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 don’t understand the question. The developer wants to knock down the neighbours part and build on the land it sits on as part of the development,

Someone locally had a house across whose land was access to a development plot. He held out for over a year until the developers paid him many multiples of their first offer, and he got enough to buy a farm and a significant chunk of Shropshire.
I assume my non-standard semi will ultimately be knocked down by developers and the only question is whether my neighbours or I die first, and thus, whether their AC or mine are the ones holding out for a worthwhile price.

Get good advice OP and the very best of luck.

I also work for a developer/housebuilding. Expect them to pay your legal costs throughout the process and pay a significant uplift on the value of your home.
It would be likely that they want to buy your properties as an access route into the development they plan for the carpark area, in which case you would be in a very strong negotiating position.

I've had to pay 2 x value, sometimes more for the last remaining property in order to free up sites. You're in a great position. I always hoped someone would do it back to me!

They can't knock down half of a semi. Stick to your guns, force higher price or not moving. Don't contact them too much. Can you see their plans 9n councils website?

What do you mean please regarding non refundable deposit of several thousand. Did they give you money or you had to pay them? Where did you start please?

Thank you so much. I did email the developer but no reply yet. I appreciate people are only just getting back to work. I see this being a very long process.

The option agreement means that they had one year of securing our house without purchase. So they didn’t spend money on planning and then we sold to someone else. We are then tied to them for a year. Most developers seeking planning will do this. However, to put our lives on hold for a year we negotiated a non-refundable payment. So whether they ended up with planning or walking away we were financially compensated.

Of course they can.

no you can't, its all party wall agreements etc which you'd never agree to. have u ever seen this done??

Personally no. But just google. It is absolutely feasible, and is absolutely done. Maybe take some time to read up before responding further.

Yes. See my post up thread.

That rendered section on the left was a house and the road to the left of it was a single lane.

OMG that looks horrendous :-(

It's not in keeping at all, is it? I think it's used as some sort of substation, too.

You don’t have to agree to a party wall agreement. All you can do is insist one is drawn up and the conditions stuck to. It can be forced on you.