Getting Started

By David Snell from 'Homebuilding & Renovating' magazine. To see more features on finding land visit www.homebuilding.co.uk.

Before you visit the plot.
Be prepared for your visit by researching values and planning permission

The estate agent’s details will provide an initial insight as to whether the plot in the area that you’ve identified is desirable.

The accompanying photographs will further whet your appetite or confirm that this plot might not be for you.
An aerial photograph or a look on Google Earth (earth.google.com) may give you even better clues and highlight information, such as the presence of a railway, that the estate agent might have neglected to mention.
The price being asked will confirm whether or not the plot is within your budget.
Check Rightmove (rightmove.co.uk) for local house values, particularly in relation to the type of house you’re hoping to build. It pays to be conservative.
Make a rough calculation of the size of home you’re hoping to build and multiply it by the relevant costs that you’ll find in The H&R Average Build Cost Guide
Add the land cost to the build cost and then add a 20% minimum margin. The result should add up to at least the estimated market value of the finished home.
What are house prices like locally and what value should you expect for the house you’re hoping to build? Get a quick check on prices at rightmove.co.uk, but back it up with an estate agent’s informal appraisal of your plan.
Checking out your plot on Google Earth or one of the other mapping applications will enable you to take a wider perspective on its surroundings and see the site – and its true development potential – in contex.
Do plenty of work on paper — find out your expected build cost and work out if the project stacks up (plot value + build cost + 20% = end market value.
Before you even get to the plot, start thinking about what type of house you might like to build on it. It’s never too early to draw up some simple shapes and plans. There will probably be a drawing of an approved design for the plot, but you can apply for planning consent on a new design more to your taste (without affecting the existing approval.

On the way to the plot

Your plot visit should start in the streets around the plot itself.

Don’t ever just arrive at the plot and start looking. Start to evaluate all you see at least a mile away, or even further in some cases. Look for signs of neglect. Look for signs of low values. Look out for houses that show signs of structural damage (often given away by repointing that has not weathered in). Also look for positives like local schools and amenities. A good local pub is usually an encouraging sign.
Study the local architectural vernacular and make a note of consistent design features.
Look out for new homes. They give a clue as to the type of design the local planners favour.
It really doesn’t matter how good the plot is if the approach to it is poor. If you have to drive through an ex-local authority or sink estate to get to it, it will directly affect the value of any home built on the plot and it’s perhaps best to move on to another.

While you're at the plot
There's a lot more to consider than whether it looks 'nice' or no.

We all rely on our neighbours sharing our values. If the next door or close neighbours’ properties are untidy or badly maintained, then this is one thing that cannot be changed and it may perhaps mean that you should look elsewhere.
If the plot is overgrown or the site of a dilapidated building, remember that this is something you can change. Like an old neglected home, try and look beyond initial appearances and envision the plot’s potential.
If the extent of the plot is not apparent due to excessive growth, try to look along neighbours’ fence lines to establish the probable depth and width.
Make a note of any overlooking windows in adjoining properties.
Make a note of the proximity to the boundary of adjoining properties.
Make a note of power lines or drains that cross the plot.
Listen out for road noise and count how many vehicles pass the site in an hour and how fast they are travelling.
If there are any unpleasant smells in the air, track down their source and ascertain whether this is a frequent nuisance or if it is intermittent. Check the source in relation to the plot and the prevailing wind, which may be different from region to region.
Check the levels by eye. Use the fence panels on the boundary and hold a board or book so as to sight the rise or fall in levels and equate that roughly with the height of the panels (usually 1.8 metres). If that’s not possible, gauge the rise or fall by each storey height (2.4 metres) of the adjoining properties.
Check significant trees and their positions. Do they interfere with the proposed siting of the home? Are they marked on the plans for removal or are they the subject of a Tree Preservation Order (TPO), in which case can’t be removed?
The views may be important but the lack of a view is not necessarily a fatal factor as clever design can overcome this problem.
Check the street scene. Do the houses or bungalows fit in with what you are planning? Is it a pleasant scene and will what you’re proposing enhance it?
Go back on your original financial thinking and decide whether or not the final house values that you’d assumed are achievable. If there are any estate agents’ boards in the road or area, ring them and ask the prices of the homes that are for sale.
Try to ascertain the subsoil make-up. Natural vegetation may give a clue. Oak trees like clay. Beech trees like chalk. Alder and willow like a high water table. Soft rushes like badly drained ground. Otherwise look at recent excavations, such as for new fence posts, and study what was unearthed. If there are buildings in the course of construction nearby, ask what sort of foundations they had to employ and what the ground conditions were.
Study the plans that have already been passed. If they are detailed are they the right ones? Do they give you what you want? Have the previous applicants perhaps missed a trick and is there planning gain to be had?
Think about the access. Will there be a need for visibility splays? Are they possible without infringing on next door’s property? Are the levels conducive to normal entrance or will you have to excavate?
Are there signs of a ransom strip?
Establish whether the site is likely to be in a Conservation Area or any other specially designated areas.

When you get home

If you're still interested in the plot when you visit, your research needs to continue
Read the planning permission documents and make a note of all conditions. Can they be satisfied? Have they already been satisfied?
If you did notice signs of a ransom strip make enquiries through the estate agent to find out if one exists or not. Otherwise check with the Land Registry and Highways authority. If there is a beneficiary they will have to be contacted and any payment should be deducted from the purchase price. If there is no known beneficiary the vendors should pay for an indemnity policy.
Discreetly check to see if there are any TPOs on the trees you noticed.
If you are interested in the plot, register your interest with the estate agent and tell them you may be making an offer in the near future.
Make an appointment to see the planning officer. Get there early and study the planning files. Ascertain, in broad brush strokes only, what the planners are looking for on the site, making notes for your eventual designer to work up some basic plans from.
Go over the values again and, if necessary, rejig the equation you did before you went to the plot, with the land cost plus the build costs and a margin of at least 20% adding up to the estimated market value of the finished home.
Establish the first offer for the plot.
But before you make it, visit the plot again — things look different second- and third-time around.
Have your first meeting, hopefully free of charge, with your potential designer.
If you still want the plot, make the offer and await the response.

Before you sign
If you're intending to go ahead, make sure you and your solicitor make the final checks

Instruct your solicitors and tell them you are continuing your own investigations and will report your findings to them. Get them to instigate local and environmental searches.
Commission a full levels and boundary survey.
If you noticed power lines or drains on the plot, ascertain whether there are any sterile zones, whether you can obtain build-over or build-under agreements, or whether you can divert these services.
Get details of the foul drains in the area that you can connect to, including their cover and invert levels.
If there is no mains drainage, investigate suitable on-site drainage solutions.
Meet with your designer so that they may begin work on the initial or preliminary drawings.
Speak to the building inspector. If there is any doubt about the ground conditions, commission a soil investigation. If you want belt and braces, commission one in any event.
Find out from the Highways authorities exactly what requirements they have for the entrance.
If visibility splays are required, measure them out to check that no part of the area that needs to be kept clear of obstruction falls outside the plot or highway land. If it does then negotiations will have to be opened with the neighbours who will either require payment or refuse to accommodate the concept, in which case the plot is not viable. Any ransom must be deducted from the price paid for the land and your solicitors must be informed as soon as possible and before contract.
If your solicitor’s investigations reveal discrepancies in the title or missing rights of access, remember that these problems can often be overcome by a simple indemnity policy. Rights of access in particular can often be established by long usage or prescriptive easements. Restrictive covenants may need to be neutralised by payment to the beneficiaries but in cases where their identity cannot be established, an indemnity policy may suffice with the premium paid for by the vendor.
Contact service providers for a quotation.
Gear up a site insurance policy to cover you for public liability prior to starting work, and contractors’ all risk and employer’s liability once you commence.
When the drawings come back, cost them again. Add the figure to the land and ancillary costs. Add your margin and check the total proposal’s value.
If you can string the legal process out until you have planning permission then all to the better. If not, remember that the site always has a value and as long as you’re paying no more for it than that value, it’s a reasonable buy.
Only when you’re happy about everything, proceed to contract.

Does it have planning permission?
A building plot is not a building plot without planning permission. Planning permission is required to build all new houses and if the plot of land you are interested in doesn’t have it, then it’s not worth pursuing.

Plots with planning permission are likely to be sold with a set of approved plans – you might see plots advertised ‘with permission for a four bedroom home’, for instance. However, there is absolutely no reason why you cannot re-apply for permission to build the style and size of house you want to – without losing the existing permission. So treat any existing permission as merely a starting point – bearing in mind that most sellers of plots will submit plans for a small, uncontroversial scheme in order to get planning approval.

You should also check that the planning permission granted on the plot is still current. Planning permissions currently run out after five years (usually three, but it has been extended temporarily as of winter 2009). There is no guarantee that an extant planning approval can easily be re-won.

What are the hidden costs of development?
A simple assessment of the plot can yield interesting information that might have an influence on how expensive it will be to develop. Does it have services to the plot or close by? Ideally, the plot will come with the key services – water, electricity and gas – already channelled to the site; or they will be available close by. If the plot is in a more rural area, then you will have to pay extra to connect to the mains services which might be 10s or 100s of metres away. It might even be more prudent to consider off-grid options.

A heavily sloping site can also increase foundation costs. According to Mark Brinkley, author of The Housebuilder’s Bible, every degree of slope adds £1,500 to your build costs.

Things for your conveyancer to check
It’s important to hire a good solicitor with experience in the specific issues that buyers of building plots will face. Despite the lack of required structural surveys, buying a plot requires close attention to ensure you, the potential self-builder, has the right and potential to build your dream home.

The existence of planning permission does not mean that you are necessarily able to build your dream home. A plot may be subject, in the worst case, to a restrictive covenant (a legal agreement that is specific to the site) that might restrict development to a single storey or, even worse, forbid it altogether. This type of arrangement is not uncommon with garden plots, where former owners and new neighbours try to have a say on which type of house they are going to end up living next door to.

Your conveyancer should also check for issues pertaining to rights of access and any potential rights of way across your plot, in addition to evidence of any wayleaves or easements.

Is the price right?
You should be able to independently work out the value of the plot – simply establish the end value of the house you intend to build (the agent selling the plot should help with this), subtract the expected build costs (work them out here) and another 20% margin (for profit/contingency) and you will have the value.

The period 2008-10 has seen a rise in extra development costs added to individual plots either in the form of Section 106 agreements, the Community Infrastructure Levy, or both. Establish if the site is subject to any of these costs and use them as a negotiating point.

Choosing A Designer

By Jason Orme from 'Homebuilding & Renovating' magazine. To see more features on self build design visit www.homebuilding.co.uk.

You can get your new house designed by any one of a number of professionals:

Architect: A house designer can only call him/herself an Architect if they have completed the seven years worth of training to become chartered (and with it gain membership of the Royal Institute of British Architecture, RIBA) and are registered with the Architects Registration Board (ARB). Because not all Architects specialise in one-off housing, you can search the lists at www.architecture.com for house design specialists in your area or, perhaps more easily, contact an organisation called Associated Self-build Architects, a group of Architects who cater specifically for selfbuilders (www.asba-architects.org). Another option for those carrying out extension or remodelling work who want an innovative solution is to contact Architect Your Home (www.architect-yourhome.com). Architects' fees vary enormously depending on the individual and fees for a whole project can be anything between £5,000 (for design drawings only from a small practice) up to £50,000 and beyond (for a recognised Architect to provide designs and a supervisory service). Ensure you get an agreement on fees up front and ask to see previous examples of work.

Architectural technologists: A large number of house designers don't go through the process of becoming a Chartered Architect and many of them opt to become technologists instead. The name is slightly misleading, as while many of them do indeed do the nitty-gritty drawing work for Architects, many more act as fully-fledged house designers in every sense of the word. Many self-builders find technologists to be more grounded in budget issues and, in some instances, more approachable than Architects. The group has recently achieved Chartered status itself and a list of members can be found at www.ciat.org.uk

Surveyors: While this type of professional includes everyone from building surveyors to some estate agents, many Chartered Surveyors offer comprehensive design services. A full list can be found at www.rics.org

Other designers: Look in a Yellow Pages under Architectural Services and you'll find a collection of loud adverts for local house designers - with names ranging from the solid-sounding through to the rather lively 'Plans People'. Quite distinct from the more austere Architects section, this varied bunch offer a broad range of different qualities, skills and levels of experience. In general terms, they are likely to be cheaper than Architects and some may well be just as talented. There is no vetting process for general house designers and so its essential that you see previous work and, again, establish fees upfront.

Package companies: All of the package companies offer a design service (as part of an overall materials/labour contract), but the details of what is offered varies from company to company. While almost all of the leading companies have a range of standard designs, they encourage clients to suggest alterations of these basic plans; others offer a standard book of plans with no changes permitted; others offer totally bespoke design services, fresh for every project. While design is included as part of the overall package, you will find it factored into your overall costs, although many clients find the fact that they are not paying upfront for design services a big benefit of this build route. Another advantage of using a package company is that they are much more able to link your design to your build costs.

The initial scheme: Having chosen a designer and given them a brief, expect to receive back a first look at your new house on paper within 2-4 weeks. As the designer will make clear, you should look closely at these plans and see how they relate to the brief you have given them. Ask why certain elements have been missed out and others included. Most importantly, check the sizes of rooms to ensure that they are sufficient for your needs. Look at the overall scheme and analyse it carefully, and at the follow-up meeting ensure that all avenues have been fully explored. Finally, confirm estimated build costs with the designer.

Having agreed any amendments, the scheme is now ready to go through the planning process. Once approval is given, your designer will then need to come up with building regulations drawings for approval by the council. Gaining approval on that means work is ready to start on site, but with a well-considered design behind you, the seeds of success have already been sown.