Avoiding gazumping after getting planning permission accepted

MysteryMe

You could look online at the local authority's planning portal to see if any planning applications had been submitted on the property. 

Marcobarko

MysteryMe said:

You could look online at the local authority's planning portal to see if any planning applications had been submitted on the property. 

Nothing recently. I *think* they might have got planning permission for them 16 years ago but it could be for another outbuilding on the property

ProDave

eddddy said:

lincroft1710 said:

ProDave's and k3lvc's approaches are far more practical

I guess the problem is that @Marcobarko only wants to buy the property if it's guaranteed to get planning consent.

So overage/betterment clauses won't help.

They might enable him to buy it slightly cheaper so he can sell it on again without loss if he can;t get planning.

eddddy

ProDave said:

eddddy said:

lincroft1710 said:

ProDave's and k3lvc's approaches are far more practical

I guess the problem is that @Marcobarko only wants to buy the property if it's guaranteed to get planning consent.

So overage/betterment clauses won't help.

They might enable him to buy it slightly cheaper so he can sell it on again without loss if he can;t get planning.

So we've ended up with a solution that's probably going to be more complex and possibly more expensive than a 'Conditional Contract' or 'Option to purchase'.


i.e.

• The seller sells cheap in the hope of getting overage.

• So the seller will require the buyer to sign a contract saying that the buyer will apply for planning permission (That contract would be just as complex as a 'Conditional Contract' or 'Option to Purchase.)

• Otherwise the seller is open to being scammed. i.e. The seller sells the property cheap - but they buyer has no intention of getting planning consent. The buyer fibbed, in order to buy the property cheaply.

But if the property really does have to be resold, there's the lost SDLT, legal fees, survey fees, EA fees. (and maybe mortgage related costs as well).  That's likely to be quite a few thousand lost - which wouldn't be lost with a 'Conditional Contract'.

lincroft1710

eddddy said:

ProDave said:

eddddy said:

lincroft1710 said:

ProDave's and k3lvc's approaches are far more practical

I guess the problem is that @Marcobarko only wants to buy the property if it's guaranteed to get planning consent.

So overage/betterment clauses won't help.

They might enable him to buy it slightly cheaper so he can sell it on again without loss if he can;t get planning.

So we've ended up with a solution that's probably going to be more complex and possibly more expensive than a 'Conditional Contract' or 'Option to purchase'.


i.e.

• The seller sells cheap in the hope of getting overage.

• So the seller will require the buyer to sign a contract saying that the buyer will apply for planning permission (That contract would be just as complex as a 'Conditional Contract' or 'Option to Purchase.)

• Otherwise the seller is open to being scammed. i.e. The seller sells the property cheap - but they buyer has no intention of getting planning consent. The buyer fibbed, in order to buy the property cheaply.

But if the property really does have to be resold, there's the lost SDLT, legal fees, survey fees, EA fees. (and maybe mortgage related costs as well).  That's likely to be quite a few thousand lost - which wouldn't be lost with a 'Conditional Contract'.

But if you were the vendor would you be happy with a "Conditional Contract"?


Your points are well made. I am wondering if an informal enquiry can be made to the planning authority. If the changes the OP wants to make to the barn would not or only slightly affect the external appearance, it may not be so difficult to obtain pp. 

gm0

Bat Mafia are on standby waiting for the PP signal.  Careful now.

user1977

lincroft1710 said:

eddddy said:

ProDave said:

eddddy said:

lincroft1710 said:

ProDave's and k3lvc's approaches are far more practical

I guess the problem is that @Marcobarko only wants to buy the property if it's guaranteed to get planning consent.

So overage/betterment clauses won't help.

They might enable him to buy it slightly cheaper so he can sell it on again without loss if he can;t get planning.

So we've ended up with a solution that's probably going to be more complex and possibly more expensive than a 'Conditional Contract' or 'Option to purchase'.


i.e.

• The seller sells cheap in the hope of getting overage.

• So the seller will require the buyer to sign a contract saying that the buyer will apply for planning permission (That contract would be just as complex as a 'Conditional Contract' or 'Option to Purchase.)

• Otherwise the seller is open to being scammed. i.e. The seller sells the property cheap - but they buyer has no intention of getting planning consent. The buyer fibbed, in order to buy the property cheaply.

But if the property really does have to be resold, there's the lost SDLT, legal fees, survey fees, EA fees. (and maybe mortgage related costs as well).  That's likely to be quite a few thousand lost - which wouldn't be lost with a 'Conditional Contract'.

But if you were the vendor would you be happy with a "Conditional Contract"?

Depends on the price and the likelihood of planning being granted. They are pretty commonplace in commercial deals (developers aren't for example generally wanting to buy property only to later discover they can't do anything with it), but going to be less attractive for most residential sales assuming there are other more straightforward buyers available, and no massive uplift in the price if the OP goes ahead. 

[Deleted User]

Marcobarko said:

lincroft1710 said:

Marcobarko said:

One thought I’ve had is making an offer slightly over the asking price - and using a solicitor to draw up a contract making my purchase of the property dependent on the acceptance of planning permission and putting in a significant penalty for either parties pulling out if planning permission is accepted but the deal falls through. 

If I was the vendor, I would be looking for a purchaser who wouldn't be encumbering the transaction with a load of conditions and penalties!

Me too! Which is why I’d make an offer over the asking price - as an incentive. Also, the planning permission would make their property more valuable, so they’d probably feel hard done by if they didn’t get more money for it

Problem as as prices keep going up, any offer over asking will probably be at or below market rate by the time you get all the planning stuff sorted out. Gazumping is rife because it takes months to get anywhere and in that time the sellers notice that they could get another 20k just by re-marketing.

SusieT

Would an unofficial (obviously non binding) phone call to someone in the local planning departnent be an idea? Just to see if they think permission would be a possibility if the external "look" of the barn was unchanged and the windows/doors were sympathetic to the area, or if it would be a straight no. If a straight no you could forget about the property, a maybe but with a lot of hoops and conditions would need thought as it may cost a lot to comply, and with a probable yes you could put in an offer.

peterhjohnson

Offering over the asking price with all the conditions attached wouldn't incentivise me as a vendor, I'd much prefer a straightforward uncomplicated sale without the extra cash 

The higher price might not incentivise you but if it enabled the vendor to afford their "dream home", it might work :-)