Land investment in the UK is huge business and it is touted as the best land investment you can do but the reality is different from the hype and many investors are taking heavy losses.

Before you attempt land investment in the UK read the facts in this article.

The case for investing

The UK is heavily populated and land is needed for building:

1. New homes to replace an old housing stock.

2. To house migrant workers that have accelerated population growth.

3. To provide for more people than ever choosing to live alone.

4. To provide cheap housing for first time buyers.

5. The UK Government is committed to a huge building program.

Well this all sounds great as brown belt, green belt and even farmland is snapped up for urban development but there is a problem – Planning permission.

Why you need to be careful

Many companies are using the above statistics to get speculators to buy land (normally with a huge mark up on top i.e their profit) this means that they are already at a loss and need planning permission to realize a profit from their land banking investment.

Many of these companies then sell the concept that planning permission is “guaranteed” or a “formality” which if it was they would not sell the land to you!

They would keep quite and make the money from UK land investment themselves but they know by appealing to greed, they can make a huge profit (they have the mark up) regardless of what happens to your UK land investment.

Picking a good investment opportunity

The key here is common sense.

Yes, there are big gains to be made in UK land investment, but find a company check how long they have been in business and other projects they have completed in UK land investment at a profit.

There are reputable companies around so take your time and find them.

Even if you do find a good broker to sell you parcels of land, keep in mind this is a long term investment that can produce big gains but planning permission is never a formality.

Other destinations

There are other destinations in the world that offer better investment opportunities where Land is cheaper and planning permission is easier.

Costa Rica is a good example.

It has had a booming land market for years, as US investors buy beach front property at up to 70% less than in the US.

This has to be built on land and buying land near expanding urban areas and infrastructure is a making many small investors’ big profits and here planning permission here is a lot easier to obtain.

Its all about risk reward

So if you want to try UK land investment, then the above tips will help you.

If you want other alternatives where planning permission is easier, look at the new dynamic economies of the world such as Cost Rica, Where investing is simpler cheaper and can offer huge rewards.