Yes! Which is better, sitting on unused land, or making money from it? Naturally there are certain factors that need to be considered and assessed, but if your land is suitable, you can make money from it.

Although planning applications can be a tedious process, the actual process of how it works from your perspective is quite simple: We arrange a site visit, to become familiar with the site and get to know you and understand your expectations, if we feel the land/site has potential, we undertake due diligence with our team of consultants and architects. If their report is positive, we make a cash offer and enter into an option agreement with you, then start the planning application process. Assuming the planning application is successful, we find a developer/builder to commence work, and at this stage you are paid a lump sum cash payment for your land.

Put simply, an option agreement is a legally binding document that commits us to purchasing the land from you, at an agreed price, and within an agreed time period, on the basis of a planning application being successful. This means if the planning application is successful, the sale of the land is completed and you get paid. If, for any reason, the application is not successful (even after appeals), then the sale is cancelled and no payment is made.

An option agreement is usually valid for 12 months, but can be extended should there be a delay in attaining planning consent.

The purpose of us doing due diligence on the land is to assess whether it is likely for us to attain planning permission. If our team come back and tell us this is likely, then we can make an official offer to you, through an option agreement. Doing the due diligence will hopefully speed up the planning permission process and ensure we are able to mitigate any potential obstacles.

It is difficult to determine how long a process can take, as planning applications can differ depending on the land and the local council. However, on average, we estimate the process from initial site visit and due diligence, to option agreement to planning applications and approval, could take anywhere from 9-12 months. In some cases, it may be shorter or longer. However, we communicate with you every step of the way so you are never left in the dark on what is happening. We also give you an estimate of the length of the process before signing an option agreement.

We cover the costs of due diligence and planning applications, to ensure there is no risk to you. We clearly discuss the process at the site visit, and would not enter into any agreement if there were a risk to you.

Fill in your details in the ‘Contact us’ page, and we will call you to have a chat and arrange a visit.