How can I ever afford my own house with land?

[tye_bo]

I have been on livery for over 22 years now, a grand total of 13 yards and I am fed up of it. The yard I'm at now is nice and most of the people are lovely but it would be so nice to have my own place where I can potter about on my own and do my own thing. I been looking at the smallest places with land and there is no way we could ever afford anything? How to people do it?!!

They must earn a fortune lol!!

I wouldn't be greedy, just 2 stables and a few acres with a house/bungalow/cottage would be brilliant. I suppose it doesn't help that we live on the edge of the Peak District.....

So has anyone done it? If so how!! And if you've married or born into it it doesn't count as neithers going to happen to me lol

I wouldn't want just a plot of land either, I'd not feel safe leaving the horse like that, I'd want to live there too.

 

[hairycob]

Lottery is my only hope!

 

[tye_bo]

Yeah there is that hairycob! We can't even relocate as my job is local specific.

 

[kendra2705]

Its just not going to happen mate, it is totaly out of my reach as what i earn goes on rent bills etc, and whats left keeps my horse, I think its people who have their own businesses and rake in loads that eventually do it, loosing money on tax etc, if you are like me and have a regular job you got no chance unless you marry someone who has their own business and loads of cash and would do anything to make you happy, but i dont think thats right as i would marry for love not money , the next best thing is to rent your own land and have it all to yourself , there is no need to own when we can rent and lets face it the countryside belongs to everyone and no one can stop you riding around it, keep buying scratch cards and doing the lottery is the one in 100 million chance you may get it x

 

[tye_bo]

I guess I wouldn't mind renting the land but as I say I'd want to live next to it. I don't like the idea of keeping neddy in a field that's not lived next to. I don't think I'd sleep at night!!

 

[xena_wales]

I bought my first house for £55k and sold it 4 yrs later for £97k. (I got together with my hubby during those 4 yrs). We bought our 2nd house for £180k and sold it 2 yrs later for £230k. We had £115k mortgage on that place, but my mum died at that time and left us some money to reduce the mortgage. We then bought our current place for £245k (2 houses with 1 acre) and a year later bought the 4 acre field outside our house for £20k. It was in a bad state, but 3 years later is looking great!

So it was a combination of getting into property at the right time (I'm 31 now and bought my first house at 21 before the prices went mad), relocating to a cheaper area to get a nicer place (South Wales to West Wales), having reasonable jobs to afford the mortgage, buying the right properties, and getting a helping hand off my lovely mum.

 

[kombikids]

i suggest that you actually think about what you are saying before typing it! Sorry to sound harsh but we have our own business and i married my OH when it was his business, and you are not simply able to "loose money on tax". I married him because i love him and not for money. we arent able to afford our own house with land, i was actually interested in this post as we are thinking about moving three counties away in order to see if we can afford something that way.

There is a huge gap between salary and house prices, we earn a decent amount but we are too priced out of the market.

 

[kombikids]

well done, thats the way to do it! we too are thinking about moving away as in herts where i am 250k would get you a flat in a local town!

 

[tye_bo]

Xena I did similar to you - my first house cost 30K, bought my husband out of it when we divorced 3 years later for 50K and I sold it 2 years after that for 105K!! Of course the new house I bought with my current partner had also gone up just as much so no-one's a winner.

I know what wafarerwitch was saying and I didn't take offence - I do run my own business but it's not as glamous as it sounds and I only earn a small wage, not enough to buy anything like what we'd need. There is a huge gap in salerys v house prices. In the 5 or so years my first house was bought for 30K and sold for 105K you can bet my wages didn't increase that percent!!! I wish!!

 

[nijinsky]

Think that's a bit of a sweeping statement.

I am neither rich, married into money or inherited money but 6 years ago I bought my house with 3 acres of land & last year bought another 3 acres. I have a regular job & so does my husband, our salaries are decent. We couldn't afford to buy where we were born & bred but I wanted my horses at home so much that we worked hard, saved hard & moved half way up the country to get what we wanted.

So it can be done if you want it bad enough. It's not an easy road getting there & even when you're there it's much harder work than having your horses in livery but looking out of my window seeing my lot grazing makes it all worth while.

 

[BBH]

You don't actually have to start with a house and land, you could start by buying some land and building a business to ultimately justify to the planners a house. You would have to select the plot and area carefully but it can be done.

re the tax avoidance thing I think most people with horse business's indulge in ' gentleman's agreements' and having being stuffed paying 40% paye for years I can see why. Cos believe me when your hour of need comes you will get nothing so I understand why some people feel the need to look after themselves in a rainy day. I would do so if I had the chance.

 

[tye_bo]

[ QUOTE ]
You don't actually have to start with a house and land, you could start by buying some land and building a business to ultimately justify to the planners a house. You would have to select the plot and area carefully but it can be done.


[/ QUOTE ]

In the peak district everything is green belt which is great in one way but then on the other hand not when you're trying to get to live there!

 

[jpj]

The quick answer is that probably you can never really afford it.It's a question of what you can do without!We have had a small farm for 34 years.It still costs us far more to maintain than it makes and than we can sensibly afford.We do without holidays, new furniture, good cars.We dont spend much on clothes, entertainment, mobile phones and many of the things people consider essential.Don't ask me why we do it, we must be mad------ and I wouldnt ever move from choice!.

 

[BBH]

I suppose in that case its a question of moving somewhere else as others have done to fulfill that dream. Depends how badly you want your own place and are prepared to be flexible.

 

[Bens_Mum]

It can be done! We are about 10 miles outside the Peak and have our horses at home. However... We are living in a house with no hot water, cardboard for windows and no heating. We are slowley building a house to replace what we now live in but it was far from idylic in the snow !!! It is lovely to have the horses at home but we have like above had to sacrifice in other areas to afford it. In an ideal world I would also love to have people to ride with and more land etc but we have to make the most of the 2 acres we have.
In short basically I think you have to get somewhere thats cheap for a reason and improve it or maybe look at renting from a landlord like the Dutchy of Lancaster which have lots of properties with stables/ land etc on long leases? Good luck with it!

 

[sidesaddlegirl]

We'd like to our place too as then I wouldn't have to put up with Grazeon 90 mad field owners spraying it everywhere!

My OH makes a decent wage and I work at my son's school and run my own biz but we can't afford to buy a house with land either. The prices are too expensive in Leicestershire and we can't move anywhere else because of my OH's job.


We just have to be satisfied with renting a field nearby until we win the lotto or real estate prices plummet!

 

[CazD]

After years on livery yards I too got fed up with it. We could never afford to buy a house with land either so what we did was find a piece of land we could afford and then purchased a house as close to that as we could find. I know that is not what you want to do (have the land away from the house) but it works for us and I dont have anybody breathing down my neck imposing rules on how I can or cant keep my horse.

 

[Storminateacup]

My husbands mum owns a small 37 acre croft in the Highlands. One day we hope to move there but we are in our 50s now!! The sad thing is she won't let me keep my horse there now and by the time we get it it will be too late and we will be ancient too.
Seems you can't have your cake and eat it.

Crofts and houses with land are cheaper here than down south, so if you sell, your money would buy you more here.
Its a beautiful region, but you may find it cold and harsh in winter.

 

[stencilface]

We have kept our horses on a field about 2 miles from my parents house for about 20 years. There are a few houses near it, a livery yard and a couple of farms. Yes we have been broken into, but not anymore than anyone else who lives on site and we no longer store tack there.

Yes it would be lovely to live there, but it is green belt, and we have just had an application to put a log cabin - a non-permanent structure - on the land rejected.

I would look into getting your own land, make friends with the neighbours/farmers, everyone looks out for one another (ie I put the farmers sheep back in when they have escaped) and you all live happily ever after.

Your horse wil not suffer if you are not there on site, they cannot be watched 24 hours a day and are more than capable of looking after themselves

 

[Thistle]

We have a house with land, we have achieved it by working 80+ hour weeks in business and buying and selling a number of smaller properties on our way up the ladder.

WFW you come across as a very bitter person who can't stand other peoples sucess.

FWIW i have been with my OH for 25 years since uni, after a series of shared rented houses our first house cost £18 100.

 

[beechwoodbutch]

Studying, working, saving, buying houses and selling to make a profit, never had chance to live in a house we have finished someone else always got the benefit! Then able to put a big enough deposit down on a house with a couple of acres that we could afford but did need lots of work doing to it, have been here 5 years now and have managed to change my job to do 18 hours so I can enjoy the land lifestyle and horses. I am now 51 and it has taken us up until now to reach this position

 

[tye_bo]

Thanks all for your replies, its interesting to see how everyone has done it. As I say I simply cannot move out of the area, the business I run is local specific so that's not an option.

Yes I could rent land I wouldn't mind if its nearby to other farmers etc, its when you rent land in the middle of no where with no one about that I couldn't do. A friend of mine does this and it worries me to death and they aren't even my horses!!

I guess its just my pipe dream as no way would OH live with no hot water or cardboard windows lol! Unfortunately OH is not horsey or pet minded like me!

 

[Decision_Tree]

I do think its a case of scarifice (sorry about the SP!) If you REALLY want something you will go to any lengths to get it. I work offshore in order to save to buy my dream house with land and get to ride horses all day! I studied hard and worked while at uni (two jobs at one time) I picked a vocational degree which I knew would allow me to make alot of income. I now work 84 hours a week for two weeks then get a week off . I have one house already, paid off all student debts myself and I am 24. I dont have well off parents, or a well off OH and no1 has died and left me cash. With my current saving plan I am on I will start looking at houses with land in 2010 as I will be in a good position to purchase my target home in my preferred location. In my career I have worked abroad for periods and also worked without any schedule at all, always on call. Its a choice ive made to allow me to reach my goals in life.

I think you have to evaluate whats important rather than moan about things.

 

[tye_bo]

I've worked hard to get where I am but its just not enough to compete with the property prices. I'm not 'moaning' I'm simply enjoying a discussion and seeing how other people have managed to get to the point where they can afford their own land

 

[muddy_grey]

I do not have my own land yet, but am hoping to soon. OH and I need to agree on a country first! We have our own business and have worked bl88dy hard over the past 5 years. We work much longer hours than anyone I know who is employed and it is much more stressful. I am now starting to look for a horse as in the past all money and time has gone into the business. Neither of us had a lot of money to start and a sometimes a date is walking up to the local shop and getting an icecream.
If you find a house you like somewhere rural then there is a posibility you can by adjacent land in the future. I have a friend who just purchased 150 acres right next to his house.
I know you say your business is local, but would it be possible to sell up adn start again somewhere cheaper?

 

[tye_bo]

It's taken three years to build it to where it is and I believe the reason it does well is that we live in an fairly affluent area. I know from speaking to others in parts of the country that aren't so affluent, they struggle as there isn't the demand. Other people have jumped on the bandwagon now and a great advantage I have is that I was one of the first and so am well established. I'm not saying its impossible but it is unlikely.

Not sure what the answer is really but as I say it's nice to hear how others have or are doing it.

 

[martlin]

Hmm, I don't really know how it happened, it kind of is happening.
Combination of things, I suppose - hard work, saving, some inheritance money, a massive mortgage and nerves of steel... but as they say, if you are to fall, it might as well be from a great height.

 

[miller]

I don't earn mega bucks - decent salary but not huge, OH the same, we moved away from the city we both work in, both work bloody hard, and every penny goes into the house/horses, our money, not inheritance or loaded families - we've been there 3.5 years and still house is not finished (for first winter we had curtains frozen to the windows every morning) but it's worth it to have them at home.

It means we can't go on holiday (couldn't afford to pay a house sitter for the animals - in fact couldn't afford a holiday)

Like someone else said - if you want something bad enough you will move heaven and earth to get it

 

[MagicMelon]

Ha, why do you think I still live at home where we have a nice house and land etc.!

Myself and my boyfriend are about to attempt to get planning permission to build a bungalow on top of one of the stable blocks. Extremely to nil chance of getting permission but might as well try!

 

[Hippona]

I earn a good wage, OH not so great but hey....'tis a job.

We have a nice house and the horses (3) are at a livery yard/farm 2miles from home. We bought our house before the prices went mad. OH did used to have his own busines...believe me the money wasnt great and sorry, but you can't avoid the taxman!

I would love my own house with land and stables....if I had the requisite nerves of steel I would sell up and buy, because with our equity and the money we would save on livery then we probably could afford to. Its just finding something in the right area for jobs/school etc.

In an ideal world I would buy the farmers fields next to our house and put the beast there.