Buying site to build - What are the first steps to take

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brokeagain

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Hi,

While I am waiting to pass the 6 month probation mark at work for mortgae approval i am going to spend the time looking for a site and seeking planning permission.

I need some advice here. I have seen a couple of sites but they don't have planning permission. Am I right in saying I cannot apply for a mortgage on a site without PP?

Can I put a deposit on a site and only buy on condition that the site gets PP?

Can anyone recommend who/where to go to get plans to apply for PP. Do I hire an architect? I have seen websites with house plans, can I use these plans? If anyone has had experience I would appreciate some advice here. I know there has to be perculation tests and the like to be done, can anyone tell em the initial costs involved at this stage?

All advice appreciated.

Thanks.:)
 
if at all possible buy a site that already has FPP. save yourself a lot of grief. It will probably be more expensive but less hassle than trying to get FPP for a site. Although depends what county you are in also.

Downside to buying site with FPP is that you would have to go with the house plans as per FPP and not your own design.

Make sure the Waste Water discharge licence is up to date with a site with FPP, have heard of cases where planning granted, but regs changed in relation to discharge licence in recent years and then planning being subsequently withdrawn.
 
thanks for the advice. If a site has PP already, can I submit changes to alter the existing approved PP?
 
If you don't change the facade of the existing house with FPP on the site (i.e. you only want to change the inside of it, nothing of the outside) you should be ok and not have to re apply for planning permission. I am in the same boat as yourself and hope to buy a site to build in the next few months. At the moment, can you get a mortgage for the site and house or does it have to be separate ? Also any idea's if it is good to go to a bank or a broker ?
 
When getting a mortgage for a self build property you should note the following,

- you will need to know and be able to show the exact funds required to purchase the site and cover the build costs
- if buying the site you will need to have savings to cover a percentage of the site and the building costs
- if you are being gifted the site then you should be able to get a mortgage to cover the full building costs
- as with any mortgage approval you will need to have a PAYE or Self-Employed income and be able to show a repayment capacity.
- seek advice early to make sure you will be ready to get mortgage approval when you need it.

Regards using a mortgage broker or going direct to a bank, most Brokers will charge a fee so you need to ask yourself if you are prepared to do your own research and manage the application process or pay a Broker to do it for you. Getting a mortgage these days can be a complicated and time consuming process so my advice would be to use a mortgage broker.
 
Stephen_Red, thanks for that. If the site and house was going to cost 300k and I had 10% of this already would this cover the percentage of both the site and building costs ? Or if the site was 60k and house was 240k do I need to have a larger percentage of one or the other? How do I show the exact funds required to purchase the site ? Do I have to get it valued ? On the cost of the house I assume I have to get a breakdown of all the building costs including 1st and 2nd fixings in good detail...
 
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