No longer the dream: Bourton Lock Cottage

Bourton lock cottage goes to auction this evening, and I am looking forward to seeing who buys it, and for how much – if it sells! The post-fire survey by British Waterways was an interesting read; with all the work that needed doing, the company estimated about 43K to restore the property to glory (and VAT to that and you are looking at 51K). Surprisingly there was no mention of a new roof in the quote and it seemed they were expecting water, sanitation and electricity to be on site and provided by the owner (BW at the time). There was indication about how materials would be put on site, nor how they would be taken off site. The guttering was quoted as uPVC but it would need to be cast iron. Lock boy summed it up as a brick shell with a first floor and most of a roof. My wise Uncle gave me some good advice about purchasing the property and as a result I am not going to. 85K for a grade 2 listed ruin with no land is really for the rich, or those with disposable income, and that isn’t me – if I did buy it, and I couldn’t make it work I could end up with a Grade 2 listed building I might not be able to sell, with huge bills and orders to ‘make it good’.