Has anyone sold off part of their garden for building?

Get the land valued as a building site by 3 different estate agents. That's what I did to get the best price. Good luck ! X

craftycat You have my sympathy. On another thread I have moaned about my neighbour who has demolished the bungalow she bought and built a house with one and a half storeys. The noise and mess and parking has been a nightmare, so with 14 houses going up I can't imagine how intrusive it must be for you.
I now have a window directly opposite my bathroom which is 'permitted as it's on the ground floor and doesn't overlook my property'. The fact I live in a bungalow has apparently escaped the council's notice! And the shadow of the taller building blocks the sun in my garden in the afternoon. I hope that at least doesn't happen to you.

Green belt land all round us- makes no difference & now some has been taken OUT of GB so it is open for building on. We could do nothing about it.Apparently WE have to provide more properties for people who want to move out of central London as it is getting too over crowded there. Too expensive as well of course. As most of the properties being built are in £500000-£800000 price bracket I personally doubt this.

I am getting the message that once I have sold it, I have no control at all as to what is put on it?

That is at it should be Alie if you buy a pice of beef the butcher has no input in how you cook it. That is precisely why you must take the best advice you can as to the plans for the land, how you will be affected ,if you are happy with what is going to be the result and then get the very best price you can. You deserve to get its full worth.

I would check with an estate agent how this will affect the value of your house. We did once sell the bottom of a very long garden, didn't get much for it but did get two off street parking spaces so it was worth it for us - it added considerably to the value of our house which is on a busy road with no parking.

I also agree with others that you need to make absolutely sure that it will be a bungalow with no prospect of storeys being added either to the initial building or any later additions - this can be written into the contract I'm sure.

All in all, unless it is a very high offer, I would say don't do it.

My very accommodating and trusting parents had 2/3 acre garden at their home in Manchester and during a rough patch (financially) sold off their little 'orchard' to a builder. They got a reasonable price for it but it created quite a long boundary and cut off some of the pretty views. It was desperate when the trees were bulldozed but the "nice little family" moving in was a consolation to Mum.

They got permission for, and quickly built, a two story house very very close to the boundary - leaving only a narrow footpath round the new house. There was lots of space the other side which they chose to ignore. My parents planted a hedge along the boundary straight away (the builder and family had only put up a temporary wire), but soon we heard on the grapevine that he was going to come back once the house was built and ask for another strip along this edge for another few feet .

This time my parents were prepared and when he came six months later complaining that maintenance was very tricky etc etc and they needed some extra land Dad pointed out that he had chosen to build off-centre and so was basically not getting any more.
I think if Dad hadn't been aware of this "trick" he would have been persuaded.

So yes, the finance came at a good time for them and allowed them to get their finances back on track, but BEWARE, even "lovely" people can have a not so nice agenda.

The house is now 3 storeys and "bulging" on the plot. Mum and Dad would not like it now. Not one bit.

The piece of garden I sold is choked by weeds as the developer seems to have abandoned his property. He had all very "high spec" stuff put in his cottage so he said he wouldn't risk renting it out.o

Why do you not get outline planning approval for a bungalow on your own piece of land? It will not cost a lot.
Then it will be worth more.

Brilliant idea, Durhamjen!

As DJ says- that's the way to go.

And beware of con wo/men. When my mil was about 75- she was approached by a man who chatted to her over the fence. He said he saw loved her cottage, and her wonderful garden- and how it would be his dream home for him and his wife as they had just retired and he wanted to grow veg, etc. Her cottage was in what is now one of the most expensive parts of Surrey, in a wonderful cul-de-sac. He came back several times- and continued to chat her up. As so many wonderful and large properties near her had been bulldozed with all the mature trees, etc, to build many many houses- she was so delighted someone loved her cottage and her beautiful garden and would just improve and maintain it.

We tried to warn her- but she trusted the man implicitly. Our bil wanted to take her garden house she had put in a couple of years back, and we asked for a few roses that we loved- but no- she had promised to sell to that lovely man and his wife- and everything had to be left just as...

Two weeks after she moved out, the plot was bulldozed and one multi-occupation house (5 luxury flats) were built in a jiffy, almost wall to wall and none of the garden left. She was heart broken, humiliated and of course- had sold at lowest possible price to 'that nice mand and his lovely wife' - who were acting as agents for the property developer and making a very nice living out of it. ****d!

I think offering you a mere £2000.00 is taking the Pee. No, do not accept this ridiculous price. He is out to rook you.

We sold the bottom of our garden for about £100,000 + as we had decided to move house anyway,the developers build 2 houses on it. However we did have a job to sell the house afterwards , it took nearly 5 years! Who knows it may have taken that long to sell with the extra garden as it was in the middle of the recession! What we did of course is capitalised on the price!
I think you have to carefully consider all the pros and cons , take advice and don't rush into anything.
Hope this helps.

Alie if, as I suspect you live in Oxford, which has been officially designated the most expensive place to buy a house (overtaking some areas of London) you need to get expert advice. Also, like paving over one's front garden, some local councils have brought in further legislation to deter its over use.

That being said FIL sold some of his garden in Headington and made a decent amount without detracting too much from his large house (there was still a decent amount of garden left. However, the house built on his spare bit is worth a great deal now and would not be in existence if he had not sold the land. Basically I think I'm saying - get a lot of good local advice from various sources...Citizen's Advice, Local trusted Estate Agents,....the older more traditional one's are always better, even a local Councillor if you know one...... and do not appear too keen to sell!! FIL could easily have held out for more methinks....but he was already on friendly terms with the proposed purchaser.

The end of our garden was sold 5 years ago. DH designed the layout and got planning but we decided not to build it for ourselves - I couldn't bear the thought of looking down on our old family home. It was a good decision as he died suddenly soon afterwards and I am left with a smaller garden which I can just about cope with and still in the house we loved. We got a good sum for it - considerably more than the paltry £2000 you are being offered Alie . Stick in there and wait for a decent offer after having the land valued - that is essential.

Alie hasn't told us what she's been offered - it was wot who sold her land for £2,000...

I agree with Dillonsgranma - get some estimates from estate agents.
The price will depend on many things, where it is, the likelihood of planning permission being granted etc. Even objections of neighbours.
I don't know about the situation in the UK, but in France there's a lot of land which can only be for agricultural use.

I'm 15 miles south of Oxford. As I said, very little land for sale here. The amount mentioned was 18K - BUT it isn't clear how much garden this is for.
i wouldn't want to lose more than 1/3.

I am not appearing keen, in fact I said I can't think about it yet as I have a very fraught month coming up. True. Too much on my plate!
But I thought I would sound people out here for now.

Estate agents, yes - but i don't want to do that yet either!

Given you lots to think about for the summer, though, Alie.

You're right there !

I talked to the neighbours the other side, they don't seem all that bothered if there's a new building. But they told me one or two useful things which confirmed that the builder is making a point of being very nice to me.......

I'm not very keen at the moment.

I'm told to check the council re what might be allowed.

I changed my mind. Decided however much cash, it would be too much intrusion. Yesterday I finally told them and it's ok, they have changed their plans.
Now, was this to do with the fact that they (having been working next door for over 5 months) have now been told (by me, finding them talking about drains and thinking that my drains joined theirs) that the access way they planned past the other side of our building - was actually over their drains?
Which are shared by the next 2 semis, not mine.
I hope this is clear - the original builders put in a row of semis, and planned all the kitchens and bathrooms at the adjacent ends of each two buildings so that all the water and sewage facilities came together, and were shared in pairs.

So - hopefully they will finish earlier and put up the promised fence between us where they took out the hedge - and go away!