Going to see land - Questions?

stacey21_2

Hi all,

I am going to see a piece of land tonight my partner and I and other members of his family intend to build houses on (private build, not for commercial purporses). The land has no planning permission as yet as is still in talks with the council (red tape etc I presume) but they are taking us to see it tonight.

Are there any questions that need to be asked when we are viewing this land? They have given us an approximate price of £93k per plot.

Thanks

epz_2

i would get an option which you can buy at a certain price then its up to the seller to sort out the red tape.

i would check access, distance you need to run power, telecoms, and water as it can be expensive. also check out the drainage and any subsidance in the area.

lynnexxxo

Hi

My first question would be to make sure planning permission is definately going to be granted. 93 K is a lot of money to part with if you are not going to be able to build on the land. Could you contact the planning department directly and ask them about the likelyhood of planning permission being granted (and not just take the vendors word for it).

Also would be enquiring about how far away the water mains, electricity cables and gas supply is from the land you want to buy.

Also, access - would you have to build a road/cross someone elses property to get to the land.

I'm no expert - just a few things I thought of - there is probably dozens more!

stacey21_2

Thanks both,

There will no be money spent until it definetely has planning permission.. The price quoted is an approximate price assuming it gets planning permission. There has been a bit of a dispute regarding if it is green belt land but it has been built on previously (years ago), and they have said that there is space for roughly 16 houses.

Do we pay for installation of gas/water etc? Or is this divided between the 16 (assuming 16 buy land there) houses?

TimmyP_2

Hi Stacey

I work for a housebuilder so hopefully I'll be able to provide some guidance. The type of questions to be asked really depend on how much information you already know about the site. Things that need to be considered for a residential build include the following:

• Does the site slope (if it does, it will impact on drainage, retaining walls etc)
• Location of drainage connections (I guess this could depend on how many houses your intending to build though and may not be as important)
• Services Connections & Diversions (its worth asking to see if any services cross the site as these may have to be diverted if they do)
• Would there be any issues with highways access for your plans
• Take a look at the surrounding properties for ridge heights, also consider issues of overlooking and rights of light.
• Are there any Tree Protection Orders on the site?
• Any ecology issues? Protected species etc.
• Contamination issues? - Obviously dependent on current use.

Also make the offer subject to planning, ground, and contract to cover yourself before spending any money.

Whilst some of these are the responsibility of the purchaser to find out, I don't see too much harm in bringing up the query if you believe their relevant. Obviously not knowing where the site is, what it is now, and what your putting on there, its difficult to suggest specific queries. In the meantime, I hope this provides some guidance although you may already have thought of them anyway!

Either way, good luck with the viewing.

Angua2

I'm sure you know the basic issues:
- Rights of way / access to site
- Sewers/drainage (check with water authority)
- Boundaries & neighbours
- Land site / surveys (flood plain, trees, etc.) Forgot to mention it's often revealing to research the history of the site and the selling history...
- Insurance & guarantees

This might help:
http://www.selfbuildhome.net/buying-self-build-plot-of-land.htm

Debt_Free_Chick

stacey21 wrote: »

Thanks both,

There will no be money spent until it definetely has planning permission.. The price quoted is an approximate price assuming it gets planning permission. There has been a bit of a dispute regarding if it is green belt land but it has been built on previously (years ago), and they have said that there is space for roughly 16 houses.

Irrelevant, I'm afraid (the fact that it has been built on previously). Have you looked at the Local Development Framework for the Council concerned? This sets out their planning policy and identifies "green belt" and other land which has been marked as "not for development". If this piece of land is included, planning permission will almost certainly not be given.

Do we pay for installation of gas/water etc? Or is this divided between the 16 (assuming 16 buy land there) houses?

It would normally be "the developer". If there are sixteen of you building individual houses, then you would need to come to an agreement. Beware if one of you wants to "move in" in 12 months time as the first developer will bear the brunt of these costs - the big cost is getting the services from the current nearest main onto the site. After that, connecting another house on the site to what's already there is comparatively cheap.

What is the land currently designated as?

piggeh

I thought you could apply for outline planning permission regardless of whether you owned the land or not?

Doozergirl

I agree with Debt_free_Chick. If it is greenbelt land and there is nothing standing there now, I think the chances of getting PP are very slim indeed.

The 'developer' sounds a bit naive tbh Councils also seem to like things to be in keeping, so a development of 16 seperate houses sounds like fun for them. Why not simply sell the land to a big developer?

If you talk to the relevent planning officer at the local council, they will be able to give you the lowdown. There may well be previous applications or at least a file, which you can ask for a nd view. If you look at the local authorities website many have the planning applications online to view, otherwise my local lists applications on a pdf. I just search for the street, find the relevant reference number, turn up and ask to see it

nelly_2

Going to see land!

Thats what pirates say