Value of Garden

kinger101

GDB2222 wrote: »

Whilst true, I struggle to see how that helps the OP to formulate any plans?

It's infinitely more useful than what you've written in post 10 though. My feeling is it's not going to diminish the value of the neighbour's land by much given they have 14 acres. I might therefore start at £2,500 plus agree to pay all their costs. Alternatively, ask the neighbour what they want for it.

henry24

GDB2222 wrote: »

If the land can definitely never be built on, you might start off by valuing the neighbour's loss at agricultural land value, say £3,000 per acre. The bit you want to buy is 0.034 of an acre, so that works out at £100. Maybe a bit more if you use the sort of price per acre that small parcels such as pony paddocks sell for. That's hardly compelling from his point of view, even if you double or treble it.

However, your gain is going to be much higher, I assume. So a fair value would be roughly half your gain, and that might be enough to get your neighbour interested. Are you able to assess that at all accurately?

This is something to think about. It can never be built on because of where it is. Agricultural land around here is about £9000 an acre which is £400 for his bit so hardly worth it to him.
Working out my gain is harder I brought my bungalow 3 years ago for £172000 spent 18 months and £40000 doing it up and when valued 12 months ago is worth £260000.
The land is completely over grown and would need a fence around it but I would go up to £3000 for it if I had to.

kinger101

henry24 wrote: »

This is something to think about. It can never be built on because of where it is. Agricultural land around here is about £9000 an acre which is £400 for his bit so hardly worth it to him.
Working out my gain is harder I brought my bungalow 3 years ago for £172000 spent 18 months and £40000 doing it up and when valued 12 months ago is worth £260000.
The land is completely over grown and would need a fence around it but I would go up to £3000 for it if I had to.

Start at half what you'd pay. The price of agricultural land is not relevant. I think if you got it for £3K, it would still be a steal. Doubling the size of a garden on a £260K house has to be worth more than that.

henry24

kinger101 wrote: »

It's infinitely more useful than what you've written in post 10 though. My feeling is it's not going to diminish the value of the neighbour's land by much given they have 14 acres. I might therefore start at £2,500 plus agree to pay all their costs. Alternatively, ask the neighbour what they want for it.

I have asked him but he is in his late 70s and getting an answer isn't easy I don't think he's bothered about money , he leaves the land to grow wild and just walks round it now and then.

Mojisola

henry24 wrote: »

I have asked my neighbour if he would sell me a small piece of his garden he as about 14 acres all very rough. The bit is 17m x 8m and can only ever be used as garden.
How would I value it to be fair to both of us? it would more than double my garden and don't really want to get an agent in because of the cost.

When you work out the limit of your offer, remember that you will also have to cover the cost of changing both property deeds.

GDB2222

henry24 wrote: »

This is something to think about. It can never be built on because of where it is. Agricultural land around here is about £9000 an acre which is £400 for his bit so hardly worth it to him.
Working out my gain is harder I brought my bungalow 3 years ago for £172000 spent 18 months and £40000 doing it up and when valued 12 months ago is worth £260000.
The land is completely over grown and would need a fence around it but I would go up to £3000 for it if I had to.

I don't quite know how you get at your £3000? You say that 17m x 8m would more than double the size of your garden, so it must be fairly small at the moment. That wouldn't put me off, as I don't like gardening but it would certainly put some buyers off. Yet, you've decided on a maximum of around 1% of the property value for the extra land. You may get it for less, of course, but it may be worth more than that to you.

Just bear in mind that you'll have legal costs plus surveyor's costs on top. Quite possibly, the vendor's legal costs, too.

I recently did a similar transaction for some land in London, and I think I got off quite lightly with only £1000 for the vendor's legal costs, as they used a large firm. The surveyors were about £300.

Assuming that the vendors have a mortgage, they'll need their lenders' permission for this to go ahead.

somethingcorporate

henry24 wrote: »

I have asked him but he is in his late 70s and getting an answer isn't easy I don't think he's bothered about money , he leaves the land to grow wild and just walks round it now and then.

Then unlikely he is going to want to play ball....

invite him over for tea and cakes and see what he thinks. You're going to need to do all the running if he really is not that bothered,

henry24

GDB2222 wrote: »

I don't quite know how you get at your £3000? You say that 17m x 8m would more than double the size of your garden, so it must be fairly small at the moment. That wouldn't put me off, as I don't like gardening but it would certainly put some buyers off. Yet, you've decided on a maximum of around 1% of the property value for the extra land. You may get it for less, of course, but it may be worth more than that to you.

Just bear in mind that you'll have legal costs plus surveyor's costs on top. Quite possibly, the vendor's legal costs, too.

I recently did a similar transaction for some land in London, and I think I got off quite lightly with only £1000 for the vendor's legal costs, as they used a large firm. The surveyors were about £300.

Assuming that the vendors have a mortgage, they'll need their lenders' permission for this to go ahead.

£3000 was a figure I thought it would be worth to me, it's only 1% because of the work I have done to make it worth £260k 3 years ago it was £172k. I have a big front garden but very small back one. The land my house is built on was sold by the same man about 40 years ago to a couple who built the house and lived in it until they died.
Why would I need a survey on a piece of field? Legal costs here are cheap like most things. They don't have a mortgage.

ThinkingOutLoud_2

So assuming when you asked your neighbour, he didn't say no, then maybe this can be done.

You have to know your legal costs to be sure that plus whatever sum he wants is within your means.

Legals costs may be the highest part if you are right. So asking a local solicitor for a view on their costs may lead them to offer their "experience" of any similar transactions they have handled. They will also be able to advise if the land can change status from being agricultural to a residential garden. After all, their willingness to quote is pointless for them, if you don't go ahead.

OR, do you know a local estate agent from buying the house? You could get them round to speculatively confirm your value and casually ask for a view what having double your garden size would be worth (but remember he may know the owner too!).

da_rule

Legal costs could be increased as the land you are buying may be unregistered. You would therefore be doing a sale of part of unregistered land, so would potentially need all of the deeds relating to your neighbours house. These would then have to be checked to ensure that there are no covenants/easements that affect the area you are buying. It may be worth getting a few quotes before you make an offer so you don't get surprised etc.

Also, do you have a mortgage? If you do, and you're looking to merge the new land and your existing land onto one title then you may need your lenders consent, who may insist on a survey/valuation. This may add extra costs, so it might be prudent to speak to them as well before making an offer (if you haven't already).