This rundown cottage ripe for renovation comes with a surprise in the garden (original) (raw)

Beehive cottage will cause a buzz at the property auction with so much potential and a number of bonus additions

Looking at this cottage going to auction you might be struck by how small it appears at first glance. If you look closely and become a bit of a property detective you will see that, yes, it used to be a bigger home, with the outline of a previous gable wing clearly visible on the rear wall render and even the remains of accommodation at the rear.

Beehive cottage is a renovation project that comes with many bonuses, and one of them is the planning in place to reinstate the rear and side wings that have, somehow and at some time, disappeared.

Located nestled within the Carmarthenshire countryside at Ty Mawr, near Llanybydder, Beehive is in a state of disrepair but after renovation could make a really sweet home - including for bees as well as there's room for a few hives within the 48 metre garden, even with the extensions built. For more property stories sent to your inbox twice a week sign up to the property newsletter here.

Angie Davey, of south Wales based Paul Fosh Auctions, said: “This could be a dream come true for a buyer looking for a honeypot project in the heart of the county in stunning, wild and wonderful countryside. The Cambrian Mountains rise up in the very heart of Wales, a place where hills, river valleys and meadows have sustained life for millennia. Surrounded by the counties of Ceredigion, Powys and Carmarthenshire, and encircled by three national parks, this is a landscape which is steeped in Welsh history and heritage."

Angie says that the site has been partially levelled, utilities are present on the site - electric, mains water and drainage - and included in the sale are the architect drawings, structural engineer's calculations plus several tonnes of original stone, removed by hand from the old extension.

But Beehive is not just an opportunity to create one cute cottage abode in the country - it comes with a historic second dwelling in the garden too. The pile of rubble in the garden has a long history and wasn't always in such a state - it was once an early 19th century labourer's cottage shown on the 1840 Tithe map, when it was on land owned by nearby Cefn Percin Farm. The old cottage is important enough to have been granted a Grade II listing by Cadw in 2002.

Angie says: "We are informed by the vendor they had verbal confirmation from Cadw for a single-storey extension for a kitchen and bathroom to the rear. We advise interested parties to contact Cadw directly. We have not inspected the properties, but we are informed that the main detached cottage has been stripped out ready for refurbishment with one room to each floor and staircase. There is planning permission to add a 10m x 5/6m double storey extension.

Beehive cottage and its bonus garden building is being sold online by Paul Fosh Auctions with a guide price of £99,000. Bids start from noon on Tuesday, October 1 and end from 5pm on Thursday, October 3. For more property and renovation stories join our Amazing Welsh Homes Facebook group here.