Costs involved in owning a plot of land with trees

ansaryon

RHemmings said:

I visited the piece of land mentioned in the OP, and the two other pieces of land nearby today. They are really, really, nice. Much better than I thought they would be from the photos.

They do look pretty idyllic! If you're seriously interested in any of the bits of land, it'd be worth going to the Land Registry and paying £3 for a copy of the deeds - for example, assuming they're used by the public, you might need to look into public liability insurance if you bought the land. (E.g. a tree bough falls onto someone who's walking through the land - they could go after you for not maintaining the tree).

The other thing is the sheer cost of getting everything checked (££££) and any work done - such as crown reductions where needed, pulling out any diseased or dead trees, even lopping off branches which have grown awkwardly. That would be in five figures easily for any of those bits of land.

What normally happens around here is that these odd bits of land get bought up by someone who then plonks a 5G mast on them - guaranteed income for many years through the rent paid by the telecom company. They're never more than a few thousand to buy and they always seem to go without the locals being aware. To my knowledge none of the ones around here have had houses built on them, but I've not checked the deeds. Any trees tend to be far smaller than those in your pictures.

(I'm also guessing that simply mowing the grass can be a palaver too, you'd need a petrol mower at a start, then what do you do with the clippings? Presumably the current owner arranges for a contractor to do it).

Grumpy_chap

ansaryon said:

In effect, it cost £80K for 225sqm of land - something nobody would ever consider good value, 

I think that is absolutely amazing value and would bite your hand off for it.
You don't say where in the country you are - maybe there are lot's of such plots in your area that diminish the value.

In my road, there is a single and rather dilapidated garage with no utilities and access via an unmade road.  I was interested in the purchase when it last exchanged hands Christmas before Covid but the price went to £113.5k which was far more than I could raise.  The same garage is for sale again now, exactly the same apart from being another 5 years dilapidated, for the sum of £175k.  I still won't be buying it, but would jump quickly if I had access to £175k.

ansaryon

Grumpy_chap said:

ansaryon said:

In effect, it cost £80K for 225sqm of land - something nobody would ever consider good value, 

I think that is absolutely amazing value and would bite your hand off for it.
You don't say where in the country you are - maybe there are lot's of such plots in your area that diminish the value.

There's not many of them around, and the whole plot (including the bungalow) was £180K - for 480sqm. The surveyor eventually came up with a figure of £100K for the bungalow and its part of the plot, so that's what I charged my friend. The bungalow itself was valued at zero, FWIW, it was the land that attracted the £100K valuation.

As for where I live - it's in Kent, but the area (on the Isle of Sheppey) is in the top 1% most deprived parts of England. I think I got a good deal, though, as the plot was probably worth £200K or perhaps slightly more. Luckily I had first refusal (the perks of getting on with your neighbour), much to the annoyance of at least one local developer!

user1977

ansaryon said:

RHemmings said:

I visited the piece of land mentioned in the OP, and the two other pieces of land nearby today. They are really, really, nice. Much better than I thought they would be from the photos.

If you're seriously interested in any of the bits of land, it'd be worth going to the Land Registry and paying £3 for a copy of the deeds

No need to pay money in relation to the plot being sold - the auction legal pack includes the titles.

RHemmings

And now someone is selling a bit of land that was previously a railroad line. 

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140922956#/?channel=COM_BUY

lr1277

Haven't read the whole thread so don't know if this has been covered.

Will you need security for the land?

Is there anything worth stealing on your land?

What happens if one or more people decide to camp on your land? What if they start a business on your land? What happens if their ablutions start getting to unexpected places or maybe to the neighbours. As it is your land you would be responsible and probably be answerable to the police or the council.

What happens if a bunch of travellers decide to call your land home?

How would you get rid of people on your land?

Would you be able to visit the poperty every day or every other day to make sure nothing untoward is happening?

Edited to add: Can you afford a caretaker to stay on or near the land?

I mention these things because my dad had some farmland in the 'old' country which had to be left due to strife in the country. The locals stole any produce. This may have included theft by the caretaker appointed to look after the land.

2nd edit: What happens if people are camping on your land with or without your permission. Then an old dead tree branch lands on them either injuring them or at worst killing them. Will you need public liability insurance? If so, I imagine the insurers will impose conditions on you around things like security and access.

RHemmings

All of these things are possible, but locals in the housing estate with the first three pieces of land say it's very quiet and no problems. Clearly that can change. 

For the old railway land, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of things are happening there. 

chanz4

all the councils are selling off

lr1277

RHemmings said:

All of these things are possible, but locals in the housing estate with the first three pieces of land say it's very quiet and no problems. Clearly that can change. 

For the old railway land, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of things are happening there. 

The locals can say what they like, you will be the one held responsible either financially or legally. Tread carefully.

Or another idea is to buy the land and hand it over to a woodland style charity and let them manage the headaches.

On wikipedia there is an article about Felix Dennis who bought land to become woodland but then founded a charity to look after the woodland. Also there is the Woodland Trust. If going down this route, I would enquire with the charities first whether they would take on your piece of land.

RHemmings

lr1277 said:

RHemmings said:

All of these things are possible, but locals in the housing estate with the first three pieces of land say it's very quiet and no problems. Clearly that can change. 

For the old railway land, I wouldn't be surprised if all sorts of things are happening there. 

The locals can say what they like, you will be the one held responsible either financially or legally. Tread carefully.

Or another idea is to buy the land and hand it over to a woodland style charity and let them manage the headaches.

On wikipedia there is an article about Felix Dennis who bought land to become woodland but then founded a charity to look after the woodland. Also there is the Woodland Trust. If going down this route, I would enquire with the charities first whether they would take on your piece of land.

I gave up on the idea some way up the thread. I can ask the Woodland Trust what they would think, but then I'd need to have an agreement and bid within a few days and things won't happen that fast. I can ask them a general question, however. 

EDIT: I have asked. I'll see what they say. 

EDIT: They say no.