All too often, fantastic investment properties get overlooked in the auction catalogue because they don’t look that appealing when judged by themselves. Yet, by reading the small print, or better still, taking a drive-by viewing of the lot, it could be revealed that the real value is not in the property itself but the garden. Houses with huge gardens should scream ‘building plot’ – and the land may well be worth more than the property itself.

So, what if you want to buy a house with a large garden and build another property(ies) in the grounds? What are the issues?

“My husband and I are hoping to retire later this year and downsize our home to a property on Dartmoor. I have found a few houses that look interesting, but a couple of them are on Duchy Land. What does this mean and what would our rights be?”

According to research by the Halifax a few years ago, the happiest type of home in Britain is the bungalow, which is rated by its occupants as an average of 8.15 out of 10 on a 'happiness' scale.And with this choice of dwellings contining to out-perform houses and flats in the property market, what options does a property developer have to 'add value' to a bungalow?

Taking on someone else’s restoration project part way through may not seem very appealing to some property investors but in fact it can be a shrewd move.