How to Assess a Building Plot Part Two

• Read 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.

When you get home
If you're still interested in the plot when you visit, your research needs to continue

• Read the planning permission documents and make a note of all conditions. Can they be satisfied? Have they already been satisfied?

• If you did notice signs of a ransom strip make enquiries through the estate agent to find out if one exists or not. Otherwise check with the Land Registry and Highways authority. If there is a beneficiary they will have to be contacted and any payment should be deducted from the purchase price. If there is no known beneficiary the vendors should pay for an indemnity policy.

• Discreetly check to see if there are any TPOs on the trees you noticed.

• If you are interested in the plot, register your interest with the estate agent and tell them you may be making an offer in the near future.

• Make an appointment to see the planning officer. Get there early and study the planning files. Ascertain, in broad brush strokes only, what the planners are looking for on the site, making notes for your eventual designer to work up some basic plans from.

• Go over the values again and, if necessary, rejig the equation you did before you went to the plot, with the land cost plus the build costs and a margin of at least 20% adding up to the estimated market value of the finished home.

• Establish the first offer for the plot.

• But before you make it, visit the plot again — things look different second- and third-time around.

• Have your first meeting, hopefully free of charge, with your potential designer

• If you still want the plot, make the offer and await the response.

Once you’ve visited the plot, there’s still a lot of work to do in order to assess whether it’s right for you. Key to this is making preliminary checks with the planning office to see whether your plans, such as replacement, are suitable or even affected by neighbours (ABOVE)

Before you sign
If you're intending to go ahead, make sure you and your solicitor make the final checks

• Instruct your solicitors and tell them you are continuing your own investigations and will report your findings to them. Get them to instigate local and environmental searches.

• Commission a full levels and boundary survey.

• If you noticed power lines or drains on the plot, ascertain whether there are any sterile zones, whether you can obtain build-over or build-under agreements, or whether you can divert these services.

• Get details of the foul drains in the area that you can connect to, including their cover and invert levels.

• If there is no mains drainage, investigate suitable on-site drainage solutions.

• Meet with your designer so that they may begin work on the initial or preliminary drawings.

• Speak to the building inspector. If there is any doubt about the ground conditions, commission a soil investigation. If you want belt and braces, commission one in any event.

• Find out from the Highways authorities exactly what requirements they have for the entrance.

• If visibility splays are required, measure them out to check that no part of the area that needs to be kept clear of obstruction falls outside the plot or highway land. If it does then negotiations will have to be opened with the neighbours who will either require payment or refuse to accommodate the concept, in which case the plot is not viable. Any ransom must be deducted from the price paid for the land and your solicitors must be informed as soon as possible and before contract.

• If your solicitor’s investigations reveal discrepancies in the title or missing rights of access, remember that these problems can often be overcome by a simple indemnity policy. Rights of access in particular can often be established by long usage or prescriptive easements. Restrictive covenants may need to be neutralised by payment to the beneficiaries but in cases where their identity cannot be established, an indemnity policy may suffice with the premium paid for by the vendor.

• Contact service providers for a quotation.

• Gear up a site insurance policy to cover you for public liability prior to starting work, and contractors’ all risk and employer’s liability once you commence.

• When the drawings come back, cost them again. Add the figure to the land and ancillary costs. Add your margin and check the total proposal’s value.

• If you can string the legal process out until you have planning permission then all to the better. If not, remember that the site always has a value and as long as you’re paying no more for it than that value, it’s a reasonable buy.

• Only when you’re happy about everything, proceed to contract.

Auctions
More and more plots are becoming available at auction. Here's how it works...

• You can view the plot in the same way as you would through the conventional process

• Many auctioneers will have the relevant searches and legal documents already prepared — ask to see them and get a copy for your solicitor to check over

• Ensure your solicitor is happy with all the deeds and searches and seller’s documents

• Assess the value of the plot and the maximum you’re willing to pay

• Make sure you have finance in place to fund the deal

• Be ready to pay 10% of the price (usually by cheque — take ID with you) if you succeed, and the remainder within a month

Further Reading:

• The Essential Plothunter's Checklist
• Plotfinder Challenge