What it is: The cows are gone, the slurry pit is filled in and the 11.5 acres of land have been neatly fenced. This former milking shed and dairy, now “clean and tidy, if a little dry and dusty”, is ready to be converted into a large country house. Plans have been drawn up for the redesign of the 4,500sq ft property to make use of the “breathtaking” southwesterly views with glass internal walls and floor-to-ceiling frameless windows and doors.
The layout includes five bedrooms, four bathrooms and a 1,000sq ft office. A further stone barn and a two-acre paddock are available by separate negotiation.
In a designated area of outstanding natural beauty, the barn is two miles from Tisbury, from where it is 1hr 45min to London Waterloo by train, and 15 miles from Salisbury.
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The problems: This is the most expensive barn to convert that the joint selling agents have brought to the market. For the same money, you could get a six-bed Victorian house in the Wye Valley or a four-bed apartment in a new development in west London. A hundred yards from the main manor farmhouse, Manor Barn is on the estate that once belonged to Arthur Ransome, the children’s author. The basic groundwork — including obtaining planning permission — may have been done, but the buyer will need to spend at least another £700,000 to make this into a habitable home.
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The advantages: A quarter of inquiries to the joint selling agent Woolley & Wallis are from buyers from London and Surrey looking for a lifestyle change — a house in the country and room for a pony. Two years ago, 5% of inquiries were from purchasers also looking for a separate office. Now 15% of buyers want one. The agent thinks the property is likely to be bought by a family with a view to working from home and believes that Manor Barn, once converted, should sell on for about £1.5m to £1.75m “if the new owner does a nice job on it”.
Joint agents: Woolley & Wallis, 01747 852 242, www.w-w.co.uk; FPDSavills, 01722 426 810, www.fpdsavills.co.uk