Wrecks don’t have to be the ruin of you!

BUYING a wreck offers the chance to create something unique and entirely to your own taste. And, increasingly, it’s a way of finding an affordable home.

A first-time buyer saving 15 per cent of his or her take-home pay, would need eight years to raise the 20 per cent deposit required to buy the average home in good condition, according to the Nationwide Building Society. In London, it’s ten years.

Consultancy Hometrack says prices have gone through the roof compared to earnings, with a London home now costing 14.5 times average earnings of £34,200 in the capital. Oxford is close behind on 12.6 times the average salary, with Bournemouth on 10.1 and Bristol on 9.7.

As a result there’s demand for ‘ doeruppers’, which normally are significantly cheaper than a ready-to-live-in home.

So if you have overalls, a toolkit and determination, where do you start?

FIND YOUR FIXER-UPPER

THERE are a few specialist websites such as wreckoftheweek.co.uk, but most are listed alongside normal homes for sale on Zoopla and Rightmove.

Alternatively, register with an estate agent and ask for homes requiring substantial work: a good telltale sign is if a property has been in the same family’s ownership for decades.

Auctions are also useful for finding homes in poor condition, but be careful — many may have problems such as subsidence.

SORT OUT THE MONEY

‘IT DOESN’T matter if you’re a novice or experienced at renovation — lenders look for at least a 25 or 30 per cent deposit, and may require evidence of money to cover work that needs doing,’ says Mark Harris, of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients.

Be sure to have your finances sorted if you buy a wreck at auction, as you will usually have to pay in full within 28 days.

GET PLANNING CONSENT

THE planning consent required for many types of extensions has been relaxed (see planningportal.co.uk) but if you’re converting a church, school or warehouse, you will need change of use permission.

Large-scale extensions, doubling the size or more of the original property, may also require consent.

Listed buildings often require consent (or at least a council conservation officer’s agreement) before significant work is undertaken — there are useful tips on periodproperty.co.uk and all listed buildings are on historicengland.org.uk.

BUILD YOUR TEAM

YOU may be tempted to do everything yourself, but remember that doing a job badly and getting someone in to put it right can be more expensive than employing an expert in the first place.

If you hire tradespeople, those working with gas must be registered ( gassafe

register.co.uk); other useful search facilities are electricalcompetentperson.co.uk and competentperson.co.uk.

If you want an experienced project manager to lead the refurbishment team (they will liaise with contractors, order materials and undertake trouble-shooting), find one at pmi.org.uk.

FEAR THE WORST

‘THE main mistake novices make is not having a contingency fund in place to cover unforeseen circumstances. The length of the project is also often underestimated,’ says Nick Croall, of buying agency Prime Purchase.

It’s standard to have 10 to 15 per cent of the project cost as a contingency.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Master Builders (which has a free Find A Builder service on fmb.org.uk) calculates that a two-storey extension can take 12 weeks to build and a single-storey ten weeks.

Making a room in the loft takes a fortnight, but creating a new basement could be six weeks. But with all of these, unforeseen problems could lead to delays.