How to finance an enclosed dog field

[Imascoldasice]

I’m keen to buy a field and hire it out by the hour to people whose dogs cannot otherwise be off lead. I have some equity in my house (about 20k) but no other savings. What would be the best way to go about this? Could I get a mortgage for the land? And a business loan for the fencing etc etc

Land loan ?

Depends how much you're trying to raise. Do you have a business plan?

There's a couple of these near me and they seem relatively successful in that their Facebook page seems busy and I've taken a relative who doesn't drive a couple of times and there were lots of people there.

However, while it seems a bit 'money for old rope' to charge someone £6 to let their dog run round your field for half an hour, and even more so for the group sessions where people pay £3 but there can be 20/30+ people there, covid has reduced the capacity for the general sessions to maintain social distancing and things like secure fencing is very expensive - I can imagine it costs thousands to put a new fence around a decent sized field, plus you'd need things like insurance and a shelter for the dog parents if you want them to come in poor weather. The field near us has a few climbing frames, jumps etc, so a bit extra cost, but you could build these yourself out of scrap wood. It gets very muddy in winter, so I don't know about maintenance.

So you'd probably need to fill an awful lot of sessions to cover the costs and make an income for yourself. I suspect a lot of people who run these sorts of facilities are using a field they already own and it is part of a related business like kennels, smallholding, stables etc.

You’ll also need planning permission for change of use for the land.

Where in the UK are you? Have you got a specific piece of land in mind and do you know the asking price?

Thanks for the replies. I’m trying to write a business plan but I can’t get my head around the order things need to happen.

Do I approach a broker, like I would for property, and ask how much I could borrow?
I realise I would have to apply for change of use. Is it likely that I would be able to get a loan before planning permission has been granted?

I am in Wales but don’t have a piece of land in mind. I would need 30k+ for the land and around 10k for fencing etc.

I’m quite confident about the day to day running of the field. But I don’t currently own any land!

Planning permission for the land
Need planning for a hut of some kind- or a caravan
Parking permission
Electricity and running water
Toilet for the adults- washing facilities for the dogs.

It isnt as easy as finding a price of land.

Write a business plan and then go and talk to your bank as a starting point. It's going to be a commercial transaction not a residential one, albeit you may put your house up as security.

I use these fields myself and I’ve never seen one with a (human) toilet!

@Imascoldasice the staff will need the toilet remember.....

Have you worked out how many £6 sessions you'd need to get that 30k back? The two people I know who've done this already owned the land.

We use a secure field, and the lady who owns it told me there is a facebook group for people who do this where you can chat with other field owners and ask for advice, I think it's this one

Are you looking to do this as a business that pays you a wage, or as a hobby?

You've mentioned at least £40k of costs, although the land could be an asset that could be sold later if you needed it, but you have the finance costs at least to cover on an ongoing basis.

Wouldn't a pertinent question in the early stages be 'can I make a living from this and what will I live off until the business builds up to capacity'?

How many people who are willing to use such a facility are close enough to you to use it?

How many sessions a day/week will you run and what will the income be?

Do you need a certain income to pay your bills, or do you have other sources of income?

I use these fields myself and I’ve never seen one with a (human) toilet!

The ones I use don't have any facilities apart from a dog bin.

The field I use is part of a farm, and pay 12.00 for 55 minutes.

There are no toilets or electricity. There is a shelter.

It will take a long time to cover your overheads, clear loans etc to make a profit, not sure this is viable.
Only really works if you already own the land.

@Cherrypies

The field I use is part of a farm, and pay 12.00 for 55 minutes.

There are no toilets or electricity. There is a shelter.

It will take a long time to cover your overheads, clear loans etc to make a profit, not sure this is viable.
Only really works if you already own the land.

they do here- or the premium ones everyone is jumping on the bandwagon and so the original ones are having to upgrade

Rent a field?

How will people get there? If you need to make a car park you’ll have factor in maintenance, drainage etc for the car park too. Could get quite expensive.

I think it sounds like a lucrative business idea 💰

@Cloudsurfing

How will people get there? If you need to make a car park you’ll have factor in maintenance, drainage etc for the car park too. Could get quite expensive.

It is the planning for the car park which is the issue here. The use of the land is ok but putting in a car park needs additional planning.

Yes I would wonder if you will make any money. New one opened up near here is £5/hr, ( well £5 for 50 mins to give clear change over time due to Covid) there are at least 3 within ten minutes drive now.
You can probably get a mortgage for the land, but a loan for 10k for the fence, and another additional £1k for hard standing for parking will coast you around £200/month over 5 years alone, add land mortgage on top ( lets assume you get a 25 year mortgage at 1% so thats around £190/month ) and you need to let a lot of hours (78/month) to just break even on those raw costs.
Really doesn’t sound like a viable business plan.

No advice to give. But I'd totally value having a space like this to exercise my dog.

There are lots around @BatleyTownswomensGuild, try your local Facebook for locations.

There will be no ‘staff’ apart from me.
I do have a job.
The field will be unmanned.
I don’t think renting will work. It’s too much time and money to put into something I don’t own.

Thank you @margottenenbaum11 I’ve asked to join that group.

@Loshad that would be easily doable. The main one I use is open daylight hours 7 days a week, apart from mowing/maintenance.

@Imascoldasice

There will be no ‘staff’ apart from me. I do have a job. The field will be unmanned. I don’t think renting will work. It’s too much time and money to put into something I don’t own.

Thank you @margottenenbaum11 I’ve asked to join that group.

@Loshad that would be easily doable. The main one I use is open daylight hours 7 days a week, apart from mowing/maintenance.

Will the insurance let the field be unmanned? They are staffed here. One used to have a coded control but basically once you have it then you have it and there were also some fights between people who wouldnt leave, dogs escaped etc.

You need the dog crap picked up daily.
Water needs to be put down?