Buying land privately anyone done it?

[sparky1981]

We are looking at buying a few acres and stables through someone we know. Has anyone done this. Does anyone know what the process is to do this. I’m guessing we need to involve a solicitor to draw up contracts. Do a survey on the land etc?any help would be great and the costs involved

 

[scruffyponies]

I bought privately. I knew the land and the owner, so did the land registry forms myself. It wasn't hard.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

You could do just the land registry yourself but.....
You will need to be very sure of boundary ownership, any rights of way, any easements, any rights of access from others (previous land owners, suppliers of water and the like etc), have any buildings got planning, any uplift clauses, any restrictions of use, and much more besides....
Is it agricultural land, does it have equestrian use? If not, then will that be a problem in the future?
Is the vendor the true owner, are there others on title deeds?
Is the access from a public highway? If not, does the land have access in name or by ownership? If access from highway then is this legally accessed via proper entrance or by crossing verges and the like?
There is a bit to think about, that's why most use a solicitor, but not everyone, but you need to be very careful in proceeding that you are in full possession of all facts and details.

Happy field shopping

 

[sparky1981]

Thankyou very much for your advice. All the above points would the solicitor do this/arrange it. Having not done this before I’m wondering who does which bit

 

[Gift Horse]

We bought a neighbouring field privately. We contacted the owner to ask if we could buy the field, they said they would sell it, and we agreed a price. Next we instructed a solicitor to handle the sale, the solicitor did the usual searches and we paid for it. It was relatively straightforward. I hope it all goes through for you.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Thankyou very much for your advice. All the above points would the solicitor do this/arrange it. Having not done this before I’m wondering who does which bit

Yes, if you instruct a solicitor they will carry all the searches out, all you'd need to do is sign paperwork and pay the bill.
Of course you could do everything yourself, there are companies which carry out searches etc but you do need to be able to interpret finer points and if necessary act on them or follow up enquiries.

 

[GoldenWillow]

Yes, we bought our land privately. We had agreed the price, boundaries, access, rights and rights of subsidies but our solicitor went through everything and dealt with everything, we just checked and signed the paperwork.

 

[meleeka]

I’d been a tenant in mine for over 10 years when I bought it. I instructed a solicitor and it was quick and simple. The land wasn’t initially registered with the land registry so that had to be done.

Best thing I ever did

 

[case895]

We found out that the boundaries on most of our fields weren't were the previous seller or us thought they were. Instead of being the centre of the hedge line, they were ~6 m inside the field, but it's not properly defined.

 

[sparky1981]

Thankyou really helpful. Does anyone know roughly what sort of fee the solicitor normally charges for searches and contracts etc?

 

[PeterNatt]

I bought about 7 acres of land recently and the solicitor charged £1,700.00p inclusive.

 

[Quigleyandme]

I have bought land privately twice and used a solicitor each time at a cost of less than £500 for each transaction. The first parcel of land had a dodgy water supply. The vendor had extended it despite a clause forbidding him to do so and the solicitor had not picked it up. I sued him for professional negligence and was awarded what I asked for via his Law Society insurance and was able to pay for a water diviner, bore hole, holding tank, etc. The second transaction was very straight forward but I would always use a solicitor for any future purchases because of my first experience. I only found out about the water when the farmer, on whose land it originated, turned it off. He did let me have water until I got my own supply sorted out.

 

[sparky1981]

Peter natt. What did the £1700 include?are there any essential checks that I definitely should do?