If you’re thinking of building your own home, your first priority after setting a budget is to find a suitable piece of land. There is always land available for purchase, but much of it is in remote areas, or is unlikely to be approved by the planning office, so there are many things to consider before you get out your chequebook.
Building land or building plot?
It is becoming increasingly difficult to find building land exactly where you want it. The growth in property prices over the last ten years has resulted in a rise in the number of people choosing to build their own homes and that, together with ongoing residential developments, means that land is becoming more scarce. It may be wiser to look for a building plot. This is often a smaller, subdivided area of land, such as a large garden or paddock, where planning permission has been granted for a certain number of properties. These plots may be sold individually and whilst they may be smaller than building land, they are usually more centrally located and cheaper.
Planning permission
It’s vital that the land you buy either has planning permission already in place, or a very good chance of getting approval. There’s no point spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on a plot if you’re never going to be able to build there. Building plots often come with outline planning permission, particularly if there is a house or building already there. Speak to your agent and to the planning office to ensure that you are going to be able to build when you want to.
Location and access
You need to check that the building land or plot is in the right location for you and that you can have access both in terms of getting on and off the site, but also for connection to utilities such as water, electricity and gas. Not taking the time to check these issues could cause you great difficulty during your project and it’s much easier to back out of a land purchase than it is to sell on a bad piece of land.
For the best advice and to find a range of suitable building plots or building land in your area, speak to a land agent.
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