Has anyone ever heard of an agreement like this for small acreage in the UK?

Have you ever heard of this happening in the UK? The vendor trades off a quick sale with waiting for the tenant to save a deposit (3-5 years) but enjoying extra money through a proportion or some or all of the rent on top of the sale price. We'd happily give them the lot! We're not frightened of debt but there is currently no mechanism with which to get the finance required to own land without substantial capital up front.

Lease-to-Own - Farmland Access Legal Toolkit

Using Lease-to-Own To Transfer Farmland & Farm Businesses Lease-to-Own Written Agreement Long-Term Versus Short-Term Pros and Cons Special Considerations How An Attorney Can Help Additional Resources Using Lease-To-Own to Transfer Farmland & Farm Businesses Lease-to-own allows farmers to...

farmlandaccess.org

https://landforgood.org/wp-content/uploads/LFG-Leasing-Fact-Sheet-3-Lease-to-Own-Strategies.pdf

We'd be keen to hear your
opinions on whether this is or is not a good idea - particularly from landowners who are selling land.

 

[Ribble]

I would caution you, that this arrangement you describe is probably a kind of futures contract, that is you're contracting now for land delivered/ promised to be purchased in the future.

There is of course the possibility that by the time you reach that point, the land price has significantly changed.

That might be good, if it goes up and you fixed a cheaper price, or could be terrible if you didn't fix it and must find a bigger lump sum than expected or otherwise lose out.

Equally, the land price might drop, and you could be contracted to buy it at a higher price than it's worth, which puts the bank in a position where they are being asked to lend on a property already in negative equity.

Generally speaking, futures contracts of any kind are a disaster waiting to happen for most people, because the economy is hard to predict.