Buying site to build, need advice

M

maxjam

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My partner and I have 15000

we are looking to buy a site.

we reckon it will cost 120,000 for the site and possibly 140,000 for the building.

Combined wages are about 60,000 pa.

Does anyone have experience with seeking mortgages for a site subject to planning permission and building at a later stage??

Which institutions would offer the best deals?

Who would be the best contacts to seek advice about our plans?

Have you any advice or pitfalls you know of that we should look out for?

Thanks
 
max

I contacted rea (www.rea.ie) and asked them for advice direct.

This is the reponse I received although it wa for my specific questions it may be of help.

REA said:
Thank you for your mortgage enquiry, in response to your questions, yes there is a maximum loan to value you can borrow when purchasing a site, the lenders will also only loan you the money on the basis that you are building your house straight away and that you have full planning permission on the site for a house. The lenders vary as to how they operate a mortgage for a self build, in general the lenders will offer anywhere between 70 - 90% on the site cost and anything up to 100% of the build, once the overall cost does not exceed 90% of the value, this is also subject to the usual underwriting criteria. Another item to point out, when you are building there are a number of stages that the builders will be expected to be paid for example the first payment could be expected when the foundation and the walls of the property have been put up.
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Hi,

For what its worth, this was our experience. We bought a site in kerry while living in dublin, and although we bought the site subject to planning permission, that was the least of our problems. We went to permanent tsb (rathmines) for a mortgage and were turned down. The manager told us, despite us pointing out that we were moving back to kerry, that we were building a holiday home and no amount of talking would change his mind. We then went to a broker (Finance Options) based in killarney and thus began a litany of stress beyond belief. In hindsight, perhaps we were naive, but my advice would be, be prepared to play ball - hard! Ask as many questions that you can possibly think of, research everything many, many times. Finally, i wouldnt recommend building a house and living 200 miles away while the house is being built. Also, dont touch Finance Options with a 100ft barge pole, they blame the customer for their ineptitude!
 
well, for one of the sites we are looking at, we know a developer who wants to build 5 houses on a site but he cant get the permissions, this is his second appeal i think, were hoping that if he gets rejected again he may sell up some of the land to us we can get planning permission v easy as were locals, he cant as he's not local and the land is only zoned for single personal dwelling.

actually heres a question, how do i find out exactly what the status is of someones appeal in this situation as well as what way exactly the land is zoned for houses?? [edit] stupid question, county council is the answer [/edit]
 
National Irish Bank are one lending institution who deal with mortgages for self building. Require you to have an engineer with indemnity insurance to draw down the mortgage stage payments.
We deal with the Limerick Branch and found them extremely helpful at all times.
 
Will look into NIB.

Timber frames houses.... been thinking about savings involved in building one...

I was wondering, whats the story with quotes for sq footage that people talk about...

I assume that its a total cost value, from first sod turned to moving in, averaged per sq footage of floor-space?

If that is so, and i estimate a cost of about €100 per square foot for say 1500 sq ft, in a normal build, thats 150000 so if I budget for 165000 to cover everything with emergency cash for hidden costs i should be okay?

Now if i decide to build same size house but with TIMBER frames (century home etc) isnt that cheaper? how much cheaper though, could I safely revise cost per square foot to say €90, is that too little or too much ???
 
Anyone here know how I would approach finding out the names of land owners in an area with the intention of contacting them in the hope that they may sell a site for a home?
 
We dealt with the EBS when we bought a site subject to planning - excellent service - the only advice I would give is to deal with EBS directly and not their agents. You will also need a good solicitor to work along side them. Stage payments were dealt with promptly.
 
Cringe.....

we approached a local farmer out of the blue last night, no phonecall to forwarn him or anything, just blitzkrieged his house at 7pm.

Needless to say, my girlfriend being the neighbour did most of the talking, i felt like we were begging, it was a horrible experience, he was nice but not interested in selling as he's trying to get planning permission for his daughter.

He told us one or two other people to approach, including his cousin, but im not sure if girlfriend will go through it again, she was so embarassed that she almost wants to cut and run and just buy a house in an estate.

This is quite the opposite to what i want.

Should we have phoned first or is actually calling down to someone the best option? I was thinking calling down is still better as they may fob you off over the phone but in person they might be interested in talking with you a bit longer?

Were going on the trail again this weekend, but i tell you it is a humbling experience, you have to convince them to sell you the land subject to planning permission.... eurrrgggghhhhh

any advice?
 
I think you've your work cut out for you. You're going to knock on someone's door and persuade them to sell land to you and then expect them to sell subject to planning! Sorry to disappoint but I don't think it's likely. I wouldn't try phoning people - they might get suspicious and wonder if you're genuine. I would think you're best to advertise in the local paper/newsletter and see what response you get from that.

Re: Timber Frame
Contact a few co's, send them your drawings and wait for their price. I found most of them very efficient - I particularly liked IJM (based in Monaghan I think) and Cygnum (based in Cork) There are a lot of new co's around offering timber frame but consider the cost of this asset. Do you really want your house - your home to be their trial run? I would def. run with a co. that is established a long time and has a good reputation. You won't really need to worry about insulation but def. invest in good quality sound proofing if you go for timber frame!

H2H
 
yeah, i know where your coming from but with a limited budgetm,the last resort would be to try and buy without planning permission and take a risk.
 
Couldn't agree more Maxjam - we made that mistake and are still suffering 3 years later! Do not buy unconditionally - however, we got the site for half the going price so I suppose we can afford to sit on it a little while longer. I think you might be best to advertise in local paper/newsletter/shop and let them approach you - that way, they might be more open to selling subject to pp.
 
Ok, will take your advice and will advertise in a couple of shop windows. Might shake a few people up who are looking for cash and willing to part with some unused land!:D
 
Have you considered asking your local authority. They do provide cheap sites for you to build your own house and it would be at well under market value.
 
ok, im going to put up one or two posters... tell me what you think about the text I would put up, probably something along the lines of ....


Land For Sale ????

Local couple seeking to buy small plot of land to build a family home on.

Will consider anything from 0.5 - 1 acres.

If you are a landowner or you know of anyone in the locality who would be interested in selling land, we are available to meet and discuss with you.

Please, genuine offers only.

Contact MaxJam at 086-1234567 or 01 8883321
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Maxjam


You need at least .5 acre if you are building out in the country i.e no sewage laid on
 
Some people can be very cautious - perhaps you should put a landline (if you have one) and your first name. People like to know who they're dealing with! I would also consider "to build a family home"
 
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