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Original poster

How much would it cost to buy a patch of land from the field at the back of my house?

21 replies

ProjectGainsborough · 06/09/2013 11:58

I realise that this a bit of a 'how long is a piece of string' question, so will give as much info as possible.

Currently renting a house in the rural bits outside of Oxford, wondering if we should buy it. The big field at the back of the house belongs, I believe, to neighbour (not sure who, though). It's not used for anything, or at least the bit that leads up to my garden isn't as it's full of nettles taller than me.

Current garden is approx 6x10 meters and I guess we'd want to add on about that much again.

Any guesses what it would cost to a) buy and b) do a basic landscape as the land beyond is sloping?

TIA!

OP posts:

Ponders · 06/09/2013 12:00

I think if it's designated agricultural land you would probably have to jump through some planning hoops first - maybe check with the local council before you get your hopes up

Someone I know did this - they got the land in the end but it took a long time. No idea re costs (or hoops) though

50shadesofmeh · 06/09/2013 14:24

The house we bought has a patch of land from a field behind the house, and it was £1350 but that's not in London where land is far more expensive

HormonalHousewife · 06/09/2013 14:30

Yes its certainly possible.

Along with 3 neighbours we managed to buy a 5m x say 200m strip of land that was a scrubby field. We paid 20K in total and this added 5m to our back garden. All great.

Then another neighbour wanted to do the same and the land owner quoted 20K for a quarter sized patch.

You have to get the land converted from agricultural to garden use via the council - though we never botherd and sold the house a couple of yeras ago without a problem but this was all disclosed so no nasty surprise for the new owner.

Vatta · 06/09/2013 14:42

First step is to find out who owns the land and whether they want to sell. The land may be registered, in which case the Land Registry can tell you who owns it (their website is very helpful). If its unregistered, you'll have to contact neighbours and ask them all if they own it.

If the seller is open to selling, then contact your local planning office at the council to see if the land can be used as a garden.

I really don't think anybody can tell you how much the land will cost though!

flow4 · 06/09/2013 15:26

I live in an ex-Council semi, where the bottom 7m or so used to be Council owned allotment. My neighbours bought their patch for about £2-3k. The owners before me opted to rent for £65/year. When I bought, my solicitor advised I could ask to buy, but the Council might not choose to sell to me. Whether you can buy land always depends on whether its owner actually wants to sell it to you.

Merguez · 08/09/2013 14:09

You need to get an estate agent round to advise you properly.

Generally, if it shares a boundary with your garden it is regarded as 'amenity land' and would therefore have a higher value than purely agricultural land.

There is also the issue of how much it would increase the value of your property by, and whether it has any development potential. A decent local estate agent will be able to take all this into account.

I know someone who recently sold a strip of land from the end of their property to their neighbour for 35k.

MrsJamin · 08/09/2013 14:16

We are interested in buying some garden land adjacent to our house, and we don't know how to work out how much is a good price and how much it would add to the value of our house - how do you work it out?

peppermum · 08/09/2013 14:21

I spoke to an estate agent about buying a piece of our neighbour's garden and he said there is no formula to work out what it's worth - whatever you can agree on between you. So I think it is a " how long is a piece of string" thing.

He wouldn't sell anyway when we approached him

Daisybell1 · 08/09/2013 22:33

As people have said, it can be a 'how long is a piece of string' job.

It will depend both on the current and potential use of the land (if there's any sniff of development then the value would be far higher, in the same way that if it were prime wheat growing land it would be worth more than moorland). You say that it's scrub but it could actually be in an environmental scheme so the farmer couldn't sell it.

I think that if I were valuing the land I'd look at how much the base value of the land is, and then add on an amount based on how much it would add to the value of your property. As if it will add a lot of value then the vendor will want a cut of that.

If you don't get any joy with an estate agent, then try a land agent/registered valuer. You will probably have to pay for the valuation but it should be thorough.

MrsTaraPlumbing · 09/09/2013 09:10

If it is agricultural land and the owner wanted to sell it to you then agree a price based on it being agricultural land (which I think may be cheaper than a garden).

The you have a nice field at the end of your garden that the kids can play in but you can't plant flowers in - check out the rules for agricultural land.

LadyMercy · 09/09/2013 17:15

Ok, agricultural land in oxfordshire is worth somewhere between £8,000 - £10,000 per acre.

Anything with potential for use as a pony paddock or garden land is probably going to be higher. If you live in a densly populated area, there are in theory more potential purchasers, which equals more competition and therefore higher prices.

The 'how long is a peice of string' theory about covers it!

However you do also have to consider how much the land will add to the value of your house. Say i have a lovely 4 bed house, but the garden is tiny and there is nowhere to park off road, maybe my house is worth say £500,000. Identical house, now with a lovely big garden, enough space for washing line, vegetable plot, trampoline and to park 3 cars, maybe now it is worth £550,000. Increase in value £50,000. Split this with the land owner. You pay him £25,000.

LadyMercy · 09/09/2013 17:17

And theoretically you would need to apply for a 'Change of Use' to change land to garden land from agricultural. Without that, the council could force you to return the land to it's origional condition i think

Original poster

ProjectGainsborough · 09/09/2013 19:52

Thanks all. Food for thought...

LadyMercy could i ask, how did you find out the estimate of ag. land in Oxfordshire?

OP posts:

LadyMercy · 10/09/2013 08:57

Hi OP, I work in property (though not in oxfordshire).

GibberTheMonkey · 10/09/2013 09:01

I've been pondering this too. If I stuck a greenhouse, the veg patch and my chickens on it would it sill count as agricultural use? I could then use the current bit of garden for flowers and children.

HormonalHousewife · 10/09/2013 09:56

That was our thought Gibber. We had a pond and a vegetable patch on our agricultural part.

The other neighbours had full on flowers - but I am a stickler for the rules !

In the 8 years we had it the council never bothered as I said above.

GibberTheMonkey · 10/09/2013 10:01

Just been having a read and apparently trees would be ok but nor flowers. Not sure how that works as everything you grow has flowers. Could you grow courgettes for example...

RCheshire · 10/09/2013 10:33

You're not normally allowed garden flowers such as roses but wild meadow flowers OK. Greenhouse generally not OK. Pond not sure . trees need to discuss as 'orchard' Is a different type of use for planning. Veg 'plot' like you'd see in a garden not OK.

RCheshire · 10/09/2013 10:37

Guess we'll depend on your council and how visible the land is to others. Our was visible from road and adjoining farmland so they wanted congruous

dododoing · 11/09/2013 21:33

We've been trying to buy a patch of council owned land behind our property for about three years now - various complications along the way. It has no 'value' as it is (overgrown scrub), and due to access, no development value, but would increase the value of our property by at least £10k (we've had a couple of estate agents around to give us an idea) so we've agreed £5k for it. As the land we're buying is public land, the sale is having to be advertised, and we will have to apply for planning permission for change of use. I'd say what we're buying is probably 150m2, but given that our back garden is currently about 40m2, it's going to make a massive difference if we ever manage to get it!

camtt · 11/09/2013 22:11

I'm in Oxfordshire too. The previous owners of our house rented a fairly big bit of the field adjoining the garden. It is fenced but on a lower level than the garden belonging to the house so they put stairs from the deck down to this piece of land. We don't rent the land, but I have wondered whether we might be able to buy it at some point when we are less skint. At the minute it's covered in triffid-like weeds and not used for any purpose at all. I suspect it would costs a fair bit to clear a piece of land like that. Which doesn't help OP with her dilemma I know!

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