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?

I’ve seen developers get one half of a semi detached and so enough access to develop road through and finished off the other half so nicely that you wouldn’t know it had been a semi. I’ve also seen two semis left in half looking awful. I’d get legal advice ask to see their full plans and get neighbours behind you.

….if you decide it’s not in your best interests. Legal advice first and long wait from what people say so don’t panic .

It's a corner car park so there are two roads they could access the site from. I think they'd only want our properties so they could make the site bigger.

Happened to a friend but she was the ransom strip, they wanted to take a portion of her side garden to access land behind so the builder agreed to buy the whole house so then he could divide the land up as he wanted. We didn't talk cold hard figures but she went from a 3 bed 1930s semi to a brand new 4 bed double garage new build with the money the builder paid.

I agree with everyone else, RICS land agent and work with your neighbour to get the best price for both of you. Look at Rightmove sold prices to see what houses sell for in your street/area just so you know what yours maybe worth, but it is about the land, not the house. Zoopla doesn't take into account my extension etc.

Near here they paid £3 million for a very average detached bungalow that they demolished to make a road into a new housing estate with 60+ houses.

Goodness me, some of these answers. It’s like people are competing to tell the op she can get more and more.

op, you need to speak to them. It’s fine if you do, in fact it’s a must. Book an. Initial meeting to find out what they want, ask your neighbours what they have been offered.

remember one very important thing though. If you don’t proceed,but do with your neighbours and the build. then your house will likely hugely devalue , one it will loose all curb appeal. And secondly be right next door to whatever ghey put in. So an 800k house could become a 500k house when it’s done.

Do you have a massive garden? Buying a house or two would be very expensive. There is a plan.

There must be access to the car park now, is it single track? Planning permission takes into account the safety of the new road. The two roads they can access from are they safe for a new road?

Can you do a diagram.

If they are saying they can make your house detached and just buy next door...you will have an access road or a new building next to you.

@Janieforever Absolutely, if they buy next door for a road. Op, will end up with an awkward looking house with a road right up to her boundary. Probably a big development overlooking her back garden, plus a terrible few years of development and then year of noise.
There's a reason they want one of those houses, my bet is access.

If it's done well the opposite could happen because a detached is worth more than a semi by default.

I agree with the others - this could be a lucky break. A similar thing happened to us and we are now living in our dream house which would have been out of the question previously. Fingers very crossed for you that it turns out similarly positive but it sounds as if they could really do with your house. Even if the uplift you’re offered isn’t life changing, living near a building site could be quite stressful. If you don’t consider it your forever house then you’re lucky to have the chance to be paid to move away.

Get proper advice and take them for every penny you can. It sounds like you have a ransom strip so ransom it for the most money you can get then move. Big development companies are wealthy and destroy small towns and villages with the huge developments that are not in keeping with the local area and far too large for the town/ village they are tagging onto so don't feel guilty for taking them for every penny you can.

@moomoomoo27 a detached that looks awkward because half of it has been removed is not always worth more than a semi.

Add in a now busy road, running right up to the OP's house, loss of privacy for the back garden.

Then factor in a big development behind her house, overlooking her back garden. Loss of light etc.

Then the spinkles on top, increased noise, not only from the road but the care home.

Developers buy houses very strategically, there's a reason they want/need one of those houses. if they are happy to buy one, then the remaining is going to suffer badly.

We sold the bottom part of my parent's garden, along with the neighbor on each side, (to pay for her carer's fees) the developer put up 8 four bedroom detached houses.... so made pots.
we then sold their house separately....

There's a reason they want one of those houses, my bet is access

OP says not; apparently there are two roads they could use for access, and they want the houses to get a bigger site/more profit

I've namechanged. This happened to my dad a few years ago. He owned a large semi-detached with a big garden. Developers approached him and his attached neighbour and they both eventually sold for significantly over market price.

Put it this way, it was enough for Dad to buy a house on the coast outright, give both me and my DB a very generous 6-figure sum each, plus money left over for him - he takes plenty of cruises now There is no way we could have bought our house without his help.

It was a long process, taking about 3 years in total, and many of Dad's neighbours in the road were unhappy with it, tbh. But, it was the best thing for our family. And it also meant that two large and frankly unmanageable family homes with single people rattling around in them were turned into 20 much-needed flats for other families (I realise that's a controversial viewpoint but he felt it was a positive!)

Or let you neighbours sell. Then play hard ball with the developers as they get more and more desperate to buy your half of the semi to compete their development. You could end up walking away with a lot more money than your neighbours.

However, I have to be honest and say that it was a surprisingly awful wrench to know that it was actually going to be demolished (far worse than just having someone else move in). Driving down the road and seeing a great gaping space for months where our beautiful family home used to be was quite unbearable for a while. I'm glad we moved 100 miles away in the end!

People are allowed to lie in negotiations, it's not a crime.

Is this true? I mean, I know it happens all the time, but deliberately misrepresenting something to get a financial advantage sounds almost like textbook fraud.

I think if you play your cards right, you could become rich.

@Puzzledandpissedoff
actually op didn't answer any of the pertinent questions! She didn't confirm what the current access was.
Having a road next to you does not mean you get an access road.

Developers only want to buy for a specific reason. they already told the neighbours they can just buy their house...why do you think that is?

You are in the driving seat. You have what they want and so should be able to negotiate a very good deal to your advantage financially, but as others have advised, get expert advice. Good luck!

Let them do the talking to start with and see exactly what they offer and be v non committal. They are banking on you not having the knowledge. They will make stacks of money on it, by putting new properties on the whole plot. Sometimes you can work it so you get a share of the ultimate sale price once the new properties are build. If you want to be near the coast, if they are a National developer then they will be able to assist you move. Their costs will be much cheaper than you having to pay yourself. Its a great opportunity. Do you know what they offered the neighbour?

Having a road next to you does not mean you get an access road

Actually that's true, and I should have thought of it

There could be any number of reasons why they've said they could just buy next door though, including the possibility that the other semi's owners might be receptive to a low figure and they hope OP won't want more

My last house was a terraced house and shortly after we moved out, developers paid about 50% over the normal value for the end terrace so they could demolish it to widen a road into their (hideous) new housing development. They built a new wall a few feet from the house next door to cap it off.

I know some people, 4 houses, where a supermarket needed their land as an entrance road in, they paid the house holders double the market value.