 17:23:23

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26. Hi Sarah. I have a Victorian 2 up 2 down, with an down stairs kitchen & bathroom (at the rear) in Watford, Herts. I have had plans drawn up for an single story extension with a new bathroom & kitchen / dinner. I have planning permision. Based on your experience, could you give a rough estimate of the cost of the building works (excluding supply & instalation of bathroom / kitchen)? The internal size of extension will be (approx)6 metres x 3.5 metres. Many thanks, Leo & Rengiz Forshaw.

    Posted by Leo on 01/11/2008 13:04:37

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27. My kitchen backs on to a granny annex with a large window infront of the kitchen sink looking through to the extension annex which consists of another kitchen. The kitchen units are situated to the side which you can not see looking through to the window. meaning that i have 2 kitchens. I need desperate help how to design this. A cooker, dishwasher, washing machine, washing dryer, fridge and fridge freezer and dinning table is needed. I will be buying these items as new. As everything i have is now dated. I would like to know where i should put these items e.g a built in fridge, freezer washing machine etc. I dont partciulary want to knock things out as i do not have much money for major jobs, or anything like a kitchen island as i am still keeping the kitchen floor tiles. Please please help.

    Posted by bfrancis on 27/10/2008 10:51:49

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28. OUr house has for sale for a while, lots of interest intially but with market dropping so did the interest. We reduced the price (£350k to £287k) and yesterday got an offer below that based on 1% stamp duty. We would like to get £260k & could offer to pay the 1/2 the difference between 1% and 3% but don't know if this is legal?

    Posted by Harold Few on 19/10/2008 15:16:24

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29. Hello We are moving into a house (approx 100 years old) soon which needs double glazing, damp proofing and new heating. We are not connected to mains gas and currently there are some very old night storage heaters. Can you recommend the most economical heating system and how do we go about finding companies which sell them? We are on a tight budget. Thanks Mandy ps.neither of us have any DIY experience apart from putting togehter IKEA furniture!

    Posted by Mandy on 16/10/2008 09:25:49

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30. Hi We will be mortgage free next year. We would like to either buy houses to do student lets or houses to rent out. We think the only way we do developments to sell on is if we could get a repro. I have estate agency experience and my daughter is in E A and also her firm does rentals. My plan is to get one property and get it paid off asap to free up cash for a second. I am not like others on your show I will take advice from someone with your experience. Do you think the plan subject to lots of research will work. We have narrowed our student area down to Stoke as you can get cheaper properties there. This is just the start so no figures at this stage just thought we would pick your brains. Yours sincerely Joanne Lloyd

    Posted by jo lloyd on 11/10/2008 17:43:01

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31. Hi Scott Thanks for your offer! You need to get in touch with the production company about this - they deal with the show itself. I don't have a specific contact, but if you get in touch with Talkback TV, you should be ok!

    Posted by Lucy 4Homes Ed on 03/10/2008 18:25:40

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32. Hi Sue I've posted to you on Kevin's page as well. Not sure how helpful I can be without really knowing more - and even then I'm not sure... Suffice to say that a house probably can't have too many wow factors, but having too many may lessen the effect of those that are already there. It's all a question of balance. As for whether you go for full Arts & Crafts - it depends how long you intend to be in the house. If you're selling it on as a development, the general rule is to keep things fairly plain. If you're looking to live there and love it... go for it.

    Posted by Lucy 4Homes Ed on 03/10/2008 18:23:09

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33. Hi Violetta This is going to be a case of asking local estate agents. Generally losing a bedroom cuts a home's value but then most people don't like having a downstairs bathroom, so it's a case of doing your research and making a judgement about what will work best in the area you live in. Ideally, you might steal space from the bedrooms to get a bathroom up there without losing a bedroom, then use the extra space downstairs to create a kitchen diner.

    Posted by Lucy 4Homes Ed on 03/10/2008 18:18:59

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34. Hi Violetta The answer to your question really depends on whether you'd use a formal dining room? The upside to having such an extra room is that it could be a playroom, a study or a dining room, so I suggest when you're having the work done, you get all the necessary electrics etc thought out in advance, so that when you come to sell - or as your own use of the house changes if you stay put - the room is as versatile as possible.

    Posted by Lucy 4Homes Ed on 03/10/2008 18:16:42

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35. Hi SP Leylandii I'm assuming that the trees were on their property? In which case, sorry, there's not alot you can do about it, other than plant your own within your own boundaries - they do grow quickly - and are generally seen as a pest. The window issue you mention is a whole different matter and not relevant in this case. Good luck

    Posted by Lucy 4Homes Ed on 03/10/2008 18:14:28

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36. Hi Viv I'm afraid we can't give you financial advice on the site - the best I can do is point you to this feature: http://www.channel4.com/4homes/property-money/mortgages-home-finance/financing-options-for-development-08-05-29_p_1.html and tell you to speak to an independent financial advisor. Good luck.

    Posted by Lucy 4Homes Ed on 03/10/2008 16:47:33

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37. Hi Clare So sorry this is such a late reply. Did you sort out everything with your builders? Let us know if you still need advice. Lucy

    Posted by Lucy 4Homes Ed on 03/10/2008 16:45:04

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38. hi i would just like to offer to refurb a bathroom on your show for free if there is someone close to me i am a bath resurfacer who can change coloured suites to white to save money on replacing the suite especially if the suite is cast or metal or spray a white one no matter it's condition i would offer this service so more people realise this can be done and the quality of the finish thanks

    Posted by scott morris on 28/09/2008 22:12:20

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39. Hi Sarah, Another show I love - but tell me why don't people listen to you? You are always so right. I have put a posting on Kevin's web site, and taking an estate agents advice 5 years ago, from Reed Rain, the valuation then was £750,000 upwards, when all the new rooms and new floor are put in which will be galleried, as I didn't want to chop our existing 33 massive arched windows. My aim is when we eventually downsize to try and hit the 1M price. This is truely a Marmite house, but I realise that it will have to be top speck, landscaped gardens etc. We are also signed up to have heritage work done, which comes to nearly £200,000, and have been told that we will probably have scaffolding up for about a year. Working closely with our architect, Mark we are trying to tie the two in together, as this makes far more sence. My questions to you are: are we doing all the right things, can a house have too many WOW factors, and how do I get the balance right mixing Arts and Craft with a modern twist or do I stick with Arts and Craft, because on my posting to Kevin I said that I will not be a slave to the Arts and Craft movement. Because of the 'Great historical interest' which way do we go? Obviously I know about ceilings on price, and because of where we live, and the money that is being pumped in through heritage, word is that it's on the up. Thanks Sue

    Posted by Sue Rowland Kwint on 27/09/2008 11:30:40

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40. I am currently living in a house which eventually I would like to rent out. A three bedroomed terraced house in the town centre. The only bathroom is currently downstairs. Should I convert the smallest bedroom into a bathroom? Would this decrease the value of the house and rental income?

    Posted by Violeta on 24/09/2008 11:55:05

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41. I am about to convert the ground floor of a terraced house, to make it as open plan as possible. So at the front of the house would be the living room/dinning, walking through to the kitchen (which will have a shower room off it). At the end of the house is a room which has a large patio door and overlooks the garden i have not decided if it should be part of the kitchen or a formal dinning room. What would be your advice?

    Posted by Violeta on 24/09/2008 11:51:35

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42. Our property used to be surrounded by Leylandii to one side but the Housing Association that owns the adjacent properties has cut them all down thus completely exposing our house to three other houses. There are now only two rooms left in the house where the tenants in the housing association houses cannot see directly into our house and one of those is the cellar! The leylandii also used to act as a deterrent but now there is an easily climb-able wall which is a security risk. On one Property Ladder i remember something about a window being added to the development which compromised the neighbour's privacy. Do we have any redress with the Housing Association who didn't, by the way, inform us in advance. Thanks!

    Posted by SP on 15/09/2008 20:14:13

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43. My husband and I both own our own small businesses, we are keen to move into property developing, but feel financing it may be a problem as we are self employed.We own our house outright and it has a value of approx £180000, we are looking at raising about £80000 to help us move into property.I have had conflicting advice about how to raise the money ie remortgaging/ commercial loan and I am confused as to what options there are if any, could you please help clear the fog, man thanks, Viv

    Posted by viv holmes on 15/09/2008 14:25:26

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44. Hi! Our builder is about 80% of the way through our rennovations and we have about 10% of fixed price left to pay to the builder. Today all workmen have been taken off our site as the company has cashflow problems and can't buy any further materials. They are asking for more money from us and won't accept our offer of us paying their suppliers for our materials directly. We are desperate to get carpets down and move back in. So far the work has been great - the workmen are fantastic (it's just the company owner who isn't). Any suggestions for what we should do? Time and money are obviously our key concerns. We were in a similar position about half way through the project and ended up handing over more money than we had originally agreed as work had come to a stand still when they didn't have the money to pay the workforce. We have a meeting with them in the morning. Thanks, Claire

    Posted by Claire on 11/09/2008 15:49:59

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45. Hi Chris It really depends on the proportions of your rooms - and their size in relation to the rest of the house. So, if your living room is tiny but your kitchen decent, you might need a bigger living room (and vice versa). Generally, a bigger kitchen (with dining space), though, will add more value to a house (or at least make it easier to sell on).

    Posted by Lucy 4Homes Ed on 05/09/2008 14:51:22

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46. Hi Mark TAX QUESTION Sorry, but we can't give financial advice on the site - however there are lots of finance features that might be informative in your case in our property & money section - can I suggest you scout round it. There's also a feature on capital gains tax (http://www.channel4.com/4homes/property-money/property-development/don-t-get-stung-by-capital-gains-tax-08-06-06_p_1.html) that should help. After that, best I can do is to advise you to find a good, independent, unbiased financial advisor.

    Posted by Lucy 4Homes Ed on 05/09/2008 14:49:33

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47. Hi Eric HOUSE REFURB I can't give you ideas about a redesign - it's WAY to complicated but you can apply to www.channel4.com/takepart to be part of the show. I'm just at the other end of a similar refurb myself in London - and I'd say with absolute conviction that your surveyor is right and that your builder is mad - there's no way £25K will cover that type of work. Neither will £50K be enough...

    Posted by Lucy 4Homes Ed on 05/09/2008 14:46:37

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48. Please help solve our attic stairs nightmare! Our home is a typical Victorian terrace, namely tall and narrow! The attic conversion (completed by the previous owner) has a ridiculously steep staircase, which hasn't bothered us up 'til now as we've used the room just for storage. However, we are having our second child at Christmas and need to move our four-year old daughter into the room. We've had a couple of stair manufacturers in to give us a quote, but they've just balked at the job and not returned our calls! I presume because the job is just too difficult. WE need some Sarah Beeny-or-colleague genius to suggest how to get a safe stair case into a narrow space. Thanks so much.

    Posted by Kate on 02/09/2008 21:44:09

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49. Hi Sarah We are looking to knock out some cupboards in our kitchen these are quite big and will add alot of room. My question is we can knock out the cupboards either way to make either a bigger kitchen or a bigger lounge, what would add more value to my house though? Chris

    Posted by Chris Thompson on 30/08/2008 17:53:00

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50. Hi. I am about to convert a large victorian house to 4 one bedroom flats and would like some advice on tax issues as this project is deemed a 'commercial' project and eventually I will receive an income from 3 of the 4 flats (ie: I will live in 1 flat). Can I recover or offset cost of build against rental income? I am in full time employment and acting as principle contractor. Many thanks, Mark (Somerset)

    Posted by Mark on 29/08/2008 12:22:20

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51. Sarah, My wife and I are debating whether or not to buy a home that needs major refurbishment. The house needs new electrics, possibly new roof, new boiler and modernization (bathrooms and kitchen). The house is in Ealing and we plan to live in it. Currently there are 3 bedrooms and 1 and a half baths. The lounge (extension) is on the ground floor, kitchen and master bedroom on 1st floor with toilet, and 2 bedrooms on top floor with full bath. How should we (re)design the house? The surveyor's estimate to rebuild is 150k and one of the builder's estimates is 25k? Who should we believe? Our budget is 50k max to rennovate, so we don't want to buy the money pit. Also, we would be interested to be on your show. We love watching it and it would be fantastic to have your help. Thank you for your time

    Posted by Eric Rosenthal on 29/08/2008 12:12:14

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52. Hi James I'm not sure 'wise' is the right word. If you've found a property at a good price - and there are some bargains around - and you think that you could develop it within a budget and that all your fees and costs will add up to less that what you could sell it on for (and you should assume you would have to do so in a market that's in the same state or slightly worse than now), then you could be brave and give it a go. Whatever you do, don't be blinded by a property's price - is it in a good, up and coming location? Would people want to rent it from you? Is there work that could be done easily to improve it's worth? The market is far to unpredictable for anyone to know what will happen - predictions as to whether the housing market will recover soon vary from 2010 to 2012. If you're in no hurry and can afford not to resell, it might be worth a punt. For what it's worth, I'm considering it.

    Posted by Lucy 4Homes Ed on 21/08/2008 16:54:41

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53. during this "credit crunch" period is it wise to buy an investment property? (or two). im fairly financially stable so is it wise? thanks james clover

    Posted by James on 19/08/2008 17:24:04

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54. Sarah, Can you tell me who the best person on this site is to ask about the utility companies' statutory rights to connect to a sewer in someone else's garden. I have a plot of land with planning for two detached houses. The land owner wants x pounds for an easement. Thames Water want X times 4 to exercise the statutory rights, which I thought were designed to stop people being held to ransom when needing access to services. AJ

    Posted by Andrew Fish on 08/08/2008 18:06:14

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