We are delighted to hear from people who have either building plots or land they feel we may be interested in.
A building plot is something that already has at least outline planning permission, land is as it suggests raw land that may have been used for another purpose, but now you feel may be suitable for building on. It could be a part of a garden, a site where one house or bungalow stands that is large enough for more, an industrial or business site, waste ground or agricultural land.
If you have a building plot or plots then please let us have the details. If you are an agent who represents people with plots to sell, then please also let us have the details of any that you have instructions on.
People with land may also find approaching the club beneficial at an early stage, as we may be able to take on the whole process of getting planning, drawing estate plans etc, ahead of planning being sought, at no cost to them, on the understanding that we have an option to buy if planning can be obtained. We also do all the preliminary work, such as working out how services can be reached, and costing these as well as infrastructure such as roads etc so that a realistic proposition can be put forward to those who will become involved. This saves you considerable cost, risk as well as agents fees on the sale. We may also have a greater chance of getting permission than you would without us, as we are often able to work out ahead exactly what we will get planning for and to slant our applications to suit what local planners will encourage. Working with self build groups of local people we are less likely to meet demands for substantial supplementary investments in infrastructure often expected of major developers, this is particularly advantageous where we are looking to develop sites for first time home owners and budgets are particularly tight. In these cases we both solve a local need to provide more starter homes for first time buyers, and at the same time enable more people to become home owners who would have difficulty without our help.
We do not work as agents, and quite clearly work for the benefit of our members, we do not charge land owners any fees or expect any commission or share in any commission. Although looking for a good deal for our members, we and you will be aware of the value of both land and plots locally to you, and will be able to agree a sensible price with land owners which they will be happy with.
Many agents don't know how to value plots, as there is insufficient quantities being sold in any area to calculate an average of any type or set a trend, so often the price set is just a wild guess. Sometimes its a real bargain and snapped up by a developer friend of the agents, never going onto the open market, other times its unrealistically high and takes years to sell, unless a low offer is accepted it may just have to sit around until prices go up sufficiently that it then becomes a reasonable price. One of the problems with this is that planning consent is valid only for a set period and the shorter the time left the more difficult it is for the self builder or developer to get modified plans through in time, get all prices in and get started by the deadline. Just because it has been given planning consent once it does not necessarily follow that if this expires it will get it again, and this can be because the roads are now busier, speed limits changed, other developments has occurred in the area or just changes in local policies.
Many agents you will find like to sell to local builders or developers they work closely with, as they can then sell the completed houses and take the larger commission for doing this. There are many ways that agents can steer a sale to a friend, from under pricing and not putting the property on the open market to overpricing and putting off anyone from making a sensible offer for a period and then recommending a low offer from their friend. The small amount of commission they loose by under pricing and selling under the table to them is more than made up by the commission of the sale of the completed houses. If you decide that you don't want to talk to the club, but to sell through your local agent then you should make it a condition that the land plots are advertised in the local press at least and that the closing date for any offers is sufficiently far away that individuals have a chance of getting land valuations and other research undertaken, and you should be present when the offers are opened. If you find you are being contacted by self builders, rather then them going through your agent, it may be that this is because in your area most property is not being fairly sold and self builders who will not be offering agents the chance to resell the completed property feel they are at a major disadvantage to developers. The self builder who is properly prepared and has funding in place can complete as fast as anyone else.
The way we look at pricing plots is the same as more competent developers, we look at the value of the house or houses that can be built on the land and subtract from this all the costs associated with putting it there, so roads, services, the house structure and fitting out, and an element equivalent to the profit a developer would take to cover marketing costs and his margin, and other costs involved. What is left is the value of the plot. This can be difficult to calculate as there are so many variables and initially unknowns such as the type of foundations and cost of getting in the services. There may also be other requirements such as land view splays over adjoining land and similar that may add to the costs, but our consultants can usually get a fairly good idea as to the real value of any building plot, and of course if you can set the real value initially it is considerably quicker to sell, as its no longer the economics that holds up a sale, but just getting the people who like the location.
The major benefit of selling your land/plots through the club is speed, particularly where you have a site that will take more than a single house. With committed members actively and seriously looking to start a project now, we are far more likely to match a group of people together who can move forward faster. As we are able to be working on planning and matching members to the site at the same time, we may be in a position to have completed before, by others routes, you would even have got the plots to a sale position. If you go it alone, you may find you have far greater costs and demands made on you, will often find that prospective buyers don't like the plans you have and delay things by then seeking alternative planning and it can take a very long time to get to completion.
If the land is in a part of your garden, and you have views as to the type of property that should be built there or the type of family that you look on as ideal neighbours, and perhaps can take a slightly lower price to encourage this, it usually can be achieved. The club approach is to try where we can to help you get the match that is ideal for you and the member. We should perhaps make it clear here that we are not talking about racial selection but about social groups or family ages and the like. For example a retired couple may prefer another retired couple or may feel it would be nice to have a family with young children, but perhaps would not be so keen on a single couple in their thirties who liked to have a lot of parties.
If at the outset we can see that we are not interested in the site, we will tell you at once. So nothing is lost by talking to us.
Although we make it clear from the outset that we are working for our members and not for land owners we have a policy of telling land owners exactly where they stand, we won't spin you a yarn, so you will know exactly what is happening and on what time scale.
Land owners working with us therefore get
So how do you make contact with us, you can write to us, email us or phone us, the details are on the contact us page, that you get to by clicking here.
You will appreciate that we could here conceptually have a conflict of interest.
Our position is that we represent the interests of self build members. Our approach therefore is to separate up the land transaction from the club group operation. This is achieved by you selling an option to purchase all of the land to a service company we instruct, but under the understanding that you get first choice of the plots that we are able to make available, and in all other ways you are in the same position as other members involved in the group. You have no veto or influence over the project, more than any other member involved in the group.
You can delay joining the club until planning has been agreed and we are in a position to offer other members the chance to become involved if you wish. You can also agree if you wish that the joining fee for the club can be taken out of the price you get for the land.
The price for the land from the service company to all participant members, including you, will include the price you are paid under the option and costs it has incurred in all work and costs necessary to bring it to members. It may for tax reasons be actually done slightly differently if this is beneficial to you but the same concepts of separation will apply to the way the project is run.
This is a nice way to handle it, in that you still get all the benefits of selling the land through the club and all the benefits of club membership. You are also from the beginning on an even standing with your fellow members and neighbours and none of them can expect you to give them any concession or expect you to do anything to suit their needs.
So where do we start, you could just join the club as other members do, and then when visited by the consultant mention the land that you have available, and he will be able to look at what can be done with you. We start by treating you as if you were the first member in an area, so identify your needs with you and see how we can build a projects utilizing the plots we can get out of the land to meet your needs and then what other members needs can also be met, recruiting then extra members if necessary. The effect of this is that the development is based largely on your ideas, or those we develop with you, utilizing all the help, work books and other assistance we can provide, and we would expect you to be at least as well off from the land sale as if you had sold it by any other route.
If you want to delay joining and make joining conditional on being able to build on your own land, then in the first case contact us and give us details of what you have and we will then promptly be in touch to get someone in the first case to look at the potential for the land.
So how do you make contact with us, you can write to us, email us or phone us, the details are on the contact us page, that you get to by clicking here.
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Self Build Homes Club is an international club
and trading title of Self
Build Homes Club llc. Local services
to serve members are commissioned for the club by New
Atlantis International Services Corporation.
All major commissioned companies involved, have New Atlantis trust status.