How to Assess a Building Plot Part One

Is the plot you’re looking at right for your unique situation? David Snell reveals the key questions to ask before, during and after your visit — and how to avoid buying a nightmare.

Before you visit the plot
Be prepared for your visit by researching values and planning permission

• The estate agent’s details will provide an initial insight as to whether the plot in the area that you’ve identified is desirable.

• The accompanying photographs will further whet your appetite or confirm that this plot might not be for you.

• An aerial photograph or a look on Google Earth (earth.google.com) may give you even better clues and highlight information, such as the presence of a railway, that the estate agent might have neglected to mention.

• The price being asked will confirm whether or not the plot is within your budget.

• Check Rightmove (rightmove.co.uk) for local house values, particularly in relation to the type of house you’re hoping to build. It pays to be conservative.

• Make a rough calculation of the size of home you’re hoping to build and multiply it by the relevant costs that you’ll find in The H&R Average Build Cost Guide

• Add the land cost to the build cost and then add a 20% minimum margin. The result should add up to at least the estimated market value of the finished home.

Things to consider:

1. What are house prices like locally and what value should you expect for the house you’re hoping to build? Get a quick check on prices at rightmove.co.uk, but back it up with an estate agent’s informal appraisal of your plans

2. Checking out your plot on Google Earth or one of the other mapping applications will enable you to take a wider perspective on its surroundings and see the site – and its true development potential – in context

3. Do plenty of work on paper — find out your expected build cost and work out if the project stacks up (plot value + build cost + 20% = end market value)

4. Before you even get to the plot, start thinking about what type of house you might like to build on it. It’s never too early to draw up some simple shapes and plans. There will probably be a drawing of an approved design for the plot, but you can apply for planning consent on a new design more to your taste (without affecting the existing approval)

On the way to the plot
Your plot visit should start in the streets around the plot itself

• Don’t ever just arrive at the plot and start looking. Start to evaluate all you see at least a mile away, or even further in some cases. Look for signs of neglect. Look for signs of low values. Look out for houses that show signs of structural damage (often given away by repointing that has not weathered in). Also look for positives like local schools and amenities. A good local pub is usually an encouraging sign.

• Study the local architectural vernacular and make a note of consistent design features.

• Look out for new homes. They give a clue as to the type of design the local planners favour.

• It really doesn’t matter how good the plot is if the approach to it is poor. If you have to drive through an ex-local authority or sink estate to get to it, it will directly affect the value of any home built on the plot and it’s perhaps best to move on to another.

ABOVE: Start assessing your plot before you get to the site. You’ll be living in the local area so assess whether it is a nice place to live. Look for positive and negative signs within at least one mile of the site, and pay particular attention on adjacent roads

While you're at the plot
There's a lot more to consider than whether it looks 'nice' or not

• We all rely on our neighbours sharing our values. If the next door or close neighbours’ properties are untidy or badly maintained, then this is one thing that cannot be changed and it may perhaps mean that you should look elsewhere.

• If the plot is overgrown or the site of a dilapidated building, remember that this is something you can change. Like an old neglected home, try and look beyond initial appearances and envision the plot’s potential.

• If the extent of the plot is not apparent due to excessive growth, try to look along neighbours’ fence lines to establish the probable depth and width.

• Make a note of any overlooking windows in adjoining properties.

• Make a note of the proximity to the boundary of adjoining properties.

• Make a note of power lines or drains that cross the plot.

• Listen out for road noise and count how many vehicles pass the site in an hour and how fast they are travelling.

• If there are any unpleasant smells in the air, track down their source and ascertain whether this is a frequent nuisance or if it is intermittent. Check the source in relation to the plot and the prevailing wind, which may be different from region to region.

• Check the levels by eye. Use the fence panels on the boundary and hold a board or book so as to sight the rise or fall in levels and equate that roughly with the height of the panels (usually 1.8 metres). If that’s not possible, gauge the rise or fall by each storey height (2.4 metres) of the adjoining properties.

• Check significant trees and their positions. Do they interfere with the proposed siting of the home? Are they marked on the plans for removal or are they the subject of a Tree Preservation Order (TPO), in which case can’t be removed?

• The views may be important but the lack of a view is not necessarily a fatal factor as clever design can overcome this problem.

• Check the street scene. Do the houses or bungalows fit in with what you are planning? Is it a pleasant scene and will what you’re proposing enhance it?

• Go back on your original financial thinking and decide whether or not the final house values that you’d assumed are achievable. If there are any estate agents’ boards in the road or area, ring them and ask the prices of the homes that are for sale.

• Try to ascertain the subsoil make-up. Natural vegetation may give a clue. Oak trees like clay. Beech trees like chalk. Alder and willow like a high water table. Soft rushes like badly drained ground. Otherwise look at recent excavations, such as for new fence posts, and study what was unearthed. If there are buildings in the course of construction nearby, ask what sort of foundations they had to employ and what the ground conditions were.

• Study the plans that have already been passed. If they are detailed are they the right ones? Do they give you what you want? Have the previous applicants perhaps missed a trick and is there planning gain to be had?

• Think about the access. Will there be a need for visibility splays? Are they possible without infringing on next door’s property? Are the levels conducive to normal entrance or will you have to excavate?

• Are there signs of a ransom strip?

• Establish whether the site is likely to be in a Conservation Area or any other specially designated areas.

ABOVE: Check the site in all weather conditions — things can look a lot rosier in the sun; Check levels as much as possible and think about how they will affect your project costs; Assess the extent of trees and hedges closely

• Read part two

Further Reading:

• The Essential Plothunter's Checklist
• Plotfinder Challenge