Sell your land in five steps

To generate the capital you need, do you want to give up a piece of land or part of your estate?

Study the feasibility of the land sale project

The first step is to go to the town hall to consult the local urban plan (PLU) or the land use plan (POS), according to the municipalities. "  This document establishes the planning rules to follow and allows you to study the feasibility of your project,  " says Patrice Petit, chairman of the transaction commit to the National Real Estate Federation (Fnaim).

You will find the answers to your queries: are you entitled to surrender part of your land? Is the latter constructible? What is the minimum area needed to build a house?

If the project is feasible, take advantage of it to inform you about easements (water, gas and electricity pipes, right of way ...) and the possibility of connecting the land to the sewer and the sewer. Drinking water system, if it is not yet the case.

Solicit an expert surveyor

If you sell a portion of land, the use of an expert surveyor is essential. He intervenes first to survey the surface to detach, taking into account your wishes and the PLU. "  Then its role is to limit the perimeter of the new land, to guarantee the buyer its contours and therefore its surface  ", adds Michel Ducroux, an expert surveyor in Aix-en-Provence.

If the land is surrounded by secluded property, the surveyor meets the neighbors to study their title deeds and the plans annexed to their bill of sale, and collect their remarks (we speak of "  contradictory demarcation "). He then defines the boundary separating the two properties and has the boundary report signed by each neighbor. This operation is concretized in the field by the laying of terminals.

The surveyor then files a "preliminary declaration of division" in the town hall, authorizing the creation of one or two lots to be built - from three lots, a development permit is required, accompanied by a plan listed in three dimensions (topographical plan). The instruction lasts one month. After approval of the town hall, the seller must post the statement on the site for two months.

If you sell independent land, demarcation is not mandatory, but advisable. Do not hesitate to check on the website of the order of land surveyors if your land has already been limited. Many sellers wrongly think that consulting the cadastral register is enough. But it is not authoritative regarding land delimitation, except in Alsace-Lorraine.

In general, the cost of the separation is the responsibility of the seller. It fluctuates between € 2,000 and € 7,000 depending on the surface of the land for sale, the number of neighboring properties, and the land surveyor whose fees are free. All the more reason to ask for several quotes before requesting his intervention.

Request an estimate of the land for sale

Once the area is bounded, it is necessary to determine its value. This work may be entrusted to a land expert, a real estate agent or a notary. "  We first study the characteristics of the land (area, access to public roads, presence of drinking water ...) and those of its environment (slope of the land, nature of the subsoil, view, exposure ...), then we evaluate it by comparison with other properties,  "explains Bruno Crest, land and agricultural expert in Aix-en-Provence.

According to the municipalities, the price is fixed per square meter or depending on the value of the lot, taking into account, of course, the market and the negotiation with the buyer.

Propose the property for sale

As with any real estate property, you can make the deal, either from individual to individual, by using Internet sites and specialized advertising newspapers, or by entrusting the transaction to one or more real estate agencies.

"  Do not hesitate to warn a builder of detached houses that land is for sale,  " advises Pierre Bazaille, president of the Notary Institute of Real Estate. Whatever the method of marketing chosen, it is necessary to build a sales file, bringing together the title of ownership, the report of demarcation ... and the technical diagnoses (state of natural and technological risks, termites).

Conclude the transaction

The agreement is concretized first by the signing of a preliminary contract of sale (unilateral promise or compromise of purchase). This document lays down the conditions precedent that, if they do not come true, will cancel the pre-contract: issuance of the building permit, the purge of any recourse from third parties (deadline after which a neighbor can no longer request the cancellation of the license to build) ... It also establishes the maximum height of the future house, the type of hedge to separate the two properties, the one that will have to pay the new fence ...

"  Between the signing of the preliminary contract and that of the act of sale before a notary, it takes more than a semester, the time that the purchaser gets his building permit and the period of the appeal of third parties be eliminated,  "warns Pierre Bazaille. Finally, the signing of the notarial deed notes the transfer of ownership and triggers the payment of the amount of the transaction to the seller within about eight days.

"Valuing your land to sell it better. "

The advice of the expert Bruno Crest, land and agricultural expert, member of the Confederation of Land Experts

" Before giving up your area, it is advisable to clean it so that the future buyer can easily browse it. The realization of works sometimes makes it possible to give to the good an additional asset, with a relatively small expense: to bring back embankment on the dirt road to make it more accessible, for example.

Finally, in the case of a direct sale - without the intermediary of a real estate agent - the seller must be able to inform the candidates to purchase on all points that could pose a problem: urban planning rules ( building surface ...), easements concerning the water, gas and electricity pipes, possibilities to connect to the mains drainage and the drinking water network ... Answering the questions can have, also, a Positive influence on the selling price! "