Thinking about demolishing house and selling large garden for planning permission

[misunderstoodMilo]

I’m currently living in the family home which was built in the 1930s. It has a large front and back garden as was common back then when the house was built.

I am looking into what my options would be to have the house demolished and sell off the plot. The house would have to be updated and needs work doing to it if it was sold separately.

I’m getting confused about where to start and who to discuss my options with? What is the difference between an architect, a surveyor and a land promoter?

Has anyone been in this position? Can anyone offer any wisdom on where to start? Has anyone sold off a plot for planning permission, how long did it take and what was your experience?

Thanks in advance

Is the house fine, except for needing a bit of renovation?

If so, what an enormous waste.

Tragic. There won't be any houses with decent gardens left at this rate.

Plot for 1 house or several?

I'd not spend the money demolishing it. Just sell it. It will either be bought by someone who wants to renovate it, or demolish it. But if you demolish it you remove the renovation possibility, and hence limit your buying pool.

Sell with planning permission?

We need more good quality family homes in the UK. We don't need more cheaply built rabbit hutches crammed as tightly together as possible.

Seriously, just market it to someone who will maybe renovate it and happily live in it. You know, like you have!

You need a planning consultant in the first instance. They will be able to look at the Council's relevant policies and advice whether you have any chance. Look on the RTPI website to find someone local to you.

Speak to local agents about what would be the best option for sale. Get planning permission and sell with that. Don't demolish yourself.

It will cost an absolute fortune to get rid of the building debris. DH backed out of a deal on an old pub with land, 75k to get rid of the rubble.

What for?

If it is to make money, what is the basis of your view that this would be financially wise?

Why would you need to demolish it?
Just sell the whole lot as it is

How big is the plot? and how big is the house? and in what kind of area? which part of the country? This will determine the possibility and type of planning. Essentially - Architect will draw up plans, Surveyor will measure the property and plot, and advise on condition, costs and value, Land promoter will sell plot to a developer for you.
Assuming the house needs refurbishing, extending and modernising, estimate £2000 per sq m (new windows, insulation, boiler, heating) that will give an idea of it's value if retained. As a plot it depends on the size and type of planning. A very very broad rule of thumb I have heard for developers is : plot 1/3 of cost, build costs 1/3, cost of finance, sales and profit 1/3.
For a start don't demolish the house yourself - a developer will factor it into their own costs, and want to do it their own way There are also other complicated considerations to keeping the building standing.
As a one off private seller you are never going to make the money that the professionals do.

Thanks for the responses so far. I am literally looking at my options currently and obviously like everyone else I want a fair price for the house and or plot. Several good sized houses, 4-6? could be fitted on the plot and I was pondering selling with planning permission.

The house could be extended out depending on planning permission as there is lots of room. It does need updating, new kitchen and bathroom. Certainly it could be a project for someone with the right skills or money.

CS Jobseeker I’m actually not living here happily and I am currently very stressed about the work that would be needed to be done to the house with various problems springing up. For example after all the rain and wind last week I noticed a damp carpet in two corners of the living room which I think is a problem with the damp course? Also a garden that is too large to manage.

I am living here with an ageing relative and the plan was not to move and disrupt him but this house with things going wrong is now seriously impacting my mental health. Plus it is so cold and hard to heat in winter despite a new boiler and radiators in the last 10 years. Cavity wall insulation was explored and the property wasn’t suitable.

It feels like problem after problem and getting advice or tradespeople round is another story in itself. So I am trying to be proactive and finding out how to proceed and what my options would be as I am now thinking about moving sooner rather than later.

@CSJobseeker

We need more good quality family homes in the UK. We don't need more cheaply built rabbit hutches crammed as tightly together as possible.

Seriously, just market it to someone who will maybe renovate it and happily live in it. You know, like you have!

If we need more family homes then surely building extra houses on large plots is a good thing. There’s a site near me, which used to have 1 large house with a mess of a garden, now houses 4 families in good quality 4 bedroom houses, ok gardens aren’t massive but not everyone wants a huge garden.

I’m actually not living here happily and I am currently very stressed about the work that would be needed to be done to the house with various problems springing up. For example after all the rain and wind last week I noticed a damp carpet in two corners of the living room which I think is a problem with the damp course? Also a garden that is too large to manage.

You may be stressed about it, but those problems aren't issues that would normally lead to demolition. Plenty of people are happy to renovate houses to make them comfortable places to live.

Whereabouts (approx) in the uk are you op? If you sold the house as it is, would it command a high enough price for you both to buy something smaller/easier to upkeep.

I would really, really avoid the hassle of trying to go through planning for houses to be put on your plot. It can be a very long, drawn out be stressful process and alienate you from neighbours, who will very likely object. Two families near us tried to do exactly this and didn’t get anywhere due to the amount of objections etc. it caused both couples an undue amount of stress.

Planning regs don't always allow demolition, do check that before you do anything.

Cheapest way is to find a planning consultant who knows the area, and which developers would be interested in the house/plot.

More expensive is to submit planning and sell the house/plot as a whole or individually with planning permission

I don't have any advice as I haven't been in a situation. But just wanted to reach out and send you good luck with whatever you do, I hate it when everyone jumps on the bandwagon and had a go at you on mums net completely unnecessary. Good luck 👍

@CSJobseeker

Is the house fine, except for needing a bit of renovation?

If so, what an enormous waste.

And, if that is all that’s needed, then the local planning authority would probably not grant permission for demolition anyway.

OP - I am guessing that if you say 4 good size houses then you have around 1 acre. Developers prefer to do planning themselves as they can control the build costs.
Let's guess (and this is amateur guess work not knowing your area and costs, nor am I a surveyor, and is theoretical) your house is worth £1m, if retained needs £400k spent on it, to be worth £1.6m.
or - Demolish and build 4 smaller houses, each house worth £900k?, so total value £3.6m: £1m for plot, £1.6m for build costs and £1m for profits. May be new houses will be worth more - depends on the size and area - and this is where the value of the land may increase.
If you live in an expensive area then you can see the development value increases.

So sell house as is for £1m; refurbish house costing £400k to get £1.6m, or sell as plot with planning (costs £50k?+) for £1m+.

I would put the land on with an estate agent and see what happens. Developers will look at it anyway, and getting planning yourself is hard work and expensive - you need £££s. The best value would be to sell the garden with potential for two houses and sell the original house separately.

Marketing it for sale as a development opportunity might make sense. So a buyer would only proceed if they could get the planning permission they thought would make it worth while - it would save you doing it - though might take longer.

Oh xrossed with Grassisgreen

I would find a planning consultant who can advise you on whether or not your local council development plan policies would support 4-6 houses on the site.

If you do apply for planning permission, you may end up liable for developer contributions as part of the permission - financial contributions towards schools, any service improvements in the area, and so on. This would minimise any profit you may make from selling the site.

I am very doubtful you could get 6 houses on a plot currently belonging to a single 1930s house even if there is a big garden. You need a planning consultant and an architect to advise on road access too.

I understand the house is stressing you out but applying for planning permission, even outline, for 4-6 houses on a single house plot is not the lesser stress.

To sell with planning permission you have to have a scheme that has been granted permission. So the design of 3 or 4 houses, details of materials used, transport plan for where they would all access the road etc.

Big outlay, and no guarantee that it would be approved.

A planning consultant could talk to the council on your behalf and get an idea of what would not be allowed, and whether in principle the council would allow a development and if what size.

or as TyrannysaurusXXrightshoarder said market it as a development opportunity, which may lead to a developer taking an option agreement. The developer has first right to buy and goes to the council themselves to get planning, even if you still own the land. I know from local people who have tried getting planning privately is much harder, far easier to leave the developers to it - they have an ongoing relationship with the council as to which sites to develop and how - often sites or houses are traded as part of a bigger picture.
You would be a minnow playing with the sharks, not a place for low stress. Of course surveyors and architects will tell you to go for planning - that gives them a job.