The Best Guide for the West Somerset & Exmoor Area

Renovating your inherited property

There are many reasons for people to dabble in renovation. One of these may be an inheritance of a family home full of memories but in need of renovation. As well as the cost and stresses of renovation, there are also a few other considerations to take into account before you embark on your project.

Inheriting a home brings with it a lot of sentimental value. It may be a childhood home or one that holds lots of happy memories. From a financial viewpoint, you would be advised to be extra cautious not to let your heart and emotions take control of the project.

If you are renovating for resale then trying not to be too emotionally involved will allow you to make the right choices for your potential buyers.

Before you start, your property may be subjected to inheritance tax. Depending on how much the house is worth, you may have to pay 40 per cent inheritance tax on everything above £275,000. Considering that that the average house price today is more than £275,000 in 83 towns around the UK, this is very likely. For this reason you would be wise to consult a tax advisor or family solicitor for more advice on tax, before you put together a budget for any repairs or renovation plans.

Once you know where you stand on the tax side, the next step is to consider what value your plans will add to your property. If you are redeveloping with the intention of living there yourself, it is important to ensure that your budget for repairs and renovation does not exceed this. However, if you are renovating to increase your property's value, most experts agree that you should be aiming to make a 20 per cent profit on a redevelopment project. For example, if you spend £20,000 on a previously valued property of £200,000, you would need to sell at around £240,000 for it to make financial sense.

Most proposed repair works or renovation plans will have to abide by planning regulation guidelines. These are guidelines set by the government to ensure the health and safety of people in and around all types of buildings. You can download a complete set of approved building regulations from the Building Regulation website at www.building-regulation.org

Remember that the work your project involves may be subject to other statutory requirements, such as fire precautions and water regulations.

Depending on the severity of some of the problems your house has, you may need to seek out professional advice relevant to the work you want to carry out. Experts advise you to carry out a full structural survey of your property before you do anything else. This will help you understand what you are taking on in terms of cost. You could well discover that your plans involve the use of expensive contractors such as architects, structural engineers, building surveyors, heating engineers and electricians.

The Office of Fair Trading website publishes leaflets that can help you to find builders and tradesmen. Visit www.oft.gov.uk.

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