Asking for a price reduction due to a large new build proposed development!

Section62

onylon said:

If building work is ongoing when you want to sell or if it's just about to start then your house price will tank. No one wants to live next door to a building site.

It can work both ways though.  People see a new development, think that's a nice area to live, find they can't buy the new-builds, so 'settle' for an existing property in the location.

And whilst living next door to a building site isn't my idea of a peaceful life, many people take a different view - otherwise newbuilds would remain empty until the whole development was complete, rather than people moving in the the first finished houses virtually before the paint in them has had time to dry.

andy444

I went to view a house and thought it was great and was about to bid on it but I thought I'll do some digging online about the area and I found out that planning permission had been given for new housing estates around where the house is and they would double the size of the village. Consequently I didn't take my interest any further. It pays to do some research.

ele_91

Has it already been priced taking into account the new development? Does the price feel cheap for the area? As PP have said it takes 10 mins to google an area or check the planning portal, as a vendor I wouldn’t be interested in offering a reduction.

NameUnavailable

I offered on a property in a nice conservation area on the very edge of a town, with open countryside around it.

A couple of issues came to light shortly afterwards, I noticed that the land registry showed that there was no share of freehold (it was sold as shared f/h which is what I wanted) and looking on a Facebook group for the area, I learn't that the open land and golf course opposite had been bought by Homes for England and 500 houses were planned to be built.

The lease issue was the deal breaker for me, I probably would have gone ahead even with the development work although I did have concerns about increased traffic/congestion with all those extra commuters.

Basically if you are near any open ground, unless it's protected in some way there's a very real chance that it will be developed especially now they have relaxed the rules to allow more houses to be built more quickly.

Clara72

ele_91 said:

Has it already been priced taking into account the new development? Does the price feel cheap for the area? As PP have said it takes 10 mins to google an area or check the planning portal, as a vendor I wouldn’t be interested in offering a reduction.

Nope, I would say the opposite. I feel like the price was quite high. Hard to know what anyone else would have offered as like I said, we the only ones to see and offer. We had just missed out on a previous property so estate agent knew what max price was too. And I thought I had done my research by checking all the Planning policy documents, the planning permission was not live then but nearby residents had been consulted by the developer. When we found out we googled and eventually found a pre-application website but it wasn't that easy to find.

Clara72

gemma.zhang said:

Just to say we were in the exact situation a month ago. Didn’t feel right with the offer price but still like the property enough to proceed, the fear of missing out !

Me and my husband had different opinion didn't help either. So we asked for 15k drop of price with a long email explaining the situation. Kind of a gamble as we were close to walk away. Vendor thought hard over the long weekend and agreed on 10k to meet us in the middle. He was in need of money for investment and wanted a quick sale. So we continue with the purchase.

not easy decision, just go with what makes you feel right.

good luck ! 

Thank you just out of interest what sort of % reduction was the £15k you originally asked for? My partner also has a different opinion to me so it is not easy! 

sheramber

The only way to guarantee a view is to buy that view as well.

A friend bought a plot for new house and also bought the land up the hill behind him and half way down the other side. 

This was to prevent anybody building behind him and overlooking him.

 

lookstraightahead

So one of the reasons you loved the house was because of the view of the field.

now there's a high chance you won't get the view that drew you to the house.

it's a no brainer for me. It's not what you looked at.

how would you have felt if you had looked out and seen 20 diggers in the dust? And the noise of drills?

this is why I always buy in mature areas where the land is uneven. 

Continental

My in-laws had this very same matter to consider earlier this year (March). They were relocating from Hampshire to Dorset and decided to buy a 1930s detached house on the edge of town. They loved the fact that the back garden faced west across large fields, with cows out to pasture. The sunset was incredible. Their offer was accepted, they had the house surveyed and the searches commenced.

Their solicitor informed them that the vendor had returned her enquiry form - and ticked the box where she was aware that a development was going to take place on the field behind the house. More than 200 houses to be built in 3 phases, including a house right behind the one they planned to purchase which would have a small garden. They were very unhappy that the estate agent who showed them around never mentioned it (he must have known as my in-laws googled the vicinity and the local newspapers mentioned the development by Persimmon. They pulled out. It wasn’t just the dust and construction noise, but they felt that the loss of view and sunset was a big deal breaker but not reflected in the asking price.

Last month the diggers moved in and are currently moving earth to start laying foundations. My in-laws have purchased a similar style of house almost directly opposite the original house and it has a secondary school behind it. It’s a little busy in the morning and later afternoon but it’s really quiet at other times and in the school holidays. They are very happy with their decision. The original house has since sold, but the Land Registry hasn’t been updated yet so they don’t know if the vendor sold it at a lower price or not.

AdrianC

Continental said:

My in-laws had this very same matter to consider earlier this year (March). They were relocating from Hampshire to Dorset and decided to buy a 1930s detached house on the edge of town. They loved the fact that the back garden faced west across large fields, with cows out to pasture. The sunset was incredible. Their offer was accepted, they had the house surveyed and the searches commenced.

Their solicitor informed them that the vendor had returned her enquiry form - and ticked the box where she was aware that a development was going to take place on the field behind the house. More than 200 houses to be built in 3 phases, including a house right behind the one they planned to purchase which would have a small garden. They were very unhappy that the estate agent who showed them around never mentioned it (he must have known as my in-laws googled the vicinity and the local newspapers mentioned the development by Persimmon. They pulled out.

Stupid question... Why didn't they do that googling FIRST?