Dillema - land/house advice

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Achinghips

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I'd love to hear others' thoughts about this:
I have a choice of 2 houses to buy. I don't compete my horse, but happyhack and play - I'm too bloody old!!

One has 3.5 acres and needs garage, menage and barns built and is old but characterful and will be hard to maintain. I like it, hubby not keen on the work it needs. Here I can have a companion for my sep anx prone Tb - she churns ground up when left on own - badly.

The other has only 2 acres total plot, incl menage, haybarn, tackroom, house and garage. Last one is brand new and husband loves it and house is bigger with better access. Here I can't have a companion as land is too small, though neighbour has 2 in field next door, she can see.

I'm going around and around in circles about this. Hubby sweats changing a light bulb (he's a computer programmer).

Choccy biscuits if you got this far. What would you do?
 
I'd go for the larger land one. You can extend houses, add barns (might not enjoy it, but it can be done) etc, but you will have a v hard time stretching land!
 
I don;t like new houses so would go for the older mor land one, esp if you have budget left for stables etc. However, I guess you have to consider hubby.....so if you go for the new one take comfort in the fact that my friend has 2.2 acres total and keeps 4 ponies and a donkey on this. They are stabled at night and never have loads of grass BUT they are all native so thats ideal for them. You could get a small companion pony for your horse on 2 acres.

Oh and v.jealous by the way!
 
I'd go for option 1, but being devils advocate - its also about your marriage. If your husband really doesn't want house 1, is your marriage really worth 1.5 acres?

Once you've started building an arena, stable/ barns that will soon eat away at the 3.5 acres.
 
Normally I'd say go for more land, you can't have enough imo. lol However, do take into account that you will need planning permission for manege etc. and it isn't always easy to get. May be better to go with the ready made plot and rent extra land...
Good luck and enjoy your new home.
 
Forgot to add, new house I can see right down over the land from kitchen, living room, bedrooms and is quiet, v secure, though a little sterile and no trees at all.

Old house has land to the side of it -and a motorcross track area out of sight, but not earshot, only open 10 - 4 on a saturday though, nearby. Old house has one less bedroom and is smaller too - but a Christmas tree in that livingroom will be beautiful!!
 
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I'm not sure without seeing them both but perhaps given your OH preferences, plus security and lack of having to build would go for the new - perfectly possible to keep a TB and a native small on, especially if you have a menage to ride in, and all your buildings. Yes you will have to manage your fields carefully, but a neighbour keeps a TB and a SecA on just over an acre, no meage, no stable, no haybarn just 2 field shelters, and manages it with fencing and electric fencing. OK it's level and fairly well drained, and she has to buy in hay, but she has plenty of grass at the mo and manages fine.

Also have you asked if there is other land to rent? We 'borrow' a neighbour's field to cut for hay, saves him having to cut it anyway!
 
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Do you know that you can definately get planning permission on the first option for barns, school etc etc? What is the land like? What is the grass like? Is it mature grass? What soil type is it on? 3.5 acres on certain soil types wouldn't be any better than 2 acres on a better soil type. I have known plenty of people manage 2 acres correctly and have two or three horses. Personally, without seeing both properties, I would opt for option two - it sounds nicer overall, and you will not have the hassle and expense of obtaining planning, building, contractors/builders trapsing all over your land etc. It is hard to say without seeing them. With property two is there any way in the future you could obtain surrounding land at all? Will you ever need more than your two acres?
 
I'll defo get pl perm, remnants of old is still there, functional, but unsafe and very "Heath Robinson" at the mo. Soil is the same on both properties.
 
Rotchana said:
Forgot to add, new house I can see right down over the land from kitchen, living room, bedrooms and is quiet, v secure, though a little sterile and no trees at all.

Old house has land to the side of it -and a motorcross track area out of sight, but not earshot, only open 10 - 4 on a saturday though, nearby. Old house has one less bedroom and is smaller too - but a Christmas tree in that livingroom will be beautiful!!
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The motorcross track clinches it for me lol, even though I too like old and land! I hate vehicle noise and revving bikes would drive me crazy especially as it's bound to be at weekends!
 
lizziebell said:
I'd go for option 1, but being devils advocate - its also about your marriage. If your husband really doesn't want house 1, is your marriage really worth 1.5 acres?

Once you've started building an arena, stable/ barns that will soon eat away at the 3.5 acres.
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That!

1.5 acres, if managed carefully should support 1 horse and small companion. The last livery yard I was on were fab and catered for my 'awkward' TB who had been cut late and was always getting injured in the main gelding herd by sorting me a seperate field of just over an acre - it was on Essex clay.

It was carefully maintained weedwise etc. My TB who was quite a poor doer lived in there happily for 2.5 years with a 14.2hh cob type. They went out all winter 8am - 4pm (we halved the field after Christmas to and grazed the driest side then) and in summer from between 2-5pm - 8am.

Never ran out of grass but did need to feed hay when in/hard feed to TB who was competing a lot.
 
To add :

When we bought our house we went for the one that was falling down but had 8 acres, stables (falling down too!) and an arena but OH is a keen DIY person and we didn't mind what we were getting into.

It's less falling down now (will be here 3 years in March) but still needs work - it's a labour of love :)
 
Being someone who loves old houses id want to go for number one, however if your hubby "sweats changing a light bulb" is it really wise to take on such a big project? I imagine he would be a total nightmare to live with. With my sensible head on id have to pick number 2.
 
Rotchana said:
Forgot to add, new house I can see right down over the land from kitchen, living room, bedrooms and is quiet, v secure, though a little sterile and no trees at all.

Old house has land to the side of it -and a motorcross track area out of sight, but not earshot, only open 10 - 4 on a saturday though, nearby. Old house has one less bedroom and is smaller too - but a Christmas tree in that livingroom will be beautiful!!
Click to expand...
You never know you might want to take up motocross in the future so its handy having a track near by :D seriously a new house will most likely be lower maintanance and cheaper to heat, and the land it would depend on the quality to me, a good well drained small acreage would be preferable to clay, trees and waterloging prone bigger area thats useless for a lot of the year... yes you need to be sure you could get PP for stables garage ect is there any more land to buy or rent near it for extra grazing perhaps...
 
Rotchana said:
I'll defo get pl perm, remnants of old is still there, functional, but unsafe and very "Heath Robinson" at the mo. Soil is the same on both properties.
Click to expand...

But did the old one have PP?

I'm sure I've seen the details of the house. That motorcross track put us right off - even thought we've both been keen motorcyclists.
 
I've seen particulars of both now, and would actually now go for the first one out of the two - the new build looks like it sits on an exposed re-claimed arable plot, and is very, very exposed to the elements. Personally I would not be happy living on or having my horses at the new build property as it is far too open.
 
Much as I loathe new houses, it isn't about me, says she who lives in something she considers new.

If you feel that the pros (land, stables etc) outweigh the cons of the newbuild and that OH would be happier I'd go for that one.

1.5 acres is plenty big enough for your horse (as long as you are prepared to feed hay year round), it can be split, and a companion doesn't have to be large. Shetlands, welshies etc don't eat much, have little hooves and do the job:)
 
Having just seen both houses as well....number one all the way. Just showed them to my OH as well & he said its not a hard choice...number one for him also...sorry im not being much help.
 
If your hubby is really against the older house then it is a bit of a problem if you are expecting him to do some of the work and maintenance. As others have said, you could always get a little native as a companion for your horse if you opt for the newer house, and if you have a school, then it can be used for turnout when it is very wet to save trashing your small acreage.
 
I took my house on 6 years ago with only 1.5 acres total, well managed and with plenty of haylage I have kept 3 horses on it easily with a sand arena which I turned out in winter. I got an additional 9 acres at the back of our property in June this year and so far I am only using the top acre which is currently split in half as I now have a mare and foal in addtion to my original 3!
I would go for the modern house and maybe get a Sec A as a companion for your TB.
Old houses require constant attention and I assuming you will be paying for any building work which IMO adds to the stress hugely.
 
Well.....I have 2 acres and 3 horses.
The field is divided up with leccy fencing and the paddocks are rested and rotated. The horses are in at night. The grass is good and I manage ok. I poo-pick daily.

So I feel you could have your TB and a companion on 2 acres if you manage your grazing well and look after it.
 
Having seen the houses I'd go for No1 :)

When you say work - just work building the stables ? TBH that is, IMO, as difficult/expensive as you want to make it.

No1!! It's lovely :)
 
Personal choice would always be an old house because that is what I was brought up in and I think my current (1930's) is too modern for me!

But in reality, I would actually look to weighing up the financial aspects. So, everyone has mentioned PP, but have you actually factored in the cost of errecting stables, fencing and arena. Also what needs to be done on the actual house, costs of that, is it livable in now or just how intrusive would the renovation be. Does the old house have any listings attached to it (which makes any changes/renovations very hard).

The older house, with more land and character would always sell at a better premium than a more modern property but I would look very carefully at the financial/comfort aspect before making any decisions. Trust me, nothing funny about being in a lovely house with masses of character and the only heating are fuel fires!
 
You guys are bloody great!!!

Thanks, I prefer the older one too, even though it has a septic tank and needs a new kitchen and the road up to it is a nightmare, so hubby'd have to sell his sportscar - it is also exposed like the other one, note the wind farm behind it though!!

The new one is just so damn EASY, though isn't it?
 
I haven't seen the properties but if your husband is not a natural "handyman", then the older property could become a huge burden for you both. We have a 17th century property (and it's thatched); it needs constant TLC. Fortunately, my OH is brilliant and we only need the builders in for major stuff! We also have 4 acres of land (only one horse now)...please bear in mind that land management (hedges, fences, weed control) all take time.

I don't wish to sound negative but don't let heart rule head - think about it. I would always chose an older property above a new one though...!! ;-)
 
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