I'd like to buy an equestrian property - advice please? (Sorry Long!)

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kit279

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I'm very lucky in that I just inherited enough money to buy my own home outright - not sure yet how much my budget will be in total but hopefully enough to buy a nice enough place and some land as well. I'm also hoping that having the money up front will allow me a little more bargaining power in terms of price than someone who has to secure a mortgage or sell their previous home.

I'd like any advice from anyone who's bought or made their own equestrian property. Any personal experiences/hints/warnings very welcome!

It will just be for two people and currently 2 horses (although the temptation to get another horsey is always very high, I think I will defer until I have a bit more time!). I currently rent a small yard of 4 acres and 3 stables for 100 pounds a month which is very reasonable so I'm considering keeping that on and not buying any land of my own. The trouble is that we are Cambridge based and finding a suitable property that isnt worth millions is very hard. My job is likely to need me to commute to London for at one year in the near future so I need access to a train station as well. I used to commute from Cambridge but would consider Waterbeach/Foxton etc. My trainer is based in Horningsea and I like the area but the fields I've seen there seemed mostly underwater! I could keep my horses with her but I like them to live out as much as possible and she likes them living in so not ideal... I would be prepared to do a slightly longer commute if I could keep the horses at home but the prospect of having to get back from London town and then drive to the yard and only then get back home is a bit daunting! Does anyone commute from Suffolk? I don't know the area well but would like to know more.

Where should I start looking? Would word of mouth be best? Can you buy equestrian property at auctions? I don't mind doing a fair old bit of refurbishment but I do need somewhere to live so it can't be derelict. I also don't need a big professional set up - I don't want a big house with lots of bedrooms and I don't need a school or manege or anything. Just a small 2-3 bedroom house with 4-ish acres of grazing would be ideal. Does such a thing exist? Would I find it in the current economic climate?

I had also considered moving to be closer to my family in Surrey (Epsom/Kingswood area) but I think that really falls under the commuter belt and I would expect my money to go less far there but again, would love to know if my vague thoughts bear any relation to reality!

Sorry for the rambling, I know it's not the best time of year to be buying a house and I am prepared to wait for the right place (not currently homeless) but would like to know how long it took people to find their dream home.

Any advice at all welcome!
 
Can you not buy the yard you are renting? If you are a cash buyer people will bite your arm off and I would have thought you would be able to do a fair bit of bargaining. Have a look on the internet for properties in your area.
 
Sadly, no. I asked the yard owner but he's not interested in selling as he bought it from a neighbour a few years ago and intends to sell it in combination with his own house next door and therefore market it as an equestrian property. He's not planning to sell his own house any time soon though as he has a young family and they are happily settled. Plus the land is greenbelt so you couldn't build a house on it unfortunately.
 
Maybe you could do something similar to your current yard owner- look at rural property without land, maybe ones on the edge of the villages and see if a local farmer maybe able to sell you a few acres?
Then you will be able to set up the stables etc how you would like them.
 
I'm nowhere near you (Devon!) but we bought our three bed semi a few years back, and put my horse in DIY livery locally. Then a couple of months later a 5 acre field with stables and barns came up for sale... so we have nearly-an-equestrian-property with one mile between house and field.

Speark to the local land agents, they may know of something in the near future going on the market, good luck and how marvellous to be in your situation!
 
When we were looking a few years ago, we did some research and found an agent who specialised in land/farms etc, and who happened to be horsey as well. He found us several suitable properties, and spent a lot of time driving me round to look at them. By the time I found the one I wanted, the agent was actually more on my side than the seller's
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, and got me a very good deal
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He was very helpful throughout, has put a lot of work my way, and become a good friend to us in the years since our move. So my recommendation is to find a good agent and strike up a good relationship, and then anything good that comes up is more likely to come your way first.
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Now would be a good time to look as you can see whether the fields turn into swamps in winter. We saw this place in Feb & I managed to walk down to the bottom of one of the paddocks in my work shoes, so not wet at all. In summer, all fields look good.

Maybe try some googling & see what you like the look of & get some idea of prices? Try www.eaequestrian.co.uk? There's quite a lot in Cambs on there.
 
I would say you are in an excellent position to be buying, if you don't have to sell anything & are a cash buyer. I bought my home with land 5 years ago & wouldn't change it for the world now.

Used to live in Kent and had 1 horse in livery, dearly wanted her at home & started to search for property with land. Couldn't afford anything in Kent and surrounding areas - Essex, Surrey & Sussex, so started to look further afield. Ended up buying a lovely place in Spalding with 3 acres. This year bought another 3 acres joining my land & have rented the other 5 acres joining that field, in the hope to buy it next year. Now have 4 horses and an extra 8 acres of land!!

I too commute to London every day. I normally get the train from Peterborough which takes 45 minutes to London but the drive to Peterborough is also 40 minutes. Have been commuting from Kings Lynn for the past few months as is much cheaper and less of a drive, we go through Waterbeach.

I would say anything south of Cambridge you will be paying top whack for, even in the current climate. To get more for your money, maybe go North a little.

There are houses on equestrian websites that have been up for sale for well over a year so if you're going in with cash - a very strong bargaining tool IMO. Also look at the villages you are interested in and then search properties in that area on Rightmove. Not all properties with land are through equestrian agents & sometimes through these agents they are well over priced. We found our house on Rightmove & it wasn't through an equestrian agent.
 
Have you considered the St.Neots/Huntingdon area. there is a non stop train connection to Kings cross (40 mins st.neots) during commuting hours.

prices bit lower than Cambridge, but need to be very careful re paddock drainage as plenty of clay.
 
http://www.ruralscene.co.uk/look/frame.asp
have quite a lot of equestrain properties,
Do check small print as some have occupancy restrictions, eg there is one near to us (40 mins to Euston) with 6 acres, was suprised to see it is less than 1 million, but it has an equestrian business restriction for that address on it's occupancy, Another without the restriction, further away, is same price.
 
I would agree with Nijinsky, the South Lincs area is cheaper for properties with land such as Boston, Spalding, Holbeach, Long Sutton area. You could try East Midlands Equestrian Properties they have a lot of places for sale in this area, they have a web site, or if you pm me I will give you Edwins phone number who runs it. He is horsey himself so knows all the credentials etc.
 
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