Change of use from residential to commercial. Is it really necessary?

[nixnewcastle]

Hi geeks I'm needing some advice from any of you who work from home or from a property that is down as residential.

Basically I'm looking at buying a house and using it for business and I'm needing to know how I go about doing this.

I've asked the local council and they've said you apply for change of use to them which can take up to 8 weeks to approve. At which time the property you want will have maybe sold and you've wasted hundreds (that's how much it costs) so has anyone done this before or in the process of doing it? If so how did you do it and can you offer me anymore advice on this?

Many thanks for your time for anyone reading this x

 

[TracyS]

I think it may depend on whether you are turning the whole of the property to commercial or using it as a residence also.

I know a couple of people who have done this, one wanted to buy in a residential area and convert the whole of the property into a shop (wasn't a salon) and had to jump through all kinds of hoops and I think it was about the 3rd property they had tried. The other bought a home for herself and converted the extension or garage into a showroom and it was pretty straightforward.

If you've identified the property you could always try negotiating with the agents to see if they'll take the property off active marketing while your applcation is going through

xx