There are different levels of challenges and stress when it comes to renovating properties, from a relatively simple refurbishment of decor, kitchen and bathrooms to a full-on, back to brick project that probably needs every aspect of the building worked on.
Then there are the properties that look like a relatively simple project that turn out to be a nightmare. They trick you into thinking it will be a pretty simple job but as you peel back the layers of the fabric of the building like the layers of an onion and discover horrors waiting to be found, it's likely to make you cry.
Property television programmes are littered with people who saw the potential of a renovation project but didn't see the mountain they would have to climb once they got started.
READ MORE: Stretch of stunning Gower coastline up for sale for £45,000
From programmes like Grand Designs to Homes Under The Hammer, whatever the size of the budget featured, the size of the task ahead creates stress and usually ends up with a number of repeated scenarios; going over budget, going over the predicted timescale, running out of money, losing money and living in a leaky caravan for longer than expected. For viewers who like a drama, the best TV property renovation stories are the ones that include all of these traumatic scenarios. Property renovation is not for everyone, even people who are super keen or experienced can come unstuck.
At property auctions some bidders buy blind so it's really their own fault if they end up picking up the keys to a disaster zone, but some people buy the right way and get a survey done by an expert and so have more of an idea of the stress that awaits them. But even that can't always prepare you for the hidden challenges that lie beneath as Jude Edgell, who is renovating and restoring Penllyn Castle, is finding out as she fights to revive this amazing and historic Welsh property. Find out more about Jude and her castle here.
But there are some Welsh homes for sale that from the first moment you see them are clearly telling you there is much work to do and you had better be ready. From no roof and ceilings caving in to just a ruinous collection of stones, these are extreme renovation projects not for the faint-hearted - they might even make the experienced renovators faint.
But the reward to saving and securing the future of one of these buildings is a location that is stunning, or a home that is heavenly, or a development project that could potentially create a profit. Which one would you be brave enough to take on?
Pembrokeshire: £103,000
Well, someone has started here a while ago but has downed tools and left, but the good news is that the planning is still in place according to the estate agent. The agent states that the plot was approved for outline planning permission in 2005, for a detached bungalow and garage. Building control at Pembrokeshire County Council have confirmed that the re-instatement of planning permission is not necessary as construction has already begun and the agent says there is written confirmation of this available from them.
The agent also says that a radon sump has recently been installed, which should assist any potential buyers in continuing with the build immediately.
This breeze block beauty could definitely become a wonderful Pembrokeshire home, located within the small residential village of Sardis, offering the peace of a country community but the amenities of Milford Haven nearby and the extreme beauty of this amazing county to constantly discover too, from award-winning beaches to rolling rural landscapes, as well as oodles of castles and culture.
The building plot with consent is going to online, unconditional auction on June, 29 from 6.05pm with a guide price starting at £103,000. A legal pack and pre-registration details as well as information on a buyer's premium fee are available from Sage & Co Auctions, Cwmbran. Call them on 01633 838888 to find out more.
Pembrokeshire: £135,000+
At least there are four walls and windows and doors on this one but there's plenty of renovation work, from top to bottom and back to front that includes a roof that could contain asbestos, that will keep you busy and keep you away from days out at the nearby gorgeous beaches of Barafundle Bay and Broad Haven; at least for a while.
The former coastguard's cottage is in need of complete refurbishment, upgrading and improvement and if you need to use the facilities while you are working hard to bring it back to life, you'll have to hop across the yard as the toilet is still in the garden within an outbuilding that used to be an office.
But there's so much to love here, not just the lovely position within the popular village of Bosherston within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, just six miles from Pembroke and even closer to the breathtaking coast, but because it still has period features in place including a fabulous stove and oven fireplace nestled into a chimney breast which would be the heart of this home once restored to its fabulous former glory.
For further information contact estate agents John Francis at their Pembroke office on 01646 200054 in ample time to find out more before the auction that starts at 11am on 12th July, 2022 at 11am, with closing bidding time at 3pm on July 13 2022.
Isle of Anglesey: £175,000
No roof, no windows, no doors - no problem? This once very pretty stone home is now a rare opportunity to purchase a partly renovated derelict cottage together with about 8.6 acres of very good quality land on the Isle of Anglesey, and there's the chance to purchase more land too, if desired.
It is being marketed as semi-derelict as some renovation work has already been done on the stone walls, but there is still obviously a lot left to do. This lot for sale is the chance to buy this bulk of very good quality land as well as the cottage to create your own rural retreat but that is also close to the A55 Expressway, the Holyhead to Crewe railway line and the village of Gwalchmai.
The agent selling this renovation project states: 'The property is currently occupied by the vendors and vacant possession will be available upon completion of the sale. The vendors reserve the right to let all or a proportion of the land up until July 6, 2022 should they feel that the grass needs to be managed by cropping for silage or hay. If this right will be exercised, then the letting will be subject to a Mowing Licence Agreement prepared by us'.
More information about the Basic Payment Scheme Entitlements owned by the vendors that will be available to purchase at market value following completion of the sale is available from the estate agents, as well as information on wayleaves, easements, rights of way, boundaries and the Town and Country Planning Act.
The cottage and land is being sold by formal tender to be received by no later than noon on July, 13, 2022 with a guide price of £175,000 - £225,000. Contact estate agents Jones Peckover at their Denbigh branch on 01745 812127 to find out more.
Pembrokeshire: £425,000+
This character cottage in a glorious location on the Pembrokeshire coast has not been lived in for over 60 years, but comes with planning to create a very special coastal home. Called Plas-y-Pinc, the renovation project with a sea view stands on Strumble Head peninsula within about 10 acres of its own land, made up mainly of pastureland.
The estate agent states that the cottage for sale comes with existing planning permission for the renovation and extension of the property into a three bed, two bath home with two reception rooms.
And what a location to call home; the rugged coastline brings drama, rural vistas brings peace and quiet and the coastal path brings an opportunity to explore the coast, coves and beaches of north Pembrokeshire, the nearest being about only half a mile away.
Views from the cottage span out over Garn Fawr and Porth Maenmelyn and the pretty coastal towns of Goodwick and Fishguard are only about five miles away. Currently, the cottage is in need of full renovation, and comes with one large reception room across the width of the building, a scullery and what's left of a stone outhouse on the ground floor, and two bedrooms on the first floor.
The cottage is for sale for offers over £425,000 with joint agents JJ Morris, Fishguard on 01348 873836 and Savills, Cardiff on 029 2036 8900. For further information, including the planning consent and the facilities at the cottage, give them a call.
Pembrokeshire: £650,000
This idyllic, remote and private location provides a very interesting renovation project for anyone who fancies not just saving a derelict farmhouse but also establishing a business too, as the estate agent states the site also has a range of outbuildings ideal for conversion into workshops or holiday style accommodation, subject to the necessary planning consents.
And if the idea of a winter in an old caravan, as seems to be essential to get the complete extreme renovation project experience, fills you with dread there's a cute and unexpected straw bale studio 'house' in the garden that might offer you an unusual place to stay as an alternative while you renovate.
The agent says the studio was built in 2018 within the curtilage of the farmhouse under permitted development rights. It has mains electricity and a log burner, and a compost toilet.
Once the main house has been transformed into a country retreat surrounded by its 33 acres of glorious Pembrokeshire countryside, this bale house would make the best home office to make all your colleagues envious on Zoom calls, or could easily become an artist's studio, the best kids or adult den in the area or guest accommodation.
There's also a good sized stone outbuilding with delightful steps up to one of its front doors that could become another home, subject to planning consent, so when the main house is done and you can move in, there's another project onsite to get your renovation teeth firmly stuck into.
Have you finished the work now? Nope, there's still the former milking parlour to turn into a tasty treat, so don't put those power tools away just yet. Then you can relax and enjoy the undulating land that surrounds your new abode that includes the river Afon Rhyd-afallen as part of its boundary. This bundle of brilliant buildings is for sale for £650,000 with John Francis, call their Narberth branch on 01834 740049 to find out more.
Pembrokeshire: £700,000+
Extreme renovation project is a term that can relate to the derelict state of the building to be rescued or the size of the project, with multiple buildings needing attention. This exciting plot for sale has both and the eventual outcome could be something absolutely spectacular.
Merrion Court is an exciting property proposition for any renovation expert who wants to turn and old Grade II listed former farmhouse and its courtyard of listed outbuildings that include a granary range, dairy block and mill into an outstanding home with multi-generational living and holiday let income potential, subject to planning consent of course.
The Grade II listed properties on the site were part of the Merrion Court at Castlemartin estate. The whole site extends to about 3.5 acres and includes a large courtyard and some more modern general purpose farm outbuildings, near the hamlet of Merrion close to the south coast of the county between Tenby and Milford Haven.
The estate agent states that the company has approached Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority for pre-application planning advice in respect of proposals to convert redundant buildings at Merrion Court for residential use. To find out more about this and the site, which is on the market for offers over £700,000 contact the Cardiff branch of Savills on 029 2036 8900.
Cardiff: £1,260,000+
Hiding behind overgrown hedges and a boarded-up gate in one of the poshest suburbs in Cardiff is a unique Victorian villa that most people passing by probably don't know exists, at least in more recent times. Now this grand house in Lisvane with potential to become a stunning family home is up for auction with a guide price of £1,260,000.
The handsome house is important enough to be included in the Coflein archive, the online catalogue of archaeology, buildings, industrial and maritime heritage in Wales, which describes the property as being a "large brick mansion with a dressed stone entrance facade and fine Victorian veranda, dating back to the late 19th century and set in its own formal lawns to the front".
So the outside has impressive features that have survived to impress and inside two floors of accommodation plus a basement below and attic above that could be incorporated into a renovation project. For someone with vision and a healthy renovation budget the impressive Victorian mansion can offer an exciting opportunity for a grand home to be reborn.
Take a short tour of the grounds and inside the house here:
There's oodles of space, some original features to restore (and the opportunity to add some back in), and a garden that stretches to three-quarters of an acre that could become so special you would never want to leave. Swimming pool, log cabin, garden home office – the three quarters of an acre of land can easily accommodate them all, subject to planning consent, and still have masses of grounds left to enjoy.
Could that extreme renovator be you? This beautiful and unique building is up for online auction with Seel & Co with a guide price of £1,260,000. Call the auction house on 029 2037 0100 to find out more. And don't miss the best dream homes in Wales, renovation stories and interiors, join the Amazing Welsh Homes newsletter which is sent to your inbox twice a week.
