Land - dream opportunity of potential nightmare

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BBP

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Like most of us I have always dreamed of having my own little piece of land for the security of my horses, and even to potentially have my own little property on one day.

Last week a field popped up on the market and now im completely torn (never bought anything on this scale before so quite naiive!)

Pro's
Only 14 mins from home (con is that current field is only 50m from home)
Fantastic location - no through road, direct access onto brilliant network of bridleways, within hacking distance of arenas, XC and gallops for hire. At my current place I have access to an arena but the hacking is all on busy, fast roads, not great with a horse who isn't a very reliable hack, it frightens me at times.
Gorgeous spot, as I walked around it it just feels perfect for me, peaceful, lots of other horses in area, great natural shelter.
It has a couple of stables on concrete already with an area that would make a perfect all weather turnout pen if you could get permission to do that.

Cons
Its 14 mins the wrong way from work
We were told by the neighbouring owner that the last two renters left due to the field becoming a 'bottomless pit' in winter. on heavy clay (im currently on clay but with ridge and furrow and we manage it very carefully.) Would require land drainage work to be done.
No direct arena access for use in winter.
No water or services, connection of any of these may be massively expensive
Unlikely to gain planning for a property at any point due to poor road access and probably a million other reasons (I just want a mobile home log cabin type but unlikely to get this)
No security for the horses as I wouldn't be living nearby.

Any thoughts would be gratefully received as my heart says to take a chance and go for it and sell it if it doesn't turn out to be what I want. I'm in love with the place but at 15 grand an acre I'm not sure if the prospect of a bottomless pit is worth it. What hidden costs have you found with buying your own land?
 
Is it to actually buy?
Land rarely comes where we are and I did purchase my own eventually years ago.
I don't live on site but yo unsure friends with neighbours so they'll kero a friendly eye( note, don't upset to start duty by putting in planning for any thing!you need them to get to know you so if you do put in planning, they will support it). Buy wildlife cameras for security.
You don't need electric, cost is prohibitive, we have solar. We have running water but if you have a tow bar, buy a bowser and you can fill that which should last several days.
Good luck.
 
Sounds perfect to me you never know about the cabin we had one just down the road who started out with an agricultural field and now has a house on it in less than 5 years. Think thye had some sort of livestock that needed 24/hour care or a greenhouse can't remember exactly how they did it but they started with shelter then stables then a caravan now a cabin house
 
Tbh as long as it doesn't totally flood I wouldn't worry too much about clay, I am on clay but the winters are so wet now that no matter what land you are on you will need to stable or yard them through the worst. Before buying make sure you can get planning for hard standing and field shelter or stable if not run a mile. I wouldnt bother with spending a fortune on drainage although it seems to help a little it doesn't seem to pay for itself (neighbour has spent loads having drainage put in) I would have gripes put in if you can (assume this is what you mean by ridge and furrow) I have2 fields both claynext door to each other, one with gripes has done much better than any other land around that is level. Key is taking them off land early enough so they don't poach and compact it. I have 4 acres for 2 horses and manage fine.
 
That's not too bad a stocking level.

Is the land flat or sloping?

I keep 3 small horses on 8 acres and the flat section cannot be used in the winter as it just poaches (it had standing water on it most of last winter due to all that rain). The sloping areas drain better and can be grazed during the winter.

If you can sort out an all weather area, that would be fantastic. If you can, have hard standing around the hay feeder and water trough. Can you collect water from the stable roofs?

You need to take into account fence repairs, spraying for weeds, harrowing, reseeding etc...
 
Thanks all, that's pretty positive. The going price in my area is £15k an acre so about right if you don't take drainage into account. The land is gently sloping, but sadly stables and access are at the bottom of the slope, so likely to be wettest. Bizarrely someone has built a bit of an earth bund at the downhill side between the stables and the ditch so I can't see that helping land drainage. It looks like they have harvested rainwater from the roof previously.

If I could afford it id happily keep paying livery where I am now so I could use this field for the hacking in the summer and then bring them home so they are right next door in the winter with use of the arena. My rent is very cheap currently so it might be do-able. I feel like it might be worth a gamble, im early 30s and have never invested in anything, just saved and saved, I won't have children so its only really me and my horse to think about.
 
If someone built a bund between the ditch and the stables, perhaps the ditch flooded into the stables at some time. I would see what you can find out.
Services would be very expensive to lay on and if you already know planning permission is unlikely - is this really a good buy? Will you wish in the future that you had saved your money to put towards a property with land?
 
Would it be possible in the future to buy a house much nearer to the field?

Have you enough savings to pay cash for the land - it is not often possible to get finance to buy land?
 
I would get. Drainage contractor to look at it before considering further - land drains are not cheap to install and the land will dictate how daw apart they need to be laid - heavy clay on flat land can be a nightmare if it puddles.

The water connection would concern me - can you find out where the mains connection would be - at least then you will know whether connection will be £3k or £13k.
 
At that price it may be a bit dear but to be honest they are never going to make any more land so it will always be an investment of sorts. How much return you get on it will depend on how much it is possible to improve it. If I could afford it I would go for it but if I had to borrow to finance it I would be a bit more cautious
 
If you are happy to move them in winter you'd definitely be fine, although it would be expensive and you may have to pay a retainer in summer too to keep the stables, so it would hardly be worth buying them.

I have wet clay land. It's a nightmare. The fact that two previous owners or renters moved because of it rings alarm bells big time. Drainage work is expensive and could double the price of the field sometimes.

As for water, I'd go for trying to harvest water from the roof, if not and mains water will cost a fortune, think about having a bore hole fitted?

My other negative thought was what do you mean no direct access?
 
Do you have the spare cash to buy it now ? If not how will you borrow it - borrowing against land is not simple nor cheap necessarily so you'd need to weigh up the cost of interest against the cost of you're current livery

Being on your own land can be lonely at times, there isn;t anyone to ask questions of or cover while your on hols.

I would ask around and see if you can find previous renters - I'd take anything a neighbour said with a pinch of salt, if I thought I was in with a shot of buying land next door I'd be rubbishing it to keep the price down.

I'd also look at how much work fencing needs and factor in the cost of ongoing maintenance - not just improvements.

Water is realtively easy to sort - dealing with a nasty colic all night miles from home with a head torch is a PITA

What is storage like for bedding, hay etc, can you get a big delivery lorry in and turned around in winter?
 
A few years ago someone we know bought 8 acres at £10k per acre. Fenced & put 2 stables, feed room & haystore up. No electric. Think there is water but might be rainwater harvest. Currently on the market for £225k!
 
I'd definitely go for it. 15k an acre doesn't sound a bad price to me. Small acreage always makes more per acre - probably due to the high demand from horse owners LOL. Whilst a property with land attached would always be the better option, its certainly way beyond what I'll ever be able to afford so we went for the option of house on an estate in a village with a paddock just outside the village.

You've said there are lots of other horses in the area so hopefully you would be able to find people locally to help out with holidays etc.

Clay soil is always difficult in winter but you don't have lots of horses on the area and there are stables and an area that could be used as an all weather turnout pen. We have heavy clay soil and when its really bad we pen ours on a turnout area. We do get through more hay than a lot of people - but as you've only got ponies you could probably save by making hay on half of the land in the summer anyway.

Services will cost a fortune to put in, but we've always managed with solar lighting and torches in the winter. Rainwater harvesting or a bowser will be fine for water.

You cant beat having your own land and doing things your own way!
 
hairycob said:
A few years ago someone we know bought 8 acres at £10k per acre. Fenced & put 2 stables, feed room & haystore up. No electric. Think there is water but might be rainwater harvest. Currently on the market for £225k!
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Jesus where are you? I'm in land agency and that sounds absolutely unobtainable.

OP I do think you need to look into costs of installing services and drainage, it isn't cheap. The one plus side is being on your own, it is pure bliss :)
 
I dont think I could cope with my horses being so far away with nobody really watching over them (like people sort of do at livery yards). Field drainage isn't cheap either - we need it in ours, we only need a shortish bit and cheapest quote is £1,600. I also couldnt live without electricity and water...

Hold on, did someone say its up for £15k an acre???!!! Wow! That's crazy! £5k an acre up my way is considered pricey!
 
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There are cheaper methods of drainage than pipes - maybe mole drain it? Would be worth a quote from a specialist. The price sounds OK (cheap to me, being near London!).
 
Thanks guys, you're giving me plenty to think about! Yes 15k an acre is pretty normal here.

Access is a single lane road (no Tarmac for last 100m). Nearest sewer and I would guess fresh water main are approx 140m away. Neighbour said water connection had been quoted as 15k plus, not sure how reliable that is. Small space for storage of feed/hay but not much. Security is a worry. My horse isn't very desirable for thieves I hope but things like solar panels/batteries/IBCs for water would be.
The idea of a house in the area in future would be the goal if no chance of planning.
It's the hacking that is the real selling point, it's tough to get my pony out and about safely to keep him fit and happy without coming into contact with stupid amounts of traffic.

Keep the thoughts coming!
 
Put up CCTV cameras that have batteries so glow red (don't tell anyone they aren't real) collect water in those cubes via guttering off roof. I use car/leisure battery to power lights. I don't worry about no-one being on site, tbh even on livery where owner lives on site they are not watched when our in fields all the time. Make sure you know who else uses the track and whose responsibility maintenance is, ask locals how wet land is and if yard floods and check stables have planning.
 
I wouldn't take it. I couldn't have my horses anywhere where there is no security. You are looking at paying getting on for £100k for a place where you have no arena, water or electric. No toilet or any sort of human accommodation and no chance of planning permission. You could get all of that by paying livery at a nice yard and have more money left at the end of it.

You also need to factor in cost of fuel for two visits a day.
 
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i wouldnt to be honest...

safer having people around/houses etc to keep an eye out if you are so far away

I also think at 15k an acre there has to be abetter investment..........?
 
Lack of access would put me off more than anything - to be self sufficient you need good quantities of hay, feed, bedding, you never know if you'd need to get a trailer there to pop your horse to the vet in an emergency. No storage and no security means you can't sort it in the summer when the track is dry.

If I have £100k in the bank and was happy to travel that distance to my horse I'd just look for a different yard where the hacking suited his needs - if that's the only appeal.
 
Pony paddock has been a constant 12-16k an acre for the last few years, in the hope it doesn't rocket, could you not hold out for something closer - 14miles is a long way in an emergency.
 
Wagtail said:
I wouldn't take it. I couldn't have my horses anywhere where there is no security. You are looking at paying getting on for £100k for a place where you have no arena, water or electric. No toilet or any sort of human accommodation and no chance of planning permission. You could get all of that by paying livery at a nice yard and have more money left at the end of it.

You also need to factor in cost of fuel for two visits a day.
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My thoughts exactly
 
are there other houses in your price range in the surrounding area? We planned to buy some land at auction a few years ago, approx. 12 miles fro our current house, but if we'd have 'won' the auction we'd have bought a cottage in the nearest village and moved.

Good luck whatever you decide
 
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