Would I be mad to buy a 5 acre field?

[BFG]

You wouldn't be mad - I think as with all land you'd be mad to do so without some research into the land in question. But then again, I was a soils engineer for 14 years so I'm a bit cautious as I've seen many bad things in the soil and much land that has been left undeveloped for a good reason.

Thanks. It's not undeveloped. It's arable land that's been recently cultivated. Bearing that in mind, could there be anything seriously wrong with it?

This will probably sound reckless to you, but I wasn't intending on doing any tests. What should I test? PH?

[NOG]

Have a chat with the Rating department in the Council and see how much the Business rates (NNDR) are..and see if you could take it out of rating (CRV7). If not you could be in for a big bil each year.

[SarzWix]

Just keep in mind that establishing woodland/trees isn't as straightforward as it might seem - my dad has been trying to do similar on his land for many years now and I've lost count of the number he's planted and lost. Apparently this is quite normal! He's only planted about half an acre (maybe three quarters at the most), and has planted near a thousand trees. Not much more than a third of them are still there, although that includes conifers planted as wind protection that have since been felled.
You should thoroughly investigate the cost of establishing woodland, before you rush into anything...

I hope this doesn't come across as too doom laden but I know how much it's cost Dad, and how much work he's put into it.

[zazen999]

Thanks. It's not undeveloped. It's arable land that's been recently cultivated. Bearing that in mind, could their be anything seriously wrong with it?

This will probably sounds reckless to you, but I wasn't intending on doing any tests. What should I test? PH?

I'd have to see and [don't laugh] smell it to comment.

Has anything ever been situated on it? Oil tanks....any buildings at all?

[By undeveloped I mean not built on]

pH is the minimum we would do, but if the land has not been built on and there are no previous buildings, and no history of anything sited there that could have affected the soil.

I'd also look into the area that it is in for future development - ie, is it a conservation area, are there newish developments in the vicinity, is there decent road access, where is the nearest river, what's the water table, does it flood, I could probably go on....and on

[BFG]

Souds like you've made up your mind BFG. Hope your offer gets accepted and you have many happy years in your woodland.

Thanks. I have pretty much made my mind up, just wanted a sanity check before it was too late.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the responses. I was expecting people to tell me I was being dumb/unrealistic and 5 acres would break me or be unmanageable and turn into a nightmare.

Does anyone have any experience of buying land? Is it okay to make an offer as you would a house, or is the asking price the asking price?

To be honest, I think it's on a fair price that I would be willing to pay and I'm already nervous of missing out, so doubt I'd be able to play hard ball and make a cheeky offer and leave them with it for a few weeks.

[Hilary B]

If the land is 'agricultural' then you can grow wood, or any of a lot of other things. Willowis good, but needs wet land. If you have any doubts about how much moisture there will be ash might be a better bet. Ash is very useful stuff, makes the best firewood around (traditionally), and responds well to coppicing. It is also reasonably good for making gates and tool handles (among other things).
If you want your patch of land to benefit wildlife, you need to grow a mix of things. Hazel is another useful one, that can be 'pruned' to provide useful wood , and of course there are the nuts! Both these are 'cut and come again' species, which is probably what you want. If you fancy planting a few slow growing types for future generations,there is always oak, or beech is less slow. I would recommend a mixture opf as many of these as possible.
If wildlife and environmental matters are important to you avoid Eucalyptus. It doesn't belong here, and if there is 'some water but not much' down there, eucalyptus will grab every last drop, leaving other species struggling. I wouldn't go for much coniferous either (maybe a couple of pines).
Whether a pond is viable depends on soil type, water table, and a variety of other factors. If you have clay, you will probably be able to make some sort of pond. If the soil is more permeable, it will depend on so much else.
Check soil type, then read up about what likes that sort of soil, and balance it against what you can use, and what will like the way you intend to use things.

[BFG]

Have a chat with the Rating department in the Council and see how much the Business rates (NNDR) are..and see if you could take it out of rating (CRV7). If not you could be in for a big bil each year.

business rates?

Do they really charge them on a field?

That would REALLY pee on my bonfire!

Thanks. I'll look into it.

[Hilary B]

Thanks. I have pretty much made my mind up, just wanted a sanity check before it was too late.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the responses. I was expecting people to tell me I was being dumb/unrealistic and 5 acres would break me or be unmanageable and turn into a nightmare.

Does anyone have any experience of buying land? Is it okay to make an offer as you would a house, or is the asking price the asking price?

To be honest, I think it's on a fair price that I would be willing to pay and I'm already nervous of missing out, so doubt I'd be able to play hard ball and make a cheeky offer and leave them with it for a few weeks.

There is nothing to stop you making an offer, unless you think someone else might make a better one. Soil type is SO important, because it determines what the land is suited to.
What crops has the farmer been in the habit of growing, and why is he selling that field????

[BFG]

REf Hazel above, it must be a good long term investment. I am actually an Independent Financial Advisor and keen veg grower, and what you are proposing is a lifelong dream of mine, But of course I couldnt possibly commenton the viability!! I would want to be as self sufficient in developing the plotas possible, taking account of the time scales, budget etc. Whether you should borrow to buy, is debatable, but rates are low currently, but what will happen when the marlkets pick up and rates rise, as surely they will within 12 months at least. One of my best friend's sons has a small holding in the Midlands and its all about lifestyle and personal choice.

I'm on a long term fixed rate mortgage, so it should be manageable. I am usually debt adverse and the mortgage is the only debt I have.

I just see this as a very rare opportunity to have my dream land within walking distance of my house and am willing to increase my debt a bit to make it happen.

At least the debt is buying an asset and I'll be paying it off as quickly as I can to minimise the interest burden.

It could well be a good inflation hedge too. With all the stupidly low interest rates, bailouts and money printing going on, I expect high inflation in the mid future.

It goes against my "debt is bad" attitude, but if we do get serious inflation, being in debt and holding physical assets is the way to go IMHO. The value of the debt is eroded and the value of commodity is increased.

Of course, we could get deflation instead and I'll be screwed.

[BFG]

Just keep in mind that establishing woodland/trees isn't as straightforward as it might seem - my dad has been trying to do similar on his land for many years now and I've lost count of the number he's planted and lost. Apparently this is quite normal! He's only planted about half an acre (maybe three quarters at the most), and has planted near a thousand trees. Not much more than a third of them are still there, although that includes conifers planted as wind protection that have since been felled.
You should thoroughly investigate the cost of establishing woodland, before you rush into anything...

I hope this doesn't come across as too doom laden but I know how much it's cost Dad, and how much work he's put into it.

That's great, I want someone else without the rose tinted specs on to give me any reality checks I need.

I'd intend to take my time and do it over a few years, making use of cuttings and seeds etc. and buy as little as possible.

I guess there's rabbits and deer to worry about that I don't even consider normally.

[BFG]

If the land is 'agricultural' then you can grow wood, or any of a lot of other things. Willowis good, but needs wet land. If you have any doubts about how much moisture there will be ash might be a better bet. Ash is very useful stuff, makes the best firewood around (traditionally), and responds well to coppicing. It is also reasonably good for making gates and tool handles (among other things).
If you want your patch of land to benefit wildlife, you need to grow a mix of things. Hazel is another useful one, that can be 'pruned' to provide useful wood , and of course there are the nuts! Both these are 'cut and come again' species, which is probably what you want. If you fancy planting a few slow growing types for future generations,there is always oak, or beech is less slow. I would recommend a mixture opf as many of these as possible.
If wildlife and environmental matters are important to you avoid Eucalyptus. It doesn't belong here, and if there is 'some water but not much' down there, eucalyptus will grab every last drop, leaving other species struggling. I wouldn't go for much coniferous either (maybe a couple of pines).
Whether a pond is viable depends on soil type, water table, and a variety of other factors. If you have clay, you will probably be able to make some sort of pond. If the soil is more permeable, it will depend on so much else.
Check soil type, then read up about what likes that sort of soil, and balance it against what you can use, and what will like the way you intend to use things.

Some good ideas there.

If it happens I'll plan it all out properly, but I envisage a few standard Oaks and other hardwoods dotted about (Will make a good pension fund if times are hard!), with the rest being a good mix (for fruit/nuts/firewood/wildlife etc) and coppiced periodically.

And yes, LOADs of ash.

Good tip about the Eucalyptus. I'm actually growing some from seed now. I was intending to use them as part of my hedge as they're supposed to deter mosquitoes and the like. I might have to reconsider now. If I keep them to 7-8 foot in a hedge, will their roots still go mad? Are they a danger to drains? I might bury an old steel bath and plant them in that to be on the safe side.

[BFG]

I'd have to see and [don't laugh] smell it to comment.

Has anything ever been situated on it? Oil tanks....any buildings at all?

[By undeveloped I mean not built on]

pH is the minimum we would do, but if the land has not been built on and there are no previous buildings, and no history of anything sited there that could have affected the soil.

I'd also look into the area that it is in for future development - ie, is it a conservation area, are there newish developments in the vicinity, is there decent road access, where is the nearest river, what's the water table, does it flood, I could probably go on....and on

Oh, Ok, my bad. I don't think it's ever been built on. There's certainly nothing there now or any signs of anything ever being there.

It boarded by the village bypass and 2 fields in very rural location.

Road access I'm not sure about. It has access rights, but does that normally include cars or just on foot? I guess if I was a farmer, I'd need to get my tractor to it. I'll check it out more.

There's a reservoir (with overflow) 25m or so from one of the corners of the plot and the field is above that, so I assume there's no flood/water logging risk.

All good things to consider, which I hadn't before.

[Snadger]

If you were going to incorporate a meadow you would probably need a small tractor and topper for cutting it. You would need to be able to store these as well. If you had the idea that it would just grow 'Au natural' it would possibly become a fire risk in the summer.

When buying a house, a solicitor does a 'search' on the land to make sure there are no covenants on the land or they are not going to run a six lane motorway through it for instance so a solicitor could be required?

I also think NOG has a very pertinent point about land rates which needs looking in to. I also wonder why the land is for sale? Is the seller selling off just a small portion of their land to realise a bit of capital?

If you do go ahead with it I must admit I really envy you and would love to here how you get on with it.

Good luck and I hope all goes well for you!

[shoreham_steve]

What do you think? Would you do it? Am I crazy?[/QUOTE]

Crazy? Totally barking, BFG - but don't let that stop you, go for it if it feels right and good luck to you.

[Hilary B]

I've seen eucalyptus growing in Spain and Portugal and while they are useful as fast growing timber, they do have drawbacks, and in some of the dryer areas efforts are beign made to get rid of them because they outcompete other species for water. I don't know how they would respond to being kept to hedge size, but you would probably get a LOT of prunings!
In South Africa (where we had a short but lovely holiday on a tiny game reserve) they are a real nuisance. They planted some in the 60s/70s for timber, thought better of it after 25 years or so,cut down all they could, only to discover that the eucalyptus had spead into the hills where control was impractical. Apparently some native trees are all but extinct as a result.
I probably over-react a bit, but I just don't like the things!