Dilemma: sell the lot or divide and conquer?

Marketing multiple units contained within one property presents complicated calculations, finds Kirsty Mcluckie

Splitting a property to dispose of its component parts can lead to a seller’s dilemma. A large property with more than one residence included will only have a limited amount of potential purchasers, as most won’t be interested in buying more than one dwelling place.

Lotting the whole, and offering each house, flat or cottage separately can make it more attractive to a greater number of buyers, particularly if there is good privacy offered between the buildings, but it isn’t always the best route.

Nick Ainscough of Rettie and Co says that, in terms of estates, care has to be taken so that selling off the less substantial parts of a property does not make the sale of the main less attractive.

He says: “You look at the owners’ goals, the potential value of the whole and the parts. The easiest route is to find one buyer, and there may be high-net-worth bidders who will pay a premium for the whole package, but you are more likely to sell quickly if you divide it up.

“The majority of buyers for a large country house are not looking for multiple cottages. One or two for family or staff can be an advantage but not beyond that.”

Ainscough says that in such cases privacy and access considerations are important because these are likely to be what country buyers require.

Stenton House, Dunkeld, is a sevenbedroomed house at the heart of a Perthshire estate. After privately marketing the whole, the decision has been made to split the lots. Two smaller cottages have been sold separately.

The Victorian estate house is now being offered jointly or separately, along with lot two, an old mill, plus the fishing on the River Tay; and lot three, a threebedroomed steading with a smaller cottage and 35 acres.

Ainscough says: “We will not be looking

to sell lot two or three before the house. You have to be flexible and consider everything, but selling the smaller parts first could prejudice the main sale.”

An unusual example of two properties being marketed together is at 25 Belgrave Crescent in the West End of Edinburgh. The first and second-floor flats are self-contained, but owned by the same family and, unusually, have an internal connecting stair.

Chris Thomson of Savills says: “The preference is to sell them together, and a buyer might be interested in converting them into one. The first-floor flat would make a very good living space, with one of only two balconies in the row, and the flat above could be converted to bedrooms.”

Donald Young of Rettie and Co is selling two adjoining houses in Melrose, Snowberry and Belmont Cottages.

He says: “They have been lived in by two sisters and would suit someone buying together but living separately. For simplicity’s sake a buyer for both would make sense, as the path is shared to the front door, and you could create one larger house or keep one as a holiday let and live in the other.”

Young says that the complication in such cases can come if a range of offers come on the closing date. “You may get a good price for one which may impinge on the saleability of the whole. Most sellers would probably take a little less for both rather than sell one at a premium and have to remarket the other.”