Hi Everyone, My friend has agreed to sell her house at 17% BMV to a developer who claimed to be a 'cash buyer'. He made a speculative offer.
To tie up the deal, the developer said he wanted completion in 4 weeks. My friend agreed to the sale on that basis. She was really in no position to argue as hers is a 'distressed sale' due to seperation.
Anyway, that was 2 and a half MONTHS ago, and no sign of exchange, never mind completion. The buyer is dragging his feet. She has been given various excuses by the buyer's solicitors.
The estate agent handling the sale has confirmed (as far as he is able) that the buyer has 'funds in place'. However, the buyers solicitor hasn't seen them yet.
My friend's solicitor doesn't understand the delay as they had contracts drawn up weeks ago and are 'ready to go'.
By coincidence, we noticed in the local paper that the developer is applying for planning permission on my friend's house! He didn't even have the courtesy to ask first.
It seems that the buyer wants to delay the purchase until he knows the outcome of the planning decision. I imagine he will have no qualms about pulling out of the deal if planning doesn't go his way. So much for completing in 4 weeks! In the meantime, she is struggling to pay the mortgage.
Now for my questions: Can someone apply for planning permission on a house they do not own without the owner's consent?
Do you think my friend should say something like, "If we don't have something on the table (ie exchange) by friday, we will re-market"?
Or, should she re-market at the new lower figure anyway and see what other interest is out there?
If she was prepared to accept 17% less, do you think if she just wants rid, she might as well go to those companies that buy off you for about 20% BMV and sack the developer off.
That's a fair point HC. But the difference (between the 17% and 20%) in this case would be about £14000. Not easily written off when my friend needs every penny she can get to set up another home for herself and her kids...
dg1, your suggestion is very tempting. I know that if someone reserves a house off-plan, they are usually given 4 weeks or so by the builder to exchange.
If the buyer fails to exchange within the time-frame, the builder will re-market the house at a higher figure. At least, that's what nearly happened to me once upon a time!
Donna, yep they can apply I am fairly sure... think its a game prop developers pull all the time on farmland on building fringes, with their close friends down the local planning office.
That way, they purchase land at agricultural rates (about 3K an acre) and make a huge profit on it.
By the sounds of it, your friend must have land attached? It must be an awful time, but why doesnt she put it on the market 15% down, or try auction? With a reserve price, it wont go for less than whatever she sets (being realistic). Auction may be a little unconventional, but it certainly seems to be where property seems to be shifting at the mo.
I keep forgetting Donna that people live in expensive houses - I've been brainwashed by rows of cheapy morecambe terraces! 3% is like, what £50, round here
You can apply for planning permission on anyones land, but if you don't own it you must inform the owner within a set period. Find the story of the woman from Liverpool who has applied to demolish the head of Tesco's house.
I don't know what the sanctions are if you don't inform an owner. Check the planning application and see if this part of the form has been signed and take it up with the Local Planning Authority.
If it looks like an easy profit could be made by a developer the contract can contain clauses for any uplift in value as a result of redevelopment to be shared between the original seller and the developer. The developer won't like it, but fight fire with fire if she isn't happy.
Just a suggestion, why dosen't she approach the mortage company for a six month payment holiday, wait for the developer to be granted pp and then tell him to go away and sell it with pp?serve him right and she could turn a negative situation into a positive!
You can definitely apply for planning permission on a property you don't own. a developer bought the house opposite ours then had an option to buy on the joining semi, then applied for pp to knock both down and build a giant block of flats. Planning denied, appealed, denied again, now he's just sold it. The people who had signed the option with him had an open ended agreement so had to wait almost two years before they could put their own house on the open market.
I would give him notice of a few weeks, then remarket or auction. If he doesn't get PP maybe he won't want the house at all, then she has wasted a lot of time. If your friend can face the stress and expense, she could apply for outline PP herself - it may make the house a much more attractive prospect to buyers.
I would definitely contact the lender - they may defer payments until the proprty is sold as previously suggested. Lenders can often be more helpful than you think in these situations.
My friend has split with her partner, the mortgage has not been paid for nearly a year and it has only gone to repossession this week because she has no money and her ex has point blank refused to pay anything. Even last week the lender was trying to arrange a payment plan, adding a bit on the montly premium to cover the arrears.
Phew, sorry for the long post. Best wishes to your friend.
Once the house has planning permission, she might be able to get a better price for it on the open market - if no contracts have been exchanged, she is under no obligation at all to sell to the developer who put in the planning application.
If the application is for a building plot on the land (rather than extending/redeveloping the house), she could even sell off the building plot on its own, clear some of her debts and stay living in the house!
Hi All, Well, here is an update: No, the house doesn't have land attached to it but it is on a particularly big corner plot (perhaps the biggest in the area) and has access from 2 sides. We wondered if the developer was planning to bulldoze the whole lot and build 2 semis...
Anyway, we went to look at the plans at the local council offices and guess what? The developer is planning to extend the existing building. There shouldn't be a problem as the plans are very much 'in keeping' with the existing extensions on propeties nearby.
He did pull a fast one though. On the planning application, he stated that he is the owner and has been since mid-February - which was why my friend wasn't 'served notice' (ie told!) the plans were afoot.
She made a few phone calls to the EA and her solicitor to get things moving. She took the line, "If we don't exchange by Friday, we will re-market".
Result? The buyer took his deposit into his solicitor yesterday! So, the planned exchange will happen later today. Just waiting for that phone call...!
Well! My friend has finally exchanged today. After much to-ing and fro-ing, all parties have agreed upon a completion date of 30th April. Finally things are looking up! Many thanks to everyone who replied. DD x
Many thanks to everyone who replied. DD x
All Hail the mighty hamsters! 
