Developer wants to buy my house - WWYD

[Dinoswearunderpants]

Hi all

It's very early days but I just wanted to hear people's thoughts on what they'd do in my situation.

I live in a semi detached house and the other side of my neighbour is a car park which the local council are looking to sell.

A developer has written to both myself and neighbour asking to meet as they are interested in acquiring our properties.

I haven't met with them yet as I've had a lot going on, however my neighbour has and they are quite keen to sell. They've had various issues and I think so long as the price is right, they will look to sell.

I thought the developer would need to buy both our properties to do their development but it turns out that even if only my neighbour sells, they could knock their house down and turn mine into a detached house.

I was never considering moving as I love the area and my neighbours but it sounds like they are very much keen to move.

I know nothing about figures but honestly can't see how they could offer a substantial amount more than asking price and still make their development profitable.

It leaves me in such a dilemma. I could stay but be stuck with a building site next door for who knows how long. I also worry that I'd need some sort of legal advice and this is going to cost me. Plus I know they do it all the time but what if something goes wrong and my house is damaged? Not to mention the noise and dust.

Then they'll be this new development which I have no idea if it will impact my property. They've mentioned residential care home so that could include noise pollution and parking issues.

Have you any advice/opinions please?

Each neighbour was forbidden for telling the others what they had been offered.

How on earth did they enforce that? The only way I can imagine it is if they made an offer and said it was only legally binding if it was confidential. But even then, I honestly can't see how that would work because at the end of the day, they want your property. They don't want you talking to each other because then their lies and sales speak will be found out - eg "we can still do it even if you don't agree".

Personally, I'd be considering clubbing together with the neighbour to get legal advice os you both get the best deal possible.

Thanks for the information @commonsense61

It's a strange one as I feel as though my neighbour is the house they want but would take ours as a bonus but who really knows in these situations.

I need to get the valuation but I won't pay anything out just yet. Zoopla is showing an estimated market value between £750 - 800,000 (wayyyyy more than I paid!).

I find it very difficult to believe that they would happily just take half of a semi-detached house. Admittedly, I don't know how these things work, but I would imagine the effort of converting your house to fully detached would be difficult, not least because it would involve negotiating and agreeing with you which would not be guaranteed. It's not just about the building work and H&S, they'd still need to compensate you for any inconvenience, ensure there was a sufficient gap around your property and any fencing/boundary with the new development etc. I don't think you can have a detached house that just ends at the property line can you? so at the very least, if they kept your house as is, they'd also have to sell you some of the land that currently belongs to your neighbour?

I think the developer is bending the truth here. Possibly to reduce your combined negotiating power.

Meet with them, see what they offer, (perhaps ask them to agree upfront to pay for your legal advice) then get legal advice asap.

Don't forget that any negotiations would need to include the costs of any additional fees you'd have to pay - eg even if you were lucky enough to find another house you like just as much for the price yours is worth or a small uptick - you'd still have moving costs, stamp fees, legal costs etc etc etc.

I know someone who's house was valued at 460k. She sold it to developers instead and got £820k

It’s totally possible. There was a house around here that was attached to a bigger building that was sold. The developer knocked down the bigger building and built flats. The house that was attached is now a detached. Seemed to take forever though and I can’t imagine it was too nice living there.

My old landlord sold my semi to developers. He was the last to agree, think 2 mil plus.
I will be honest it was devastating to me, seeing the wildlife go and the flats in its place. The developers made their money their money and some. The landlords made more than he could have dreamed of (probably worth 700-850k)

I can’t even drive down that road now because of the wildlife. If you love the place, It is emotive so think hard. Although it is easier when the cash is hitting your bank.

Negotiate hard. You have something they want.

I WISH someone would do this to me

Sounds like they need the car park and both your houses to make their original plans work. They wouldn't have asked you both, if they didn't need it. I would hold out and get legal advice. Could they enquire what's being built as that may affect your decision. If they're building flats stretching across the car park and your homes, I wouldn't want to be so close to such a big tall building, because if having the garden over looked. If it's a shopping centre, you're going to get so much traffic (cars and people). Might be worth holding out for the best offer though.

You say that you don’t see how they can offer you well above asking and still make money. But I disagree with this. Developers are pretty rich and I think you’ll get a surprising amount more than you think. But Id negotiate hard and take legal advice - club together with your neighbour potentially.

Get them to pay all your costs, legal, surveying, removals etc. I would also ask for an uplift clause depending on what the proposed use is.

I completely agree. I never thought that was even an option. I wonder if it's a bit of a blag to think my neighbours are needed more. I just hate the idea that I'm going to have to deal and negotiate with people that will continually lie to me.

This. I think they are playing your neighbour there.

What's an uplift clause please?

I knew someone who was in a similar position. In the end the developer decided they only needed one of the two semis and it wasn’t the one she lived in. She rented, didn’t own it. So the owner of the other semi made a fortune and she ended up moving as she said she couldn’t face the noise. Her old house is now a rather oddly shaped detached house. So my advice would be don’t be in that position, if your neighbour is going to sell then sell as well.

Developers will lie to get the best deal out of you. There is no law that prevents them from doing so until you start drafting a contract.

Unless you and your neighbour work together either or both of you could lose out considerably. I suggest you start looking at some land agent's websites and make some calls today. You won't get the sort of advice you properly need from MN now.

Don't be surprised over the value a ransom may hold. I have seen several that are substantial. Talking about '50% over' market value or 'paying for the SDLT' on your next property is really not what this may be about.

Thank you. I feel completely out of my depth here. So what would a land agent do please? I didn't think it was worth contact estate agents as they only provide guide prices.

An uplift clause says that you get a percentage of the value of the land if and when they sell it on - so let's say they build a development and then sell the flats on it, an uplift clause might say you get 2% of the revenues they make for selling the flats.

Tbh, it's a bit of a faff and it might be years before all the flats are sold so it may not be a route that is right for you and you may wish to prioritise a higher upfront price instead. but a good RICS registered surveyor can advise and also help with the negotiations for you, if you think you would find it difficult. People are allowed to lie in negotiations, it's not a crime.

The other thing to check is your local authority planning documents. There should be a map of the area showing if the land around your property is earmarked for potential development. If you are ransoming a large site with a resi designation already in place then you can bargain hard. If it is just a carpark with a resi designation that is you ransom then your negotiating position is weaker.

That is not to say that the developer is not putting in a planning app for a huge site. They might be, but the risk of it not coming off is greater and therefore they will pay less for your ransom.

A land agent will give you a valuation based not just on the value of your actual property but also what it’s value will be to the developer by making the access possible. So if the land of the building site is big enough (for example) to make the developer £2million profit your house will be worth more than if the land is going to make the developer a £1million profit.

an estate agent will be out their depth big time here.

An estate agent sells homes. You are really selling your land here - they don't want the house, they want the land it sits on

So the value of the land is different depending on what it's alternative uses are - in the case, it has an alternative use to its current one as it could facilitate the building of a larger development so the land is worth more than the house, if that makes sense.

You want something like this

https://www.ricsfirms.com/commercial/land/land-surveys/?search=true&location=United%20Kingdom&firmname=&service=-1

This happened to us, we were happy to sell!
We had a semi detached house next to land the developers purchased. They knocked down a bit of our house and rebuilt it to create access into the field then built 6 houses. It did take a while though I have to say! From first meeting with developers to completion was about 18 months. We moved into an air bnb for few weeks til our new house was completed.
We got 100k more than the value. It was a no brainier for us - we looked on it as a nothing to lose adventure. We negotiated the developers to pay all our legal fees too so it literally cost us nothing, apart from moving costs. Now live mortgage free. Best thing we ever did!