For those of you who have your own yard/land..

[kit279]

.. can I ask how you came to buy it/find it?

I have been looking for a while to buy my own house/yard and I'm just struggling to find anything. Because of my job, I have to be pretty close to Cambridge and without wanting to be overly picky, the fens are not for me at all. I've looked online, I've asked locally, estate agents etc. I don't have to get a mortgage, I can buy up front and have got a decent budget but can't find anything at all! Have made my current YO an offer for some of his land but the property is listed in such a way that it can't be split up.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm finding househunting rather depressing at the moment..

I know I shouldn't whinge but I really hate moving house and would really like to get it over with..

 

[mattilda]

We were lucky and just fell across our property. It is perfect for us and we love it here. However, before we found our little piece of paradise we had looked at loads of places and none of them were suitable.
Can you go to a company that specialise in equine properties?

 

[MrsMozart]

Get someone to do your searching for you

. You'll have to pay a fee, but it should save your time and energy and stress!

We're looking, but the area (west/south Wales) means it's not so much of an issue - lots on websites and have local contacts.

What are you looking for, and what radius of Cambridge, and how much do you want to spend? List it all and there might well be someone on here who knows of something suitable

 

[RhiannonE]

Have you looked in the back of horsey magazines? Or online like on H&H property section etc?
If you try looking at www.eaequestrian.co.uk ? I've seen some lovely houses on there.

http://www.eaequestrian.co.uk/foc249k.htm ??

 

[mtj]

we got lucky as well.

bought a cottage with adjoining rented field. another adjoining field was offered for purchase when i asked if i could rent it for my horses. the land owner had refused other peoples requests to buy it cos he thought they just wanted to make a quick buck and develop it. the field was purchased subject to a 20 yr clawback deal.

possibly too far, but there is a property in Keyston (v close to A14) advertised for £400k with land.

i think its with bletsoes . think it will need a lot of work, but is handy for keysoe/manor farm.

good pub in village

 

[kit279]

I'd like to have a smallish house - 2-3 bedrooms but very flexible - and 3-4 acres of grazing, preferably with stables but not a must. I have to be able to get to Cambridge (specifically Addenbrooke's) in about 20-30 minutes when I'm on call. Would happily buy land only - house can wait! Budget of 500K up front, would prefer not to get a mortgage. I'd happily buy a yard if one came up for sale. Would prefer south or west of Cambridge and definitely don't fancy fenland so Ely-way is probably out for me.

I'm probably asking the impossible - maybe I should just try and get a job somewhere more horsey!!

 

[susannita]

my friends used phil and kirsty!!!

They did location location location really early on - although not shown on the programme kirsty found the house they have now for them!!

the link for kirsty and phil.....!!!

They are professional houshunters though and to be honest with the cash sitting waiting i would pay someone to find something for you.

enjoy - 500k cash is a nice position for anyone to be sitting in!!

 

[MrsMozart]

Would have thought there'd be something west for that price. South will be more expensive (getting into London commutable land). Immediate east not good price wise (Newmarket!).

Addenbrookes in twenty minutes from just about anywhere outside the City outskirts would be interesting

. I used to go to the LMB quite often, and another site to the west, and one north-west. Lots of driving round that neck of the woods at all hours of the day

.

 

[fornema]

If youre intending to buy a house +yard in the very near outskirts of the city you will probs have to have a mortgage and also a lot of land is owned by the colleges which makes it even more difficult as weve learnt. Our house is 4 bedroom okish house on outskirts of cambridge i.e. less than a mile would take us 30 mins to get to addenbrookes so youll be hard pushed to find somewhere as our house is close to 550000-600000 mark i think also other side of cambridge shelford way will be very expensive too YOud proabably be best off looking at places like cottenham/over way they are not to bad and lots of horse properties around there and main roads close

 

[ElliePippa]

we were so lucky, we had just sold our house, about to change money when the house we wanted fell through, we literally had a week to find another home-we paid our buyers for them to wait for a week
So we came to look at (our current) house, which had 5 acres, 4 stables + yard, we offered a stupid price----AND THEY ACCEPTED Im so glad we have our own stables etc. I went through a face of hating ti but its great-and were slap bang on the pennine bridleway, so BONUS

Good Luck x

 

[concorde]

Sadly I don't think your budget is big enough for that area . I think the others are right, Ely / fens is your best bet.
I presume you already look at Rural Scene and EAEquestrian websites.

 

[Donkeymad]

We were lucky, we were driving home and noticed a sale sign in a field. We made enquiries and found there were five lots for sale, and we bought a five acre plot.

 

[shadowboy]

When we had ours my parents found it by helping a farmer with his cattle.... the cow was bleeding and we walked for hours to track the farm down, once we found it the farmer came to see how, treated it and took parents to pub - who were house seeking at the time. He told them he had his old hands cottage for sale. They bought it

 

[seabiscuit]

Have you tried looking around the Haverhill/Linton/Horseheath area? Lots of really lovely little country villages and farms around here, with the odd 'cheaper' part.
You could see if there are any cottages for sale here and then approach farmers to see if they would sell of some land.

Then I can help look after your horses for you while you're at work