Those that sold their houses and bought equestrian property......

Hippona

Hippona

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Did you use a specialist mortgage broker or just your usual bank?

We have quite a bit of equity in our house, and have seen somewhere with 6acres but it would mean a much larger mortgage.....however, taking into account the money we spend on livery rent its acheivable.....but would a 'normal' bank understand this?

Also...any ideas on how much to fence 6acres?

I'm being boringley practical whilst OH has already got the house on the market and bought a shooting jacket.......
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I just went to the Building Society I have always used, it is no different from you buying a bigger house, if the math adds up - ie you earn enough to repay the mortgage, they will lend the money to you. They don't care about you being able to save money on livery bills.

Fencing - it depends on what type of fencing you want. Go onto Google earth, look for the propery and use their measuring ikon to the fence boundaries, when you have a rough idea of the length of fence you need, call a few contractors.
 
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I just went to the Building Society I have always used, it is no different from you buying a bigger house, if the math adds up - ie you earn enough to repay the mortgage, they will lend the money to you. They don't care about you being able to save money on livery bills.

Fencing - it depends on what type of fencing you want. Go onto Google earth, look for the propery and use their measuring ikon to the fence boundaries, when you have a rough idea of the length of fence you need, call a few contractors.

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Ditto on the mortgage.

With regards fencing, just check there are no covenants on the property, or any special planning conditions. Our property because its listed and in a conservation area, we are not allowed permanent wood post & rail except on the boundary with applying for planning permission. Internally we have to have temporary "green" electric fencing.
 
I did the same thing. It was my dream to keep my horse at home. I borrowed more than I had planned to but it is worth it. Paying money in rent to a livery is a waste, it is dead money, you may as well pay it to the bank as a mortgage repayment. At least one day you will own the house, you will never own your DIY stable...
 
I have been in both worlds. Used to be on livery, then bought a place with land, build stables and an arena, moved to a place with more land, and build another stable block. Now i have a small cottage with a small back garden and just 1 horse who is at my friends yard a mile away.
My advice before you make any decisions, is to remember that it isn't just a case of a slightly higher mortgage. You will also have increased council tax, heating bills, and of course maintenance of the property can be endless and costly. It even used to cost quite a bit to get the farmer to come and remove the muck, chain harrow and roll the fields, and when we made hay, that wasnt as cheap as you might think ! We had a quad to help with all the poo picking, and that used to constantly break down and require maintaining, as did the other equipment we had. its surprising, and often quite a headache. You end up worrying about all the work which needs doing, and then cant sleep at night because another unexpected bill needs paying. And also, because you have a nice house with a bit of land, people think you are loaded, and hoik up their prices. It spoils the enjoyment of the lovely property that you live in. My life is far simpler now that I dont have horses at home and the maintence of the yard and land isnt my problem. Also, as a landowner, you have to remember that you are liable if anyone ventures onto your property, so are there any footpaths accross the land ?
I ended up feeling completely isolated, and spent all my time looking after the place - I worked full time and had a yard of 6 horses, who I never had time to ride. Perhaps to have a couple of looseboxes at the bottom of the garden, with a couple of acres would be fairly easy though.
Just try not to look at it through rose tinted glasses. I hope I am covering things that you have already considered, and despite the downside, you manage to achieve your dream.
Oh, and to answer your original question, if you or partner are self employed, just get a self cert mortgage from a broker. Thats what we did. The normal banks are too rigid, especially in the current financial climate. It is strictly 3 times your salary (does vary between banks).
 
Ditto normal bank account. We are just about to sell our small equestrian property to buy a slightly bigger one with a building the OH is going to convert into an industrial unit for his business. Its been a bit complicated because he has a business loan for the barn and the conveyance is being split up. We were supposed to exchange last week but out chain has grown at the top - GRRRRR.

We are all packed up, stables are stipped out, rubber mats have been moved, horses moveed to a temp rentede field and now we are just left hanging with a possible moving date of first week in Feb!!!

Fencing costs, well, sky is the limit. Our best quote so far has been £11.25 pe metre for 100m or more + vat for 3 rail P&R. We are just having the perimeters P&R and will do the subdivisions with round posts and electric rope ourselves.

Good luck, hope you get a sale soon and dont get too depressed having to keep your house tidy!
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Oh and Ditto muddy wellies. you do spend sooo much time maintaining, we only have just under 3 acres and it is still v time consuming. On the plus side with 6 acres you could have a livery or two, and you can be master of when you turn out, who you turn out with etc etc etc.
 
We used Natwest - they were suprisingly helpful and arranged a mortgage for us and were even supportive over the fact that it was a split mortgage betweeen what was effectively two families.

As we border a sheep farm and have dogs ourselves we used stock fencing with two strands of top wire and 6ft chestnut posts paced every 9ft and then ran electric fencing on the inside of the perimeter of the border fencing and individual paddocks.

In an ideal world we would have gone post and rail but it's mega money per metre.

Shop around as well as prices for fencing varied by as much as £1500 per order.

We used McVeigh Parker who also deliver and they were very helpful and their stuff is good quality and consistent plus if you get the odd dodgy fence post they will replace no quibble.
 
Have you tried The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (AMC) who are part of the Lloyds Banking Group. They lend to Agriculture but you don't necessarily have to be a farmer if you have the security/income. Call one of their business managers on 01264 334747 for a really friendly chat or visit www.amc.co.uk

They also have their own property portal advertising land, farms, equestrian property on www.uklaf.co.uk

They give you a loan and leave you alone!
 
You can use a normal building society provided they are prepared to take on an equine property.

However be very thorough and check that the fields/paddocks have planning permission for change of use from agricultural to equestrian use. Ask for site of the documentation. I know of a number of people who have bought properties with land only to discover that there was a problem with keeping horses on them etc. as a result of complaints from locals.
 
Same again. Doubled our mortgage, no problem with the lender.


Check with the planners, don't assume you can bung up stables or field shelters if you want them. Ditto arenas. However, if they are in what was already a garden, you do not need planning consent, believe it or not, even for an arena! If you need to ride on the land you may require change of use, but grazing is "agricultural"even if horses do it.

If short of money fence with electric tape or rope to start with. If you eventually go to wood, keep the electric to stop them eating it!

Isolation and having to do everything yourself and get cover for holidays is the biggest issue with being on your own. Being able to look after your horses exactly as you want them looked after is the big plus.
 
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