To sell our land for millions...

[Rosebyanothername19]

Long story short, we baught a house and some land along with it as we had got wind that they might be planning to build houses on it and other surrounding land and we didn't want other houses directly around ours.

We were then told by the local council that there was no chance as it had been rebuffed a number of times and wasn't going to happen. So felt a bit like we had wasted our money.

A few months later we find out that our land is the only land in the area that has been put forward for planning permission, so is potentially worth millions if sold for housing. But also a relief that we baught it so it can't get built on without our consent.

We could sell the land and the house and buy something else. In a way, we have possibly won the lottery. But we love the house and the whole reason for buying the land was so there wasn't houses on it!

So wwyd?

AIBU?

YES: Don't sell the land
NO: Sell the land and the house and buy something else.

@whatdoesthismeaneh

Just because its on the SLAA doesn't mean it will get planning. If it is included in the local plan for housing then the chances are quite good.

However not all the stuff in the SLAA gets put in the local plan and local councillors will take a view about whether or not local people will strongly object and then consider that against the wider housing requirements in the city.

Essentially at the moment local councils have been told by the government to build X number of homes a year or lose their planning powers (eg planning decision made by the Appeals body in Bristol rather than locally). If councils dont provide enough land for this in the local plan then they can get taken to court be developers - so councils are putting all kind of land in to the local plan.

For instance my council has to build just over 2000 houses a year to retain planning powers in 2021. The most homes we have ever built is 1200 homes in a year in 2014. We highly likely wont hit this target so will lose our planning powers. It should be a scandal but the papers havent picked up on it yet.

It's been in the press, and also debated in parliament

@MrsSmith2021

*Given the current housing crisis, I'd disagree with your comment about "too many" homes appearing*

We have just had 2000 homes built across 3 different sites in my town. They all cost upwards of 400k. They look like shit, on top of each other, cost a fortune and all it’s done is move those from London into the area. The homeless are still homeless. Those who can’t get on the property ladder still aren’t on the property ladder.

No extra schools, doctors surgeries, parks. The roads are always blocked from sheer weight of traffic. Yet there’s another parcel of land earmarked for the same thing.

We are looking at moving, it’s like living in little London. Tarmac and fumes everywhere.

And where will you move to? You'll be 1 extra household your new local authority has to accommodate. Where do you think the capacity will come from to enable you to buy a home in a new area?

Seek professional advice. I would probably want to sell providing there can be enough of a garden remaining and space that any peace and quiet is not reduced or goes. Especially if it meant no mortgage remaining as a result and a nest egg.

If your land really can be developed to build 120 houses on, then you should be able to sell it to a developer for enough money to guarantee a future free from financial worries - and probably also for your children. You just move elsewhere - it doesn't sound as if you've lived there for long.

You need to check things like what it's allocated for in the local plan, has pp been applied for yet, etc. I recommend you hire a planning consultant to advise you on these matters.

Or at least speak to an estate agent who knows about development.

@nicebreeze not into a fecking new build that’s for sure!

In a heartbeat I would sell the land, and almost certainly the house too. Problem is that the planning might make the house harder to sell, so if you can get compensation for that in the deal (or even sell the whole lot to the developer), and then go and buy something amazing mortgage free.

And I say that as someone who just spent a year renovating a dream house. It’s just a house. If you have money you can get another

[quote Lockheart]@nicebreeze I didn't say there were "too many homes" appearing.

I said too much green space was disappearing.

Don't make shit up because you disagree with me.[/quote]
Then I apologise for misquoting you - I can't find your initial post. There's really no need to get abusive though.

Where do you propose we build the new homes? They can't all go onto brownfield sites and in my experience there's just as much backlash at the allocation of those too from people living nearby who want them "rewilded" which adds to remediation of contamination costs etc etc.

I don't necessarily disagree with you in sentiment, but practically if we don't build these homes NOW the housing crisis will only get worse. We can debate ways around it, or what should be counted as "affordable housing" from the comfort of our own homes, meanwhile people can't buy their own homes

It’s bought

Definitely Sell.

Wait until planning is approved and you’re offered a decent price then sell it.

No matter how perfect your house is, it won’t be worth living in for many months if you’re living near a new housing development. The noise, mud and relentless cleaning because of dust on everything will drive you insane.

[quote MrsSmith2021]@nicebreeze not into a fecking new build that’s for sure![/quote]
Hark at you, having a choice! What about the house you buy - where will the sellers move to? And what will free up their new property? New builds enable people to upsize, downsize, maybe even to buy their first homes. That all empties a house that people moving into the area can buy, while being all snotty because they haven't bought a new build themselves!

Agree there is a desperate shortage of homes in this country and we need more houses.

One of the issues contributing to the shortage is developers land-banking. They buy land in areas near towns and villages where they know they can get planning consent, then sit on it and do nothing, because the market forces up the value of their investment without them having to spend any money actually building anything.

They are also incentivised then to build 'executive' home because the marginal cost of building them compare to affordable homes is outweighed by the much higher value they get from selling them.

Unless you are already rolling in money, I’d sell ! How many millions are you talking about here? That could mean retirement!!

[quote MrsSmith2021]@nicebreeze not into a fecking new build that’s for sure![/quote]
Not to mention that you buying up a house in a new area removes a house from the market that a local family might otherwise have bought - you're just relocating the problem you're moving to avoid. In 10 years time you'll be complaining about all the building in your new area!

The OP would also have to take professional advice as they may have to pay tax on the profit/gain that they make, which could be very hefty.

@ShouldIgonow

It’s bought

maybe you missed the post where the OP said she is dyslexic.

@nicebreeze I intend to go somewhere people want to move out of because it’s boring and rural, and the house needs a full renovation. Think somewhere where houses sit on the market for a year because nobody is interested

I'd keep it as it is for now and think of it as a pension fund. Just make sure you get a proper land consultant to negotiate with the developers on your behalf as it will be worth millions more/acre since being allocated as land for houses.

Can’t believe how many people are saying sell I dread to think what England will look like in 50 years time. Just one, big urban concrete jungle. How are we going to grow food to feed our nation if there’s no arable land? What about people that actually love the countryside and need it for their mental health. I feel sorry for future generations that won’t get to experience living in a rural village, won’t get to experience running about in the countryside.

I’m sorry, but people keep banging on about a housing shortage, that’s bullshit. There’s a lack of AFFORDABLE housing, yes, but not a lack of houses and the solution isn’t to just keep building and building and building. I know a few people who are having to rent or live with their parents in their 30ms because they can’t afford to buy, which is awful. However I don’t know anyone homeless because they can’t afford to buy a house. I work on a soup kitchen most winters, I meet a lot of homeless people and they are not homeless because they simply can’t afford to buy a house, most of them are homeless through substance abuse, with severe mental health issues. Our government / country is failing them in an massive way and it’s heartbreaking and criminal and it DOES need to be addressed, but with 400,000 homes sitting empty across the U.K. atm, most of them being second homes/ holiday let’s for the rich, the resolution for homeless people isn’t building a load of new, cramped, identikit housing estates.

We are experiencing more and more flooding in the U.K. every year due to global warming and because more and more land that would originally drain the excess water has been built on. Forests, eco systems all destroyed, again, in place of ugly new housing estates.

How about we get control over our population numbers, ultimately we’re a small island with a massively dense population, hence why C-19 has ran so rampant.

I can totally understand the temptation to sell and become millionaires but let’s face it, to buy a farmhouse and acres of land, you’re not exactly poor to start with are you.

How many neighbours do you have? How much of an impact would a new estate effect local people?

So many factors at play here but ultimately, no, so long as I was reasonably comfortable in life, I would look to other ways to generate income from the land (and there’s many ways to do so) and keep my conscience clear.

I'd absolutely sell. You could do so much with the money. Buy somewhere the same size as your current place, mortgage free and have substantial savings. Buy an amazing house, mortgage free. Buy a smaller house and a second house which you could rent out, mortgage free. Maybe even multiples.

Definitely look into this further!

So many on this thread don't understand. If I can try to explain in layman's terms from my time as a councillor.

It goes a bit like this, every 20 years or so the local planning authority creates a new local development plan. It was called the local plan in my area. It sets out over arching development principles for the area, the (national) government tells the authority how many homes they should be building in their area to meet the evidence based demand. Then the LA has to work out where best (or does the least harm) to put them. there is a "call for sites" when land owners/developers are invited to put forward plots of land to be considered for future development. Some plots come forward for decades but as the best sites get built on eventually these ones passed over in the past are likely to be the best options available. It sounds like the OP is in a very fortunate situation should she care to liquidate her asset and sell to a developer.

NO sell the land.
My parents sold their land as in coincided with their retirement.'I think they old for about 5 Million, 14 years ago.

Name changed for this as anyone who knows me would probably recognise it.

My family did exactly this a few years ago. My grandparents owned a house and field on the outskirts of a town. Over the years the town had expanded and encroached right up the border with the field. When we grandfather died and my grandmother moved into a flat we decided to sell. The area had been included in the local development plan. It was complicated further by a local builder owning a ransom strip which cut the land off from the road network.

We hired a land agent who coordinated with the owner of the ransom strip and put the land up for auction with developers. We got 4 bids for the land and accepted an offer for £7m. It has allowed his children and grandchildren to get a healthy chunk which has been for improving our lives (in my case allowed us to move to a bigger house).

Go for it but it’s a false economy not to appoint professionals to run the process for you as it’s complicated and it’ll take much longer than you think.

@GhostsInSnow

This is what dh does for a living. You need to speak to a land developer who may take it on dependent on land size. They usually work on a no win no fee basis. Points to consider are This:

People hate change. You will not e popular and groups will be set up against any development. Dh has been followed, harassed and had his car vandalised at public meetings in the past. These people can get loud, violent and deceitful claiming to find all sorts of rare creatures on your land.
Fortunately you don't need to attend any of this and your input will be minimal, paper signing and giving surveyors access to the land.

If you don't get planning you still have to live in the area so won't be popular.

Sites can take several years to come though and usually end up going to appeals. This won't affect you, no win no fee, but again you potentially have to live and work in the area whilst this is going on.

I'd do it personally. No shame in making money and if the council have identified it in the local plan then the housing is needed

We've had developers trying to build on various parcels of land around our village (greenbelt, AONB).

They have been underhand sharks. The tactics they have gone to have been mind boggling. This is why people get upset.

Maybe contact HS2 and get them to divert their line through your land. They're doing a great job of ruining the countryside here.

[quote MrsSmith2021]@nicebreeze I intend to go somewhere people want to move out of because it’s boring and rural, and the house needs a full renovation. Think somewhere where houses sit on the market for a year because nobody is interested [/quote]
I think you'll be surprised how desirable "boring and rural" is. And unless the area you've found is in a protected area it will have development pressure sooner or later