All you need to know about buying a listed building

IF you love older, characterful properties, you may find yourself eyeing up a listed building as your next potential home.

Full of amazing potential, they can make charming places to live but how does being listed affect your ownership and how is it different from buying a newer property?

Advantages of owning a listed building

Aside from owning a piece of history, owning a listed property, or living in a conservation area could mean that you qualify for grants to help pay for repair work or restoration fees.

Disadvantages of owning a listed building

Obviously, a listed building will be older and will require lots of updating and restoring which means you’ll need to invest a lot of money and time in this project. Firstly, you need to know the different categories of listed properties in Scotland:

Category A: Buildings of special architectural or historical interest which are outstanding examples of a particular period, style or building type.

Category B: Buildings of special architectural or historic interest which are major examples of a particular period, style or building type. A building of regional or local importance, which may have been altered.

Category C: A building that is one of local importance, a lesser example of any period and one that may have been moderately altered.

The good news is buying a listed property only really becomes an issue if you’re considering making a change or a repair, but here are some things you need to be aware of before you buy a listed building in Scotland:

Specialist surveys

Before you buy it’s worth getting a survey done by a surveyor who specialises in historic buildings, just to ensure there are no skeletons in the cupboard.

When you’re working out your budget, it’s also worth remembering traditional buildings typically need more maintenance than a modern home. Make sure the property has been kept as dry as possible as excessive moisture is a major cause of problems.

Conservation areas

These are areas that are deemed to be of particular importance either historically or architecturally and therefore can include several listed buildings.

The listing will apply to the whole property, both inside and outside, and conservation area laws act in partnership with the listed buildings regulations. Before you make any changes, you will need to obtain conservation area consent which might restrict your plans.

Alterations

If you want to carry out an alteration, an extension or a demolition, you must apply for listed building consent.

Remember, the conservation regulations are in place to protect the integrity of the building and a certain amount of respect and care needs to be considered when making huge changes to modernise the building.

Now for the really exciting bit: touring everything from stately homes and cool castles to mini-mansions and terrific townhouses at s1homes.com.