Reducing Risk + Increasing Value

Do you have a building plot, want to sell a section of your garden or purchased a parcel of land or garages as an investment and think it has development potential?

Want to know what is it worth and how best to sell it?

Hollis Morgan are asked to value land and potential sites on a daily basis and generally the value of the land is directly proportional to how much money a developer can generate or its GDV (Gross Development Value).

The GDV generally defines the value and unless you have planning consents for a specific scheme it can often be difficult to judge by both us and your potential buyers – this is the Risk element.

To solve this Hollis Morgan have created a partnership with planning professionals Stokes Morgan Planning Consultants to offer a complete service to reduce the risks to your buyers and maximise the sale value of your land.

Stokes Morgan are known for providing a high quality, cost effective planning service whilst Hollis Morgan are the most successful auctioneers in Bristol & North Somerset – a perfect Morgan marriage!!

Professional Planning Appraisal Reducing Risk + Adding Value

This report helps reduce the planning risk and increase the value of your land without the time and costs of seeking outline planning permission.

We will provide a professional appraisal of the development potential of the site by qualified Chartered Planners which include sketch layout / site plans which buyers will be able to use to give them a better indication on the potential of the site. We find that especially on smaller sites that a professional opinion illustrating a proposed scheme encourages buyers and a higher price is usually achieved.

The PPA is paid for by your buyer upon completion on a no sale no fee basis ( A charge of £700 + VAT is added to the contract ) – they then have a £700 + VAT credit to spend on planning with Stokes Morgan – everyone wins.

Outline Planning

When valuing development sites if the scheme has outline planning as a rule of thumb we initially the value of the site at between 25% and 35% of the GDV (Combined value of the completed Properties).

For example If planning is granted for 4 houses that are going to be worth £250,000 each when built then the site has a GDV of £1m and a value “on paper” of between £250,000 and £350,000. This allows us to set a guide price on the basis that we know developers will be competing to buy the site within these established industry margins – by achieving planning you have reduced their risk and quantified the GDV.

By then selling the site by auction the competitive nature of bidding will allow for the best possible price to be achieved – we often see single plot sites achieving close to 50% GDV – prices that we feel are only possible when selling under auction conditions.

Please find below our guide to the stages and timescales involved with gaining an outline planning scheme.

What is an outline planning application?

An outline planning application establishes the principle of development and is generally a cheaper option than a detailed (full) planning application.

It requires a formal application and relevant fee (based on site area) but the information to be submitted depends on the ‘matters’ that are to be considered and ‘fixed’ for determination. These comprise access, layout, scale, appearance and landscape. Often ‘access’ is fixed, and the others reserved for future consideration as part of a Reserved Matters application (which is effectively the detailed application). Any matters that are fixed at the outline stage cannot be amended at the Reserved Matters stage – only the matters that are ‘reserved’ would need to be considered.

How long does the application process take?

The statutory determination timescale is 8 weeks for a ‘minor’ application (i.e. up to 10 dwellings) but regrettably the process often takes longer due to Council workload/resourcing issues. We can give an indication on likely timescales on a case by case basis, depending on the Council and proposal.