Anyone bought their own land?

[estellebradley]

I've always half thought/dreamed about having my own land and always keep an eye out for anything available.

Just wondered from the people who have took the plunge....

how have you found it?
is there anything I need to be careful of/look out for?

Any experiences/opinions appreciated

 

[mattilda]

We bought a property with land 20 years ago and love it. We have around 8 acres and it is quite hard work. It has to be sprayed, topped and fencing kept in order. Ours was classed as agricultural so we had no problems keeping the horses on it but I have heard of people buying land and finding out they can't. Crazy.

 

[Bossdog]

I would start by finding your local land based estate agent, they usually do farm properties, equestrian properties and auctions etc, trying searching for land on rightmove.

Your biggets problem is most likely to be planning permission, horses aren't classed as agricultural so make sure you don't need permission to graze horses on teh land. Then you need permission to erect just about anything in the field, even most field shelters (i think you can get round it with a "mobile" ffield shelter). Dont expect the council to allow you to build a block of stables on a green field in open countryside without a fight... although I'm sure there are exceptions to this.

Also think about proximity of mains water, the quality of the soil (clay makes for boggy fields) and the current grass ley, look for established grassland with no evidence of dangerous weeds and a good mixture of grasses and maybe herbs. Oh, and natural shelter is important too.

Crikey, wish I could write essays like that when I was at college!!

 

[_daisy_]

we completed on our land in April this year

. weve been searching for land for around 10years now.
weve managed to buy 10 acres and just had plans passed for 3 stables, large store and secure tack room and large arena (50mx25m)
its been the best thing we have ever invested in. weve spent a fair bit on getting access to the land for parking/turning, hard standing for mobile stables, fencing (we have 2 public footpaths going through our land so we have fenced them off)

I would say, if you are looking at some land, make sure you check if any plans have been rejected on the land previously, or on land nearby as this may put dampeners on your proposed plans. We have battled with our local community, local parish council and main council as there is a piece of land next door to ours that has 12 stables on without planning and they have been trying to get them off for nearly 3 years. Due to appeals etc that theyve put in, the council couldnt grant us what we originally wanted (5stables) as they rejected an appeal of 4 stables for our neighbours, so they recommended we go in for 3 and they accepted it.

Also try and get the neighbours on your side. Because of the ungranted stables next door,all the village werent happy about us building in case we followed in the footsteps of the other neighbour. We managed to get them to understand we arent a business, its for private use.

we also found out that its not always best to put plans in for everything you want in the end of it all. go in for bits at a time, eg stables and store, then arena, then anything else you want.

if youve got public footpaths through the field, check how often they are used, there may be a few problems with the horses - 1 person walking her dog through our field before we bought it was attacked by a pony so rumours start. also walkers letting loose dogs run round your field.

get farmers on your side, you may never know when you may need them

the farmer who owns the land on the other side of me comes to cut my grass and make me haylage

and rolls/harrows the field for me, saves us buying a tractor.

check to see if you can run a business (thats if you want to) it can be drawn up in the deeds that you cant or the council may not allow it.
check the deeds, there may be some wierd and wonderful clauses in there that you might not realise - like access accross your land at any time - thats what they tried to get us to sign.

cant think of anything else at the mo

wow, go on a bit - sorry

 

[_daisy_]

luckily weve managed to get round this as ours is still aggricultural land as we grow haylage

but it does seem a silly rule.

 

[Orangehorse]

Haven't bought any for horses, just married a farmer!

Beware of buying a bog patch. Sometimes a small field is advertised as suitable for horses and it is a swamp in winter. So soil type is something to consider. Ideally it should be fairly free draining, otherwise known as "light" land. On the other hand light land dries up very quickly and in a drought there will be very little grass growth. (But in the USA I noticed that most horses live in a dirt coral and are fed hay all year round,
so ............)

It should be big enough so you can sub-divide and rest sections, ideally I have seen it recommended that you sub-divide into 5, so you have one for each season and one to re-seed, but I think that is when you have more horses and a reasonable acreage. I wouldn't think about making your own hay, because if it rains on your crop then you haven't any winter feed, leave it to the experts with big machinery and buy it when it is made and you can see what you are buying.

If there is no water connected find out FIRST how much it will cost to have mains water put in - that can cost thousands of £.

You do not need planning permission for horse grazing, but you probably will to put up a shelter or stable. There should be some shelter if there is not natural shelter from hedges and trees, and always useful for a dry place for farrier, vet, etc.

Are there neighbouring gardens - are they going to throw all their garden rubbish/grass cuttings/poisonus shrubs over the hedge, feed the horses unsuitable things, kick footballs into the field, complain about horses neighing, etc. etc.

Good fencing is vital (good fences make good neighbours) and quite expensive, so budget for this.

Location, location, location. What is the riding like from the field, and how far from your home if you are going there once or twice a day.

Can't think of anything else at the moment.

 

[custard]

We were really lucky and got just over 3 acres with 3 good stables, a small barn and shelter already on site back in April. Been searching for years, and found it just mooching the local auctioneers' website when I'd just about given up hope. We were able to borrow against the house to raise the funds but it still costs lesss than livery for two and it's ours to keep.

Because we got it for a reasonable sum, there was some left in the budget for a manege which has just been built, planning was surprisingly hassle free to obtain. Whatever you do don't try and short cut the planning system, be up front and honest or it will backfire on you later.

We have running water on a meter but still save loads in a tank, no mains power though as very expensive to lay on. The yard is on a busy main road which means no hacking unless I box into the village, however, it's only a couple of minutes from the house so is really convenient.

It's a lot of work, be prepared to spend much time and money maintaining fencing etc but for me there is no downside. Because I work shifts I have to do the horses at all sorts of weird hours, they now live out and have got used to my 1am visits! That said even when I've had a lousy cold and am paddling ankle deep in mud it's my place and being able to please myself is priceless.

 

[YorksG]

We bought a house with land 14 years ago, it already had horses on it , so no problems there. As it is with the house there is mains water and electricity, also buildings that we could convert. This wa as well as we are green belt, and area of outstanding landscape amenity land and a conservation area (the house is grade 2 listed as well!) This does mean that we cannot build a manege, however we can always fence a schooling area.

The main thing to remember is that it will all be down to you. The fencing, the muck clearing, the topping, the ragwort pulling etc etc. There is no yard owner to ask to do any maintenance. The other thing I would check is public access. We have no footpath over our land, but we still have some problem with people crossing the land (and incidentally breaking the key in the lock of the gate between our fields

). So it is worth thinking about if the land is overlooked by helpful people if you don't have a house on your land. As I said we do, but we still get occasional problems.

 

[Donkeymad]

We bought our own land just over seven years ago. Just browsing through the local paper and saw an ad for different blocks of land. We had a look, liked it, in great condition etc, found we could sort out the money easily, and bought it. It is green belt currently but we got planning permission for a barn and stables, with septic tank, with no problems. In April it becomes brown field so we can finally build a house on it. best thing we ever did

 

[NeilM]

Just one thing to add. When you find suitable land, have a look at the condition of the land adjoining.

We have some land, which has fields either side. All are used for horses (and needed planning for change of use). On the leeward side we have a nice lady who really looks after her field, on the windward side we have an idiot who is always is about to do 'something' and never does. After one of her horses repeatedly broke through the fence and hedge to get into our field, I persuaded her to buy some new fencing materials, which I put up for free. She also has a magnificent crop of ragwort which she is always about to get sprayed, but never does and never pulls it.

So have a look at the land which is around the piece you are looking at and consider what effect inconsiderate neighbours could have.

 

[BBH]

I haven't read other posts but here are my thoughts,

I bought 7 acres because I calculated how much it would cost me in livery fees if my horses lived to a natural age, it was a no brainer as I could have bought a house with the sums involved.

The things to bear in mind which I hadn't realised are,

never underestimate the costs involved, buying the land was the cheap part, I have probably spent circa £ 100,000 getting it ready for the horses to move in re post n rail, drainage, getting the stables built etc

Also to have the utilities connected can be a fortune, water was £4,000 and electric was £ 10,000 and the mains for these were relatively close aswell.

Think very carefully about what you want to do with your plot and make sure planning will be allowed.

Think about your neighbours and see the way they keep their property ie. is the fencing up to scratch.

Think about your horsey goals and buy something that meets your needs, I would eventually like to breed / keep youngsters and have bought near a busy road so they are now less spooky as they see a lot before they are under saddle. If you compete regularly make sure you're not miles from a motorway etc.

Costs aside I have never regretted it and I know my horses are safe and happy.