Buying land from administrators?

martyp

Hi all,
I discovered recently that land at the end of my garden was owned by a company that went into administration and I queried the future of it with the administrators as I was worried about a huge house appearing there one day...
The thing is a planning application exists which indicated the land would have trees planted on it and not be used for building on.
The administrators asked me if I wanted to make an offer for the land and it would have to be made in writing? I really don't have a clue as to whether to make an offer, how much to make the offer for, how much of the land I'd be buying?
Can someone advise any further as I know that administrators aren't really into the fine details and just into clawing as much money back from selling assets of a company as they can...
If the land can't be built on could it be bought really cheap?
If anyone has any experience with doing this kind of thing I'd be really interested to know...

many thanks

stebiz

martyp wrote: »

Hi all,
I discovered recently that land at the end of my garden was owned by a company that went into administration and I queried the future of it with the administrators as I was worried about a huge house appearing there one day...
The thing is a planning application exists which indicated the land would have trees planted on it and not be used for building on.
The administrators asked me if I wanted to make an offer for the land and it would have to be made in writing? I really don't have a clue as to whether to make an offer, how much to make the offer for, how much of the land I'd be buying?
Can someone advise any further as I know that administrators aren't really into the fine details and just into clawing as much money back from selling assets of a company as they can...
If the land can't be built on could it be bought really cheap?
If anyone has any experience with doing this kind of thing I'd be really interested to know...

many thanks

Land with no access (other than through your garden) would have very limited value!!

martyp

Hi stebiz,
It has roads surrounding it, it's only a fairly small bit of land but if I could extend my garden into it it might be nice...
Currently it's open land with a well used footpath in the middle of it.

madeupname1

martyp wrote: »

I really don't have a clue as to whether to make an offer, how much to make the offer for, how much of the land I'd be buying?

Only the administrators can tell you how much of the land you are buying. Even if they don't give any warranties (i.e. promises about the land, e.g. ownership and condition) they should at the very least be able to tell you what they are purporting to sell. The value of the land will be determined by the kind of things that usually impact on the value of land (e.g. road access and planning) but a discount, possibly very steep discount, will typically apply when you are buying from a company in administration because it normally needs to be done quickly. However, the price may be driven up if there is lots of other interest in the land. The Administrators aim is to get in the most cash for the creditors of the company. Therefore they are likely to go for the highest, credible, offer.

timmyt

offer sensible and use a map asking for as much land as you can plus their legal costs and say you have a lawyer on standby...

martyp

Many thanks all, I'm considering only a part of the land but it's kind of right in the middle. I'm unsure how if anything they may choose to break up the land. If it's an area of say 5m X 5m which is set aside to be woodland it would increase the size of my garden a fair amount but not sure how much to offer. Can I ask them for suggestions? Would it be like bidding on ebay if someone else made an offer? I could go to the legal people I bought my house with possibly?

g_attrill

I think they would probably prefer to sell the entire parcel if it's quite small, otherwise they will have to deal with your purchese and then find two buyers for much smaller pieces of land.

The administrators need to justify their disposal of any assets, and show that it was a fair price considering the circumstances. If you can sort it quicker than an auction and they need the cash then it might justify the sale at a low price. If it is genuinely suitable as a building plot but has planning permission for something else then it might not be easy to value, but depending on the area something buildable is worth perhaps £20k+ (to obviously much higher values).

Anyway, I would have an informal chat with whoever at the administrators is dealing with it and suggest something low, but not a waste of their time. Eg. if as a plot it's worth £20k then suggest £5k+ costs. They can only say no!

martyp

Many thanks all, the land is shown as being about 1.3 hectares in total of which most of it as trees about 3 metres or so tall growing. The council have advised it could still accept planning applications for the land...

tyllwyd

If there is planning permission granted which shows trees growing on the land, I shouldn't rely on that meaning that there could not be new planning permission with something built there. With developers, you can't rely on anything until you see the foundations being built and it becomes uneconomic to make any changes!

poppysarah

Footpath on it then the footpath mob might get a hold of you. Is it a right of way?

G_M

Get plans from the Land registry so you know exactly what area you are considering. (£4).

Get the Titles too - there may be covenants that prohobit certain things or require certain things. eg rights of way as poppy says.

Go and visit the planning dept. They'll help with what permissions exist, and what permissions MIGHT be acceptable in future.