Advice about plot of land attached to house we want to buy

13Kent

Apologies for a long post!

We put an offer in on a house at £20 000 below the asking price and it was accepted with no negotiation. We have nothing to sell, and are ready to move, the vendors have already bought and are ready to move.

The house has a plot of land at the bottom of the garden big enough to be used as a building plot but with pedestrian access only as the garage belonging to the property sits between the house and the plot of land.

We decided to buy the property thinking the land had potential, being ideal for us now as a play area for our children, and looking into the future either to put a static caravan on it as a holiday let, (it's in a seaside town) or a more permanent structure which could either be used as a holiday let or a granny annex.

Now the searches have been completed we have discovered that the land has an historical covenant on it which forbids a caravan being placed on the land, and also forbids a building being used as a lodging for paying guests.

We have also discovered that the property was marketed by a different agent earlier this year, and on the details it suggested that the land could be used to build an annex on. However in the more recent particulars say the land would be perfect as an allotment for the keen gardener!!

We know a sale has already fallen through on this property, and we have discovered that planning permission to build on the land has been refused a number of times in the past, and most recently last year.

Although we love the house we are worried that in the future we will have a property with a piece of land that is just a nuisance, it can't be seen from the property so there would be little point in landscaping it, and it would just be a big area of grass needing mowing every now and then. Also if we came to sell in the future would we have difficulty as prospective buyers may be put off by the land too?

Despite already taking £20,000 off the selling price we are now considering our options and wondering whether to go ahead with the purchase or maybe trying to renegotiate the price as due to the problems with this land we now feel the property is no longer worth to us the amount we were originally willing to pay. Hubby is still really keen, but I am a bit wary as I don't want to buy a house that maybe will be hard to sell in the future, or even worse would be worth less than the price we have currently offered for it due to the problems with this land.

Any thoughts or advice please?

princeofpounds

I don't quite understand what you are so worried about. The land may not be that useful but it still has value. As stated, it would make a great allotment. Or a play area for children. Or a storage area. Or a site for ground source heat pump tubing. Or a sculpture park! A caravan is not the only possible use.

For some developments, like a garden office, you can do it under permitted development rather than a full planning permission. You might also be able to be more imaginative about access - for example putting doors on the back of the garage to enable access.

Depending on who is the beneficiary, they may not be present to enforce the covenant, nor may they care even if they are around.

You may find the land can be sold to a neighbour who can make better use of it.

Bottom line is the land may not be very valuable, but the only real liability is the occasional mowing and there are still potential uses for it.

stator

It's dissapointing but I don't think it would cause problems selling the house, you just have to be a bit more honest than the old estate agent. If you tell buyers it can't be developed as soon as they visit they won't get their hopes up! It's up to you whether the land was important enough to pull out of the purchase.

moneyistooshorttomention

Personally, I'd be only too happy at getting a house for less because some other people would be put off it by a "no development" type clause.

Ozzuk

Land is rarely a nuisance, UDPs change, policies change, land will nearly always rise in price. There are ways to limit the maintenance, really depends on the size we're talking, I can't see any way it would only ever add value to the house.

I'm sure my grammar is wrong on that last sentence!

DRP

It's a secret garden for the kids, plot for growing veggies, stick a large shed on it and it is useful storage.

We have a similar plot that we can't build on due to conditions set out at the time of the original sale to our predecessors, not to mention the fact there isn't access apart from via our back garden.

I'd think to most (non-investor) buyers, your extra land would add value, rather than being a worry or concern.

jackomdj

It sounds lovely. You could keep some chickens, an allotment, etc

Davesnave

princeofpounds wrote: »

You may find the land can be sold to a neighbour who can make better use of it.

Or neighbours.

Of course it depends on circumstances, but when I sold my last house, I kept a piece of land like the one described, used it for storage over a couple of years and then sold it in segments to four neighbours. There was no possibility of development, but it still made me £20k.

Pete9501

This is your new orchard.

13Kent

Pete, my hubby said exactly that!!

Thanks for the replies I'm feeling much more positive about it now!