AIBU to turn down developer’s offer of £££ and keep our garden?

[Emelene]

Hi MN. I would appreciate some opinions. We have very recently moved to a village, with an outstanding school, village green out the front and a garden in excess of 100 ft out the back. Our kids are almost 3 and 1 and we see ourselves living here for at least a decade.

The thing is the last owner was intending to sell 60% of the garden to developers, along with the next 3 neighbours along (we are the end plot on the plans). She lost patience and sold the lot to us. Planning permission has finally been granted after previous appeals were turned down.

Under the plans, there would be a house and a half built on our land, so we would be overlooked and lose 60 percent of the garden. We don’t have to sell, but the developers have offered a final offer of £100k. That would pay off about a third of our mortgage. They are pressuring us to make a decision ASAP.

Obviously it’s a huge amount of money and a privileged position to be in … it’s very hard to say no. But. Losing the garden is a high price. We’d planned chickens, Wendy house etc. The house currently feels so peaceful, trees out the back (that would be cut down) and birdsong. So I think it would change the whole feel of our home. But there will be a house built in the neighbour’s garden, so there will be a small element of overlooking…

I’m scared we will regret turning down the money. But our kids are so young and we moved here to give them a wonderful childhood (with a garden!)

So AIBU to turn the developers down and keep the garden? WWYD?

I said yabu as there is about to be a development right next to you anyway. It isnt going to remain the look and feel it is now. So you may aswell sell. I would get an agent out to value based on the loss of garden though to check real value if the offer.

@UnitedRoad

You can make the money easily enough but you’d never get the land back

This!

A house in your neighbours garden will be nothing like the extent of overlooking as it would be on yours.

Doesn't seem to have knocked any value of the house, neighbours have done similar & sold for more.

How big is the remaining 60% garden?

The size of your garden also impacts how much you could potentially extend your own house.

I think if you say yes you will regret it and end up moving which will cost a substantial part of that 100k.

Umm. Not sure I understand. Are you saying they applied for, and were granted on appeal, planning permission to build on land they do not own? That is in fact owned by 3 different people?

Sounds a bit odd.

Can you do a diagram to show where the houses would be in relation to yours. I wouldn’t do it (and have had similar offers for our garden).

Definitely not. Your garden and plans for it sound bloody wonderful.
The building work will be a nightmare for months on end, dirty and noisy. You will have no peace and then be left with another house overlooking your once idyllic garden.

Loosing 60% of my garden and becoming overlooked would easily knock £100k off the value of my house. But that's based on SE house prices.

I'm in London with a postage stamped sized garden & can see into about 6 gardens from my upstairs, doesn't impact the prices.

Thank you for thoughts so far. Speedy responses! I’ll answer some points raised -

DH and I are 28. Maintaining the garden will be a challenge as we both work but I think will get easier when my little one can walk and not eat the dirt etc. I am concerned that we will end up with an overgrown mess and not these lovely garden dreams!

The development can’t go ahead as planned without our land. They will do what they can on the other gardens, and apply for a change in planning to build a smaller house on our neighbour’s land only. So they will end up with 2 full size (3 bed detached) houses and a smaller one, rather than the 4 originally planned. We will scrutinise the new plans and be given a chance to object i believe, on grounds such as being overlooked. But as they had planning previously I can’t see us stopping it. I believe each house was planned to sell for around £450k. However the planning process is far from transparent and we are struggling to get reliable information.

The developers apparently can’t afford to buy the house and land with it. It does make their assurances that “not everyone wants a big garden so you wouldn’t lose much house value” sound rubbish.

I don’t think we could find another house we liked better for our sale price +100k. Particularly with all the costs of moving again. We have scrutinised Rightmove etc. I think a “step up” house is in the region of 200k more (another bedroom, big garden, detached) and then we wouldn’t be able to afford the repayments.

We absolutely love the location of this house and it works very well layout wise etc. It’s probably not my dream forever home but I do feel like it’s my dream home for the budget we have, and a great childhood house for my kids, if that makes sense?

I’m not sure what the neighbours think. We haven’t met them- they’ve been away and later when we knocked they were out. I don’t want them to hate us, but I need to do what’s best for my family…

What's the rebuild cost of your house op? What did the surveyors say it should be insured for?

The reason I ask is that the actual bricks and mortar cost is waaaay lower than the price you've paid for the house and the land - I remember researching this and the rebuild cost was a quarter of the price I paid for the whole thing.

You said that £100k would reduce your mortgage by a third, how much did you pay in total, can you work out if actually losing that much land is good value - even before you put in the rest of the cons?

You might have these figures handy if you've just moved in, could be on survey paperwork or buildings insurance under total sum insured.

& if the building work will happen regardless then why not?

Do you have a mortgage?In which case you have to apply to them get revaluations and they may not allow it. Unless you live in an area with house costs lower than national then £66k a plot is outrageously low

Is there a requirement to pay the previous owner if planning is successful?

I’d take the money and sell. You’re going to be surrounded anyway and it might really change the feel of the garden and the house.

100ft is a really big garden though. You can always plant trees to screen off the properties behind you. I’d probably do it.

I’d want to know how much your house is worth now, tbh.

Also, I remember reading somewhere that land with planning permission is worth roughly a third of what the final sell of the property is (small developers usually say a third for land, third for materials and the other third is profit) so you may well be able to play hard ball and get more money… would that make a difference to your situation?

How can people know it will knock 100k off the OPs house, it depends on so many factors.

Honestly, I wouldn't touch it. I think you'll hate it and resent it. The disruption will be immense.

Plus I think the price is very low. It sounds like the two properties they need your land for will be valued at approx one million. They've offered you 10%. If you wanted another house in your garden you could, as has been said, build one yourself and make much more.

If you're goign to do it I'd get an independent surveyor to value the land and the impact on the value of your property. Then you can go into negotiations informed. But price high: as you say, they can't go ahead with out you.

But I still wouldn't touch it.

And have you investigated capital gains tax?

I'd keep the garden. No hesitation.

And have you investigated capital gains tax?

As long as you sell the land before the house you are fine for CGT

I would defo push for more money though

@Motorina

Honestly, I wouldn't touch it. I think you'll hate it and resent it. The disruption will be immense.

Plus I think the price is very low. It sounds like the two properties they need your land for will be valued at approx one million. They've offered you 10%. If you wanted another house in your garden you could, as has been said, build one yourself and make much more.

If you're goign to do it I'd get an independent surveyor to value the land and the impact on the value of your property. Then you can go into negotiations informed. But price high: as you say, they can't go ahead with out you.

But I still wouldn't touch it.

Don't do any of that until you have checked with your mortgage company. It may be a straight no.

You could also look at a self build, the gov are encouraging this.