Any landowners here?

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esox

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May 15, 2003
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I`ve been toying with the idea of buying some land for `recreational purposes` - one acre would be enough.
Grazing/paddock/pasture, that sort of thing.
An acre around here is about 40K+.
However, there is for sale locally two/three fields totalling some 40 acres (far too much for what i require but what the heck) for 50K and marketed as being suitable as an `agricultural opportunity`.
It`s leasehold on a peppercorn rent on the remainder of a 1000 year lease.
What`s the catch, why so cheap?
I don`t know anything about buying land, is being the leaseholder on such a long lease just a secure as owning outright or could something sinister cause me grief in the future?
Am i missing something basic here?
Yes there`s an overage clause but i`m not looking at this being an investment, am i likely to get my money back in 15 years time?
 
Planning or lack of will dictate price. If it's agricultural land? You will be unlikely to get any plans, including recreational.

1 acre will not hold too many horses, if any at all.

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A long lease could give you the same kind of rights as freehold, but you should check whether here are any impediments such as clauses in the lease that require you to allow access over the land, or to maintain something on the land, or that forbid any development. There could be all kinds of requirements in he lease, anything is possible.

You'd have to ask the seller for a copy of the lease and read it VERY carefully. Depending on when the lease was granted, It could be an antique document written in elaborate copperplate script and be hard to fathom out. Or it could be typed if you're lucky.

It does sound cheap but agricultural land is often only worth something in line with what farm produce can be produced from it, and crop / animal prices are not very high. That said, buying land is trendy and this has generally pushed prices up even if there seems no chance at all it could ever get planning permission to be built on. Buying woodland is very 'in' at the moment so it's got expensive. I thought £10k per acre was about the going rate for general land - though farm produce prices don't support that kind of price.

Where in U.K. are you?
 
Paddock is currently selling for circa £12k an acre in the South East. Agricultural land (farmers fields etc) in the region of £10K and acre.

That said a stand alone Equestrian facility of 5 acres with barn could be as much as £150K, it depends how much someones want it.

The same 5 acres paddock attached to a moderate house in the South East then becomes an "Equestrian Home" and that adds £500K, so it's sometimes not particularly clear cut.

Building plots with planning permission can be as much as £1M an acre.

The value of agricultural land will be determined by what you can do with it, it will have a designation as to the land quality which will determine if it's grazing quality, farming quality or simply so carp that there's nothing more you can do with it than have a bit of paintballing on it and maybe a festival (STPP of course).

Ask the agent for particulars then start reading up on what you can and can't do with it. Remember as the owner you will be responsible for the upkeep. Are there tree preservation orders? Is there a home of the rearest bat/badger/hedgehog/weavil/platypus in Europe and you can't disturb it.

Buyer beware with this stuff, there's no consumer law when buying land, just legal requirements.
 
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I`ve been toying with the idea of buying some land for `recreational purposes` - one acre would be enough.
Grazing/paddock/pasture, that sort of thing.
An acre around here is about 40K+.
However, there is for sale locally two/three fields totalling some 40 acres (far too much for what i require but what the heck) for 50K and marketed as being suitable as an `agricultural opportunity`.
It`s leasehold on a peppercorn rent on the remainder of a 1000 year lease.
What`s the catch, why so cheap?
I don`t know anything about buying land, is being the leaseholder on such a long lease just a secure as owning outright or could something sinister cause me grief in the future?
Am i missing something basic here?
Yes there`s an overage clause but i`m not looking at this being an investment, am i likely to get my money back in 15 years time?

But what does ''agricultural opportunity'' mean? To me, that implies part bog, no drainage on the remainder, poor soil condition, no hedge rows, no fencing and possibly poor access etc. It could even be a small mountain. :D God only knows.

If it was good agricultural land I'd expect a guide price of c.10k per acre with the land never having the possibility of being zoned for any other purpose.

Still 40 acres for 50k, you could in theory do a lot worse as the land won't be going anywhere, ever! ;)
 
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John Jones Jr said:
Yep. We've three horses on eight acres (three fields). The horses are rotated like crops! :D

I have 1.5 acres. I was told once that it is 1.5 acres per horse with good grazing. No idea if that is true.

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I have 1.5 acres. I was told once that it is 1.5 acres per horse with good grazing. No idea if that is true.

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Yeah, I say that's good enough. What do you do for feed?
 
I have 1.5 acres. I was told once that it is 1.5 acres per horse with good grazing. No idea if that is true.

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Bruce , you do have a big one !
 
^^^ Yep, i have to admit, having the opportunity to holler `Oi, get orff moi laaaaand` is also an added attraction!

The land in question is probably not the best for growing stuff but it has been previously farmed - if only for straw/hay/silage/whatever it is, maybe not crops. That doesn`t bother me i don`t have any inclination to be a part-time farmer.
There`s no services at the moment (again not a requirement for me), access details i don`t know about yet but it`s right by an A road - is it just a question of cutting a hole in the hedge?!
I`m not interested in planning or development potential, the area is sensitive and borders a National Park, so is highly unlikely anyway.
It`s in Hampshire.
I`d just want to use it for 10 - 15 years then sell it and recoup my money, although a increase in value wouldn`t be a bad thing (the overage clause would put a stop to me making a fortune, however).
I simply want my own field for flying my paramotor from without relying on local farmers some of whom are approachable and friendly enough to allow me to do this but obviously only when crops or livestock permit.
Flying days are rare enough as it is and when you miss opportunities for weeks on end during the best time of the year because there`s sheep in the field or the grass is too long or there`s crops growing it can be rather frustrating..
I could also host mini `dooos` for my biker mates and tear around on pitbikes and get drunk around a huge fire a couple of times a year..:eek:
Reading that back i sound like the neighbour from hell don`t i!!
Nah, i assure you it`ll all be very civilised, i am a respectable pilot i have you know....:)
This is why one acre would be enough, i think the size of this particular lot would probably be unmanageable for me, i was more intrigued as to why the leasehold on it was so cheap compared to freehold.
If i could buy 1 acre in the right spot for 10 - 15k i`d snap it up..
 

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