The nightmare of a house purchase with a septic tank

Statex2_2

Yes I had decided to walk away, but my son wants to live in the house and pay for and carry out the work as he is capable of most of the repairs himself and we would live in an annexe on part of the land. He will purchase a 50% share in the property and pay for the repairs.The cost to build the annexe are known before we start the build but no one seems to know if the land we want to build on is agricultural land or part of the garden. I am trying to find out before I commit to the purchase. Should there be a problem I will walk away. 

youth_leader

Good luck, I wish you well.  I know the house isn't, listed but the Listed Property Club membership was invaluable to us, definitely worth the subscription for advice/information.

uralmaid

Not sure what part of the country you are in but here in Lincolnshire there are many properties with land attached.  In our surrounding villages quite a few people have wanted to change some of their land which was agricultural to residential, to build an annexe or a property for family to live in and virtually every one of them was turned down. Of ones which were allowed it came with strict enforcement to the effect that it could only be lived in by a family member and if ever the property was sold then 50% of the profit was payable to the council. Just something to bear in mind.

Section62

uralmaid said:

Not sure what part of the country you are in but here in Lincolnshire there are many properties with land attached.  In our surrounding villages quite a few people have wanted to change some of their land which was agricultural to residential, to build an annexe or a property for family to live in and virtually every one of them was turned down. Of ones which were allowed it came with strict enforcement to the effect that it could only be lived in by a family member and if ever the property was sold then 50% of the profit was payable to the council. Just something to bear in mind.

It is likely that would only be because the council was the original owner of the land and placed a condition on the sale which required future profit sharing.

Otherwise from a planning perspective it would be difficult to justify a condition which required 'profit' to be paid to the council on sale of the property.  Planning conditions could limit sale (or more likely occupation) to people who worked in agriculture, but where a condition requires a payment to be made there has to be some form of justification - e.g. a sum of money to pay for road improvements, extra places at the local school etc (e.g. S106).  The future sale of the property wouldn't normally trigger a change which required the council to invest in infrastructure or services.

Rural councils typically had very extensive agricultural land ownership (often known as 'county farms') which were the agricultural or horticultural equivalent of council houses. Lincolnshire is no exception.  And as with council houses, the sale of these farms/smallholdings usually comes with conditions about what you can do with the land and what happens when you want to sell.

Statex2_2

youth_leader said:

Good luck, I wish you well.  I know the house isn't, listed but the Listed Property Club membership was invaluable to us, definitely worth the subscription for advice/information.

Thank you for the information about the listed property club. A big risk but as my son is purchasing half the property  the upkeep will be shared.

Statex2_2

uralmaid said:

Not sure what part of the country you are in but here in Lincolnshire there are many properties with land attached.  In our surrounding villages quite a few people have wanted to change some of their land which was agricultural to residential, to build an annexe or a property for family to live in and virtually every one of them was turned down. Of ones which were allowed it came with strict enforcement to the effect that it could only be lived in by a family member and if ever the property was sold then 50% of the profit was payable to the council. Just something to bear in mind.

The area is Norfolk 

Statex2_2

Section62 said:

uralmaid said:

Not sure what part of the country you are in but here in Lincolnshire there are many properties with land attached.  In our surrounding villages quite a few people have wanted to change some of their land which was agricultural to residential, to build an annexe or a property for family to live in and virtually every one of them was turned down. Of ones which were allowed it came with strict enforcement to the effect that it could only be lived in by a family member and if ever the property was sold then 50% of the profit was payable to the council. Just something to bear in mind.

It is likely that would only be because the council was the original owner of the land and placed a condition on the sale which required future profit sharing.

Otherwise from a planning perspective it would be difficult to justify a condition which required 'profit' to be paid to the council on sale of the property.  Planning conditions could limit sale (or more likely occupation) to people who worked in agriculture, but where a condition requires a payment to be made there has to be some form of justification - e.g. a sum of money to pay for road improvements, extra places at the local school etc (e.g. S106).  The future sale of the property wouldn't normally trigger a change which required the council to invest in infrastructure or services.

Rural councils typically had very extensive agricultural land ownership (often known as 'county farms') which were the agricultural or horticultural equivalent of council houses. Lincolnshire is no exception.  And as with council houses, the sale of these farms/smallholdings usually comes with conditions about what you can do with the land and what happens when you want to sell.

Section62 said:

uralmaid said:

Not sure what part of the country you are in but here in Lincolnshire there are many properties with land attached.  In our surrounding villages quite a few people have wanted to change some of their land which was agricultural to residential, to build an annexe or a property for family to live in and virtually every one of them was turned down. Of ones which were allowed it came with strict enforcement to the effect that it could only be lived in by a family member and if ever the property was sold then 50% of the profit was payable to the council. Just something to bear in mind.

It is likely that would only be because the council was the original owner of the land and placed a condition on the sale which required future profit sharing.

Otherwise from a planning perspective it would be difficult to justify a condition which required 'profit' to be paid to the council on sale of the property.  Planning conditions could limit sale (or more likely occupation) to people who worked in agriculture, but where a condition requires a payment to be made there has to be some form of justification - e.g. a sum of money to pay for road improvements, extra places at the local school etc (e.g. S106).  The future sale of the property wouldn't normally trigger a change which required the council to invest in infrastructure or services.

Rural councils typically had very extensive agricultural land ownership (often known as 'county farms') which were the agricultural or horticultural equivalent of council houses. Lincolnshire is no exception.  And as with council houses, the sale of these farms/smallholdings usually comes with conditions about what you can do with the land and what happens when you want to sell.

There are a few of these within 5 miles of where I live, one area had several 5 acre properties plus a house. Unfortunately most of those have been developed into industrial areas, scrap yards, yards for the sorage of lorries, and haulage yards etc. Five miles in the other direction where the area is still mainly agricultural there is a farm of 90 acres made up of two holdings run by the same family since 1929. I always thought that farm tenancies were secure. However Essex County Council have evicted them and the farm is up for auction seems as though one rule for everyone else but councils can do as they please.

FreeBear

Statex2_2 said:

youth_leader said:

Good luck, I wish you well.  I know the house isn't, listed but the Listed Property Club membership was invaluable to us, definitely worth the subscription for advice/information.

Thank you for the information about the listed property club. A big risk but as my son is purchasing half the property  the upkeep will be shared.

Another source of advice, discussion, and help is the Period property Forum - You'll find one or two names over there that you might recognise

A couple of people over there are in Norfolk, so can probably point you in the direction of local specialist suppliers should you need them.

Sarahspangles

Well if you do buy it, and I have a feeling you will, we look forward to the updates!

Statex2_2

Sarahspangles said:

Well if you do buy it, and I have a feeling you will, we look forward to the updates!

The whole situation goes against my better judgement but something keeps drawing me back to this house and will keep you posted.