Finding Hotels to convert into your next Home
Speaking from experience, you can find hotels or those which once were (to include care homes) that are ideal for conversion back to a residential property. Many seaside town locations across the UK have property that once were or continue to run as a small hotel / bed and breakfast and many still come on to the market.
Years ago it was far more difficult to convert a commercial premises over to a residential though since 2015 (following major changes to the General Permitted Development Order GPDO) it has become far easier.
You will have to though understand the regulations and the requirements. One starting point is to check for exceptions which will not allow you to carry out your plans, ie if building is located in a conservation area, area of natural beauty, military explosive zone and more. Though some buildings will not allow for conversion to residential, you might be able to get things through though heavier investment in funds and time may be required such as for architectural plans, abiding by official guidelines, staying with permitted standards / materials etc.
Commercial buildings will also be placed under a class so this will need to be changed over to residential by application:
A class – This includes shops, restaurants, and businesses that provide professional services
B class – This includes offices, storage facilities and warehouses
C class – This includes residential properties, and other places of habitation (e.g. hotels, care homes)
D class – This is more miscellaneous, and includes schools, doctor’s surgeries, cinemas and other leisure facilities
Many commercial to residential projects will be of bigger scale and most likely be conversion to flats over houses.
Class C will hold smaller hotels, bed and breakfasts and care homes. These property will usually have started life as residential and then seen conversion over to commercial. The outside of the property may appear very homely, though the inside might be full of commercial standard fittings to include doors, electrics, plumbing. The layout of the property is likely to have changed also to include additions such as lifts, stair lifts, walk in shower rooms, sinks in each bedroom and more.
There will be added costs to convert the character back to residential and there may be certain requests such as removing of sinks in bedrooms / external fire stairs etc.
The value for money behind these type of property is the m2 you get for your money. Most times these property will come with larger garden area and usually additional outbuildings. They will also likely be well positioned be it close to amenities, close to town centre of close to the attractions (ie beach).
The commercial property is likely to be a distress sale and either no longer running or simply turning over low key and to close upon sale. There is little point purchasing a successfully running hotel / bed and breakfast / care home as you will be paying a premium for the business on to of the commercial property price.
It is usual that your property, once converted to residential, will be of a higher council tax band (E/F).
Check property portals with keyword advance search capabilities and use the term "bed & breakfast" or "bed and breakfast" and also look out for "hotel" and "care home".
Title Image: Pixabay