Development Land & Building Land

Name: Development Land
Rating: 4.8

Specialist development land solutions for investors and property developers.

Investment Property Partners is a leading property investment and development land specialist serving clients throughout the UK and internationally. Our experienced property experts focus on delivering land and real estate investment opportunities that offer significant growth potential.

Experienced investors, property developers, house builders and property specialists alike all recognise the potential of buying development land as a major investment opportunity.

And why not? Land provides an opportunity for significant gains, it offers excellent profit potential, and it presents a challenging opportunity that allows investors and property developers alike to really push the boundaries.

With this in mind, if you want to realise your investment dream or increase your land bank and property portfolio, you should seriously consider the opportunities that this popular investment vehicle offers.

Interested in Development Land?

If you’d like to learn more about acquiring or investing in development land, building land and individual plots both with and without planning permission, if you would like to receive information about land for sale, including our off-market investment opportunities or you’d like to discuss your requirements in more detail with one of our advisors please contact us today:

Development Land Values

One of the biggest lures for many investors is the fact that land typically costs far less than property so the levels of finance required to buy that dream plot of land are not as great.

Depending on the location of the development site, its history, planning status, and whether or not there are restrictive covenants in place, land also generally offers plenty of flexibility.

Good Potential for Profit

Of course, the potential for good profits is also known to be one of the biggest reasons why the purchase of development land and building plots is increasing in popularity.

As an example, if you are able to negotiate with the local council a change in the planning status of the land, say from agricultural use to residential housing (use class C3) then you could see a significant increase in the value of your investment.

There are also many tax advantages to purchasing land that investors enjoy.

In simple terms, if you find the right building plot or parcel of development land in the right area and with the right planning permissions then it could have the potential to change your financial situation for the long-term.

Consider this: people will always need homes, and therefore land, so your investment is unlikely to go out of fashion.

Due Diligence & Thorough Research

Although the benefits of investing in building land are attractive for many, it is important to ensure you research your potential land purchase thoroughly before you sign any contract or part with your cash.

Like any property acquisition, there can be significant pitfalls if you fail to take the time to conduct your research and complete your due diligence stages… buyer beware.

Pre-Purchase Development Site Review

There a number of key issues any investor, property developer or builder should consider before purchasing a development site and they include:

Site location
Location of the development site is always very important – always think “location, location, location”. Location is a critical success factor and can mean the difference between financial success and failure.

You should also ask yourself the following questions: Would I want to live or work in this area for either my home or my business? Is it conveniently located close to shops and transport links? And does it have a good feel that will readily entice good buyers?
Intended purpose
Carefully review the intended purpose for the development. Why do you want to buy this plot of land? Is it for the right reasons? Is there good demand for the final product? What about local/competing developments, how will they impact your scheme?
Planning permissions
Does the development land/site have the right planning permissions to allow you to achieve your objectives. If not can the planning permissions be changed easily/successfully?
Legal Issues
Are there any legal restrictions that will impact your development plans. What about restrictive covenants affecting the site, rights of access, access to services such as electricity, water, gas, sewerage etc.
Land Contamination & other issues
Is the site badly contaminated, are there rivers or watercourses that cross the site or are nearby, is the site affected by flooding, what about mines etc? Does anything run across the site, such as buried sewers, electricity cables etc, that may affect your plans? These issues, and others can adversely affect the viability of the development proposals.
Purchase cost
How much will the land cost and can my financial projections accommodate this? Is my development appraisal/financial plan sound? Do I have a good/realistic project plan? Have I taken into account hidden extras and have I calculated wisely for development; renovation and build costs?
Final Development Values
Finally, the all important resale value. You need to question whether or not your project will make you the profit that you need. If it doesn’t then you should either review your figures or move on to another project.

Professional Fees & Stamp Duty

You should also take in to account professional fees as part of your land acquisition calculations and financial projections.

Professional fees are likely to include solicitor’s fees, planning consultant’s fees, planning application costs, and the price for site-survey work – these are all essential if you are to protect your investment and ultimately extract the maximum value from your acquisition.

Stamp Duty, or to give it its full name Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) will also be payable if the land is over a certain price – The current SDLT threshold is £125,000 for residential properties and £150,000 for non-residential land and properties.

Planning Permission, Brownfield & Greenfield Land

Any investor or developer considering investing in development land or building plots should also familiarise themselves with the different categories of land to understand the issues that affect each type, together with the rules and regulations that are in place and that may affect your development plans.

Planning Permission

Incorrectly interpreting the Local Planning Authorities Development Plan, the planning regulations and planning permissions attached to the development land setting out what you can and can’t use the land for could ultimately scupper your venture before you’ve even started.

Greenfield Land

Brownfield and Greenfield land are by far the most common forms of development land sourced by investors, house builders and property developers and both have their issues.

Greenfield land is usually undeveloped land and is generally the most common choice for many property developers and house builders because it typically has not been built on previously, there are unlikely to be any contaminated land issues and the sites often already include natural landscaping, parks and forest areas.

Brownfield Land

Brownfield land describes land that was once occupied by another building usually for industrial or commercial purposes.

Brownfield land is probably the easier option if you want to obtain planning permission for the construction of new buildings on the site, as some form of building was previously there.

Brownfield land does however have additional factors that must be carefully evaluated before acquisition and these can include site contamination and pollution from previous site uses.

If you suspect contaminated land may be an issue it is best to get specialist advice as remediation costs can be substantial.

Expert Development Land Investment Solutions

As leading independent property investment specialists Investment Property Partners offer expert advice and support to clients across our specialist areas of expertise helping them to achieve their investment objectives.

If you are an investor, property developer or builder seeking to acquire or dispose of development land, building land or development plots contact our land and property investment team today to discuss how Investment Property Partners can help you.