Options and land

Hi all,

Had an idea this evening. Picture the scene. There's an acre of land for sale, sold "as is" that is no planning permission.

I had a thought. If I approached the owner and made an option to him.

"I will offer you the full asking price for the land, if you give me a year to get planning permission on it. In the mean time you can't sell the land for one year, but can of course entertain bids but I have one year (or any amount of time we decide) to seek planning permission. If I get it I'll purchase the land at our agreed price a year from now, or sooner. "

Is there something like this in Ireland at the moment? If we agreed to do this, how would I prove to the town planner that the land will be mine if I get approval? I guess something legal would need to be drawn up, but would that be enough to satisfy the town planner that I WOULD own the land in principle, now will he/she give me planning.

So, if I get the planning I buy the land. If I don't then I don't buy the land and the owner continues on as normal.


Interested to know thoughts on this idea.

Cheers

I really don't see why any landowner would entertain that. Selling a piece of land at price appropriate for land without pp, having gone to the work and expense of getting planning permission? Therefore giving the purchaser a bargain? In the meantime the landlord is not free to sell the land to other purchasers?

Is there something I'm missing?

The landowner wouldn't have received the planning permission. I would go ahead and apply as if I had the land. So, we would act as if I bought the land from him then applied for planning. If I got it I then would buy the land.

I guess I could rent the land off him in the mean time, so he gets something for it. But the idea of holding this option for a year is that I would give him his full asking price in return I will attempt to get planning.

Sites are sold 'subject to planning' all the time (or were - when they were selling!). The price will be reflected in the land inclusive of planning - with there being no obligation to complete if you don't get it.

serotoninsid said:

Sites are sold 'subject to planning' all the time (or were - when they were selling!). The price will be reflected in the land inclusive of planning - with there being no obligation to complete if you don't get it.

Click to expand...

Hmm, that would answer my question then. But, would the planning be sought in my name or the land owners name?

You appear to have some gaps in your knowledge here.

Land without planning permission is worth X
Same land with planning permission is likely to be worth 8 times X.

If the farmer is confident that the land is capable of getting planning permission, then he will normally apply for the permission himself.........

It gets interesting when the farmer is unsure if the land will get planning permission or not.

If the farmer applies for planning himself and it gets turned down then the refusal is basically a black mark on that site for years to come. If planning is refused once, everyone knows it will be difficult to succeed on the second and later applications. In this case the farmer will never get more than price X

If the farmer is unsure of the PP prospects of a site,he will sometimes place the land for sale "as is" not at price X, not at price 8 times X but maybe at price 3 times X. This is called its "hope value" Someone may be tempted to buy it for more than its agricultural value and less than its site value in the hope that it will secure planning permission, so basically a gamble.

Further to the OPs question about who applies for planning. You can apply for planning permission on the land in question but with the written permission of the landowner. I don't see a problem in what the OP is requesting. Essentially the OP wants to make a business proposal to the landowner to purchase the land subject to planning.
What the OP should remember, as Importer has clearly pointed out above, that land with PP is going to be more expensive than without. Also I would do a bit of reading up on the planning process as it is getting more difficult to get planning now with new stipulations after the mess of the past years. And also why you would want to build now with so many fine houses available at cost or even less than cost beats me. But that is just my opinion.

Some land owners just want to sell the site without the hassle of the planning permission.

You could have a chat with the local planner or with a local architect to see what the chances of getting planning permission would be. If they rule it out, then forget the plan.

If they say it's possible, then you can either a) buy it outright and take your chances or b) offer to buy it subject to planning permission.

The land has three separate values

1. As is
2. With planning permission - worth a lot more
3. Having been refused planning permission - worth a lot less

If the gain from 1 to 2 is a lot more than the loss from 1 to 3, then it might be worth buying as is.

Brendan

Really helpful