Has one one bought a piece of land

[exracehorse]

After 9 years of renting my own yard .. yard owner is selling. And with five horses .. I’m seriously worried. Asking price would be approx 150k. I work part time and so peanuts. Husband self employed. Our house is mortgage free and worth approx 650k. How easy is it borrow against the house to buy a plot of land. Classed as agricultural use. Owner cannot get planning permission. I’m
53. Husband 50 so worried that age would be against us. I’ve looked on internet and it appears it’s difficult to buy agricultural land/mortgage.

 

[sportsmansB]

If your own property is mortgageable (i.e. will pass a survey and be valued at the £650k) and your husband can show sufficient income then taking out a mortgage against it would be much simpler.

But still not entirely straightforward, and you should speak to a mortgage adviser. Lots of them work ono a fee free basis (they get paid by the eventual lender)
Also obvs you would need to be happy that the risk is then on your own home not the land.

 

[Goldenstar]

I have but paid cash .
You need to see if a lender will give you a mortgage on your house what you do with it is not that relevant .

ETA Go for it nothing beats having your own land .

 

[exracehorse]

Ok. Thank you. Just worried about how much it would be. Mortgage for 150k. I’ll have to enquire

 

[nagblagger]

I would be very tempted if you think you could afford the repayments. You would also have to factor in maintenance and field management, off set against the savings not paying livery charges. How many acres is it? I would advise seeing an independent financial adviser (some do first meeting free!) who would be able to discuss the pros and cons of remortgaging your house. You can get a mortgage as long as it is repaid by 75ys of age.. good luck.

 

[sportsmansB]

There are various wee calculators that you can put it into and see potential repayments.
You'll need to factor in how long your husband intends working in the mortgage term, so at 50 they might give you a 15 - 20 year term for eg, taking him to 65 or 70. Depends on the lender, as above some will go to 75 depending on occupation, pension etc.

On a 15 year term £150k will set you back circa £950/month, on 20 years £750ish etc. Remember that at the end then you will own both properties so its not like paying it to someone else!

 

[exracehorse]

There are various wee calculators that you can put it into and see potential repayments.
You'll need to factor in how long your husband intends working in the mortgage term, so at 50 they might give you a 15 - 20 year term for eg, taking him to 65 or 70. Depends on the lender, as above some will go to 75 depending on occupation, pension etc.

On a 15 year term £150k will set you back circa £950/month, on 20 years £750ish etc. Remember that at the end then you will own both properties so its not like paying it to someone else!

. I pay 400 pounds a month. I wouldn’t be able to pay 800. As don’t earn enough. Don’t think husband would help as he would rather I gave them up. Or just kept one and go to a yard. But half of them are retired golden oldies. It’s causing lack of sleep as he doesn’t want to discuss it.

 

[nagblagger]

Is the land big enough to rent out a field...?

 

[sport horse]

Go for it - they will never make more land!

 

[suestowford]

We did this about 20 years ago, borrowed against the house to buy a piece of land. The difference is that we were both in agreement, it's going to be difficult if your husband isn't on board.

 

[honetpot]

It all depends on, like any mortgage, on your existing borrowing and your outgoings. I rented land for thirty odd years, and it is tough, but you can not live in a field, whereas a horse can. When we bought our plot and sold the house everyone assumed I had twisted my husband's arm, when it was a joint investment, he has his shed, with gliders, and I have barns with ponies, plus a house. Even though we had a large amount of equity in our house, there was a fair amount of money shuffling.

 

[splashgirl45]

I remortgaged my cottage a while ago and just pay interest and the capital is paid off if I either pass away or go into care so there are mortgages for older people around. My mortgage is £91000 and I pay £302 per month interest only. that is on a fixed rate of 3.99per cent just to give you an idea of cost. It’s difficult if your OH is not willing to go for it. How much land is there ?

 

[Carrottom]

Maybe you could get your husband to look on it as an investment or retirement fund.

 

[Petalpoos]

As per Carrottom - get your husband to see it is a long term investment. You are just throwing £4,800 a year away at the moment, that's more than £100k over 20 years (as livery rates will go up). Mortgage rates are at an all time low.

To be fair though - don't forget to factor in the upkeep costs on owning land. There will be a lot of maintenance and my insurance alone was £700, so you can't consider all £4.8k a year as a benefit. However, as mentioned above, they are not making any more land and it is not unreasonable to expect the value to have gone up significantly by the time you want to say goodbye to seeing horses any more.

Would your OH enjoy having the land to 'play' with. e.g. get involved in fencing and general maintenance? That could be another plus.

 

[Laurac13]

Is there enough land to have a couple of liveries there contributing to costs? Fingers crossed you can get hubby on board x

 

[meleeka]

I have and remortgaged my house but mine was officially for “home improvements’. It was a lot less than £150k though.

 

[meleeka]

As per Carrottom - get your husband to see it is a long term investment. You are just throwing £4,800 a year away at the moment, that's more than £100k over 20 years (as livery rates will go up). Mortgage rates are at an all time low.

To be fair though - don't forget to factor in the upkeep costs on owning land. There will be a lot of maintenance and my insurance alone was £700, so you can't consider all £4.8k a year as a benefit. However, as mentioned above, they are not making any more land and it is not unreasonable to expect the value to have gone up significantly by the time you want to say goodbye to seeing horses any more.

Would your OH enjoy having the land to 'play' with. e.g. get involved in fencing and general maintenance? That could be another plus.

My smallholders insurance is £250 per year so I’m surprised you paid £700.

OP The price of land will probably always go up, so a good investment. As is often said, they aren’t making any more of it. My land is worth at least 4 times what I paid for it so far so I’m very pleased I bought it. There’s also the security. I’ll never get evicted (unless i get a too good to miss offer for development) and can do what I like when I like. That’s worth more than money to me.

 

[exracehorse]

Is the land big enough to rent out a field...?

Only 3.7 acres of land. And I have five on it.

 

[exracehorse]

I remortgaged my cottage a while ago and just pay interest and the capital is paid off if I either pass away or go into care so there are mortgages for older people around. My mortgage is £91000 and I pay £302 per month interest only. that is on a fixed rate of 3.99per cent just to give you an idea of cost. It’s difficult if your OH is not willing to go for it. How much land is there ?

3.7 acres grazing. An acre of Stables. School. And very overgrown half acre of scrub included in that acre

 

[exracehorse]

He won’t even discuss it unfortunately. He’s not horsey. Says get rid of two. Keep one. Put in livery. But I have two retired ones as well.

 

[splashgirl45]

sounds like a lot of money for the acreage of there is no chance of planning permission

 

[PurBee]

3.7 acres grazing. An acre of Stables. School. And very overgrown half acre of scrub included in that acre

150k for 3.7 acres? Where on earth is that?! Granted the stables are costly…how msny stables?…if theyre really nice stables i can understand the price.

I was just browsing land this morning in beautiful devon and thinking that 20+ acres for around 120k is fair, for the area, great land, road access etc…one even had an old barn on it.

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

150k for 3.7 acres? Where on earth is that?! Granted the stables are costly…how msny stables?…if theyre really nice stables i can understand the price.

I was just browsing land this morning in beautiful devon and thinking that 20+ acres for around 120k is fair, for the area, great land, road access etc…one even had an old barn on it.

Lol, try the SE just outside the M25.
Next door yard sold last week for just under 300k. Literally 10k short....
2 acres, one third is tree covered. 4 stables of which the newer 2 are over 35 yrs old, the older 2 were 2nd hand in the early 70s.
Less than 30 mins from Waterloo by train.

Pricing very much depends on how many want it and different areas of the country.
Power and water connected, no arena but direct access onto hacking.

 

[SEL]

Price sounds like south east.

If you can raise money on your house then I'd go for it, but speak to a person because it gets a bit 'computer says no' if you try online.

Not sure how to persuade your OH though because mine was totally on board with our land purchase.

 

[millikins]

I bought my land about 4 years ago by mortgaging a buy to let flat, it's extremely unusual to get a mortgage to buy land. I'd go and speak to the planning officer at your local council, see if relaxing planning rules might allow you to build your own property even though current owners haven't succeeded, bet that would persuade husband.
I would check out legally where you stand with keeping horses on agricultural land, because unless it's a stud or you are grazing only, no feeding, riding in fields, I believe it's not legal. Previous equine use might mean you'd qualify for change of use but make sure before you shell out any money.

 

[PurBee]

Lol, try the SE just outside the M25.
Next door yard sold last week for just under 300k. Literally 10k short....
2 acres, one third is tree covered. 4 stables of which the newer 2 are over 35 yrs old, the older 2 were 2nd hand in the early 70s.
Less than 30 mins from Waterloo by train.

Pricing very much depends on how many want it and different areas of the country.
Power and water connected, no arena but direct access onto hacking.

Astounding prices! But london areas have been rising like a tsunami for so long i shouldnt be surprised!

Power and water connection is very useful to have and could cost many k just getting that to land so worth bearing in mind, op, if you have power/water.
Im off grid due to a 130k estimate to get connected to the grid ? over a km away and poles need erecting. They charge per metre. It was rolled out for free connection in the 50/60’s in rural ireland, but missed this far away farm out!

 

[meleeka]

That’s fairly reasonable for where I am. Smaller parcels of land are worth more than larger ones but prices vary enormously around the country.

OP - Does your OH understand that it would be an investment? It could be your pension pot when the time comes.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

I’ve got a re-mortgages (s) with HSBC which are what they call a homeowners loan. As you’ve got a good Loan to Value ratio the risk to the loaner is very low ie if you default the sale of the house will more than pay it off. Also you can get very good rates better than for example only have if a 10 or 20% deposit.

Theoretically you could say the loan was for anything as once you have the money agreed you can spend it how you wish. Ie you want to extend or travel the world or buy land.

 

[exracehorse]

150k for 3.7 acres? Where on earth is that?! Granted the stables are costly…how msny stables?…if theyre really nice stables i can understand the price.

I was just browsing land this morning in beautiful devon and thinking that 20+ acres for around 120k is fair, for the area, great land, road access etc…one even had an old barn on it.

it’s very very expensive here. I’m near Colchester. It’s roughly 5 acres in total. 3.7 grazing. With a school. Five stables. Barn. And connected water. No electricity. Down a private drive. I’ve been here for 9 years. And although it’s not mine .. it almost feels like it is. I’m stressing as there are the yard cats that I feed. Chickens. What will happen to them. And where the hell will I go
With five horses. Looking at figures .. it won’t be cheap. £800:900
A month. And it’s falling down in places. Fencing all rotten. Schooling ring membrane gone so grass and plants growing through. Half acre of rubbish to clear too. Bricks. Wood. Plants. Trees. I would cut my right arm off to own it. It’s come as a shock that he’s selling. So I’m trying to think if I could buy.

 

[PurBee]

it’s very very expensive here. I’m near Colchester. It’s roughly 5 acres in total. 3.7 grazing. With a school. Five stables. Barn. And connected water. No electricity. Down a private drive. I’ve been here for 9 years. And although it’s not mine .. it almost feels like it is. I’m stressing as there are the yard cats that I feed. Chickens. What will happen to them. And where the hell will I go
With five horses. Looking at figures .. it won’t be cheap. £800:900
A month. And it’s falling down in places. Fencing all rotten. Schooling ring membrane gone so grass and plants growing through. Half acre of rubbish to clear too. Bricks. Wood. Plants. Trees. I would cut my right arm off to own it. It’s come as a shock that he’s selling. So I’m trying to think if I could buy.

As mentioned upthread, an interest only mortgage would be very low per month. 150k about 600 per month thereabouts, depending on lender.
I remortgaged to buy land and when they came out to check value of home all theyre interested in is not the residential market rate, but the footprint and location of the land the house sits on. (They have to assume worst case scenario, house burnt down and no insurance payout, despite lending stips being to take out life insurance/house insurance - they assess worst case scenario and value the ‘plot’ the house is on rather than the house.) The mortgage assessor measured front to back in metres, and width - didnt even want to see inside the house!
If the plot value has a value at or above the asked amount you’ll get the remortgage. So its relatively simple process….but your OH has to be on board, and that sounds far more tricky in your case, if he says he doesnt want to even discuss it.

Major things like this require careful assessment and we are forced to look at priorities in all areas of life. I’ve made mistake s by trying to stretch myself to accommodate everything/everyone and something always gives as a consequence. Dont take on too much if its going to stress your finances, your relationship, and other aspects too. Us horsey folk can be inclined to push our max time/finances boundaries over and over due to the commitment horses often require of us - and there sometimes comes a point we, unfortunately, are forced to have to re-assess.

If you cant buy it, maybe another buyer would want you as a tenant anyway, as many investment buyers are grabbing land as investment with no immediate view to do anything to the place, giving you more time to assess?