Those who own land - how did you manage it?

J

JVB

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To buy that is?

Would love to own few acres eventually but wonder how people manage to be able to afford to buy it.

Do you remortgage?

Inherit from family?

Work hard and save hard?

Just intruiged

Thanks
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We put our land on our mortgage. 7 acres 1 mile away from home cost us £10,000 an acre. We are going to be selling our house and land next year to buy a barn to convert with land with it. It's been horribly expnsive for us with land as we had a years fight for planning to get 6 stables, tack room and feed room set up.
Had land with stables valued mind and it should fetch £160,000 so we'll have doubled our money.
 
My mum and dad bought my land about 17 years ago, they had spent time saving for it. We went around all the local farms asking if anyone wanted to part with any land and we got lucky.
 
Sis and I decided we were fed up of livery when we had a mare & foal (BOGOF) who were ill for a month. 4 of us took turns to sleep in the stable and then go to work - nightmare- even though the YO was very helpful.
So we sold both our houses to buy a shared small holding - not ideal as the house is also shared- but we were certainly glad we had when my Clyde mare was ill and I was away for 4 days. Sis was able to wait in house for vet, give vet cuppa while waiting for sedation to kick-in etc and sit inside while checking on mare every hour.
In fact every time I read a livery yard post I think 'Thank God we did it'.
So the answer to your question is hard work, a large mortgage and compromise.
 
This is my story
I used to rent a field and stable, one day I went there and everything had been stolen except my horses. I went to a friends house in tears. She mentioned a man who lived up her lane and his wife had just died and he had a problem looking after his horses. I went to visit him and he said I could move my two horses there and look after his horse in return on a months trial.......12 years later his horse died and he sold me the field for what he had paid for it 20 years before, as a thank you. My husband had just been made redundant and that paid for most of it, then my daughter sold her horse and put the money in plus she took out a student loan and we raised the money.
The stables were falling down so I sold an acre of the land to our neighbour and that paid for a new stable block.
I still house sit for the gentleman if he goes on holiday and I am still grateful
 
We emigrated when the exchange rate was extremely favourable.
OH's military pension pays the mortgage.
 
We bought our house with 5 acres 7 years ago. The stables needed reroofing but everything else was there menege, post & railed paddocks.
We sold our previous house & business to finance it but it has been worth it.
I wish you luck with your dreams.
 
One of our next door neighbours used to be a farmer and was moaning that another neighbour had hassled him to buy some land that he'd hung onto and was now messing him about, it was a small inconvenient field for farming and nuisance neighbour wanted to only buy a couple of acres, leaving an even more inconvenient plot and had started haggling about the price per acre as well. So I said "OK I'll buy the whole lot off you for the price you are asking" and we did the deal just like that.

The money came from a payout my husband had after a very serious accident, the land is agricultural so we keep sheep with the horses and have no buildings on it.
 
We added it to our mortgage about 6yrs ago - bought 6 acres for £26,000. It seemed very scary at the time but was the best thing we've ever done. We have gradually built up a nice yard and have recently had it valued for £80,000. My advice is to go for it if at all possible, you'll never regret it. Good luck!
 
My parents brought it as my 21st birthday present over 20 yrs ago!
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Cost 3k per acre- almost 4 acres. Had to get planning for stables etc. Not had it valued, but imagine it would be in the region of 100k now- what a great investment, though it did seem like an awful lot money at the time!
 
Been married nearly 30 years; Lots and lots of hard work, moving up the property ladder; sacrifing lots of things like clothes/holidays/cars etc etc.

Bought this house with 6 acres 9 years ago,( up for sale with Rural Scene
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) but now we are downsizing as kids all flown the nest and far too big for the two of us.
 
Downsized from big luxury executive house in middle of town to tiny semi detached cottage needing work with 1.5 acres and 'borrow' next doors field!
 
Bought a small (1.9 acre) plot off a family member who was desperate for money 5 years ago at a good price - I initially borrowed the money off my dad and then the bank. Sold it earlier this year though at a VERY good price so money is sitting in bank waiting to buy me a nice home with land attached one day!
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Worked hard. Was lucky to be born with brains to earn a big salary and the wits to find it, then save it. Found a man who could do the same. Never bought designer labels or new cars. Hardly ever went on holiday and then never far or for long. Had a wedding that cost less than £1000 at today's values. Never wanted kids (BIG one that one!!!) Got lucky with paid-for career-driven house moves and one redundancy payoff but also grabbed every opportunity that came our way with both hands. Bought semi-derelict in a location no-one wanted at a time when the housing market was dying on its feet and the developer was going bust, then climbed a lot of ladders to sort it all out.

Worth every moment to have my babies in my garden
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(page 26 of Cheshire Life October issue if anyone wants to see it now its finished)
 
We had help from my in laws, as we weren't looking for land, but 5 acres with (very old and run down) barns and stables came up for sale a mile from home. I had dropped OH there (it literally borders a bridleway, I have off road riding at my gate!) to walk the dogs, we saw the for sale sign, I went to the Doctor, came home and OH had bought it!!! I'll always be grateful to my lovely in laws, they had just sold their country house hotel, my OH rang and asked if they'd like to invest in a pony paddock and they said yes. We have worked at it doing a lot of rebuilding, fencing etc etc, valued about 18 months ago and it's gone up in value a lot!
 
We moved out of Edinburgh 15 years ago, and did a straight financial swap of our double-upper 4 bed flat without garden for a 4-bed detached cottage and 5 acres 20 miles south. Snag is ... the 5 acres are totally unsuitable for horses (and to be fair to OH, I didn't have any at the time), being mainly woodland on a steep bank, so I rent land and stables from a neighbour and fume inwardly!
 
As Stencilface said, nan died over 20 years ago, mum was left money and fortunately for us bought some land that was for sale at the time. a huge amount was being sold in the village and was split into lots. We bought the best lot I reckon!

Got stables on it but really want to now have a school and also trying (with great difficulty) to get some form of dwelling built on it! Damn greenbelt! Lol

If we didn't have our own land though I wouldn't be able to afford to have a horse as couldn't afford livery. Hmm, wonder what i would be doing instead.......
 
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