buy a field?

[slim40]

Can I say in advance I can guess that the question has probably already been asked on this massive forum but I haven't got 3 weeks to search for it.

I want to buy a little house with an acre here in buckinghamshire but I haven't got enough money. So I thought I'd buy a field instead.

However it's not like you can go to a site called buyfieldsinyourarea.com. I've also heard that farmers are often reluctant to put for sale signs by fields because they don't like locals knowing stuff about them so they keep sales of such things a bit hush hush.

I've looked at a few local farm estate agents who will sell you a 40 acre farm for 2 million quid.

So I thought I could just contact farmers and ask them direct, but I'm concerned about what kind of reception I'll get knocking on a farmers door and saying. "Hi I'm a nerd with childish fantasies about permaculture and the like and I want to buy one of your fields! I imagine they'd set the pigs on me.

Also even if a local farmer is open to the idea of selling an acre or two for me to play silly buggers how the heck do you work out which field belongs to which farmer?

I'm lost

Is there a good farmers forum where I couldalso find out?

[eccles]

we too would love to do the self sufficiency thing and have a place to live and some land, we too have very little money to do it. the best option scotland some quite cheap crofts and derelict buildings but of course u have to like the weather, the remoteness, the peace, the quiet,the tranquility the freedom and the escape, hold on my rose coloured glasses slipped on during that sentence.

[Rosendula]

It's how John Seymour got started, although that was a while ago, and he rented at first.

Instead of looking for the land and knocking on the door to ask if you can have it, why not try writing a letter to introduce yourself, say what you want and why you want it, and ask if they have any suitable land that you could have. You might like to include a brief description of your family who will be living there (if you have 15 children the farmer might not want you as a neighbour), and the sort of things you will be growing, animals you wish to rear, etc., etc. If you have any other skills it would be a good idea to mention that too. So if you're an ex-accountant, you might like to say that in your introduction about yourself, for example. If the farmer thinks there's a chance that you can both exchange knowledge and skills, there's more chance that he will accept you as a neighbour.

Obviously this is just an opinion. I haven't ever done anything like this, and I'm not a farmer so I'm just trying to imagine the scene from both sides. Best of luck!

[slim40]

hmmm.lots to think about

I think there was a bit of a misunderstanding though. I wasn't thinking of living on the land iwas just thinking of living off it. A property on 1 acre is going to cost pretty penny in buckinghamshire but a little house in my local town, an economical car with trailer and a nearby field would cost a lot less. I just read a book about permaculture and the author just bought a field without any kind of property on it.

I like the letter idea very much.

[Thomzo]

Around here (Wiltshire) little plots of grazing land do come up for sale quite regularly. Keep an eye on Rightmove.com (put land into the property type). I've just done this for Buckinghamshire and come up with 74 matches from £5,500 upwards.

This will then give you a list of agents that deal with land in your area. Then contact them, you might find that they are willing to do the legwork for you. The agents often have contacts with local farmers, builders and councils so can sniff out something suitable that you will never find.

Around here you often get little maintenance yards and the like which could easily be suitable if you are open to the possibilities of an akward plot which a builder won't want or a farmer can't easily use for monoculture.

Zoe

[Gert]

Another option is to talk to a Land Agent.
I rent a couple of acres through an agent, it belongs to the church, and he sorts out the rental for them. I've no idea what the prices would be like around you. But, for pasture I pay bewteen £30 - £60 per acre per year, dependent on what I want to use it for and the condition of the land. Buying is a nice idea, but beyond my means so this option suits me fine.

Best of luck

Gert

[snapdragon]

I'd look to rent first, often the bits that are for sale are grazing land only or permanent woodland, anything with permission to build/change of use is snapped up by the building fraternity for lotto winners to build their 'tesc0-alike' villas.

[cbs7lb]

I don't know a great deal about this, but I do know that land reserved for agricultural use is not terribly expensive and I would have thought you would be able to get an acre for a few grand. You could look into purchasing it from the farmer on leasehold with a caveat that that there would be no development on the land ever, which is a condition of agricultural land anyway I believe, but in theory if you own it outright you could potentially seek planning to change that in the future and farmers would not want that.

[happy place]

what i have done (without sucess ) is to find out who the local farmer is or who owns the relevant peace of land and make the direct approach in so much as i phoned them up checked it was a convinent time for them to have a quick chat. then gave a brief outline of whyb i wanted the land and what i intended to do with it followed by is it for sale or rent . i have never been told no just if you want to pay 4/5 times the value or even more its for sale . i have always been given the time and never had a rude response . i think that if you are polite and open about your intentions most people will listen to you

[lindsay]

Hello slim40

I've just found this site and seen your post about buying a field. Did you have any luck finding one? Hubby and I are in the exact same situation as you and are planning to buy a piece of land this year. We are in Lincolnshire and there are plots of around 3 or 5 acres available from time to time, but so far they've all been a bit more than we could afford.

Today I found out about a field of 1.86 acres with a guide price of £15,000, so I've asked the agent to post details to me asap. However, when I mentioned this to somebody they pointed out that £15,000 was a heck of a lot of vegetables/eggs/honey etc. and could not understand why we would do this. It is more a lifestyle thing than trying to save money by growing our own veg etc. We plan to build a dry toilet thingy on our field and then camp there at weekends. Put a slide and a climbing frame up for our daughter, that type of thing, as well as grow stuff and maybe keep bees.

I'd be interested to know if you have bought your field, or if you've had to give up on it? If you have got one, how is it working out?

Lindsay

[tizzy]

Have you thought about placing a wanted ad in a farming publication. You can state what area you are looking in and how much land you would be looking for.
What about renting a field with a view to buy eventually.
If you buy a few farming publications it will give you a better idea of which would be the best ones to advertise in.
Also, it wouldn't hurt to speak to a few selling agents who deal in farms and agricultural land. Look them up in the yellow pages and ask them to recommend other agricultural property sellers that they know of. They all know one another because they have to deal together for their clients business.

[southeast-isher]

I am a member of a group of small scale farmers who get together share ideas and have meetings - in your area i found a food group which sounds similar. I would email a letter to them on bucksandmk[at]food-group.net and ask them to put something in a member's newsletter or ask at a meeting. Good luck.