Of course, many of the properties that we feature in Homes Under The Hammer are being bought by people who have plans to renovate, convert, demolish or rebuild the existing property - with ideas to breathe new live into the home as diverse as the purchasers themselves. One thing that is common to all of these stories though, is the need for Planning Permission - and this is where a project can become unstuck if the local planning department don't share the same vision.

Planning has its own rules. Unlike building regulations, planning regulations are not set in stone. They can differ from one part of the country to another - because planning involves local politics. There can also be inconsistencies between planners in one authority so it's no wonder that the matter of planning permission can be the ?great unknown' in a redevelopment project.

Many people ask me about their chances of securing Planning Permission on a specific project - a question which is almost nigh on impossible to answer, but I can at least give some general advice.

1. Get Permission First

It might sound like I am stating the obvious but don't start to do any major work until you have completely sussed out what planning permission is going to be needed and make that your priority. Applying for planning permission retrospectively (i.e. after you have done the work) is a risky game because in the worse case scenario, if it is refused, you could have to totally demolish the work that you have done.
You can make a planning application on any piece of land in the country - you don't have to actually own it, so if you are considering buying a plot or property with the intention of developing it, you could go down the route of securing planning permission before you buy the property.

2. Understand Building Regulations

Even if you don't need planning permission, building regulations approval may be necessary. These set out minimum requirements for structural integrity, fire safety, energy efficiency, damp proofing, ventilation and other key aspects that ensure a building is safe.  Consider this ?good practise' but it will also influence the eventual value of your home. Work done that doesn't meet building regulations could deter would-be buyers.

3. Design to Suit the Plot or Existing Property

It's a bad idea to set your heart on a particular size, style or design of house or extension.  If you're building a house from scratch, suitable land is so scarce that you will almost always have to design a house to suit the constraints and opportunities of the plot.  If you are extending an existing building, you should ensure that the new bit fits in with the existing structure in terms of design and materials.  Something radically different from the present structure could struggle to get planning permsssion.

4. Know When to Employ a Professional

There are professional firms who will act as consultants throughout the process of applying for planning permission. Whilst it is re-assuring to know that you have professionals ?on your side', don't fritter away essential budget on these services if you don't need them.

You can locate a planning consultant through the Royal Town Planning Institute's online directory (www.rtpiconsultants.co.uk) or you can also contact Planning Aid. Planning Aid is a charity which provides free and independent advice on town and country planning issues to people and groups who cannot afford consultancy fees.

If you are planning a straightforward extension, you may be quite capable of obtaining planning permission yourself. Successful building is getting the right balance between using the professionals and doing it yourself so that you keep control and understand what's happening. 

5. Know the Rules of the Game

If you are new to this game, its rules can be quite confusing. Small-scale planning decisions for individual houses or extensions are based mainly on policies that are contained in local Development Plan documents. You can familiarise yourself with these since they are public documents to get a feel for what sort of planning or development is going to be favoured.

6. Cover all bases

You can actually submit an infinite number of planning applications on any one site, so within reason (since there is a cost for each application) you could submit several proposals and choose which one to use depending on the outcome. As long as the planning permission is still current when you start the work, you don't have to use the most recent.

Similarly, you can withdraw an application at any time - so if you think you are going to get a refusal, you can withdraw it at any time up to the day itself, and then resubmit free of charge.

7. Love Thy Neighbour

Whatever the size of your building project, keep the neighbours informed. Neighbour objections can cause you a real headache and may have an impact on the final decision.  The best thing is to go and have a friendly chat with them very early on in the process so that they are party to your thoughts.

8. Know the Party Wall Act

And talking of Parties.If you're extending, demolishing, rebuilding or infringing in any way on the Party Wall, conforming to the Party Wall Act is a legal requirement and not a planning or building control matter.  For more on the Party Wall Act, visit my property website, www.makingmoneyfromproperty.tv

9. Beware of Removing Trees

It is a criminal offence to cut down a tree which is protected by a Tree Preservation Orders (TPO). You cannot alter or even prune a tree that has a TPO on it without written permission and doing so can result in heft fines. All trees within a Conservation Area are protected by legislation.

10. Do Your Homework!

Do your research before you start to avoid any horrible surprises. If your project involves a considerable amount of renovation, or if you are planning on building a property from scratch, make use of the information available online and at property exhibitions and shows. There's a lot of information which is free.

Auctions are generally associated with older, individual properties or land developments and people don't think of them as a place to buy a new build property. Any why would they? Historically, developers have been very successful at selling their new developments (very often Off Plan) and didn't need to enter the auction scene looking for prospective buyers or investors. But times are a changing...

 

During the boom years, new build property could command premiums (not discounts) of 15 - 20% for the fact that these homes are more energy efficient and have modern kitchens and the latest gadgets. Many people like the thought of owning a property that is brand spanking new and so developments were usually sold out before they were finished.

This is clearly no longer the case and you don't have to venture far to come across new build projects that have been stalled due to the credit squeeze. Developers who have enormous amounts of capital tied up in unfinished projects, are strapped for cash and so are now offering huge discounts and incentives to get stock sold and cash flow moving. I've seem discounts of up to 50%+ being offered by developers just to get inventory off their books, but will this continue?

Some developers have resolved an oversupply issue by turning a development into affordable housing for owner-occupiers, with the help of shared ownership or shared-equity schemes.
- Shared ownership allows you to buy between 25 per cent and 75 per cent of a new-build property. You have a mortgage on your share and pay rent on the rest.
- Shared equity arrangements mean you buy 50 per cent to 75 per cent with a mortgage and obtain an interest-free loan from a housing association or developer to cover the remainder.

The number of new homes being started has also declined sharply - with latest figures from NHBC reporting just short of 24,000 new home applications for the past rolling 3 month period. This falls way short of the government target to build 240,000 new homes each year to cope with housing demand.

There's now talk of the construction slowdown being the cause of another house-price spiral with shortages emerging in certain pockets of the country as soon as next year.

So, is this window of opportunity to snap up new build properties at bargain prices, beginning to close?

Back in the auction room, new build property is still available - with property investment clubs and networks also offering ?online auctions' to get unprecedented deals for their members. The bulk purchasing power of such groups of investors can mean that seemingly ridiculously low offers can be put forward for multiple units and developers who need the cash are accepting them.

Read Martin's Top Tips on buying New Build property in the 2009 climate.

Lets be honest, they are not the most appealing of properties - you can't get excited about the views, character features, versatile accommodation or homeliness of a 3m x 6m box - but lock up garages are BIG business in the rental property sector.

They find their way into the auction rooms on a fairly regular basis and whilst they don't necessarily get the design juices running (and can make my job of presenting the story about them in an interesting way a bit tricky!), they are ideal property investment fodder.

Most recently I covered a story of some investors who had purchased a plot of land which had planning permission for the creation of six standard size and four large size garages. The lot sold for £38,000 with estimated build costs to be a maximum of £45,000 (the estate agent selling the plot had suggested more like £20,000), so for a total outlay of £83,000 plus purchase costs, these investors had secured 10 nice little rental units.

So what is the appeal of lock up garages to a property investor?

Well, firstly, they are probably the lowest maintenance properties that you'll come across. So, from the point of view of a landlord, they are easy pickings. There's no requirement to redecorate or modernise (apart from maybe a few cosmetic repairs and a lick of paint to the door) and you're not going to have tenants ringing you (or your managing agent) at the most inopportune times to say that the boiler has broken!!

Although it is advisable to have a formal, written Tenancy Agreement in place to cover what your tenant can and can't do with the garage, these properties will not fall under the Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) rules and your responsibilities as a landlord are minimal.

What is the market for lock up garages?

Aside from the obvious use of a garage to store a motor vehicle, the demand for secure garages stems from lots of different needs such as:
- Storage of classic cars or cars which aren't in everyday usage
- Storage of motorcycles (often shared with other motorcycle users)
- General storage of household goods (it can work out cheaper and less restrictive to rent a garage space for a while than to put furniture and household items into conventional storage units).
- Storage of boats and water sports equipment

If the garage is in a city centre or very close to transport links to employment centres, then:
- Daytime or nightime parking of the tenants main vehicle

What can I expect to pay to buy a lock up garage?

The asking price for garages can vary considerable across the country with sites in prime inner city areas fetching tens of thousands of pounds. At the other end of the scale, you can pick them up for just a few grand.

Since the price will be below the Stamp Duty threshold of £175,000, there will be no Stamp Duty to pay (at least until the end of 2009) and so purchase costs are also much less than with other types of property.

As with any rental investment however, it's not just the purchase price that should be considered, but the eventual yield if the property is going to be rented out. This is where things can get really interesting.

What sort of yields can I expect to see from renting lock up garages?

 Once again, the level of rent that you can charge on a garage will vary with location, with individual units commanding anything from £50 to £300 per calendar month. The desirability of the location and demand for parking or storage space like this in an area will dictate what rent can be achieved.

In the case of our contributors who had bought the plot to build their 10 garages, they were expecting to receive somewhere in the region of £60 per calendar month for each of the 6 standard garages and £80 per calendar month for the 4 larger ones - making a total of £680 per month or £8160 per year. When you divide this by the purchase and build price, it equates to a gross yield of close to 10%. Not bad for a low maintenance, hassle free investment.

That said, I've also witnessed yields over and above 20% per annum for lock up garages in sought after locations - so they really are profitable.

Where can I find garages to buy?

Because of their low value and specific nature, you won't always find garages that are for sale listed with the usual property agents, so you might have to search around to locate them. That said it is worth searching the property portal sites.

And as you might expect, many garages get sold via auction so keep an eye on the auction catalogues and lots in your area of interest.

Many garages are sold privately The internet is a good place with sites like http://www.gumtree.com/ and http://www.loot.com/. Its also worth checking out the Free-Ads newspapers and sites.

Some investors who are looking to buy lock up garages will place ?wanted' adverts and carry out marketing campaigns in there area of interest to attract people who have garages which are unused and which they could buy from them.

If you have a garage and want to rent it out.

There are various websites that you can list your garage (or parking space actually) for rent - with some claiming to have a waiting list of would-be tenants lined up ready to snap up the next available garage in a particular location. A couple to check out are:

http://www.yourparkingspace.com/

http://www.parkonmydrive.net/

http://www.lockupgarages.co.uk/

 

I recently visited a property in Bradford that had been purchased at auction but unfortunately when the ?lucky' buyer returned to the property some time after the event, he found that the property had been broken into and various things stolen. This was really unfortunate and made worse by the fact that our contributor was unaware that it had been his responsibility to insure the property from the day of the auction.

So this prompted me to write about your responsibilities as a successful bidder once the gavel falls.

As you might expect me to say, buying property at auction is an exciting and rewarding way of securing your wanted home or investment opportunity. The thrill of actually being in the auction room, bidding against other interested parties until the end gives such a buzz - and even regular auction buyers will say that no matter how many times you do it, there is always that certain exciting feeling.

However, once the dust settles on the auctioneers block, there are some serious things to deal with and anyone contemplating buying a property at auction should make sure that they are 100% prepared in the event of being the highest bidder.

Firstly, prior to the auction, you should:

1. Request the legal / auction pack compiled by the auctioneer on the property. This should be available about 4 weeks before the auction.

The pack will have details of the property, the memorandum of agreement (which is equivalent to the contract), the title documentation, the searches, information about any outstanding planning or environment issues and replies to general enquiries.

2. Make sure that your solicitor studies this pack and advices you accordingly. Have him also look out also for any special conditions, for example, it may say the buyer has to pay the vendor's legal fees.

3.  View the property! I am still amazed at the number of buyers who bid ?blind' and only get to see the property internally once they have become the successful bidder. In some cases, properties can only be seen at block viewings, so you'll get to see possible fellow bidders. If you still like the property recheck with your solicitor that there aren't any legal problems.

4. Get a full survey done. Many properties sold at auction have structural problems, and sometimes these aren't always obvious to the untrained eye.  If it needs work, get a some detailed quotes showing a proper specification of the works to be done and what materials will be used so you can budget for these in the case that you end up buying the property.

5. This is also a good time to get quotes for buildings insurance cover. Be aware that  many insurers will charge more or won't insure at all where there is subsidence or if it going to be unoccupied for a long period after purchase.

6. Get your finance in place if you are going to be taking a mortgage on the property. You will normally have 28 days from the date of the auction to complete, so its no good starting to try and organise your mortgage once you have successfully bid. Mortgage companies, on average, will require 6-8 weeks to get to a point where they can make you a formal mortgage offer.

7. Get your deposit in place. If you are the winning bidder, you will be asked to pay the 10% deposit on the day. Due to Money Laundering regulations, Auctioneers will not accept cash so you will need to check with them (often this is stated in the Auction Catalogue) what methods of payment are acceptable.

Once the gavel falls:

Firstly, you will need to identify yourself to the auctioneer so they know who you are.

You will need to take two forms of identification with you, such as a Driving License or passport and a bank statement or utility bill as proof of address.

You will also need:
o  your cheque book or debit card to pay the 10% deposit (unless the auctioneer has stated otherwise)
o details of your solicitor
o all your banking details.

Remember, if your bid is successful you are legally bound to buy the property and will need to put a down payment deposit there and then of 10% of the property's price.

You will also be required to sign the purchase contract in the sale room so you should feel comfortable that your solicitor has done all the legal checks necessary prior to you bidding.

Completion will take place 28 days later, so on leaving the auction room, you should:

1. Contact your solicitor to inform them that you have been successful and give him/her the date of completion.
2. Contact your mortgage broker or lender to inform them that you have been successful and the date of completion - since you will need to drawn down the loan on this day. They will need details of your solicitor also.
3. Contact your insurance company or broker and activate buildings  and contents insurance (if necessary) so that you are covered straight away
4. Crack open the champagne and enjoy the glory of your purchase!