Shall I just say screw it and buy a plot of land

[Lachanan]

My profession is being gobbled up by AI. Its all ive ever done. Ive been selfemployed my whole life.
My partner is a carpenter. Neither of us own property. We have a deposit. We are considering buying a plot of land and living off it somehow. AIBU to feel backed into a corner by AI + CoL and think: "screw it, let's try something completely new"?

We bought a plot with PP but did a planning amendment to a smaller bungalow with a similar footprint. Buying a plot with no PP will likely be cheaper but as a previous poster said you will probably struggle to get PP - if it was that easy we’d all be doing it! To be honest every council varies and it’s hard to work out what they’re thinking sometimes. A good architect will help you but will charge handsomely for this! Later on in the process the sellers solicitors kept coming up with restrictions such as no leillandii - fair-🤣 , no chickens etc etc . Although in our case I think this was largely as the vendor lived next to the site.

Oooh so this is another ultra specific planning permission subsection then, "permission to renovate"? This weekend I am going to spend a few hours exclusively researching planning permission intricacies

Turning it on its head, why should people be able to build whatever they like just because they own some land? The Duke of Westminster owns large parts of Mayfair and Belgravia, even he couldn't just raze it to the ground and built giant shopping malls instead of houses instead at a whim if that were more profitable. (Likely the other way round these days) And what about the preservation of agricultural land for food production, sustainability, ecology and just the sheer look of the place and the possibility of someone building a monstrosity which ruins it?

Have you watched Grand Designs?

Oh no I'm sorry your idea doesn't have legs in that case.

Our first house was a self build (45 years ago). We teamed up with five other couples who were tradies and built five houses. Took 15 months. Legal advice was quite a chunk of the costs.

What do you do that you worry AI will take your job? I'm an accountant, I keep hearing AI will take that over.

With regards owning land, it hugely depends what you want to do with it.

What happened was someone bought it applied for planning permission for the development and for placing the static. After living there for some years they just sold up and left without developing it. There are lots of abandoned "new life" projects like this about.

Can't have people living outside the system of control can they?? How would they tax you and your wealth if you lived in a van in a field?? Probably also to prevent travellers setting up camps wherever they want to as well.

I dont worry about it happening: its happening. I know many of my peers who have left the industry after 20 years.

This sounds too good to be true to be honest. Unless it’s halfway up a Welsh mountain or something.
Permission to renovate doesn’t sound like actual planning permission to me .
Im in rural Scotland and any barns etc that are viable are still expensive both to buy and renovate. Our last house was a converted barn, done by the farmer who owned it. Some of the costs were eye watering eg renovating and re pointing stone work. You still need services connected. Sometimes you actually build a timber frame house inside the existing stone work .Its sometimes easier and cheaper to start from scratch. Although not so full of character possibly.

I think it might be a good idea to seek out land with a derelict property on it. One that could be renovated over time. I don't know if there are any grants available for such renovations but check to see. I don't have any experience or knowledge about all this, but I always thought it would be better to buy an existing cottage etc. and do it up if the services are already there, than to build from scratch. I don't think PP is required for renovations unless you are completely altering the footprint or the character etc. I could be wrong. Either way any replies will be an education for me!

You could always vlog your renovation project and your new life on YT and/or Instagram/Facebook and monetise it while you're at it.

Would buying something abroad be an idea? Can you port your skills elsewhere. Be brave, be bold and check it all out!

Permitted development rights have been extended to 60 days from 28.

The logic is set out in the national planning policy framework which directs most new development to sustainable locations, close to services and where the need to travel by private car is minimised and brownfield sites are reused, where landscape harm and impact on the countryside are minimised. Essentially only allowing new development in the countryside that has a,need for a rural location of supports rural communities. I guess it's also a matter of fact and degree, some small scale development is unlikely to have a big impact but if anyone could build what they like where they like there would be no countryside as we know it...

Buy a houseboat and rent storage for OH's work stuff.

Doesn't prevent them at all though, does it?

Only if you're stupid enough to follow the rules.

You absolutely do need planning permission to do this.! And a building warrant. It can be very expensive, see my previous post ! Nothing to do with building houses is cheap .

Please be very careful if the estate agents details suggest that planning permission could be granted, for instance on an old barn or similar. This is standard, particularly on auction details, but rarely viable as the agents would have already explored this possibility with their clients (at least in theory) and derelict houses have often lost their residential use due to abandonment. Check the relevant council planning website to look at previous applications.
I deal with similar queries all the time through my job (often when someone has already spent their life savings on a field that the estate agent has enthused about) only to have to explain that they are very unlikely to get permission and that the biodiversity net gain assessment and legal agreement, community infrastructure levy, habitat mitigation, phosphate mitigation, wildlife surveys etc cost a bloomin fortune even before they can apply for permission. I'd suggest looking for a part Q barn conversion or building plot with permission so you're starting with a fighting chance of working out a realistic budget.

Buy an ex council house that needs doing up. Usually they have good sized gardens, well in the north they do. Get it sorted, go and retrain. The trades are the way to go.

Although there is a difference between derelict ie unmortgageable / unlivable , and a doer upper, generally speaking

I am suitably educated now!

There is the option of going abroad to a country that encourages the renovation of abandoned properties. Ireland is one of them, grants available. Italy, you can buy a €1 house in certain underpopulated areas (there are conditions), with substantial grants available to renovate them and so on. I'm sure there are other jurisdictions with similar arrangements.

No wonder there is a housing crisis if any attempt to legitimately (not squatting or chancing arms) find a home is scuppered by so much by red tape here.

I would say you need somewhere to live. That’s actually what you need. More than money even. Is literally a roof.

Honestly, why don't you do some qualitative research then you will realise there's a reason it's almost impossible to do unless you are very lucky and know exactly what you are doing and have a firm amount of cash behind you to facilitate everything. With respect, you don't seem to have a clue.

Retrain as an electrician with high power line training as well they are like hens teeth and will be in high demand mostly due to AI and the compute needed! (I like the irony of that)

Unless there is a building there already it's almost impossible to get planning permission in the green belt, especially for one home. You will still be looking at £100k plus to build anything worthwhile building...yes you can buy prefabricated houses but from guys in the building trade they ain't all that. Plus you are buying someone else's idea.