Housing development next door

curtispro

Hi all,
Im looking for advice and info regarding a development next to me and the possibility of my house being bought out.

I live in a cul-de-sac road in a semi-detatched house, me and my neighbour are the only houses in the road and next to us we have a some wasteland. We have both just recieved a letter to say that the land may be developed for fourteen or so houses and that the developer would like to discuss the purchase of both our property's for more housing.
We are not completely against this proposal as we think the development will go ahead despite any objections (if any). We have lived here for many years and love the area which is nice and peaceful at the moment, this will all change once development starts.

So i would just like some advise about this buy out proposal, our land is approximately 1 3rd of the size of the wasteland but also there is some wasteland on the otherside of us which they could use aswell , so we are kind of sat in the middle. I dont for sure if they would use the other bit of land but our land would probably accomodate around 4-5 houses?

Would the price for our land be determined by the current market value plus a certain percentage?

Im sure there are lots of things to consider about this proposal but as this is all new to me i would really appreciate your thoughts so i can understand the process and make sure i do the right thing.

Thanks , Adam

KateLiana27

I'm not sure if there is a standard formula they would use. The easiest thing to do would be to call them up and arrange to meet the developer, to discuss what they would offer for your house(s). Don't seem too keen when you do it Find out as much as possible about the development (luxury 4-5-bed homes or a row of tiny council-type houses?), expected timeframe of building work (then double this), planned parking and access arrangements, that sort of thing, to help you understand how it might affect the value of your home and weigh up the pros and cons of moving.

martindow

Does the developer need to purchase your house or your neighbour's to access this land? If so, one or both of these houses could be worth much more to the developer than their market values.

geoffky

Try and get the best detached house on the plot for your semi...that's what i would be doing.

curtispro

Our propertys are are not in the way of any access but as i say the developers could be thinking of building on the other side of us aswell so we could be sat in the middle of the site location.
But i dont think they would let us know what their whole intentions are apart from what they would want to build on our land.
Do you think it would be appropriate to ask if they wanted to build on the other side aswell? Or would this cause any issues?

Bigmoney2

Do they have planning permission in place? If so you should be able to look at the plans online via your local council website, infact you should have been notified of any application with the application number and a notice placed on a nearby lamp post.
Get your house valued by a local estate agent to give you a ball park figure of its value.

curtispro

No planning permission as yet, although we are certain that it will go ahead, we have in the past recieved a letter from the council regarding our views if a development ever came about, my feeling is that the council are willing to allow planning.

JQ.

Tell them you completely object to any development and if they put in a planning application you will make it your purpose in life to make sure it never happens. Make sure they realise that if they do not get you onside you will cost them ALOT of money. Do not ask what they'll pay for your house when you first speak to them, just make sure you appear to be an awkward !!!!!!.

By buying your houses I suspect they will be able to increase the density of their proposed scheme, thereby increasing their profit. Speak to your local planning officer (go in and see him/her) and ask them what impact your houses being included or excluded will have on the scheme.

If you really want to know what your houses are worth you'll need to pay a Chartered Surveyor (not an Estate Agent) to do a development appraisal based on the scheme with your land and without your land. The difference in the 2 values is your starting point for negotiations. Alternatively if you don't want to pay someone, find out how much your house is worth on the open market not taking into account the proposed scheme (get a few valuations off Estate Agents) and then double or triple it on the basis of what the Planning Officer tells you - then negotiate from there, probably downwards. At a minimum I'd want an extra 30% over Market Value plus all my moving costs covered.

curtispro

The thing is if i come across as totally against there plans and "awkaward" then if fear they might just scrap the idea of buying our land and just go ahead with the initial development, then i will suddenly have 14 houses plonked next door.

My thoughts are if i have meeting with the developer to let him do the talking and to come across with a neutral feeling about it all and to wait and see what their offer is, then this would be a starting point for negotiations.

I seem to get the feeling that around 25% -30% above the market value seems an acceptable offer for this situation? But when you take into account what the developer will get by purchasing the land its seems like it should more? thats were im unsure about the figures.

What i dont want to do is discuss figures like if im asked - how much i paid for my house, how long ive lived here, how much is my mortgage?
I dont think that i should have to give any of this information so i hope i dont get asked.
The only figures to take into account will be the market value i think?
Appreciate these responses and any more input is more than welcome !

KateLiana27

I think you're taking the right approach. Keep it neutral and non-committal. You're trying to get information out of him, and at the same time get him to talk you into selling. Just smile and say "I'd rather not discuss that" if asked any financial questions - you're right, it's none of his business. See what he can offer YOU.

JQ.

If there's money to be made, you being awkward will not put them off I can assure you - they deal with it every day.

The honest answer is that nobody here can answer your question. There is far too much information that is needed to be able to calculate the value and most of that information won't actually be available to you. The value of your house to the developer could +10% or it could be +1,000%. The only person who can work that out for you is a Chartered Surveyor who will value the land owned by the developer with and without your land. They'll do that by assessing local planning policy to calculate potential development densities, end values and build costs.