The UK has a lot to offer with a history tracing back to thousands of years and a multicultural society as well as having some of the most breathtaking tourist and countryside destinations in the world. One of the top 5 economies of the globe, the average trend for its economy has been on a rise for several decades. Although historically the housing market has been quite volatile, a lot of residents consider their home as a long-term investment. The country has a net immigration policy that should draw in more prospective home buyers, keeping the demand somewhat high.

The total feels payable when purchasing a property for sale in the UK are among the lowest globally and sum up between 3 and 5 percent for a property that costs under 250,000 pounds. The average fees for a first-time buyer are about 6,000 pounds, which already involves conveyancing and other solicitor’s fees, stamp duty, survey fee and removals. The majority of fees are computed as a percentage of the cost of a property, thus the more costly a property, the more expensive the fees. Keep in mind that a number of fees are linked to a mortgage and if you’re a cash buyer your fees will be at a reduced cost.

What’s considered a good location is changing in the country. Don’t let your apprehensions get in the way just because you wouldn’t personally live in a particular area. Going for locations with a strong capital growth is what’s essential for success in the property business.

You should then study and fully comprehend your rental market. The rental market in the country is quite strong, but be cautious if buying in big blocks of apartments exclusively sold to investors. Keep in mind that transaction expenses can considerably cut down your returns. Stamp duty will slash your overall yield, so if you buy under 125,000 pounds, there will be no stamp duty. One of the major advantages for Irish purchasers buying in the UK is the reduced stamp duty.

Purchasing a home or property is one of the biggest financial decisions you will be making in your life. There is no ‘right’ strategy when it comes to buying investment property in the United Kingdom. A plan that may be the most ideal is a plan rooted in your long-term aims along with your financial situation.

There is no denying that land like property land has been a fantastic investment over the last 10 years. The simple reason for this is that it is treated as a residual cost by developers when doing their development sums. This means that a developer will work out how much it costs to build a development, together with other associated expenses such as finance and profit. They then calculate the total value of the project.

The difference between the two is the amount they can afford to pay for the land. Therefore, as residential values have continued to soar and despite build costs also rising; it has meant that land values have largely continued to rise in line with house prices. In many cases they have actually outstripped house prices as eager developers compete with each other to get ”there hands on” more and more scarce plots of land.

Value reflects use

The value of land however largely reflects what you can do or build on it. This is controlled by the planning system and means that there is effectively a dual pricing structure. Most land is without planning permission and is in agricultural use. The value of this land reflects the economic outputs of its use. In the case of agriculture this is not a high value economic use as only relatively modest profits can be generated from large areas.

Dual pricing

This dual pricing structure represents ”on the face of it” a great opportunity for speculators to make vast profits by buying land cheap and then waiting to receive planning permission. It sounds simple. It’s not; as a town planner I have been involved in the whole tortuous process of land becoming zoned as development land.

The process can take 5 or more years to be included in the Development Plan for the area. Even areas of land on the edge of an urban area have no certainty of being included for development and political maneuverings means that land which is initially included can be removed as potential development right at the end of the allocation process.

Option agreement

All this uncertainty together with the amounts of time and money that is involved in promoting potential development sites through the process means that many sites are bought or optioned by house builders or specialist development companies with access to the necessary expertise and finance. An option agreement incidentally, is where a landowner agrees with a developer to give them the right to buy the land for a set period of time and sometimes at a pre-determined price. This gives the developer the potential to buy development land without tying up all their capital and also gives the landowner a capital sum irrespective of them being successful in their land being designated for development.

Land investment scams

This all brings me back to the reason for this article, which is two fold. Firstly, it is to educate you a little in the ”mysterious” ways of the UK planning and development system. Secondly, it is to warn you of the many land investment scams that are doing the rounds.

All you need to do is enter ”land investment” in Google to be bombarded by companies pertaining to offer irresistible opportunities for investment. The scheme in question is typical in that it offers to sell investors a plot of land for tens of thousands of pounds with the promise of large uplifts when it receives planning permission. The reality is that these schemes offer little or no chance of receiving planning permission and will stay in their existing or agricultural use for many life time if not for ever.