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Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Just £350K for a Grade 2 quirky 1820 cottage in Wood Green

The Roundhouse or Mushroom House, now on Wood Green High Road in Woodside Park, was built as the gate house to Chitts Hill House by owner John Overend, of the Overend and Gurney banking firm.

The lease of the house with its 100 foot garden went on the market at the beginning of the week for just £350K. It only has two bedrooms and it's right on the High Road, but still, it's pretty unique and that 100 foot garden...... For someone struggling to get on the property ladder..

Full details at www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86181201.

All Images © Unique Property Company

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"For someone struggling to get on the property ladder.."

Ground rent of £12.5k p.a. could be an issue. As might getting a mortgage with only 70 years left on the lease.

Obviously there were going to compromises, but since I’m neither interested in buying or selling, i didn’t do my due diligence - £12.6k bill be a big turn-off to many. Thanks for delicately pointing that out.

I love it and if it wouldn't be madness I'd buy it.

Yes, the £12,500 p.a. ground rent (a grand a month, how is that even allowed?) is a bit of a killer. Also, it says “cash buyers only”. Also, it needs work. I wonder who would be interested — and who the freeholder is. 

Haringey Council, since the house is within Woodside Park. And Rightmove helpfully tell you.

Almost a Hobbit house.

+ It's live/work occupants only.

If I had the money I'd love it but:

Leasehold for a house like this isn't great because there'll be all sorts of restrictive covenants. The EPC is currently at an E - most people would have made at least some of the recommended improvements to raise it to its potential, even if just to get a better selling price. £350k is still high taking the square footage, the short lease (that's why it's cash buyers only as no-one'll get a decent  mortgage rate on that, if at all) + the ground rent into consideration, but they can't have done any work - probably because they'll likely not be allowed to do anything to the exterior, & the interior is small enough as it is, so drylining/internal insulation would encroach.

Despite what the blurb says, as an E rating, I'll bet this place is costly to heat, with the underfloor system & without it at high levels, would freezing in winter. Can't see how it wouldn't be too hot & stuffy in summer at an E rating - as there's clearly no insulation & probably the wall doesn't have a cavity. One of my old rental places was a D & that was bad enough!

At least Haringey haven't the cheek to pop on service charges too. I thought the whole ground rent issue was in legal review. That must've risen over the years here, seemingly unjustifiably so.

+ Sadly, I doubt I'd satisfy the live/work requirement  although it's nice to see that distinction being upheld, as this category of dwelling that really helps young businesses, is becoming rare. 

The reason they're so strict on it being live/work is not because they want to support small businesses.  It's because if it was a residential property you'd have the statutory right to a lease extension and reducing the ground rent to peppercorn.

True, but as the freeholder maybe they could grant a change of use after planning consultation - if they couldn't sell it as is. They have said they're open to it being a fully business premises.

It still is nice to see a live/work scenario ostensibly being encouraged to remain, as few new ones are built or are too expensive - they are sometimes suitable for short term leases while a business grows anyway. 

but why on earth would they want to change the use, except to fully commercial?  That would provide an immediate uplift in value to the current owner - who is not them, it's a private person, and a subsequent collapse in their income of around £144,000 a year once the lease extension was granted.

Exactly. What do they do if they have no applicants to purchase at that price or near enough as a live/work occupant. Actually they say ideally any live work tenant should benefit the community - I correct myself - not that  they'd consider a fully business lease business but that would benefit more than a purely residential tenant. We don't know what the restrictive covenants may say, but as freeholder Haringey can probably do what they like to change those.

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