01
Sourcing
Auctions, land agents, commercial agents and off-market introductions. We also appraise sites you have found yourself.
Development management 01
Site sourcing and appraisal
Know what a site is worth to you before you bid
The price you can pay for a site should come from the scheme, not from the asking price. We find development opportunities and test them before you commit.
- 01
Residential and conversion opportunities sourced for you
- 02
A plain-English site appraisal with the maximum sensible price
- 03
A clear recommendation: proceed, renegotiate or walk away
The problem
A site bought for too much cannot be saved
Most schemes that lose money were lost on the day the site was bought.
First-time developers usually start from the asking price and work forward, hoping the scheme fits. The build cost is a rate per square foot from a website, finance and fees are guessed, and the profit is whatever happens to be left.
Ground conditions, party walls, access, services and planning history are then discovered after exchange, when they can no longer change the price. By that point the only way to protect the profit is to cut the scheme.
How we appraise
From the scheme back to the price
We work backwards from what the finished homes will be worth.
02
Sales values
Comparable evidence of what similar homes have actually sold for nearby, not optimistic asking prices.
03
Build cost
A cost based on the scheme the site can realistically take, not a rate per square foot.
04
Residual land value
Sales values less build cost, fees, finance, sales costs and a sensible profit. What remains is the most the site is worth to you.
05
Site risks
Ground, access, party walls, services, planning history and anything your solicitor should look at before exchange.
06
Recommendation
A clear view on whether to proceed, renegotiate the price or walk away, with the reasons set out.
Walking away from a bad site is often the most valuable advice an investor receives.
Our position on site appraisal
Our fee does not depend on whether you buy. That is the only way our advice on a site can be trusted.
When the numbers work, the site appraisal becomes the starting point for a full feasibility study and cost plan, so nothing is lost and nothing is done twice.
Questions
Sites, answered directly
Can you appraise a site I have already found?
Yes. Send us the address and the details you have, and we will tell you whether it is worth a closer look.
How long does an initial appraisal take?
An initial view usually takes a few working days. A full appraisal follows under feasibility and cost planning.
Do you charge a finder’s fee?
Our fees are agreed in writing before any work starts. We tell you upfront how we are paid on every site.
What do you need from me to start?
The address, any particulars or planning information you have, your budget and what you would like the site to become.
Insights
Further reading on site appraisal
Cost planning
Pricing site abnormals before you buy the land
The building is the predictable part. What sits under it, around it and on the boundary is where land deals go wrong.
Read the article
Cost planning
Why a cost per square metre fails at tender
The rate that made the appraisal work is almost never the rate the scheme gets built at. Here is where the gap comes...
Read the article
Cost planning
When to appoint a quantity surveyor
By the time there are drawings worth measuring, the structural solution, the specification and the procurement route...
Read the article