How to sell a house quickly to a developer

Geordielass1

It's my first time ever posting thread so apologies in advance so I appreciate your patience.

My Mum in Law owns and lives in a large 4 bed, 3 bath detached property with separate annexe and office and 3 acres of land. She has in the past looked to sell the property to a developer under a condition of a council pre approved planning deal which she tells me that in the past the planning from an earlier developer was rejected so they didn't go ahead. She says the planning request from the developer over 8 years ago was for multiple houses and driveways like a cul-de-sac which may nee why it was declined along with the neighbours saying no.

A few months ago she was been diagnosed with secondary terminal cancer and is now looking to sell the house quickly so she can move into something smaller and more manageable as her health declines. She has no mortgage on the existing property but does have a small equity release against it which she will clear with the cash sale, clear her own debt, gift some money to her family, plus put money to one side for medical fees and a 'bucket list'.

Originally we were looking to sell the property via an estate agent but the last valuation and structural survey found that the converted garage wall (done before 1984) to an additional lounge has possible old subsidence. My Mum in Law never got it re-pointed or skimmed as she is not that type of 'fixer-upper'. The structural surveyor suspects it is old movement that has now settled due to the old debris and erosion of the cracks, but as the crack is also inside he cannot say with certainty for insurance purposes unless the wall is monitored for 12 months.

This means that we cannot sell the property to a home buyer at this point and we can't wait 12 months to prove it hasn't moved as she may not be here by then at which point probate takes over (I'm not even sure how that all works yet!?).

So - we were looking into a developer purchasing without any approved planning permission (if there is such a thing). I have got in contact with the local council planning department and the Head of Planning is coming back to me with any immediate restrictions of what can be built plus details of our neighbours already approved planning submission to convert their existing house into a much larger 7 bed property, which I can give to the developer so he is aware of the range of plans that could be approved and any definite no no's.

I'd love any experts or experienced people who have been through this out there to let me know.

A) Are we mad going down this route.
Is it possible without full approved plans and if so with whom?
C) Any recommended developers/surveyors or anything else to help me sort this out for my mum in Law.
d) If we did need planning permission and she passed away in the middle of the process what happens to the deal and estate due to probate - or are we allowed to proceed with the sale and honour her will and then pay death duty and tax etc?
E) Is there another route that I don;t know about to help her sell the house quickly without her losing loads of money against it?

Thanks again for taking to the time to read this post and any answers are greatly welcomed and appreciated.

Thank you

BrassicWoman

Hello,

auction might be better than a developer? And faster.

teneighty

I have seen development sites sold with "pre-application advice" only which is like an informal written opinion on the planners attitude to a proposed development. It is much quicker than full or outline planning permission and gives a potential purchaser some degree of certainty regarding what will be allowed. The planners usually give very conservative advice so you can usually expect to get a bit more from a full application if you have the time and resources to really push. There is a fee to pay for pre-app advice and you will need rudimentary site plans.

Obviously the more certainty you can provide the more a developer will be prepared to pay.

You could just sell it as it is but I suspect you will get much less than it's true development value as it will be too much of a gamble for most developers.

Geordielass1

Thanks both for your replies and advice so far - I will look into both.

Keep 'em coming!

Cakeguts

A property auction is possibly the fastest way. I think you may be at the stage of comfort is more important than money so as long as she can find somewhere more suitable for less than the valuation for auction she doesn't need to squeeze out the last penny.

eddddy

If you want to sell quite quickly, and with the minimum of hassle, you could sell it without planning consent but "having development potential".

Either with an appropriate EA to sell it by informal tender - a bit like this:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-30792411.html

Or you could instruct an auctioneer to sell it at auction - a bit like this:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-56250844.html


You could also sell it with an "Overage Agreement". In simple terms, that means you sell it without planning consent - but if it later gets planning consent, you get more money. A bit like this:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-65096555.html