Is it a realistic option?

[Bluebell78]

Hi everyone 

 

I'm new to the forum  

I have been looking for a plot of land for a self build for the past 3 years in Lancashire but haven't had any luck. 

 

I have a young family and both myself and my husband are project managers. We have dreamed about a self build for years and have recently completed renovating our current home to give us more equity for a self build.

 

Our current issue is finding a plot of land that is affordable. Do they actually exist? We can buy an average sized 4 bedroom newbuild home for around £300k but every piece of land we come across is £150-200k or more so we couldn't afford to actually build a home. Our total budget is £300k. 

 

Has anyone ever found a piece of land under £100k and have any advice? Or do I need to realise it's just not an affordable option for us. 

 

We're on the self build register will our local councils and look in usual places plot browser/ Rightmove etc.

 

Any advice is appreciated. 

 

Thanks 

[Conor]

Hi, welcome to the forum.

 

I doubt you could build a 4 bed house for £200k these days. Would have to be a compact developer style box. Remember stamp duty, bank fees, soliticitor, architect, utilities etc. It's at least 10-15% of your construction cost. Where will you live during the build? There's £30k gone before you start digging. If you could get a plot for £80k, avoid stamp duty, have utilities very close by, live on site in a caravan, and be happy with a 150m² box that you mostly build yourself, then it's possible.

 

A wild shot is to take a punt on some agricultural land, and play long game at getting planning permission.

 

Wish you all the best in your plot hunting.

[Papillon]

This might be built by now, but look in to custom build sites too;

 

https://www.lep.co.uk/news/politics/design-your-own-house-option-on-new-preston-estate-3483233

these look to have affordable options.

There was a similar, larger, development near Bicester called Graven Hill. Plots were around say £125k for the land, but it was serviced. Maybe up north the land would be cheaper? 

If your spending £1500 per m2, then you’re going to get about 116m2, so enough for a 2-3 bed. Maybe a larger one is doable, if you project manage yourselves (obviously!)… but it’s pretty tight. 

other ways to find land is look on Google for people with big gardens, and then post your details through their door. It’s cheeky but if you don’t ask you don’t get. 

[ProDave]

11 hours ago, Papillon said:

these look to have affordable options.

There was a similar, larger, development near Bicester called Graven Hill. Plots were around say £125k for the land, but it was serviced. Maybe up north the land would be cheaper? 

That was a LONG time ago they were that cheap.  Last time I looked the plots there would cost more than my entire build here including the land.

[Papillon]

11 minutes ago, ProDave said:

That was a LONG time ago they were that cheap.  Last time I looked the plots there would cost more than my entire build here including the land.

yes true, was just looking at an example plot really. The cheapest one now is £150k.

[Kelvin]

Unfortunately you’ve hit the very first hurdle most aspiring self-builders hit and never get over and that’s the availability and affordability of suitable plots. The reason you can buy a £300k house of a size you’d like to build is the big developers get land far cheaper than you could buy it, break it up into tiny plots and then have the economy of scale to build as cheaply as possible. 
 

Some builders on big estates will offer up a few plots to the self-builder so worth looking around to see what’s going on near you. There’s a lot of information out there on finding plots of land but you need to make this as much of a project as building a house is. 
 

Unfortunately £300k isn’t likely to be enough to buy a plot and build a house with all the associated fees etc. Land is much cheaper in Scotland which is the only reason we can afford to do it. We looked at several plots in Cambridgeshire, where we used to live, and even made a few offers on plots both of which went for £100k over the £250k guide price and this was in 2012.  

[George]

A good plot with a modern 4 bedroom house on top will likely be worth £500k so no-one is going to give you the land for cheap. 

[SteamyTea]

15 hours ago, Bluebell78 said:

Any advice is appreciated. 

Save more cash.

Then save some more.

 

I may be worth looking at houses/bungalows in a location you want to live in, then knock them down and rebuild what you think you want.

Knowing where you are in the Country would help, prices vary within a town, country and the country.

 

VAT is reclaimable on materials and the labour to fit/install them.

The other half of the building costs are not exempt i.e. professional fees.

If a 20% reduction in the purchase price is important, then you do not have enough money.

Edited January 10, 2023 by SteamyTea

[Adrian Walker]

So you're on the self build register. How long and have you spoken to them about availability? They do have a legal duty to provide plots.

[Bluebell78]

Thanks everyone for all your feedback, it's really helpful. I think after your advice we are going to keep saving and revisit in the future.

 

[Seren161]

Take all the advice @Bluebell78but don’t give up…it is well worth it if you are able to save more and especially consider @Papillon ‘s advice of searching for potential vendors. It is expensive..it worked out just as economical for us to buy a dilapidated home, live in it for a few years while saving as much as possible and then knock it down..and initially the challenges seemed insurmountable.

[Papillon]

There are actually lots of plots in Lancashire on plot finder for £100k mark. There’s one in Bacup that already has planning permission. What are you looking for exactly.