Building a house but with plans to improve at a later date
Discussion
I’m currently toying with the idea of selling my current home, but keeping the land at the side. The idea being that currently the house is worth say maybe 350k, with a 270k mortgage. I’m pretty sure I could sell the house for 300k without the extra land. Leaving me with a “free” building plot and maybe 30k left over to start a build. The idea being to make as good a start as possible, and get the rest of the build done with a small mortgage, or maybe seeing how far we can get by selling the cars (996 turbo, Evo 9, integra type r, e90 330d, and a k20 eg civic project)
The idea would be to make us a new home which although not as big as our current one, but big enough for the 3 of us, and end up mortgage free. Then, in the future, to maybe improve the house from savings from not having a mortgage ( maybe a nice big kitchen/diner/ sitting room at the back.....do the loft as another room or 2, knock the back wall out of the garage to enable me to make a nice big garage/workshop at the end of the back garden, driving through the original single garage or car port.) Obviously I could design the house with these things in mind, so the roof could be made with beams, nothing at the back of the garage, kitchen already at the back etc.
Anyone done anything similar? Does it sound like a wise move?
I originally stretched myself a bit really to buy a house we love, with a nice big garden, in a nice area, mainly in the thinking that if I didn’t do it soon, house prices might go up such that we could never do it. But the house is probably too big for us really, the garden definitely is, too much work for both of us. So what seemed like a dream move hasn’t really worked out as planned. Now I’m at the point where working extra hours, weekends away from my family, to pay for the massive mortgage, ridiculous council tax (£270pm) and all the other costs with a larger older house, just seems not worth it.
When I mention my plan to anyone they look at me as if I’m mad.....it’s like nobody in my circle of friends has the vision to see what I’m wanting to do will work for us. Even my wife is like, well we bought this house for the garden mainly....yeah but we don’t use the garden, the only time you’re in it is to cut the grass, so weeding, trim hedges etc....but still she can only see what we will lose and not what we will gain by doing it. She didn’t even want to move to this house, she would have happily stayed in our 3 bed semi dormer forever, she’s not materialistic at all, doesn’t care about having a nicer house than her friends or anything like that, she just can’t see what I can see. She can’t picture the end result.
Well when I decided we should move she was the same, but the house we bought was very badly advertised, it’s a little bit ugly, and you’d have never thought from the advert it came with a free building plot. I could see the potential, at the time the building plot was gonna be my huge garage, so I just kind of went ahead doing it anyway, and we moved, and she eventually admitted I’d done the right thing pushing her into it. I feel I’m in the same situation again now. But nobody I know has done anything similar, everyone is happy in their lives doing what they do, and when I try to explain what I’m trying to do the responses are either
1. You live in a lovely house, why give that up
Or
2. Just sell everything and move into an ex council house like me.
Nobody I know can see what I’m trying to do.....someone please tell me I’m not crazy.....even if I am....tell me I’m not....please
The idea would be to make us a new home which although not as big as our current one, but big enough for the 3 of us, and end up mortgage free. Then, in the future, to maybe improve the house from savings from not having a mortgage ( maybe a nice big kitchen/diner/ sitting room at the back.....do the loft as another room or 2, knock the back wall out of the garage to enable me to make a nice big garage/workshop at the end of the back garden, driving through the original single garage or car port.) Obviously I could design the house with these things in mind, so the roof could be made with beams, nothing at the back of the garage, kitchen already at the back etc.
Anyone done anything similar? Does it sound like a wise move?
I originally stretched myself a bit really to buy a house we love, with a nice big garden, in a nice area, mainly in the thinking that if I didn’t do it soon, house prices might go up such that we could never do it. But the house is probably too big for us really, the garden definitely is, too much work for both of us. So what seemed like a dream move hasn’t really worked out as planned. Now I’m at the point where working extra hours, weekends away from my family, to pay for the massive mortgage, ridiculous council tax (£270pm) and all the other costs with a larger older house, just seems not worth it.
When I mention my plan to anyone they look at me as if I’m mad.....it’s like nobody in my circle of friends has the vision to see what I’m wanting to do will work for us. Even my wife is like, well we bought this house for the garden mainly....yeah but we don’t use the garden, the only time you’re in it is to cut the grass, so weeding, trim hedges etc....but still she can only see what we will lose and not what we will gain by doing it. She didn’t even want to move to this house, she would have happily stayed in our 3 bed semi dormer forever, she’s not materialistic at all, doesn’t care about having a nicer house than her friends or anything like that, she just can’t see what I can see. She can’t picture the end result.
Well when I decided we should move she was the same, but the house we bought was very badly advertised, it’s a little bit ugly, and you’d have never thought from the advert it came with a free building plot. I could see the potential, at the time the building plot was gonna be my huge garage, so I just kind of went ahead doing it anyway, and we moved, and she eventually admitted I’d done the right thing pushing her into it. I feel I’m in the same situation again now. But nobody I know has done anything similar, everyone is happy in their lives doing what they do, and when I try to explain what I’m trying to do the responses are either
1. You live in a lovely house, why give that up
Or
2. Just sell everything and move into an ex council house like me.
Nobody I know can see what I’m trying to do.....someone please tell me I’m not crazy.....even if I am....tell me I’m not....please
It's certainly a common way of gaining a 'free' building plot - and one which I frequently advise my prospective self-build clients they should look at, if they can afford the initial purchase of the parent' property.
Obviously, you should gain the permission you require before selling off the parent property, though: the last thing you want is to be left with a plot of land that you then discover you can't build on (or can't build what you want on).
As the discussion on this recent thread will make clear, just because the plot is big enough to sustain a second dwelling, doesn't mean that you'll get permission for it. Even if the plot is within the boundary of a 'sustainable' settlement (which the plot on that thread wasn't), they will look at its immediate context in terms of things like the density of neighbouring development.
Obviously, you should gain the permission you require before selling off the parent property, though: the last thing you want is to be left with a plot of land that you then discover you can't build on (or can't build what you want on).
As the discussion on this recent thread will make clear, just because the plot is big enough to sustain a second dwelling, doesn't mean that you'll get permission for it. Even if the plot is within the boundary of a 'sustainable' settlement (which the plot on that thread wasn't), they will look at its immediate context in terms of things like the density of neighbouring development.
Edited by Equus on Saturday 26th May 09:02
The numbers don’t seem to add up for me. You say the house is currently worth 350k, to sell minus the land it would be 300k. If it were me, and I viewed a house with half it’s land taken for a neighbouring property, I’d be looking at more than a 50k reduction.
Have you actually had it all valued before and after? Just seems a high valuation afterwards with what’s planned?
Have you actually had it all valued before and after? Just seems a high valuation afterwards with what’s planned?
Evolved said:
The numbers don’t seem to add up for me. You say the house is currently worth 350k, to sell minus the land it would be 300k. If it were me, and I viewed a house with half it’s land taken for a neighbouring property, I’d be looking at more than a 50k reduction.
It depends.On one notably profitable development I did (in a village called Great Witley, in the Malverns), we bought a house for just shy of £1million, built 18 houses and bungalows in its former garden, then sold the parent property for not much less than we bought it for: big gardens don't always add as much value to a property as you might imagine.
PAUL500 said:
If your LA is like mine then you may well now have to give them a big chunk of money before they will even give you planning, so another factor to research and consider.
Only if you do it wrong and piss them off badly, or if you live in a festering little third-world principality. 
As a general rule, and in England, self-builds are exempt CIL and S106 contributions, if any, will be negligible.
My understanding is the self build exemption only applies though if you own no other property, as he owns the main house he would not qualify?
Then even when you do qualify you still have that big potential debt hanging over you throughout a build period when money is tightest and beyond, for another 3 years, run out of budget before its finished and have to sell up and you have to also pay the LAs ransom.
Its a potential cost the OP will not probably even be aware of in his calculations.
My mob wont be getting a penny out of me regardless, I have got what I want now, anything more that I can get approved is just a bonus :-)
Then even when you do qualify you still have that big potential debt hanging over you throughout a build period when money is tightest and beyond, for another 3 years, run out of budget before its finished and have to sell up and you have to also pay the LAs ransom.
Its a potential cost the OP will not probably even be aware of in his calculations.
My mob wont be getting a penny out of me regardless, I have got what I want now, anything more that I can get approved is just a bonus :-)
Edited by PAUL500 on Saturday 26th May 22:20
Depends on the plot size.
We saw plenty of houses where this had been done and walked away because it left a lovely house, without it's garden or garage.
That said, the house we have just bought had the end of its garden sold for a building plot ahead of our purchase. I wish we had the original plot, maybe half an acre, but it would likely have been out of budget and we still have a double garage and enough garden some would deam a ride on mower suitable.
Daniel
We saw plenty of houses where this had been done and walked away because it left a lovely house, without it's garden or garage.
That said, the house we have just bought had the end of its garden sold for a building plot ahead of our purchase. I wish we had the original plot, maybe half an acre, but it would likely have been out of budget and we still have a double garage and enough garden some would deam a ride on mower suitable.
Daniel
PAUL500 said:
My understanding is the self build exemption only applies though if you own no other property, as he owns the main house he would not qualify?
The wording of the exemption claim is that you will occupy the property as your sole or main residence for a period of 3 years following completion.I know with the recent exemption my LA introduced, then once complete, at each anniversary for the next 3 years you have to provide proof of residence as it being your only property, you cannot leave it empty or rent it out or the exemption becomes void and they come a calling with cap in hand.
I agree with the sentiment of the process as it really does nail it down to genuine one off self builders, but as anyone knows who has taken on such a project, the old crystal ball does get very fuzzy along the way! if not then Kevin McCloud would be out of a job as who wants to watch a program where it all goes to plan, and no one gets pregnant along the way either :-)
The system would be far easier if CIL/106 simply applied to two new units or more being applied for at the planning stage. Very few people will split the land into separate units to avoid the charge and then risk not getting planning on the second plot later on.
I agree with the sentiment of the process as it really does nail it down to genuine one off self builders, but as anyone knows who has taken on such a project, the old crystal ball does get very fuzzy along the way! if not then Kevin McCloud would be out of a job as who wants to watch a program where it all goes to plan, and no one gets pregnant along the way either :-)
The system would be far easier if CIL/106 simply applied to two new units or more being applied for at the planning stage. Very few people will split the land into separate units to avoid the charge and then risk not getting planning on the second plot later on.
PAUL500 said:
I know with the recent exemption my LA introduced, then once complete, at each anniversary for the next 3 years you have to provide proof of residence as it being your only property....
I really can't be arsed looking up the legislation for Wales - as I have said, if you choose to live in a tinpot Principality with delusions of autonomy, then you've got to accept whatever bureaucracy they throw at you.But here in England (where the OP has stated that he lives) the rules, both exemption and procedural, are very clearly set out in Section 54 of the Community Infrastructure Levy (Amendment) Regulations.2014.
I can only suggest that you move somewhere civilised.
Equus said:
Evolved said:
The numbers don’t seem to add up for me. You say the house is currently worth 350k, to sell minus the land it would be 300k. If it were me, and I viewed a house with half it’s land taken for a neighbouring property, I’d be looking at more than a 50k reduction.
It depends.On one notably profitable development I did (in a village called Great Witley, in the Malverns), we bought a house for just shy of £1million, built 18 houses and bungalows in its former garden, then sold the parent property for not much less than we bought it for: big gardens don't always add as much value to a property as you might imagine.
Evolved said:
Sounds like you did well there, but this property is a modest sized house by the sounds of things. To remove half the garden AND then propose another house adjacent will reduce the salability and reduce the price dramatically.
My experience (not just with the project I mentioned; I've dealt with literally dozens of such projects over my career) is different.The bottom line is that if there's enough land to make gaining PP for another house viable in the first place, then there's enough land to maintain a reasonable value for what remains of the parent property.
Or to look at it from the opposite direction: if the garden of the parent property is small enough for it to make that much of a difference, then the chances are you won't get PP for an additional dwelling anyway.
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