So I'm thinking about buying a woodland so I can shout "get arf my laaaaand" at people. But also because I'd like a quiet spot to build some dirt jumps, a wooden lean-to and have a few summer barbeques. Before I go any further does anyone have any ideas abut the downsides to owning land, are there any yearly fees I need to pay such as an equivalent of council tax etc? Anyone else have experience of anything similar?
Woodland needs maintaining but you probably know that and it's all part of the fun.
The only downside I can think of are the maintenance costs and the fact that the land may not increase in value so there is the opportunity cost of not investing in something else.
I suppose cost wise you are looking at land only but if you could find a plot with a small house on you might be able to let the house while using the woodland. That way you'd have a lot more potential upside if you chose re-develop.
Coincidentally last night I bought 3.5 acres of poplar coppice at an auction.
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
There are no annual fees or taxes to pay. Cant really think of any downsides. You have certain amount of responsibility in terms of what Id call "good husbandry", maintaining a healthy habitat, not endangering anyone using public rights of way etc. YOu have to consider what kind of access rights you have: machinery, car, trailer, by foot only etc.
Ive bought mine as a secure fuel supply, to learn about coppicing and also for camping out with the boys etc. [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/that-portable-wood-burnerpics ](hence Portable stove thread)[/url]
Interesting sites:
http://tlio.org.uk/chapter7/
http://www.thelandmagazine.org.uk/
Fill yer boots:
http://www.osbornes.co.uk/scotland.htm
http://www.ckdgalbraith.co.uk/farm-estate-details?farm=true
I was just about to complete on a purchase of 8 acres of mature'ish woodland this summer but pulled out.
Main reason was the continued cost of perimeter maintenance due to trespassers shooting.
What sort of prices are we looking at per acre?
Cheers fellas, sounds like something definitely worth persuing.
Stoner - congrats, sounds like you're going to get a lot of enjoyment out of it.
I hate auctions though. It took half an hour for my heart rate to drop back below 300bpm 😉
I did get to meet the vendor though. Nice chap who had bought the coppice 4 years ago about a year after it had been clear harvested. He had hardly been back there as apparently his circumstances changed whatever that might mean. So it's been let go. I reckon there's a good 3 years work to get the coppice rotation sorted and identify which trees I want to retain as standards. I needed a new project.
Paceman, for pricing check out sites like:
http://www.woodlands.co.uk/
http://www.woods4sale.co.uk/
BUT discount their prices by about 10-25% to allow for their shilling the product - as agency fees for small woodland plots arent very lucrative compared to other land sales. This is where auctions are handy.
Pacer - try here for guide prices, seem to be about 10k an acre but soem are less.
[url] http://www.woodlands.co.uk/buying-a-wood/central-england/ [/url]
Edit - stoner beat me to it 🙂
and the price per acre can vary a lot depending not only on location (natch) but also what surveyors would call a "quantum discount".
i.e. a 2 acre plot might be 30% more expensive per acre than a 100acre one.
Do you not have to pay for public liability insurance too - even when there are no right of way across 'your' land?
Do you not have to pay for public liability insurance too
Do you have to do it for your garden?
Forget about buying woodland, I want one of those massive barns from Stoner's link... Indoor bike track anyone?
Basically I'm looking at it as an investment that I can enjoy. Also what would I rather have - 5k dropped on a new top of the range funny sized wheeled bike or an acre of land to play on as I like.
massive barns?
Oops- was Matt Outandabout's link not yours, sorry stoner!
you'll have to move to the heathen lands of north for those though...
The trees on he land direct relate to cost as well. An acre of Oak is worth more than an acre of Pine. Obvious really.
www.Woodland.co.uk stuff is vastly expensive. There are/use to be tax breaks for buying woodland so a lot of richer types bought and didn't maintain. A great "hobby" that became too much work.
Tim
Hi Tim, are there any other resources to find woodland that isn't overpriced then, or is it just a case of finding specialist agents in a local area?
You can ask around in the pub if any farmers want to offload copses - if they arent using them for shooting cover they may be surplus to requirements, but I had little joy with that.
In the end you just have to keep grilling the Rural Land Agents.
Where are you looking?
Looking in the North West - West Lancashire. Have been looking casually for a year or two, theres a small woodland (.85 acre) within 30 minutes of me with a small pond for offers over 5k I'm thinking might be worth a more serious look.
Are there any restrictions on useage that you know of? I mean obviously I can't build a house, but what about a pump track between the trees and a wooden shack? Is there likely to be restrictions on which trees I can cut down?
No, but local papers, farmers and pubs are a good call.
It's a specialist area and difficult to value beyond the value of the trees that are actually standing.
Wooden shacks might be a problem as well. Dwellings of any sort aren't allowed IIRC from the limited research I did a while back. Even tents have a limited amount of time they are allwoed to be up.
Saying that, if you find something properly rural without any publice rights of way near it I'm sure you'll be able to get away with a lot more than the woodlands with a ridleway/footpath through the middle of them.
heya
My parents have a woodland around 50 acres but just for enjoyment fun (+tax efficient investment)
This is their wood:
http://www.swog.org.uk/articles/swog-meeting-at-hendall/
http://www.swog.org.uk/news/hendall-wood-east-sussex-by-duncan-and-bridget/
Careful trying to put up a shed, they did and were forced by planning to take it down again, not a big one either (caravans look 100 times worse but are better from a planning point of view)
also try:
http://www.swog.org.uk/
and +1 on woodlands for sale being overpriced you want estate break ups and people selling fields for horses etc with a woodland on the side.
in my opinion its worth avoinding anything with footpaths through if you can and a pump track would be fine
feel free to mail me any Q's if you want to know something specific
+1 on liability insurance too (its cheap though)
Thanks Titusrider. Your parents wood looks epic! Informative read about erecting a shed as well in that link.
oh just remembered, woodland for sale have clauses in their sale agreements that resrict what you do
(ie they have 6 small woodlands to sell from on big one split up and they dont want you running a motocross track, etc)
Congratulations on the purchase, Stoner.
Long time no see, etc.
With regards to sheds etc. my brother-in-law is a farmer who still has some prewar shephers' huts, basically sheds on wheels, which look right and which can be moved around the wood as required.
If they weren't full of chicken crap and old iron, they could be made very comfortable.
If you've got a pond on the site, it may be worth talking to some local fishing types. A friend was telling me recently, that he and a couple of others rent a small lake for a nominal fee, but stock it themselves, maintain it and keep the banks clear of overgrowth, access clear etc.
Could be some free maintenance for you.
hey Moses, hope things are well. You must come up and visit sometime.
With respect to sheds, this is useful
as is this
http://www.tlio.org.uk/chapter7/diy-planning-handbook
