country wide land holdings

centre13 · 23 August 2006 at 4:14PM

Hi,

I am new to the site and was wondering if somone could help me. I am about to become involved with the above named company and was wanting to know if anyone has had any dealing with them. They buy sites and sell them off in plots to consumers then when the land is granted planning and sold to the developers the consumers take their profit out of their investment. Any views or experience would be greatl

y appreciated.

Cheers

Tassotti · 23 August 2006 at 4:33PM

Steer clear...it is a scam..They sell you overpriced land which will never get planning permission on.

Check out the actual plots, and then speak to local councils about planning permission.

Ask yourself this? Why would they sell the land to you to get pp when they could do it themselves?

This scam has been going on for a long time and a couple of years ago there was a major uproar about it.

centre13 · 23 August 2006 at 4:56PM

Sorry just to clarify any confusion I dont get the planning permission they do. They say its a max two year invetsment for the planning to come through in areas which have been identified were there is a need for housing.

ab7167 · 23 August 2006 at 5:16PM

Scam. Land banking relies on people investing in agricultural land that has little or no chance of being granted planning permission. There is a thread over on the Motley Fool website about this particular company.

http://boards.fool.co.uk/Message.asp?mid=9764618&sort=whole

If you want to invest in land, the best way is to check with your local planning office about their development stratgy and then find land that fits with it.

Alex

centre13 · 23 August 2006 at 7:14PM

Thank you both I think I have saved myself a lot of heart ache and the posts on the link page says it all.

Tassotti · 23 August 2006 at 8:18PM

heart ache...and money

out of interest , how much are they charging per acre or plot?

Debt_Free_Chick · 23 August 2006 at 10:58PM

centre13 wrote:

They buy sites and sell them off in plots to consumers then when the land is granted planning ...

IF ..... IF it ever gets planning permission.

Why hasn't the land been snapped up by a developer already, then?

david29dpo · 24 August 2006 at 7:44AM

i feel for you if you have been sucked in to this. is it not obvious it a scam?

centre13 · 24 August 2006 at 7:19PM

No not sucked in thank goodness they are charging £7000 for 0.04 of a plot

rovinia · 24 March 2007 at 12:47PM

This company has been harrassing my 75 yr old mom in law - she now is scared to answer her phone in case it is them again, she had telephon preference service - I set it up for her , they have written to her and despite being intelligent and in possesion of all her faculties she is confused worried and upset, why has no one intervened? What do we have trading standards for? I have just dialled the freephone 0800 389 0316 fom their swish web site (you can see why people get sucked in) and it is directed to the T mobile 07956430981 mailbox which is fulll!!!! Everyone who has been contacted or conned by them need to get together and take this to trading standards now.

RHARRIS_3 · 28 March 2007 at 12:34PM

Hi there,

I am new to the forum and I would just like to say there are some good companies out there selling good land with very good chances of planning permisson granted and there are some bad companies promoting sites with no hope at all. My advice would be to use a land agent who is impartial and deals with different land companies. Also ask them what commission or fees they receive for referring you.

Land Banking is nothing new . Tesco is the largest land banker in the country. Bill Gates does it, Warren Buffet does it.. What about the royals? They have been banking land for hundreds of years!

UK Land Investments (UKLI) who claim they are one of the best who follow strict guidlines are actually the worst offender. The offer ok land in the UK to UK investors but when selling overseas in India or the Middle East they sell land in the middle of nowhere with no hope in hell of planning being granted. That company is one big CON!! I hope the FSA/DTI close them down soon. They are the worst so avoid them at all costs!

There are other companies like ELP (English Land Partnership) who despite having a bad record because of some of the people in charge of the business did actually have some good land.

It's all a punt at the end of the day. :rolleyes:

There are companies like Walton International who have offices all over the world who specialise in land banking and have received planning permission on their sites realising their last site and it's investors over 500% gain... so it is possible. You just need to make sure you are getting something realistic.
Ask yourself? 1) Is the land near existing housing 2) Is there a housing need in that area? 3) Is the land/site in the council plan?

People like Greg MulHolland who are jumping up and down or the CPRE do not understand land banking ..they just jump up and down to get publicity.

It's up to you what to do with your money. Have a spread. Stocks/land/property/cash at bank.

Hope this helps.

Mr Harris.

country wide land holdings

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