Option agreements for land in Exeter
If you own land in or around Exeter, option agreements is one of four ways you can sell it to us. Here's how it works and when it makes sense.
If your land could be allocated in a future local plan, an option keeps it moving towards development without you funding the work.
- Free appraisal and written offer
- Figures explained, so you can check them
- No pressure to decide
Selling land near Exeter?
We'll check the title and planning, then call you.
Land around Exeter
Our appraisals for Exeter start with the EX2 postcode district and the OS grid square SX99, then widen out to Heavitree, Exmouth and Tiverton, all within about 12 miles.
| Town | Exeter |
|---|---|
| County | Devon |
| Country | England |
| Postcode district | EX2 |
| OS grid square | SX99 |
| Nearest towns we cover | Heavitree (1 mi), Exmouth (9 mi), Tiverton (12 mi) |
| Distance from Plymouth | About 36 miles north-east |
| Planning system | National Planning Policy Framework and local plan |
| When you're paid | Option fee now, price when the option is exercised |
| Planning costs | Ours, sometimes recoverable from the price |

When an option agreement suits land near Exeter
- Land being considered in a local plan review
- Holdings where several owners need to work together
- Land needing access or infrastructure to be unlocked
- Sites with technical issues that need time to resolve
Options are the usual way to bring larger sites forward. They let us invest in planning while you keep ownership and the use of your land.
The terms that matter
Option fee
A payment on signing, which you usually keep even if the option isn't exercised.
Purchase price
Often a percentage of market value with permission, less agreed costs.
Term
How long we have to secure permission and exercise the option.
Your obligations
Agreements set what you can and can't do with the land in the meantime.
Land near Exeter that an option agreement suits
Land without planning permission in Exeter
We pay for the right to buy later and fund the planning work meanwhile.
Infill plots and gap sites in Exeter
Seldom needed for single infill plots.
Brownfield land in Exeter
Can suit larger brownfield sites with a longer planning route.
Redundant commercial and industrial land in Exeter
Useful where vacant possession is some way off.
How a sale works
Tell us about your land
Send the postcode or address and a rough size.
We do the homework
We read the title and planning record and check flood risk and access.
You get a written offer
With the main figures behind it, so your adviser can check it.
The legal work
Your solicitor and ours handle the contract through to completion.
Rules that apply in England
Planning framework
Planning decisions in England follow the National Planning Policy Framework, revised in August 2026, and the local plan, prepared by the council or, in a national park, the park authority. Plans are reviewed periodically, which is when new housing sites are usually allocated.
Section 106 and CIL
Larger schemes often need a Section 106 agreement for affordable housing or contributions, and councils that have adopted the Community Infrastructure Levy charge it per square metre of new floorspace.
When the land isn't straightforward
You want to be sure we'll actually pursue planning
Agreements can include obligations to use reasonable endeavours and set milestones.
You'd like your advisers' costs covered
Many option agreements include a contribution to the landowner's legal and agent costs. We'll tell you if ours does.
Useful to send us
- The address or postcode
- A plan, or a screenshot from an online map
- Your title number, if you know it
- Details of any tenants or grazing agreements
Questions from landowners near Exeter
What is an option agreement?
A contract that gives the buyer the right to buy your land within a set period, usually after planning permission is granted. You receive an option fee now and the purchase price if the option is exercised.
How is the price set?
Usually as a percentage of the land's market value once permission is granted, minus agreed costs, with a minimum price. The percentage and deductions are negotiated.
Can I sell to someone else during the option?
Not usually. The option binds the land, and it's normally registered against your title.
Can you visit land near Exeter?
Yes. Once we've looked at the title and planning position, we arrange a site visit if the land looks suitable. Send the address or postcode to start.
Other land types and routes
- Development land
- Land with planning permission
- Land without planning permission
- Large strategic sites
- Land for affordable homes
- Farmland and agricultural land
- Paddocks and equestrian land
- Barns and rural buildings
- Building plots
- Garden land and backland
- Infill plots and gap sites
- Small sites
- Garage sites
- Brownfield land
- Redundant commercial and industrial land
- Inherited and probate land
- Landlocked land and access problems
- Outright purchase
- Subject-to-planning sale
- Joint ventures
- All land in Exeter
- Option agreements in Devon
Find out what we'd pay for your land near Exeter
Send the postcode and a rough size. We'll check the title and planning position and come back to you.