Things to look out for? Farms or small holdings

[Tropical]

Property, I am trying to stay away from the following:

1, National parks
2, Conservation areas
3, Listed buildings
4, Flooding areas
5, Scientific areas (wouldn't want to step on ET)
6, National Trust area

What else should one consider before buying a farm?
Whats the best way to find out if the property is in any of the above?

 

[llamedos]

Whats the best way to find out if the property is in any of the above?

Google

 

[simmy_bull]

Stay away from public rights of way if possible.

 

[ffukedfarmer]

Avoid urban fringe and if possible any area colonised by ex-city types.

 

[Dry Rot]

If in Scotland, be aware of the law and obligations applying to croft land.

Loved the TV news report about the London buinessman who bought a Highland estate and announced his intentions of doing up all the derelict cottages for holiday lets! On croft land, they belong to the tenant! All he'd bought was the bare unimproved land.

Also, might not be a bad idea to consider what neighbours you inherit!

Check meteorological records for snow fall, frosts, wind speed, and midges! You could get a surprise.

 

[wasted years]

Property, I am trying to stay away from the following:

1, National parks
2, Conservation areas
3, Listed buildings
4, Flooding areas
5, Scientific areas (wouldn't want to step on ET)
6, National Trust area

What else should one consider before buying a farm?
Whats the best way to find out if the property is in any of the above?

1 and 2, Google,
3, local council.
4,look for rivers, streams , see how low lying the land is next to them.
5,Natural England
6,not an issue, they will buy it in front of you.

 

[Surgery]

Sounds like another IHT dodger

 

[Anonymous...]

Don't let your heart rule your head
Plus all the above

 

[Recoil]

The main thing i'd be interested in when buying a farm is the condition of the ground itself and state of fences etc. Is it a well kept farm with good, dry (but not too dry) soil where gates swing and hedges are tidy. Of course, the ground could be in poor condition but be improvable but no good if it's under water for six months of the year. Get soil samples from current farmer or do your own.

 

[Campbell]

Check out the neighbours and what they doing or proposing.

 

[KMA]

Fences, hedges, drystone walls, dykes(ditches)?

Hedges maintaining them can be a PITA, they also act as a motorway/refuge for vermin like fox, badger and rats as well as the nice beasties like wrens voles and hedgehogs.

If drystone walls then the ground is probably stoney and if they're rounded (Glencairn/Kirkmahoe parishes) then you'll be building the buggers for evermore, especially if you let out some fields for wintering blackie hoggs.

If dykes then it probably lies bloody wet a lot of the year

Another thing I'd do is take an auger to various points round the land to check the type, structure and depth of soil.

 

[Bill the Bass]

Property, I am trying to stay away from the following:

1, National parks
2, Conservation areas
3, Listed buildings
4, Flooding areas
5, Scientific areas (wouldn't want to step on ET)
6, National Trust area

What else should one consider before buying a farm?
Whats the best way to find out if the property is in any of the above?

Are all the rights included? Mineral, sporting, are there third party access rights?

Ristrictive covenants and overages are a popular agents trick now too.

 

[orchard]

Have you tried Defra's Magic tool, or the LandIS tool? They yield a fair bit of information remotely to help whittle down potential purchases.

 

[bjreroberts]

Whats the best way to find out if the property is in any of the above?

Don't know if it will cover everything, but try the Magic map site Maps

 

[Danllan]

Have a mind toward Easements / Wayleaves etc. i.e. do you mind them and will they offer you anything. As Bill wrote above, be careful about Covenants too, this is where a decent 'Search' comes in to its own prior to purchase. Local chats can be useful, if carried out subtly enough...

Lastly, do walk over every inch of any place you are thinking of buying, if possible do this during a dry spell and after a bit of rain.

 

[Chasingmytail]

TB? crime hot spot? Water run off and soil type, proximity to urban sprawl (future dev), road links and LA funds for B road maintenance, soil degradation through prev farming techniques. If you were considering direct sell or marketing the closeness of yr customers, agricultural colleges, road links etc. What about orientation and winds surely that could be a big factor.

 

[Kidds]

It has already been mentioned but I would never buy any land with a public footpath on it.
Budget is probably one of the biggest factors, I could probably sell my current place, buy somewhere similar 20 miles away and live very comfortably off the money left over. It can vary that much.

 

[7610 super q]

Some good advice above.

Close neighbours ?
Footpaths, ROW's etc.
Nice land...any rushes growing ? Steep ground ?
Low maintenance house/ buildings would be a priority for me. (Was the previous owner a ' bodger ' ? )
Access ? No shared driveways etc.
Did I mention footpaths ?

 

[Tropical]

Electricity and I mean the really big towers stay away from those as well, LOL

Thanks to everyone, lots of good stuff hear, Do they surveyors look into all this? or do I have to mention stuff to them I want them to look out for?

 

[Anonymous...]

Electricity and I mean the really big towers stay away from those as well, LOL

Thanks to everyone, lots of good stuff hear, Do they surveyors look into all this? or do I have to mention stuff to them I want them to look out for?

Depends on the surveyor, we looked at a place in Scotland , asked the questions whilst viewing
But our surveyor sent us a report covering everything from house and buildings to the land and drainage/ fencing
.. we didn't buy the place