Finding A Building Plot Of Land

Sounds easy doesn’t it? find a plot of land and build your dream home without going over budget! Could it be this easy? Well that is a hard answer which some people have already faced, some people are living that dream but not all of us will follow their path, but we can have a good go at trying!

Trying to find a plot of land is hard, time consuming and will take all your ideas and cunning to secure, but obviously if you do it will be an amazing journey to tell and who doesn’t love a story to tell at the next dinner party.

Here are some ideas on how to find that plot. Be realistic about what you want, you want a riverfront location, then how about a brook? Want rolling fields, try walking distance to countryside. Basically you need to compromise. Is the perfect plot out there? Maybe not but with a few adjustments it could be an ‘almost’ perfect one.

Draw a map of the areas you want to look at, the wider the area the more chance you will find something but with larger areas comes more work as it will be harder to manage a detailed search.

Once you’ve worked out your areas buy a detailed map with houses on if possible then walk the areas, see if people have already built in gardens spare land and look down small roads, back of houses, gardens. Somewhere lurking may be your hidden gem. If you can’t walk it try street view or earth on Google maps it’s not as good as in person but may highlight areas of interest to do a more detailed walk on foot and this way you can get an insight into aerial views.

Think outside the box, a small part of one garden may be too small but a section of two gardens together may work, does that small piece of land between two houses look too small? Who owns that huge dilapidated house on the corner I wonder if they are looking to cash in on selling a piece of their garden. These are the questions you need to be asking yourself.Don’t look for an actual ‘plot’ look for the opportunity of a plot.

Talk to locals be friendly & neighborly, pubs and post offices are good places to start, but don’t forget, someone you know or are related to may be in the know and a chance conversation may be your lucky day! talk to everyone!

Find estate agents in the area who specifically deal with land selling, you will be up against a lot of other people and home building businesses too, the competition is fierce, be active. Also check out local planning offices for land that has outlined planning as the owners may be getting ready to sell, the tip is if they are getting outlined planning & not detailed drawings they probably aren’t planning to build on it themselves, it may be cheeky but contact them & see.

Check out local press. Look for big land owners/organizations in the area as they sometimes sell off land from time to time. Look at brownfield sites, these may be sandwiched between housing and look very un-homely but with a change of purpose in planning this could become the site of your dream home.

Beware of buying land from land banking sites, if it’s too good a deal to be true, it probably is! Good building land does not come cheap unless great uncle Arthur has left you a prime site in his will, and then you’ll probably have to pay hefty inheritance tax on it anyway!

Happy hunting! You may have to step outside your comfort zone but there’s also a lot fun to be had in the journey, Good luck!