Feeling a bit rusty.

Have to admit I am feeling a bit rusty.
Just like any other brain activity -or any kind of activity for that matter- unless trained, used and exercised on a regular basis......

Nevermind, it's been a while I had not applied my grey cells to some 3 dimensional puzzle games like how to fit a bathroom into a niche half above the stairs and half into the butterfly roof loft space in order to be able to fit a decent sized second bedroom within the rest of the floorplan.

On top of the spatial constraints, come the financial and regulatory puzzle pieces.... As soon as we open the loft space, new insulation becomes a requirement for building control.... The new support for the load bearing wall, and the extra costs that follow suit.... How much value is added by this second bedroom? Does it cover the necessary additional expenses?

These are the questions on the top floor. But in the lower ground, it seems that the only two options to have two bedrooms to fit is to either knock off the wall that supports the entire staircase across the 4 floors above, or maybe skew the corridor to some "funky angle" in order to knock the wall off but at least keep the pretty much predetermined place for pillars to support it!

I could go on but you get the picture.  It's like playing with a 3 dimensional puzzle.... Maybe 6 dimensional once you take financials, timeframe s and regulations into the equation?

That's just the "straightforward" phase 1 where we are taking the existing 4 flats and just refurbish them for resale later in the spring, but am already looking forward to walking around the finished product!

Plenty of obstacles still to go but it's a labour of love... Can't deny it. Just wish I had more time to exercise that part of the brain a bit more often.

Literally "watch this space"

Slightly less glamorous pictures this time round.

Its been a tumultuous week.

Finalisation of contract with the basement contractor.

Neighbours calling regards party wall demolitions.... Last minute agreements..... But  thankfully diplomacy prevailed.

On the one side of our narrow access pathway, we have kindly been offered to use some space from the neighbouring garden....

And on the other we managed to gain an extra 30cm by negotiating the removal of the meter high party wall....

Which we will of course rebuild in due time!

This means we now have a 1.4m wide pathway to the site which will allow the contractor to use more substantial digging machinery.

Gaining time and minimising headache!

The clearing up of the site has started in preparation for the heavy duty work ahead.

We are talking about:

- the removal of approx 300 cubic metres of earth - construction of a 30m long concrete shell,
- waterproofing and associated drainage, water pumps etc
- underpinning of the entire existing (ground plus one) house (chimney stacks etc), on an entirely new steel structure underneeth.
- over 1600 sq ft of space below ground level plus sunken patios for light, access to the garden ventilation etc.

Let the adventure continue.....

A magical architectural promenade leading up to the magnificent palace! 

The view of the impressive side return patio! 

The luxury guest suite ! 

The nanny studio? 

And the grandiose landscaping.

Call taken. (For the better or the worst)

It has been a very difficult decision.

But finally, after a couple of offers and counter offers, we decided against walking away with a six figures clean profit.

Without going into detailed maths on the project, in terms of returns this would have been a 15% return on investment over a 6 months period. (So 30% annualised)

And admittedly, the future may prove us to have been foolish not to accept and walk away! (Hopefully not of course)

But we do believe there is more mileage in the property: Although we are looking at another year (and a lot of work to be done) before putting the final product on the market, we hope to double the return on investment again by the time we exit. 

The big "IF" is the result of the elections, and the threat of the "mansion tax" that could serve a serious blow to the resale of any property over the 2m mark.

But this is not not for us to decide.... The call has  been taken and focus is now single mindedly on the long hard slog ahead!

The ups and the downs of the actual build!!

The digging is to start in the next week and we are just getting mentally ready!

Soon more to follow..… oh by the way... The picture is our front door!

It all depends on the price...

Question is.... If keeping on the analogy of gambling I had used in my previous post;

Should we keep the chips in or cash in and go. Hunting again!?

The architect in me is of course screaming to detail, flesh out, and  implement  the scheme on the ground to enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done.
Walk through the spaces that have been envisioned in my mind, before finally putting a finished product on the market. (While hopefully making a further profit)

But purely looking at it from the perspective of a cold blooded developer the call is less clear cut.

Nobody knows too much what direction the market will take over the next year, and there is a lot of work to do!

Thankfully the Labour opposition party has clarified a couple of days ago their view on their so called "mansion tax"... Which for properties valued between 2m and 3m would only be 250gbp a month.... A lot less then originally anticipated ...  the rumours that were creating  uncertainty... And of course the market hates uncertainty of policy.

So good news there!

In the mean time, no harm testing the market and see what happens.

So therefore, it is now discretely on the market with specialist development agents.... Since yesterday.

And today we have the first viewing.

It all depends on the price! 

Gambling.

Today. I thought I need to give some background info on the vital "planning permission". (for which we are currently eagerly awaiting an answer from the local authorities)

I appreciate this is not necessarily a entertaining subject; but hopefully a hardly veiled undertone should make it a little less " dry" to read.

In brief for the readers who are not familiar with the uk planning rules:

- the process takes a long time to be processed ( 8 weeks minimum to be precise) (we are expecting an answer for our proposal first week of October!!!)

- the written planning " rules" and "guidelines" are notoriously slippery... And can be argued in any one way depending on the "interpretation" of the officer the application falls upon.

- neighbours are "consulted" for their opinion and if more then 3 claim they would be negatively affected by the proposal, the process all of a sudden takes up to 6 months and a number of other hoops need to be jumped through ( including a planning meeting etc) (for information we have more then 30 adjacent plots to our property)

- neighbours (although I cannot generalize) tend to be against anybody doing anything at all. (A acronym has been termed(not by myself): "NIMBY"... Standing for Not In My Back Yard -)

I could be expanding here but basically it took over 10 years for the 3rd runway at London Heathrow to be approved or something like that(?) and this is in the interest of the entre nation.... ( I realise this comment may be politically charged -especially if you happen to live under the new flight path)

But really I should stop here.  Please accept my apologies; I have a feeling that personal frustration and anxiety is being vented...

This is not what this blog should be about.

You may refer to the below link for more "factual" information. 

http://www.hackney.gov.uk/ep-planning-policy.htm#

Glass is sexy.

Its not all put down in a very linear fashion am afraid.... But I thought I should share.

Today I visited "the cantifix guys" basically they are some of the best in London for structural glass structures.

He did quite early on in the conversation mention that they are "not cheap" ... Which  I was not really surprised about, but for him to be so upfront about it means I have started to fear the initial quote I am going to receive by the end of the week!!!

We are looking at inserting a lot of glass, walk on glass floors and glass skylights and large glass windows, and and....

I know I did not mention yet but in effect we are planning to dig a rather grand basement floor (approx 1400 sq ft (or approx 120sq m ) ... And unless we get serious amounts of light in there, its unlikely we will fetch a good return on investment!

So two 3 large lightwells and lots of glass is the answer!
Very early sketch and some great glass use lightwells in contrast to Victorian fabric below. (Apologies I should and would like to give references but these are some screenshots collected over the last few months) 

I guess I don't really need to mention that I like glass.

Hunting

Let's go a little more in depth.

Getting the current property took approximately a year of research and hunting.

That involves trawling though auction catalogues (or dealing with "dodgy" agents -but that is another post- ) and focusing on some highlights to "do the homework"

- transport links ( I will never look at anything further then 10mn walk to an underground/overground station)

- looking into the legal pack to make sure no surprises there of course.  (There may be building restrictions )

-sq ft price of the sold comparable properties nearby (zoopla and right move ) check averages of all comparables  (at least 10)

- checking planning history on the council website and estimating potential extensions /conversion potential in terms of planning approval. (That estimation is one of the hardest bits... Very hard to second guess these people - and the possibility to add some 200 sq ft area into the garden can make or break a project when the sq ft resale value is at the 1000gbp (that's 200k straight off your resale value)

- viewings (sometimes you will arrive to join a crowd gathering in front of a property. Prams. Dodgy drug lords looking types. And of course builders etc.... Am not exaggerating I should dig out a photo really!  )

- checking structure issues and estimating repair bills

- do "maths";  estimate the refurbishment cost and include other costs like stamp duty etc. Take the estimated resale value based on the sq ft price of comparables, do a best case and worst case scenario. And determine a top price. Basically what you should be ready to pay on the day.

-finally walking around the area day time and night time .... How does it feel like ? Have you got a couple of trendy coffee shops already on the high street or is it all fish and chips and betting shops? (Basically are there early signs of gentrification. That's the bottom line of any " upcoming area" ) .... Check the walk to the station. The walk there may be through some seriously unwelcoming council estate. Would a potential buyer like that? Does it fit the target purchaser you have in mind?

Overall over the year I would say in depth research was done on approx 25 properties ... Clapham, Crystal palace, Peckham, Forest Gate, Forest Hill, Brockley, Camberwell (will tell you about the Camberwell garage in another post... We made news there!) Walthamstow, Bow Stratford..... I could go on. But really mostly around the "new" east London line.

... That's 25 properties where as an architect, you can't help but imagine and " dream" about what the potential is.
What can be done and some special ways of extending and gaining extra sq ft.

And of course sometimes the bidding will just fly by the "top price" which took all that research.....

And you do wonder how have they done their maths? 

Other times, you will battle it out with the last opponent and you may push your top price by another 10k .... 20k 30k ... but reason prevails and you let go...  that instant the hammer falls and the other bidder has it. 

One of the key rules is "don't fall in love" ....but sometimes i have to admit. I am a bit of a softy and it still hurts to see a beauty run away with a another stranger.

Below... Some research notes on a property I still regret!

More visual

Having received the first feedback.
"Keep it more visual"
I thought I should oblige and add a few pictures!

In the next few posts I will elaborate on the actions so far. 

- the auction purchase, the filming from "homes under the hammer", the ongoing saga of the planning permission.... The encounters with the neighbours...  

In fact thinking about it I should go one step back and mention what all research and other properties that had been earmarked, prospective areas.... Etc... Plenty of material to write about.... Wondering if I will have the time to do the actual project itself at this rate! 

Side view giving a sense of size

This one showing "the trees" growing on! 

The huge overgrown garden

And here the side return - view from the garden.

introduction.

As an architect, finding unusual and neglected spaces  to reinvent creates a sense of satisfaction that is difficult to convey.

This blog is an attempt .

I am sure I will revisit previous projects in a later post, but the  latest find is a hidden Victorian beauty; in the heart of the most hyped London corner - Hackney.

I am pretty excited about it and I hope that I will be able to share the excitement (and the troubles -which normally are part of the job) over the next few months.

Pls don't hesitate to ask questions - I may not always be replying straight away.... But when I will, I will do so with pleasure.

 A side glimpse of the beauty