Love At First Site
I know it’s so wrong but I just can’t help myself……..
When I tell you what I’ve done I know some of you will tut shake your head and say I should never have crossed the line but I just couldn’t help myself. From that very first moment I felt different about this one and I wasn’t the only one.
I made my mind up, I wanted it and though it took a while and I even had to travel the length of the country to get it, I got what I wanted in the end. Now I have to think long and hard about the consequences and how I am going to keep it.
Now before your imagination runs wild, let me explain what I have done. Having sold my last self build project, I found myself temporarily homeless. Tenants were in my other properties with AST’s still in place but I didn’t want to lose my sale so I moved out and stayed for a while in a friends’ Granny Annex.
I was looking to rent a place, when I came across an apartment in a beautiful Grade 2 listed country house. It was set in stunning grounds and I just fell in love with it. However, the tenants who were occupying my old home (rented because nothing had been selling during the recession) decided that they were leaving, so there was no need for me to rent anywhere and I moved back in to my old house.
Love Struck
However, like a love struck teenager, I couldn’t get the apartment out of my head and browsing through Rightmove I noticed that another apartment in the same hall was for sale.
I went to look at it, and yes, fell completely head over heels in love; I just had to have it. Now the property professionals amongst you will reel with horror, investment properties must suit certain criteria, they should after all just make you money, that is what they are for and you never, ever get attached, it can ruin your judgement.
However, as a rental property, the numbers do stack up.
I bought it at the right price and it is worth considerably more than I paid for it and I think it will appeal to a small but discerning market of renters. If I get the refurbishment right, I am sure I will get a good price on the rental market. High end rental property is in demand and there isn’t much of it available in our area.
I know this for certain because I was looking for some myself. When I viewed the original apartment to rent, there were three of us after the same property and the letting agent said that the owners had hardly ever had a void in all the years that they had rented it out. It’s not how I usually work but I felt that if I could rent this apartment out for most of the year and get to use it myself occasionally, then it would be a real bonus.
Property Developer, Finance & Costs
The apartment does need refurbishing, now this is where I need to exercise some self control, after all it is a rental property, as magnificent as it is and no matter how discerning the tenants, there has to be a limit to what I should spend on the refurbishment costs. On the other hand this is a piece of history and I am responsible for its up keep.
For a start, the floor in the main salon is covered in a thick black varnish which hides a magnificent oak floor, so restoring it to its former glory will be my first task. We will strip it right back and seal it before the painters arrive and this is no mean paint job. While I would love to use Farrow and Ball paint at £60 for 5 litres this is one area I am going to have to compromise on. Fortunately the magnificent windows all have working shutters, so I won’t need to invest in expensive drapes, particularly as there are exquisite mouldings around the windows which would be hidden if I did.
The largest expense is going to be the kitchen, while there are remnants of some kitchen units in situ, they are not in keeping and are very cheap looking with laminate worktops, it just has to go.
I would love to put in an aga and even sent for a brochure but just in time I pulled myself back down to earth and reminded myself to stick within budget, definitely no aga then! The painting quotes alone are simply horrendous. Not surprising when the salon measures 49 foot by 29 foot and the ceiling is at least 15 feet high!
It is such an exciting project and I am enjoying every minute, having always been involved with new builds this is so very different for me. And being a woman of a certain age, I know that love affairs may not last forever but I have decided that I am just going to enjoy this one for as long as I can, just don’t hate me for it!
Ann Watson is a property developer and buy to let investor.
