Buying A plot of land to build a property

Being a "builder" is a completely different ball game to being a house builder. Having done it several times it is quite involved and buiding a compliant house whilst still making money is an art.

I would read the magazines and the self build websites. Answering your question fully would take up the entire website.

 

Go in newsagent & have a nosey at the magazines 'Build It'

They have three or four roadshows each year.

http://builditlive.co.uk/

Also 'Self Build & Design' magazine.

http://www.selfbuildanddesign.com/

And 'Home building & Renovation' magazine.

https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/ '

If near Swindon visit 'The National Self Build & Renovation Centre', a wealth of information.

http://www.nsbrc.co.uk/

 

A friend of a friend? With all respects I'd tread very carefully if I was you, he clearly doesn't want you as a partner for your building experience otherwise you wouldn't be asking on here, which being presumptuous may mean he intends you to finance the build while he does the physical work himself, which if you don't know anything about construction is asking for trouble in my opinion.

I'd be dubious about partnering up with my own Missus, let alone a friend of a friend, as when the suns shining and deadlines met life is great, but once you hit an unexpected snag such as deeper foundations needed, or problems installing services, or long periods of inclement weather stalling progress, that's when the budget is hit hard and targets missed, which tests the closest relationship to the hilt, let alone a business partnership where neither of you know the other very well.

If you're adamant about doing it, the starter route is as Sos and KIAB suggested, and set realistic targets, trying to make a million off a single build isn't going to happen unless you've invested millions of your own resources. And as much as I prefer masonry construction, I would look at timber framing the houses if I were you, the speed in which the inner skin gets erected up to roof level is a real saver, especially for a first time build.

 

There is a lot of difference between self building for yourself & working with a partner & you finance the build, starts my alarm bells ringing.
So, much can go wrong,& has gone wrong , many others have fallen into the trap & end up skint, in debt or taken to the cleaners.

 

And in relationships like the one proposed, you do you divide the labour costs and then any subsequent profits ?

Much better if you have the money, find a site, pay a good site manager to get the local trades in to build it.
Typically the profit margin on a house is 1/3 of the sale price. So on a £250k house you are looking at £80k profit less tax, so maybe lucky to come out of the deal with £40k and a lot of stress and a liability post sale for 2 years

 

And a good design will sell a house,as will having attic trusses, creating a usable attic for a extra bedroom/playroom.

 

Definitely.

 

I quite often look at doing house builds and renovation. However, it only makes commercial sense if you have a few on "the go" at the same time, so you can move spare materials and work between the properties. Even though it is relatively cheap down here, the long lead time between planning, build, sale you are looking at quite a substantial outlay which may not yield a profit for 12 months or more and we have all experienced the horror stories of planning, boundary and service issues which can drag on for ages.

 

Happy, the title of this question is about buying land. The lads on here are, by and large, very experienced and knowledgeable, take note of what they say. I think you can make a small fortune building speculative houses...from a large one.

You will find that most Estate Agents have land on their books that's suitable for building and may have outline planning permission. Bigger builders actually have land banks that they gobble up land into just to stop smaller builders making a bob or two. You can enquire on a piece of land, a garden for example and you can even go for planning permission even though you do not own the land. There are 2 permissions, outline permission and detailed permission. To sell the land for housing you need the former and for building a house you need the latter.

All land is registered with a Government agency called the Land Registry. You can, for a fee, search their records online and get names of absolute owners or mortgagees.

In my experience small builders tend to look for infill sites, gardens and spare land adjoining another property. Relatively easy to get planning permission on, services and road access exist.

BUT do bear in mind what the lads have said about the pitfalls. Do your research, talk to local people and look at things like shops, schools, bus routes. No point building a superb house in a location no one wants to move into.

Finally, I have a feeling that Planning permissions might be loosened a bit in the next few years because there is a huge housing shortage. You never know, this might be the time to build speculatively. Good luck.

 

House auctions are well worth a visit, can still turn up real gems,some old bungalows,especially on corner site, usually come on a large plot, so room for two houses or flatten bungalow & divide into two plots, each with planning consent & sell, or sell one & use money from the sell to finance your build, use to do very well on this.

 

I was looking at one in 20 miles from about 6 months ago. That was going to auction at £60k with the neighbouring sales £160k - £175. What was putting people off was the previous occupies were hoarders and you couldn't actually see far into the rooms and the garden was much the same.

However, a bit of sifting - some to antique shops, some to charity and the rest in the skip would soon resolve it.

 

First, ignore all estate agent references to "likely to get planning permission for...". This means that the current owner tried and failed, and is passing the land on the to try and recover the far-higher-than-market-value price they most likely paid. Certain plots change hands again and again like this, especially where there is a rural and particular AONB in the equation. If there's a local pub, it can be a good place for information.

Second, only invest money you can afford to lose. Same as any investment.

 

get instagram and follow @andyhubb30 (Andrew Hubbard) - he shows you how he does this with his family (he used to be a brickie and now builds with his sons) - he also does courses and site days and mentoring here https://developinghomes.co.uk/about-us/ none of which I can vouch for as I haven't been on them but I've learnt a lot seeing the progress he posts on his sites

 

Why not forget all about land and new-builds, and invest in severely run-down properties which need fixing up ? I bought a sad, ramshackle property (but one with huge potential) in 2017 and spent 18 months (part-time, between other jobs) restoring it to its original Victorian glory - proper plaster cornicing, 9" heavily-moulded skirtings, reclaimed fireplaces, Minton tiles on the hallway floor, William Morris wallpaper, a high-spec in-frame kitchen and so on. I always knew that the right buyer would walk through the door and instantly fall in love with it. I was right. It sold within 18 hours of going on the market. I doubled my money, and made £75k on it.

Or you can just do basic fix-ups using value items such as the £55 'Toilet-To-Go' sold by our hosts, cheap-but-nice tiles, and decent-spec laminate flooring. It's all a lot quicker than messing about with land, planning permission, and project-managing half a dozen trades with all the pitfalls which other contributors have correctly pointed out. But don't even think about getting into the construction game unless you know exactly what you're doing, and exactly who you're doing it with.