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The terraced house is one of the most recognisable forms of living in England, famously found in London and old industrial areas. They mostly all date back or are styled on the victorian era in the UK and often have high ceilings and large windows, no front garden and a longer garden to the rear.
Approximately a quarter of the population live with a neighbour on either side in a series of three or more uniformly built homes, sharing similar materials and designing types.
Our Guide To Converting Terraced Houses Into Flats
When it comes to property renovation, one of the best ways to add value to a property is to transform it from one home to many. Splitting a house into apartments helps you to sell each of the flats individually or to have a collection of rental properties all under one roof. Doing conversion can be quite a big project, so here are a few things you should remember before you jump in and employ a construction company.
Stage One – Do some research
Speak to a Local Estate Agent
There are a few reasons to talk to a local estate agent before you get going. The first is to verify if there is a reasonable demand for apartments in the region. There’s no point in doing this if no one wants the apartments you’re going to develop. The next thing to figure out is if there’s a rental market if you’re going to be better off renting the properties.
Once you know what would be the best route for you, you need to find out what the standards are for the tenants/buyers in the area. Real estate agents have a lot of experience, so make sure you get as much out of them as you can.
Check Planning Permission For The Property With Your Local Council
Speak to the local council and see what planning permission you’re going to need, and how hard it would be to get it. You wouldn’t want to sink your money into a project, and then you’re not going to be able to go forward as expected. If you can, it’s better to talk to someone in person at the board of directors. Whatever you need, get them sorted sooner rather than later.
Speak to Your Bank
If you have a mortgage on the terraced house in questions, you’ll need to talk to your bank about your plans. You’ll need to make sure that you have the right kind of mortgage. If you are leasing the house, you will need to change to a commercial mortgage.
Stage Two – Planning
Flat Conversion Blueprint
Speak to the Service Providers
Each individual flat would need to have its own access to gas, electricity and water. This would mean that you need to coordinate with the service providers to make this happen. It would be helpful if you started this early.
Service companies are not known to get on with these projects efficiently, and you will not be able to start any other work until it’s sorted and you are certain about where all of the pipes and wires will need to go.
Plan The Layout
Having the layout right is going to be a make-or-break for this kind of project. The first thing to identify is how you’re going to build different entrances for each apartment. In most cases, this would involve installing a lot of boxing and additional doors across the stairs and landings.
When you know how to divide the apartments, you need to look at each unit. Each apartment will need its own kitchen, bathroom, boiler and heating system. When setting these out, you should remember where the pipes and access points are already in operation. It can be costly and complicated to suit the bathrooms if you don’t have convenient access to the new downpipes.
When contemplating the room in which you have to work, don’t forget that you’re going to need to instal soundproofing. So, in the end, the room is going to be smaller than it appears before you start working.
When it comes to layout planning, it might be beneficial to see other properties that have been converted. If you can see a good idea, steal it!
Budget
This is going to be a major project, so you need to think realistically about the costs. Kitchens and bathrooms are not inexpensive for installation. If the property is older, there can be some unforeseen surprises once you start working. Plan your budget ahead of time, and always make sure you have a backup in case the work is running longer, or there’s extra work you haven’t anticipated.
Stage Three – Find a Construction Company
When you know for sure what you want to do and how much you want to budget, it’s time to find a trustworthy construction company to work with. You are going to be working closely with this company to make sure you’re happy as well as confident and have a good relationship with the company.
Make sure the lines of communication are open since the quality of communication will make a difference in a big project like this. You may want to find a business with experience so that they can share their experience with you.