Buying a site SPP - steps to take?

flimflamflo

Hi there,

We've found a site we'd like to build on. It's for sale SPP. As we're totally clueless on how any of this works, I was hoping for advice on the right sequence of steps to take towards making an offer, having an engineer check etc.

Do you contact the estate agent first, ask to have the site inspected and, based on that, make your offer? Does it make sense to have an engineer in mind and lined up for a quick appointment before you contact the agent? I've heard people talk about pre-planning meetings with the council - at what point would it makes sense to arrange one of those?

Apologies if these are stupid questions, but like I said, we've no idea where to even start.

All advice appreciated.
Thanks very much, Flim.

JimmyMW

flimflamflo wrote: »

Hi there,

We've found a site we'd like to build on. It's for sale SPP. As we're totally clueless on how any of this works, I was hoping for advice on the right sequence of steps to take towards making an offer, having an engineer check etc.

Do you contact the estate agent first, ask to have the site inspected and, based on that, make your offer? Does it make sense to have an engineer in mind and lined up for a quick appointment before you contact the agent? I've heard people talk about pre-planning meetings with the council - at what point would it makes sense to arrange one of those?

Apologies if these are stupid questions, but like I said, we've no idea where to even start.

All advice appreciated.
Thanks very much, Flim.

You should talk to a local architect who is aware of the planning restrictions in the area and firstly establish if you a suitable candidate to satisfy the criteria (if any) of the site and then go from there.

antoinolachtnai

You need to discuss this with your solicitor and some sort of planning professional. You are basically buying land and hoping to get the planning sorted out after. The professionals can tell you about the zoning, etc. for the site. You may have to accept that there is a chance that you will not get the planning permission that you need to build what you have in mind and you need to discuss this possibility with the professionals.

JimmyMW

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

You need to discuss this with your solicitor and some sort of planning professional. You are basically buying land and hoping to get the planning sorted out after. The professionals can tell you about the zoning, etc. for the site. You may have to accept that there is a chance that you will not get the planning permission that you need to build what you have in mind and you need to discuss this possibility with the professionals.

I think you misunderstood the OP, SPP is Subject to Planning Permission, therefore planning permission is received prior to the completion of the sale

ChippingSodbury

We bought a site around 3 years ago SPP (we're now living in the house built on it!). The first thing to do is to get a ball-park indication from the County Council as to whether on not there is a chance of getting planning or not (they will not tell you whether you will get planning but they may tell you that you definitely won't, it's like a pre-pre-planning meeting!). There is no point in paying a deposit on a site for which you have no chance of getting planning. Where we built was an area designated as rural so to qualify for planning, we had to meet the Rural Housing Needs defined by the council:
> Not own a domestic dwelling in the county (or own one that is not deemed suitable)
> Have grown up within 5km radius of planned site
> Continue to have strong ties with the area/ community
> Sign an agreement that you will live in the house for at least 7 years

There is no point in spending money in employing professionals if:
a) the Council say very unlikely to get planning
b) you haven't agreed to buy the site yet.
You'll need to put a bid in with the Estate Agent: if it's accepted, only then do you need to employ a solicitor who will look after the conveyancing (do this after agreeing purchase price but BEFORE paying a booking deposit etc.) on the site. Also, if there may be any problems getting planning, ensure that your solicitor includes a clause in the contract regarding the length of time allowed for getting planning, and planning for a design acceptable to you, that way if it's taking longer than you are happy with or you cannot get a design you are happy with, you can pull out of the sale.

flimflamflo

Thanks everyone for your advice, it's a big help. We haven't even approached the agent yet, so it looks like the council is the best place to begin.

Thanks again :-)