boxst

Hello

My wife and I have spotted some land for sale (about 6 acres) with a derelict barn. Who knows whether we can build our 'dream house' on it. We certainly think so, and are thinking about taking a risk. In order to do so we would have to get another mortgage (not that high) and then see.

Anyway, to mitigate some of the cost, does anyone know how much people pay to have horses grazing etc..? It is suitable for that, and I just wondered if it all goes horribly wrong and we have to resell, if we can get some money to offset the payments in the meantime so it wasn't a complete loss.

Thanks!

Steve

DCI Gene Hunt

Fully DIY is about 25 - 30 per week/per horse, although you do need agreement from the local council to do this.... and believe it or not the tax man has to have his chunk as well............

Check with your local council first, then take it from there...... if you through up some stables and then look after the horses for the riders you are looking at between 300 and 400 pounds per month for each horse..

Dave T-S

If it were possible to get planning on it, someone would have done so already with the resultant uplift in selling price.

In general planners do not like barns converted for domestic use - they prefer them being used for a business then they don't have to look like a house - windows, chimneys etc.

If it is outside the local development plan/village envelope you won't have a hope in hell of getting planning consent.

The planners do not like new houses in the countryside unless they are of architectural merit.

Virtually all delelopments bought speculatively fail to get planning.

There can be exceptions - if it is to support an agricultural business for example, but the planners have seen all the dodges.

Good luck, but you are almost certainly buying an expensive bit of grazing land.

Grade 1 agricultural land is about £3-4000 an acre, amenity land £10-20k an acre, and a 6 acre building plot could be anything from 250-600,000 for full planning permission for one house up to £6m for 60 (obviously depending on location etc).

Lastly, don't be surprised to see a mortgage lender unenthusiastic about it.

boxst

Hello

Thank you both for the information. There is no planning permission. I wanted to leave the barn alone, build another (big) house behind it and plant an orchard for an organic business. Then perhaps renovate the barn as something like a barn.

Steve

Dave T-S

Ring the planners and have an informal chat.

For a business you would have to prove it is viable to get them on your side. If they were to give consent they will probably put an agricultural restriction on the property which would make it almost impossible to be sold in the future, and it is VERY difficult to get these lifted.

Sorry to be negative, but being realistic

richardg

not necessarily dave, if everyone thought like that nothing would happen and there wouldn't be so many barn conversions around. often people don't bother, thinking it will too much of a pain but that's where developers and speculators jump in; do a deal and at the time, everyone's happy.

planning issues depend on where a barn is and of course every application is considered on its own merits

richardg

...although generally speaking, new build won;t be viewed favourably (obviously depends on location). having said that, i do know a few people who have acheived this. one farms ostriches and is a property investor and the other is a cattle farmer.