Consolidating Your Thoughts

By now you’ll know the way you intend to lead your life in the future. You’ll have made up your mind about the type of business you’ll be running and the area you’ll be living in. What do you look out for in the way of property? What sort of facilities do you need? Which are essential and which are ‘nice to have’? How much ground do you want? What should be the layout of the rooms? Do you want outbuildings or a workshop? It will depend on the needs of your business mostly, but personal preference comes into it too. You will need to obtain planning permission for a ‘change of use’ if you are starting up a new business – for example, if you’re setting up a B & B in what was a private house, or changing a workshop to an art gallery. It’s wise to check first with the local planning authority to see whether they are likely to be amenable.

Let’s move on to the next step now, to consider the range of possibilities available.

Hotels, guest houses, B & Bs

If you intend to buy and run a hotel, you’ll be looking at hotels on the commercial property market. Buying an existing business means you’re buying the ‘goodwill’ with the building – and paying extra for it. Studying the accounts should tell you whether the goodwill is worth the price put on it.

Be aware that you will have to comply with fire regulations, health and safety rules and disability legislation. Some of the questions you should be asking yourself and the previous owners are as follows:

• Why are the owners selling?
• Is there another pub or hotel nearby taking away trade?
• Is there any opposition in the area to the present owners or to the hotel generally. If so, why?
• Is there passing trade or would you have to rely solely on advertising?
• Are there enough bedrooms to make it a paying proposition?
• Are the facilities such as bar, dining room, beer garden etc. large and attractive enough?
• Is it close to a town or village that visitors would come to?
• Has it got some feature of the building itself or the area that you could exploit, e.g. an interesting history, resident ghost or national park nearby?
• Is there sufficient parking?
• Will it support an all-year-round business?
• Is there enough accommodation for you as the owner?
• Can you find staff in the area?
• Are there clubs, societies etc. that can be persuaded to meet regularly in the hotel?
• How do you feel about the general ambience of the hotel? Is it welcoming?

Guest houses and B & Bs are a different proposition altogether and much easier to cope with than a hotel if this is an entirely new venture for you. Some of these are purpose built and, of course, if you are buying an established business, you’ll have the advantage of the goodwill. Again, check the accounts to see whether the value put on this ‘asset’ is an accurate one. If business has been bad, you have to feel confident you can turn things around and make a success of the venture.

Establishing the potential

Don’t look at the furnishings only – though they may well be part of the business you’re taking on, they will not necessarily be to your taste. Many will not have been updated for years and might be a little depressing. See beyond this and look for potential. It means of course that you are paying for these furnishings knowing that you are going to have the added expense of replacing them. This should be a consideration in the price you offer. Some questions to think about are as follows:

• How many bedrooms do you need to make this a viable proposition? Are they of a good size?
• How much work is needed to bring things up to your standards and what will it cost? Bear in mind that en-suite facilities are expected nowadays.
• How many other similar establishments are there in the vicinity?
• Is there business for all or is that why they are selling?
• Is this too remote for visitors? Will they find you if you are off the beaten track?
• If you want passing trade, is there a sign up already? You will need to seek planning permission to erect one otherwise.
• Is the area/road outside too busy and will there be too much noise?
• Will you have private accommodation that can be shut off when necessary?
• Will visitors be passing through the area (in which case there will be mostly one– or two-night lettings) or is it in a place where people will want to stay for a while?

Bear in mind that guest houses and bed and breakfasts have to comply with fire regulations and new disability legislation if they have accommodation for more than six visitors. Check with your local building control officer or planning department.

Self-catering

This is an increasingly popular market for holidaymakers within the UK. It has many advantages for the visitor and the owner. Visitors have their own space to feel relaxed in and can do what they want when they want – within reason, of course. It is usually a cheaper alternative for families with young children, but it is also an option for couples who perhaps prefer the privacy and freedom of catering for themselves. For the owner it has the advantage over a guest house of having a ‘changeover’ only on certain days – usually once a week during the high season. And your house can remain totally separate.

Decisions have to be made as to the sort of ‘cottage’ you want. Some alternatives you might think about are:

• chalet park with several chalets and usually extra facilities such as a children’s play area and swimming pool;
• quieter, smaller parks with only a few chalets/lodges;
• building converted into several cottages/flats – often a large house with outbuildings;
• few, well-spaced cottages – traditional or new build;
• single cottage as part of or close to your own house.

If you’re looking at the first two alternatives then you’ll probably be buying an established park. If you want to expand the business in the future, it is always possible to seek planning permission for more chalets.

Many of these chalets or lodges have limited insulation and/or electrical heating and may not be so suitable for winter letting. This could be a real disadvantage as this shortens the season and the Christmas/New Year letting period is a lucrative one in many areas. You have also to consider the maintenance of the grounds and the facilities; you’ll need staff to clean and prepare the chalets each week; older buildings may have to be brought up to standard with new regulations – check with the local planning department, the tourist board, the Association of Scotland’s Self Caterers (ASSC) or any quality assurance agency.

You may not need to hire staff if you intend to have fewer than about five cottages; it depends how ‘hands on’ you are. This can save costs, especially until you’re established. Single cottages are popular with people seeking peace and quiet, though as many as four cottages would be needed to make enough of a business to live on, albeit quietly! Visitors demand higher standards nowadays and if you can provide features such as en-suite bathrooms, you’ll have an advantage in the market.

Getting your standards right

Make sure that your visitors have an element of privacy if you have several cottages. Each should have some designated area to sit outside and have a barbecue too – an area with garden furniture for their exclusive use. If you have children staying it is important that other guests can still have peace and quiet.

Drying rooms are essential if you are in climbing or walking territory. Open fires or stoves are very popular, particularly with winter visitors; this can be the deciding factor for a Christmas or New Year booking in many cases.

When initially looking for somewhere to convert, our intention was to choose somewhere that we could change into cottages, each with their front door onto a courtyard. Many of the houses we saw were tall, with three or more floors – suitable for conversion into flats rather than with the feel of separate cottages, albeit terraced. It depends on the style of holiday accommodation you want. It’s important to realize that, with planning regulations, each cottage has to be separated from any other by a firewall. This is relatively simple when the dividing walls are vertical from ground to roof but more expensive to carry out if one cottage is partially above the other, i.e. ‘stepped’, or if the roof space has to be subdivided.

Pottery, painting, sculpture workshops

The first decision you will have to make is whether you intend to sell your pottery, paintings etc. from your own gallery or house. If so, you can’t afford to hide yourself away in some remote cottage. You’ll need passing trade. This doesn’t mean that you have to be in a busy area, but it will help to be somewhere visitors will come to, preferably all year round.

Will your work be appreciated? Some connection to those areas where there are already artists or sculptors would be an advantage. A known ‘craft trail’ will bring people to your door. Is there a village or town nearby with a gallery? Or can several of you get together and find an outlet for displaying and selling your work? You will obviously need a studio or workshop at your house. Would it be better to have a room in the house or is it necessary to have a separate building? What about the lighting? Are the windows sufficient? Is the building secure? Think about the winter and any heating necessary. Will neighbours object to your setting up in a workshop in your garden? Would this make it easier, though, to keep your home and work life separate?

Shop or gallery

Some village businesses are more popular than others. Rural post offices seem to have an uncertain future, but you could perhaps diversify into other goods to bring in the customers. Newsagents are always necessary but don’t perhaps generate sufficient profit to support a family. Choosing your village carefully and studying the market could provide you with extra income providing bakery goods or expanding into a delicatessen. Those who have moved out from the city and settled in the area will appreciate being able to get their favourite cheese or wine locally. Consider specializing in some way, baking your own bread or cakes and selling these daily, for example.

Opening an art gallery is an attractive proposition. Is there a market for it though? Those on lower incomes in country areas are unlikely to be interested. Check the shops in the area – only you can tell whether you will find a market. Is there a sufficiently affluent customer base? You will need publicity too. Do you have contacts you can draw on for the grand opening? People will come from a distance if they know about you. What about those tourists? Are they the discerning type?

Again, would you be on a ‘craft trail’ that will bring visitors to your gallery? What about the possibility of opening a cafe in the gallery? People will feel comfortable coming in for a cup of coffee or tea and it is a good ploy to get them through the door. Is there space for a kitchen and some tables and chairs?

Farms, market gardens, stables, outdoor centres, etc.

The most important feature of your new property will be the land. The land has to be fenced. Who is responsible for all the fencing on the property? A farm will have its own land, but the other activities may need to be set up by you. Check around to see whether your type of activity already exists. Will this be the ‘opposition’ or will the fact, say, of a number of smallholdings in existence draw you to the spot? Here the house may come as an afterthought; it will be the land that is important. Will you want greenhouses? Are they there already, and if not, will you get planning permission for them? Check for rights of way. You may be happy with ramblers coming through your property, but then again you may not. In Scotland the legislation is different; access is much more open and the right to roam is now law.

There are certain areas which are known, for example, for their market gardens and which already have a ready market in nearby towns and villages. To buy in such an established area might be a very good idea if you are new to the business. You won’t have to fight for a market for your goods and hopefully you’ll have help and advice from your neighbours.

Horse riding, pony trekking, outdoor activity centres all need lots of space. Are you in an area where there is land open to walkers and horses? Animals require feeding and caring for all year round. Will you have outbuildings or stables available and if not, will you get planning permission to build them (an extra expense)? And of course, you certainly want to be far from any other businesses of the same type.

Accommodating your customers

Will you be combining accommodation with riding holidays? If so, you will need to think about the number of bedrooms available in the house. Would you consider self-catering perhaps to boost income? You will need cottages or lodges for this unless you convert part of the house. If you have the land available, you will have to check the planning possibilities.

An outdoor activity centre usually has its own accommodation. Buying an established one cuts down on the expense of extra building. These centres are sometimes in large old properties – you will have fire regulations, health and safety rules and disability legislation to contend with. Hopefully, in an established business, these are already being met, but check for any new legislation you may have to follow. Are you going to live in the centre itself or will you need a separate house? You may be in remote country here. What about staff? Can you draw on local labour or will you need to accommodate them in the building?

House with an office

If you are going to be writing for profit or running a business over the web or even working as a consultant, electrician, garden designer or any of a number of possibilities where your choice of home will usually make little or no difference to your business, then you’re perhaps in a more fortunate position. In many ways this is an easier choice. You have more freedom and fewer restrictions on the type of house you choose and the area you want to live in. One of your main considerations, though, when buying your property will be the office space.

Some thoughts you should have are as follows:

• Is the layout of the property suitable as it stands? If not, can it be changed easily? Do you need separate access for client visits?
• Is there an office or a room you could use as one?
• Is it in a quiet part of the house?
• If you plan additional staff, will you require additional office/workspace?
• Will it hold all the furniture, storage facilities and equipment you need?
• Are there planning and insurance implications connected with business use?

Those advertisements you see of smart offices set up under the stairs or in a corner of the sitting room are misleading. You should be able to shut the office door behind you when you leave – it is a good physical and mental barrier. You don’t want the children playing or the TV to interrupt your work and having a door between your work and leisure time is beneficial to all of you. You don’t have to tidy up your desk every evening either!

Some real property considerations

Many old country properties have bedrooms through bedrooms, which can be inconvenient as the children grow older and it is not always possible to change. Ceilings can be low and doorways too, especially in the attractive black and white timbered houses in the English countryside.

If in moving to the country your ideal is to have a ‘country’ kitchen, you will need a large room with the possibility of an Aga or a Rayburn, especially if you see this as the heart of the house. Both are expensive, but you can buy them second hand. A Rayburn will run the central heating too without a separate side unit and is more controllable if fuelled by oil or gas. Go to a showroom and get all the details to help you decide. If you want a gas cooker, check that there is mains gas in the area (not always the case). You might have to have tankered or bottled gas instead.

At one time we lived in a small cottage in a village in Scotland. It was a romantic start to our married life but what used to get me down was the fact that the sitting room was dark and we had to have the light on all day. In our present house the windows are large to let in all the light possible. Check whether the main rooms in the property face approximately south. In northern areas it is worth making the most of the sun, particularly in winter. It’s not just the fact of having more light; the sun streaming in makes the house warmer too.

Sunlight and wide vistas

If you’re buying in an area with mountains, beware. Some houses in the Highlands of Scotland, for instance, get no sun at all in the winter months – just when you need it most. They are overshadowed by the mountains and the sun never rises high enough in the winter to shine in through the windows. This sort of area sometimes becomes a frost pocket too, where the mist or snow lingers longer.

If one of your criteria for moving to a beautiful area of countryside is to have a view, then hold out for one. We look over a loch with mountains beyond and never get tired of sitting by the window watching the scenery. It is ever changing. Check though that there are no plans for any building development which would impact on your view.

Down to basics

We have our own water supply and sewerage system. This isn’t the problem you might suppose. The septic tank requires emptying only about every three years and is not expensive compared with the price you would be paying for sewerage rates. Because we have holiday cottages we have our water inspected every year. On advice, and as a precaution, we have installed an ultra-violet unit with filter for the water which comes from a stream about two miles up the hill. This is expensive to buy but costs next to nothing to run except for the need to renew the filter and ultra-violet tube periodically. As a result our water is pure and clear with no chemicals in it.

Mains electricity is a plus though, as a generator is noisy and disturbs that peace and quiet you’ve achieved by relocating.

To sum up

You have made your decision now as to what sort of property you are looking for. You know what to look out for when buying. All this is driven by how you want to lead your new life. Don’t rush your decision, though – you need to get it right. Property is expensive and you don’t want to make a costly mistake. Even if on paper a property seems right for the business, if it doesn’t ‘speak’ to you then don’t buy it. You’ll know the right one when you see it.

Your future life is going to be largely driven by your business, but you’ve moved to the country so that you and your family can have a better quality of life. The key to the success of your venture will be the balance you achieve between your work and your life. This is the next step you have to consider.