House Land & property sales

Handy land & property links
Check my area (area rating)
Plot search
Plot Finder
Right Move
Small holdings
Land registry  (look up)
Areas of tranquility in the UK

Types of survey
There are two main types of survey which are recognised by The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS): Home buyers Survey and Valuation (HSV), also known as a Home buyer's Report. The other is a full Building Survey. On the HSV with a property of around £200,000, the fee's are about £300 to £500 for a HSV  For a full structural survey, it will be nearer £600 to £800, & neither will not include electric, gas & land soil testing. So if on a self build, allow for soil testing, even on the land you are not using to build on. IE: meadows or paddocks.

Purchasing Check list
Size of plot.
Type of ground.
Have permissions been granted.
Length left on permissions.
Take compass 
Gas/water/phone/broadband/electric/sewers-drainage.
Will the rear face south.(Solar)
Tree & hill TV/Sat signal block
Was it a mining area.
Subsidence area. (PC. check)
Is it prone to Flooding.
Stream or rivers near bye.
Are services local to property
Soil test for contamination.
Soil test for Gas.
Check the water table if pos.
Check for full drive access.
Future plans for the area.
What's the council tax band.
Is transport local.
How close are neighbors.
Do a night/weekend check.
Crime in area.
How remote is it, if problems?
Good area for resale.
Get post code for checks.
Views are nice, but will Steep hills be a problem?
Trees. (foundations & Satellite)
Nearest facility's (Towns)
Local history.
Check for grants. (yeh right)
Print this list only.

Claim back VAT on all materials with main build?

Buying Land or a house ????
There are pros & cons with both routes, but also can be many rewards. Some new builds are not viable to larger company's & this can quite often benefit the self build individual that can put in the extra labour for free. Also check for gas/water/phone & electrics in the area.
But! Which ever way is chosen the check list on the lower right is worth taking with you when looking at property & land.
Remember to take a compass as it might not be a sunny day & this will help you to  survey the site for things like the position of sun on back gardens & if its possible to align  satellite & aerials (South, to South east rear is good). This site will give you all the info on
dish aliment for sky or free sat. The details below is from my local watering hole.

Location
Latitude: 51.616°
Longitude: -0.217°

Satellite Data
Name: 28.2E Astral 2A-B-D
Distance: 39050km

Sky Dish set up
Elevation:25.2°
Azimuth (true): 145.4°
Azimuth (magn.): 147.1°
LNB skew: -13.2°


The above info is also handy for lots of other reasons, like internet searches & getting info from local authority's, also worth getting the post code for the house or land that you might purchase. But be careful as this can cover a lot wider area in rural areas in comparison to a just a few meters in a more populated area like a town or city.
See if the is an open view to the north as this can give a cold side to the property & create extra condensation in places like bathrooms that face this way if not well insulated.
Ask neighbors if they have internet connections & at what speed. The phone company's are not very truthful with this info.

Some handy area conversions
1 meter = 3.28 feet		1 foot = 0.304 meters
1 sq. meter = 10.76 sq. feet		1 sq. foot = 0.093 sq. meters
1 kilometer = 0.6214 miles		1 mile = 1.61 kilometers
1 hectare = 2.47 acres		1 hectare = 10,000 sq. feet
1 acre =  4049 sq. meters		1 acre = 0.405 hectares