A building with a possibility.
A distinctive property and a price that catches the eye. Then the works, permissions and costs that decide whether the opportunity survives closer inspection.
Buildings. Possibilities. A catch or two.
The asking price is only the start.
Unusual buildings, tempting prices and the awkward details that decide whether a property makes sense.
Pull up a chair. There is usually a catch worth discussing.
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Richard Mercer · Would You Buy It?
The person behind the question
I’m Richard.
A former chapel, a neglected shop or a strangely cheap building will usually make me stop scrolling. The interesting question comes next: what would have to be true for it to work?
Here I take a closer look at real properties, possible uses and the numbers behind them. Sometimes a constraint changes the entire plan. Sometimes the sensible answer is to walk away. And sometimes another reader spots the thing everyone else has missed.
Bring your own verdict. Changing your mind after finding a better fact is part of the point.
What we look at
Past the headline price.
Same property. Different answer.
Two plausible approaches. What changes the costs, the timetable and the downside? Which assumption decides the choice?
The detail that changes everything.
An access problem, a planning condition, an awkward lease. The little line that can become the whole story.
Back to the original verdict.
A return to a case we covered when new evidence becomes available. The original assumptions stay on the table, including what we got wrong.
A few photographs
Richard, away from the numbers.
Found something worth arguing about?
Send the original listing or project link by DM on X. Tell me what caught your eye and which detail you would check first.
Follow along, share a case with someone who will disagree with you, and make the argument in the replies.
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