The housing market is in a unique place, so for some investors and people interested in a home with character, buying a home that is a listed building can be exceptionally tempting.
A listed home, or a listed building that can be used as a home, is a building that has been marked as having a distinct historical interest, often because it is either unique or a perfect example of an older building from a previous historic period.
There are over 400 listed buildings in Leicester alone, although far fewer of these would be offered by estate agents in Leicester.
There are, however, some that can be found, and it can be a particularly tantalising prospect to add one to a portfolio.
There is obvious sentimental value to living in a piece of historic importance, and one crucial benefit is that many listed buildings can appreciate in value faster and retain their value better than other parts of the property market, due to limited and reducing supply.
They are also often in fantastic, sometimes picturesque locations that are highly desired, meaning that there are dedicated buyers who similarly fall in love.
With that said, there are a lot of extra considerations to bear in mind. Owning a listed building makes you a steward of history, and the number of changes you can make is very limited, often subject to consultation to whether they affect the building’s intrinsic historic character.
What makes this worse is that the owner is liable even for unauthorised work undertaken before they got their hands on it.
Often this takes the form of requiring listed building consent on top of any planning permission you would normally require, and what makes this particularly frustrating is that it is not always clear when work would require consent, so often you need to enquire first.
It is harder to get insurance because of the specialist repair work they often need, and because of this, it requires buyers willing to take those extra esoteric steps.
