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| Self Build: Finding Building Plots |
A building plot is a piece of land with planning permission to build a house on it (see warning re: plots without pp). For most people this is the hardest and most frustrating part of the self build process. Building plots are not easy to find and at present demand is greater than supply.
To maximise your chances of success you will need to be as flexible as possible about location and use as many of the following methods as possible.
Estate and Land Agents
It is definitely worth speaking to your local estate agents. Although most will only sell the occasional plot, they are still your mostly likely source of a plot. Many agents will have good contacts with property developers and landowners. They may also be aware of properties with large gardens with building plot potential. Remember to keep in contact with estate agents on a regular basis as they will rarely contact you except when they are trying to dispose of a 'difficult' property.
Large Land and Estate Owners
Many parts of the country have large estates which may contain a variety of building in addition to the main residence. There may be opportunities for change of use for some of these properties or there may be planning possibilities where ruins exist. Opportunities sometimes arise following the death of the main landowner when Inheritance Tax is due.
Building Plot Databases
There are a number of commercial databases which have details of building plots normally organised by county. Usually you have to pay a fee to see the plots available. These services are worth trying but don't get your hopes up too high. The best plots go very quickly and most of these databases will contain a fair number of hard to sell/undesirable plots. Many of the best plots never get onto these services. If you do subscribe to a building plot service, make sure that the plots on offer have planning permission - see warning.
Builders
Occasionally local builders may be prepared to sell off part of a development area, for example if they need to raise some cash quickly.
Local Authorities
Sometimes local authorities will sell off land with development potential. This may include land with commercial buildings which can either be converted or knocked down and replaced. Remember though, even if there is a house on the land, you will still need pp to convert from commercial to residential use. Some local authorities, particularly New Towns, have also been known to sell off individual plots of land to self builders instead of developers, eg Milton Keynes.
Development Plots
While most self builders look for single plots with pp for a single house, most developers purchase land with pp for a number of houses. If you can find a group of likeminded people, you may be able to club together to buy development land and then sub-divide it between you. If you decide to take this route, it would be strongly advisable to use a solicitor draw up a legal agreement between each member of the group prior to purchasing the land.
Own Research
It is always worth doing your own research to try and identify potential building plots, particularly in urban areas. This is best done by using a combination of aerial photographs, large scale maps and walking around an area. In general terms you are looking for potential infills, for example large back gardens or waste ground. If you locate any potential sites you will then need to try and locate the owner via the neighbours, Land Registry or local council.
Poor Quality House
In areas of high house prices, it may be financially worthwhile to purchase a poor quality house and demolish it to create a building plot. For example, some areas have poorly constructed bungalows on fairly large plots surrounded by larger houses. You may decide to risk purchasing the property before getting pp in order to keep the price down. However it is always worth speaking to the local planning officer to see what the local planning office's attitude is to this type of development.
Warning: Landbanking Services
There are a large number of businesses currently offering small plots of land for sale without planning permission. There are variations in the marketing but the general implication is that due to the shortage of building land, these plots have a reasonable chance of obtaining planning permission. Be warned that if you buy one of these plots you are simply buying an overpriced parcel of agricultural land, costing you up to 10x the current market value with little liklihood of ever obtaining planning permission. Furthermore some of these landbanking firms have been shut down by the FSA with the result that investors have lost their money and not received any land. Avoid.
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| Self Build: Further Information: Building Plots |
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