How to assess a building plot
Before you purchase a site, you’ll need to make sure it’s able to match up to the criteria for your dream home. Mike Dade’s checklist will help you gauge a plot’s true potential for self build hether you’re keen to buy a particular piece of land right from the beginning. This means that will be able to proceed with or you’re eyeing up your own garden’s potential as a greater certainty and budget more accurately. development opportunity, there’s a lot to consider before If during your investigations you come up against anything you’re not you can decide whether you’ve found the right site on sure about, the key thing is to seek advice from suitable professionals. which to create a new home. To help you make a smart, well-informed That could mean speaking to your local council about planning matters, choice, I’ve put together a checklist that covers most of the scenarios involving your solicitor for legal considerations or maybe using other self builders are likely to encounter. Armed with this guide, you can be appropriate specialists. If you have an architect or planning consultant confident that you won’t miss anything crucial that could influence a on board – or if you’re working with a package house company – they site’s suitability. This includes factors such as what and where you can will be well suited to point you in the right direction. build, whether the costs stack up, and the chances of gaining planning Looking at comparable planning applications for recent nearby permission for a design that you’re happy with. projects, via your local council’s online records, may also prove helpful.
Don’t be alarmed by the length of the following checklist. On most Checking these over can alert you to some of the potential stumbling plots, you’ll actually come across very few constraints. But taking a blocks for self builds, including how the hurdles were overcome and fastidious approach means that you’ll be aware of any potential issues who provided the necessary reports or advice.
W