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I've been offered a triangle of land by the farmer who owns the field behind a house I'm looking at buying. In terms of area it's ~75 square metres with fir trees on it, and awkward to access from the field.
I think the farmer is getting tired of trimming the trees (I suspect the deeds make him responsible for the problem). I have absolutely no idea whatsoever what it's worth. Any ideas?
what does he want to sell it for? Is there any gain for you having it or will it be a burden on you trimming trees as it seems to be for farmer
Presumably what it’s worth is what you’d be happy to pay for it as it doesn’t sound much use to anyone but you.
There won't be a one size fits all figure. Just depends what it is worth to you and to him. I'd say in the region of a few thousand but I've seen crappy bits of land go for a few hundred and for tens of thousands.
Or will it stop some huge builder putting houses on or near your property.
If it's connected to your land I'd buy it getting a value is hard. are there no local agents that deal in land auctions or sales if your out in the sticks someone will do it?
Also if it’s covered in trees does it have any forestry regulations around felling, replacing felled trees etc on it?
Literally what its worth to you and if that fits with him.
We bought some garden land from a neighbour in our old house. We wanted a bigger garden and they were getting on and struggling to manage their large garden. We paid £4k plus their solicitors fees and the new fencing. Total about £8k. That felt about right to us for the benefits. Much more and we wouldn't have bothered.
75 square metres
75m^2 or 75m x75m?. Also what part of the country. The fact it's all tree makes a difference. Is he expecting you to make the first offer? If he insists on this then just offer a few gand if it is only 8. Something meters by 8.something m and see what he says
So not really agricultural land, more woodland?
The rule of thumb for agricultrual land is £2-3k for not so good/poor location land. The average is £5-6k per acres for decent agricultural land, and in the £9-12k for prime (market garden quality) land.
But now add in location, access, opportunity to build on it (obtain planning), enhance a house/house plot, then so many variables.
What is the area in acreage or part thereof?
Cross referenced it with other sites selling woodlands such as https://www.woodlands.co.uk/
yeah this! If it's the former, that's pretty tiny for "land" but enough for you to have a bigger garden, somewhere to put up a hammock & have a den or something! So offer him a couple of grand & see what he says. If it's the latter then that's a whole different ball game (I'd still defintely go for it if I could afford it though!)75m^2 or 75m x75m?
What does he want to sell it for! With the new rural payments the amount of biodiversity on his land is linked to his payment...and planting up unviable land is one of the ways to achieve more £££££
What does "unusable agricultural land" actually mean in this context? Does in measure 75 m2 or 75x75m? Is there a field someone could stick a horse in with fir trees round it or is it actually a small copse of woodland (in which case don't value it as agricultural land). Is it fenced / enclosed in any way?
All these things depend on who else might want it (and in this case why the farmer might want rid of it). And obviously where it is in the country, and what the restricted covenants say (e.g. can you clear the trees, must you clear the trees, is there a right of access across it for neighbours etc).
Assuming its not suitable for crops, but might be for some sheep, goats, chickens etc - then prices vary from about 5-8K (about 7-10 if its actually suitable for crops), per acre and would never get planning or his restrictions stopping you building. if its 75 m2 (ie. say 10x7.5m) its only worth a few hundred quid for its "land" but obviously could be worth far more to someone who wants to use as an extension for their garden. If its 75x75m then would likely be worth up to 10k just for the land.
If its actually a wood rather than a field, there's a few wood4sale type sites around which should give you something to benchmark against - in Scotland 5-10k per acre seems about the right ball park for them, but can be much more if in an idyllic location or less if harvesting a small wood in the future will be a total PITA. Obviously, as a STW member you will be assessing its potential to fire your woodburner during the energy crisis. I suspect its probably not big enough to make a serious go of carbon offsetting type incentives - but there may be things you can get help with around biodiversity etc.
If it's of interest to you, make him an offer that you are happy with and see what he thinks. Has he already offered it to the current owners? Might be worth asking them to see if you can get an idea of how much he's looking for.
As above, watch out for TPOs and the like - would you want to keep the trees or take them down?
Oh, and whatever you do make sure the house purchase goes through first! You probably don't want a piece of land that's attached to someone elses back garden - might make it awkward when you turn up with a picnic and paddling pool.
Depending on how much he's wanting I'd tempted to buy it speculatively. Purely to prevent someone else doing the same as it's going to be on your boundary.
After recent winds
It's likely the farmer doesn't want the liability of owning trees near residential properties......
Is it woodland or agricultural land with a few trees on it?
Is there any development potential? I guess not based on size and shape.
Agricultural land prices vary according to region and quality (poor/average/good or low/average/high yield).
Savills, Carter Jonas and Knight Frank publish price information based on recent sales; also check Farmers Weekly.
National average prices per acre in Q2 2021 were £8.5k for arable and £6.7k for pasture.
Based on these prices and 75 sq mtr (0.015 acre) the land has a value between £105 and £138; can't see the farmer doing a deal at that level.
What's the land worth to you is probably a more important consideration.
Check with council if you're thinking about felling the trees.
Get a woodburner and let the timber season for a couple of years.
I've been and measured it. It's about 40 square metres (not 40m^2). Not big. It's just that the farmer has a completely different idea than me about what it's worth. Of course this also relies on the guy selling the house bordering it to sell that too, and there's also a difference of opinion here...
The key question must be is there enough gradient or features to be worth building trails! Pump track around the trees...
tiny! If the land is useless to him (or even a burden what with the trimming of the trees) then unless it's a "ransom strip" it's not going to be worth much at all! People can have funny ideas about what land [I]should[/I] be worth though!I’ve been and measured it. It’s about 40 square metres (not 40m^2). Not big. It’s just that the farmer has a completely different idea than me about what it’s worth.
As above pump track and cannabis farm, sorted
Suggest you point farmer Jim to farmers weekly and the land agents.
If he chooses to ignore actual sale prices, say thanks but no and walk away.
I'm confused about the size of the land. Are we talking about approx 6x6 metres or 40x40 metres?
I’ve been and measured it. It’s about 40 square metres (not 40m^2). Not big. It’s just that the farmer has a completely different idea than me about what it’s worth.
I'm still confused! 40 square meteres is 40m^2. Do you mean 40m x 40m - i.e. a chunk of land (1600m^2 - 0.4 acres). 40 square meters is a bit of land 6m x 6m in dimensions.
What does the farmer want for it?
Suggest you point farmer Jim to farmers weekly and the land agents.
If he chooses to ignore actual sale prices, say thanks but no and walk away.
As with most things... Theirs its cash value and theres it's actual value.
Ie what it's actually worth to you. Your idea of going in with the actual monitary value here is a wasted breath.
If you don't know what it's worth to you the answers probably - that you don't need the land.
it’s not going to be worth much at all! People can have funny ideas about what land should be worth though!
It isn't going to be worth much to almost everyone but it is going to be worth something to the owner of the house though. An extra chunk of garden like that could be very valuable to a small plot and the add on value could be as a percentage of the house value.
The trouble is its a very weird deal. Only one person wants it so that pushes the price down, but it is quite valuable to them pushing it back up. If you want to buy it then its up to the seller to name a price
If you want to buy it then its up to the seller to name a price
Surely you mean if the seller wants to sell it ......
If you want to buy it - you make the offer.... I mean no one wants to show their hand but if I wasn't desperate to sell why would I show mine ? Owner holds all the aces here unless he actually needs the money...
you say that, but then why hasn’t he sold it to the actual owner of the house and has instead approached someone who’s just viewing the property? 🤔 Because the owner’s told him to poke it! 😂 So OP just has to the buy the property then sit tight till the farmer accepts a sensible offer, as there are zero other interested parties 😀but it is going to be worth something to the owner of the house though. An extra chunk of garden like that could be very valuable to a small plot and the add on value could be as a percentage of the house value.
why’s he offering it to someone who hasn’t even bought the property yet then!! Sounds pretty desperate to me 😂but if I wasn’t desperate to sell why would I show mine
Might be interesting to get a hemp growers licence and find out what strains work best in those conditions.
Years of cross-breeding and you might have some lucrative seeds.
why’s he offering it to someone who hasn’t even bought the property yet then!! Sounds pretty desperate to me 😂
Doubtfully desperate enough to sell for 100-140 quid.
Virtually impossible to value. Prices of agricultural land per acre are basically irrelevant. They will be based on productivity and ROI. If you have 0.1 acres it's not like you'll be planting wheat on it.
Does it have a value to you? Does it have a cost the the farmer?
In context when my neighbours bought their house which is in the corner of a field they wanted to buy the adjoining unusable land which was about 10m x 5m. The farmer wanted £5k and wouldn't negotiate. The neighbours paid as it was worth it to have a much bigger garden. They are both happy, and their garden is lovely.
Thanks for the help, much appreciated. Not an issue now anyway as I showed some photos of the meter box and the "DANGER! DO NOT USE THIS EQUIPMENT" labels to an electrician mate who spotted some major issues just from a quick glance.
I know it's caveat emptor with houses but apparently he had tenants in this one yet no EICR, so the whole thing is screaming run away. I guess there's a reason it's been on the market for two years.