Re: Buying a site

J

johnnybegood

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Hi i have search the forum for information ont his and also checked the key posts.

Was lookign for a bit more information, if possible:

We are currently looking at a site in the Dublin area. Its been sold without planning permission or without the condition subject to planning permission.

So as you can see its HIGH RISK. Most people are telling me to stay away but my gut feeling is to go for it. I am young enough to take the hit if worst comes to worst, i will be able to bounce back.

Just wanted some advice on what we should do now. Obviously we bid onthe property. Is it worthwhile getting an architect/builder to have a look and give us an idea if we could fit the type of house we want on the property? Would this cost much? when should percolation test be done Etc?

any other advice would be most grateful. thank you for all your help.
 
How much is the site?
You are actually willing to bet (let's say) €250k on a (let's say) 40% chance of getting Planning where if you win the bet you get your original €250k back, but if you lose, you lose €230k. I admire your optimism.


I'd bring in an O.S. map of the site, together with photos to the Local Authority Planner for the area and talk to him/her.
 
Its high risk but do some research. check out the development plan for the area which you can get for the county council to see if they have any plans for the area themselves. Try and identify any possible reasons for refusal of PP. Check on the CC website if PP has been applied for before and refused due to x reason.
 
Thanks for the replies:

Problem is the planners won't talk to you unless you own the site and they are very careful about giving out advice in general.

My budget for the site is 250k so thats a great guess!!

Spoke to the EA today not only is it been sold not subject to planing, they now want the sale to go through immeadiately (ie me to get bridging)

and as high risk as i am even that is pushing it for me!! If in the meantime are house sale falls through i could end up with a loan i can't pay and possibly a piece of land that could be worthless!!

End result: RUN FOR THE HILLS!!

It was a nice thought while it lasted !!
 
You really would have to think very hard about buying land that was not being offered "subject to permission", unless the vendor could offer some kind of assurances that the land in question could be built on. At the very least you would want to meet with a planner, but as you say they won't meet you when you have no legal interest in the plot. It's a huge gamble and if you were interested you would be foolish not to engage the services of an experienced architect to at least peruse the planning objectives for the area and to give you some steer on what your reasonable expectations could be. Developers won't buy land unless they either buy subject to permission or they at least have some direction from the planning authorities. You could spend 2 grand on professional fees before you'd get any feedback from a planner.
 
If you're still considering that option, you should go into the planning office and have a look at the planning register. Thus is usually a map or a list with the planning history of an area or a site. Any member of the public can look up the planning history or a site or of a general area and this is exactly what you should do.
You can find out if there has been a planning application to built on that particular site before and you can also find out if the planners have been granting permission for building on sites in the area. That should give you a good idea of any relevant issues. The administrative staff in the planning offices are there to help you out.
You could also have a look at the development plan for the area, again this is accessible for viewing to all at council offices/internet. You should look for and designations affecting your site on the maps that are ancillary to the development plan. SPAs, SCAs, designations of special amenity, views of importance etc. could hinder your changes.
Also technically you are entitled to meet with the planners directly to discuss whether you would be granted planning permission as long as you have the permission of the landowner. This is common practice among developers. A letter from the landowner should suffice.
Your case for planning permission would be significantly streghtened if you work locally. Good luck!
 
If I was the land owner; I'd look to sell it with outline planning permission.
This would increase the value of it.

You need to ask why he isn't selling it with OPP - does he know something that you don't?
 
Forgot to say, if you're going to engage a professional at this stage, it should be a planning consultant rather than an architect. There will be plenty of names in the yellow pages for these. Buying a site lwithout full planning permission/outline planning permission is a risky business, but a planning consultant would look into the whole area of planning history of the area/site, planning policies that affect the site and any relevant design guidance which would inform the design of a house on the site. They could also meet with the local authority planners to discuss an application. Not to slight architects, but this kind of work is really the business of a planning consultant.
 
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