Building a ménage - would it affect house value?

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Domirati

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Hi,

A question for anyone with land. We have just 2.2 acres at home, this winter it has resembled, as my next door neighbour says, " a scene from War Horse!". I have had a bright idea that it would be a good idea to build a ménage, just 20x40. We would then have somewhere to ride/lunge and turn one out on in the winter if it is wet. My husband thinks it is the most stupid idea I have had yet and that it will reduce the value of the house. Anyone had any experience of this? Does a ménage make any difference at all to the value of the house? Thanks.
 
If it has stables ect anyway I'd imagine it would only increase the value. Perhaps not if it is directly in back garden but if tucked away surely it would add value?

But that's just IMO, I know nothing so feel free to ignore :)
 
I have always thought that it adds value to a property. I have even been told that for every £1 spent on building the manege, you will increase the value of the property by £2. Just make sure you do it properly or else it will be a real headache trying to fix it afterwards!
 
Domirati said:
Hi,

A question for anyone with land. We have just 2.2 acres at home, this winter it has resembled, as my next door neighbour says, " a scene from War Horse!". I have had a bright idea that it would be a good idea to build a ménage, just 20x40. We would then have somewhere to ride/lunge and turn one out on in the winter if it is wet. My husband thinks it is the most stupid idea I have had yet and that it will reduce the value of the house. Anyone had any experience of this? Does a ménage make any difference at all to the value of the house? Thanks.
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Do you have stables at the house ? If so I think it would raise the value and make it easier to sell to horsey person its part of the package horsey people want at home.
 
We built a good quality menage on a similar sized plot ( we have since increased acreage so is now an out and out equestrian property) when the estate agent came to value property my OH asked whether it would detract from value to non-horsey people- answer was no as people turn them into tennis courts as all the basics where in place.
 
Would definitely add value. I'm pressuring you have stables as you said about turning out, so I presume they live in and not out.
 
Personally I think it would up the appeal a lot to horsey buyers, but probably not the value much. To non-horsey buyers, who probably out-number horsey buyers by a large percent, they may actually lower the value. There are a lot of "equestrian properties" around here that have been sold to non-horsey people, who now use stables for storage or even convert them to garages/gyms and let the arenas grass over into flat lawn areas (heart breaking for those of us desperate for an arena!). I also think, as a horsey person, that I would not look at a property with so little land, so the property is probably more of a regular property than an equestrian one.

However, you live there, you use it, so if it would suit you, go for it. Life is too short for not doing things because of what may happen in the future! An arena could also be marketed as a possible children's play area or football area/tennis court..etc.
 
We bought a property with sandschool and didn't take it into account re: value really as it was in keeping with expectations for overall price and was 15 years old. It it had been top notch full size Charles Britton well then yes perhaps.
 
Yes we have 2 stables and a field shelter. I think it would at least retain the current value if not increase it. Thanks for your replies you would be able to see it from the house but considering the bog the neighbours have been looking at all winter I think it would look better! They see my stables from their gardens. Just need to convince my husband and te planning department!
 
Currently looking at equestrian properties and TBH, haven't noticed much difference.
The main criteria is the amount of land, everything else is an optional extra. However, if the menage and stable block was of a high standard, it might increase the value, but not in line with the cost of building it.
It would make it more sellable than a house of similar value to equestrian buyers though.
However, many people looking for property with land are not horsey, they want a small holding or nursery. Then the ménage would be an expense to get rid of.

Its a bit like homes with swimming pools, they put people off from buying.
 
I think it is something to consider as the land area is borderline but on balance it will add value altho prob not add as much to value as it costs to put in (like most improvements).

I would however build it in such a way that it would be readily convertible to another purpose. For example I would use a surface other than shredded rubber as people worry about the disposal option for that, maybe a sand and fibre would be better or bark. Make sure there is wide enough access to enable lorry/plant and machinery to access once built to alter or remove it. Think about where fencing gate etc is. And TBH if it is the whole view from the kitchen window, think hard before going ahead as while horsey buyers would love that, non horsey ones would hate it.

When we built our mini barn stables we made the ramp big enough for a car and the building at extra cost was a portal frame ie the stables dont form part of the supporting structure so could be taken out. It raised the cost by 10% but means total flexibility for us if we ever dont have nags or people buying the place could use it as a garage or workshop or storage.
 
I'm looking to buy at the moment in Scotland, and I would definately put it at the top of my list if the property had the land and stables to back up a manege. :)

The other side of the coin is a house local to me in Lancashire that has a rubber surface manege but has lost the use of the rented grazing that was adjacent to the house. The house is lovely, it has well built and cared for timber stables, the manege, a small garden but only 1/4 acre grazing if that.... and it has been up for sale for a couple of years now at least. :mad:
 
I think u should build one! Even if you don't have stables and want to sell up u can market it to a family with children - it's just a giant sand pit after all :-)
 
When we were buying ours I knew that I wanted a school and therefore added 30k to the price of every house that didnt have one to allow for costs of putting one in later (plus planning applications possibly required where on "field" rather than on "garden".

Aside from that, there was a potentially perfect house that even with the 30k added would have been within price range, but it was overlooked by neighbours who I thought might object to the school and wasn't sure about the costs of leveling the land and putting it in, and was struggling to visualise whether there would be enough grazing left for them to live out with the school added, so we didn't go for it in the end.
 
googol said:
I think u should build one! Even if you don't have stables and want to sell up u can market it to a family with children - it's just a giant sand pit after all :-)
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ha ha I'm preggers at the moment so not riding and my 2 year old son is loving the use of the biggest sand pit he could dream of !!
 
I would at it another way, if it costs £20,000 which you have to get the money from somewhere, plus interest. It may or may not add value but how often will you use it and you have a small acerage. I would look at renting winter grazing. I used to rent a small paddock with shelter for £20 a month. This was trashed from November to March and then rested over the summer, this ment my back paddock was in pristine condition in spring.
 
Hmm... I'm similar in that I've got around 2 acres. Im just about to build a block of 3 stables (assuming 2 horses and the 3rd stable there for storing hay etc.). I personally wouldnt build a menage because I think it'd put people off buying it in future - when you dont have much land, its very precious. I wouldn't keep horses on such little land even with the huge benefit of a menage. Then again, if you're down south it seems a lot of horses are rarely turned out so I guess its more acceptable!
 
In general I think an arena adds value to equestrian properties, but I think you don't have enough land to attract the committed equestrian who would see the arena as a must have. 2.5 acres is fine for a couple of ponies, but the arena would not be a 'must have' then and I am not sure how many buyers would want to pay for one.

Turning out horses in an arena is a good way of ruining it, unless the horses are really determined to stand completely still!!
 
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