If you’re refinancing a property you’ll be visited by the lender’s surveyor to value your property.  As refinancing normally is the result of having done a refurb, you’ll need to be well prepared for this.  Don’t assume that the surveyor will wander around your property and be impressed by what you’ve done!

It helps to know the surveyor's mindset...

THE QUESTION

I am looking to buy a decently priced (BMV) house which also has a value add opportunity to convert the loft to raise the value a bit more. My mortgage advisor says I cannot get a BTL mortgage until I've owned the property for 6 months, but I'm hoping to purchase it in August-September via bridging, get the loft converted in October, and be ready to refinance at the highest value...

THE QUESTION

I have a property which is a large freehold semi-detached (around 140sqm), that will split nicely into 2x 2 beds (houses not flats), my question is do I need planning permission, and, if I split the properties into leaseholds, do we need 2x utility supplies to the property, or can we just split the existing supply?

THE ANSWER

Planning - absolutely planning permission is needed....

THE QUESTION

Has anyone had an experience of lenders not accepting property because of lack of acceptable NHBC certifications?  The house was originally a bungalow and has now been extended extensively.

Four lenders have confirmed they will not touch it.  As the property is classed as an initial occupancy, it has been altered, extended and refurbished and is being sold for the first...

THE QUESTION

We got the search results back on a property; it says that there has been an unauthorised loft conversion.  It must have been done a good while ago as the property has been empty for more than three years.

The plan was to use the loft as either a third bedroom or a study, but the surveyor advised that the floor needed more support.

Can we apply for back-dated planning...

THE QUESTION

I’ve come across a house split into two flats, but without obtaining planning permission. I’ve been told it’s been more than four years since the conversion was done and the current owners have evidence of the work taking place at that time.

If I buy the property and apply for planning permission will I automatically get it or is likely that I will be required to...

THE QUESTION

I am considering buying a flat that was converted in 2008 – without planning permission.  The landlord tried to get retrospective planning permission two years after conversion (2010), but the Council rejected the application.

Now the property is up for sale and I think a bridging loan wouldn't be a problem, but a mortgage company would ultimately require an indemnity...

THE QUESTION

We are converting a 4-bed house into 2 x 1 bed flats and 2 x 2 bed flats.  We were going to sell, however we are now thinking about forming a company, keeping and renting them through this.  Which lenders lend on a development which has just started please?  Should we put one property into a company or four separate units?

We bought it in joint names personally with...

THE QUESTION

With regard to mortgages and HMOs if you buy a house using a BTL mortgage, with a no Early Repayment Charge can you then convert the property to an HMO and swap the mortgage over to an HMO mortgage?

THE ANSWER

Great strategy... if you want to get yourself blacklisted by No ERC mortgage lenders!

These lenders get really annoyed at being used as surrogate bridging...

I am in the very early stages of researching the potential purchase of a commercial property with a view to converting it to a residential property. I'm struggling to find a great deal online that is useful about this. I have put out some feelers with some folk I know and thought it would be worth asking you!

Are you using property in the singular, or do you really mean plural? For...