Buying a Plot of Land - Where to Start

We have a plot of land next to us that belongs to someone on our street (extended back garden). The owner has not maintained it for years and it's extremely overgrown. At some point, I would love to put in an offer for the piece of land but I don't know where to start or what would be a reasonable offer.

I haven't lived here very long and don't have a relationship with the owner - although we're on the same street, our house is not actually on the street - it's a bit of a weird situation.

The plot is probably around 70' x 40' and needs lots of work. It is landlocked; we are on one side, a commercial property on 2 sides, and their garden on the other. You cannot access the land from any other means. It is not in a particularly desirable area.

Would anyone have any idea what would be a reasonable offer or where I would start? I don't want to approach the owner until I have an idea of what would be fair.

TIA

 

You don’t know if the owner wants to sell it. Maybe they like it as it is. My first approach would be to ask the owner if they are interested in selling it. If that is the case, a local estate agent would be able to give you both a clue as to the price, for a small fee.

 

Thanks, Tidemark!

You're right, and I wouldn't approach him assuming that he wants to sell. Other neighbours have said that he has no interest in his garden at all and he only uses a small part of the garden behind his house.

I hadn't thought about asking estate agents. Thank you!

 

Make sure that they have someone on their team who has RICS after their name as they will be qualified to give you an estimate according to “The Red Book”.

 

This will give you an idea of what advice an estate agent can provide @louicopp:

How To Value Garden Land | Purplebricks

 

Not sure this will help but....our neighbour of many decades died and his land behind us with the farm buildings were sold. Then all sorts happened and then many years later we were given the chance to buy some of the field directly behind our land. So we did.

 

He might like having the land as a buffer zone between himself and neighbours.

 

The surveyor we had when we bought this house was RICS-accredited and very helpful so I will contact her again. Thank you.

This is very helpful and gives me an idea of what we can expect. Thank you!

You could be right, but this wouldn't be the part of his garden that would be a buffer to his neighbours. His garden is significantly longer and wider than the rest of his neighbours. If he did sell part of his garden to me, it would still leave him a buffer that he doesn't use but I do appreciate that he may not want to sell.