Is it possible to buy a cheap house?

[Jeremy Nicoll - news posts]

through my roof on a dark and stormy night...

[tim.....]

How about this?

personally I'd rather have this:

[Nightjar]

nuclear power station?

Colin Bignell

[newshound]

Considering the number of visiting contractors, and shortage of reasonable priced accomodation I always thought it would make a good boarding house. A couple of good local boozers with food, too.

[ss]

Yip one would have to adapt to the summer heat. Many in their early 40s have retired there and living a very comfortable lifestyle, some messed up big time by continuing to be the eternal tourist and blew it!

[cdr]

place of residence because you can't (reside in it).

Damn. That's scuppered my main plan. However, I've just thought of a pote= ntial workaround. How about this idea: say I rent out my own flat, but on = a "live in landlord" basis - like that spareroom website, where I rent out = a room in the property, but then give the lodger the whole run of the flat.= Then, I hardly ever make any appearance there, because I'm always at the = holiday home. I wonder if that would work?

Not totally out in the sticks I suppose, because I require mains elec, wate= r, phone. But I certainly want to be in somewhere detached, and say about =

50 yards away from the next pr> Do you want to find a cheap home in order to live within a tight budget o=

r do you have some emotional or aesthetic desire for a 'shack'

Definitely both. Cheap yes. And I want to be in a "get away from it all" = place.

[geoff]

The obvious flaw in your plan is that cheap flats tend to exist where people don't want to live - otherwise they wouldn't be ... cheap

You sound like you are a few photons short of a light beam

not really though this through, have you?

[NT]

ttom of the garden. =A0I live in it, all the year round. =A0I let the house= out to a tenant.

Its not allowed, but easy to do. There's pretty well no such thing as a legal shack in Britain. However letting to a tenant when you're in the shed is likely to be issueful.

NT

[geoff]

In message , cdr writes

House boat

try and get one without a hole in it

[John Williamson]

place of residence because you can't (reside in it).

potential workaround. How about this idea: say I rent out my own flat, but on a "live in landlord" basis - like that spareroom website, where I rent out a room in the property, but then give the lodger the whole run of the flat. Then, I hardly ever make any appearance there, because I'm always at the holiday home. I wonder if that would work?

Possible, as long as your flat has at least two bedrooms. You will also need to appear there on a regular basis to collect your official mail.

phone. But I certainly want to be in somewhere detached, and say about 50 yards away from the next property.

Phone isn't a problem, and a lot of people, even in towns, manage well enough with a mobile and a 3G broadband connection. Outside town, you need to select your service provider with care. Look at their coverage maps before you either move in or select your provider.

Mains power is fairly universal unless you want to live well away from all towns and villages. Mains water ditto. Mains gas can be more of a problem. Mains drainage isn't a necessity, septic tanks are not that unpleasant except when they go wrong, and can be cheaper to run than paying the water company to take it away.

you have some emotional or aesthetic desire for a 'shack'

The two aren't entirely mutually exclusive, and I would suggest that you pick an area and consult one of the property search websites.

If you're not in the UK, then you may want to reconsider "cheap" and "Get away from it all" in view of our property market. There are very few places in the UK where you can't hear your neighbours or the nearest road on a windless day. If you're used to, say, French prices outside the Isle de France, you won't think anywhere here is cheap.

I found the house I live in now using:-

paid about £15,000 below market price, because it had been repossessed by the mortgagor and there was a slight problem with the title which can be rectified later by paying a solicitor a walletful of money.

As a broad guide, houses near to London, Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham are expensive. The Scottish Highlands and Islands, bits of East Anglia, and the North East are relatively cheap. Detached, especially if there's a bit of privacy, is expensive. Being within easy commuting distance of a major commercial centre is more expensive, but that's the same no matter what country you're in.

The houses already referred to in this thread are typical of their areas.

[John Williamson]

I was looking round last year, and you can buy a reasonable semi-detached house in a cheap area for less than the cost of a decent houseboat, without the ridiculously inflated mooring charges and all the other charges you'll end up paying for a residential mooring, which, incidentally, have very little security of tenure and can't be sold on.

When I lived on a boat in the 1970s, it was cheap and unregulated. Those days are long gone...

[cdr]

(snipped text, regarding the "spareroom idea")

That's interesting. I understand what you are saying, but say if the flat = only had 1 bedroom. Could I say the following, to any council official: "T= he tenant has the bedroom, and I sleep on the foldout settee in the living = room." Would that excuse get around that particular issue I wonder?

[John Williamson]

only had 1 bedroom. Could I say the following, to any council official: "The tenant has the bedroom, and I sleep on the foldout settee in the living room." Would that excuse get around that particular issue I wonder?

No. You each need sleeping accommodation that you can close off from the shared parts of the building.

[John Williamson]

And as a second thought, you both need to be able to show that you live there, by having clothing, bedding and other necessities in the flat at all times.

[geoff]

Without planning permission, you'd be breaking the law if its occupied overnight

[Theo Markettos]

Fri 14 Oct 2011 13:18:19 BST Initial entry found.

Tue 24 Jan 2012 20:04:06 GMT Brief Description changed: RESIDENTIAL USE NOW APPROVED!! A rare opportunity to purchase a detached and self contained studio home with development potential. This charming brick and flint Grade II listed building boasts an interesting history and has been completely renovated to an extremely high standard AND NOW HAS RE... Price changed: from 'Guide Price £79,950' to 'Guide Price £69,950'

Sun 01 Jul 2012 21:19:47 BST Brief Description changed: CURRENTLY TENANTED AND OFFERED FOR SALE TO INVESTMENT BUYERS!! A rare opportunity to purchase a detached and self contained studio home with development potential. This charming brick and flint Grade II listed building boasts an interesting history and has been completely renovated to an extrem...

Sun 05 Aug 2012 16:01:47 BST Price changed: from 'Guide Price £69,950' to 'Guide Price £63,500'

Theo

[geoff]

In message , cdr writes

Do you think that the council are complete idiots?

Just keep that thought in your head when you ask such questions

Do you not think that someone else has tried that before ?

Just keep that thought in your head when you ask such questions

[geoff]

And are now getting prosecuted as fast as the local authorities can get around to it

[geoff]

"Its on a council estate that has cctv instead of street lights - a bit like shameless"

So there you go, if its cheap, there's a reason for it

[Tony Bryer]

In New South Wales (each Australian state is different) you can build a 'granny flat' without going through normal planning requirements and there's no requirement for it to be occupied by a family member.

probably wouldn't want to do this behind your own home, but for a rental house with a large garden (which tenants view as a liability) it offers a great way of improving the supply of low cost housing.