The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Community => Introduce yourself => Topic started by: mnb on February 11, 2011, 06:23:23 pm
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Hi all
We are new to all this and we have decided to sell up, and try to go self sufficient, my self a IT tech and Bev an ex midwife we have just had it with the rat race.
If there is any advice anyone could give us we would be very thankful.
We have chickens and goats but these are part of the family, we know where we want to be, but just don't know where to start .
One main question we have, would it be better to rent or buy land to get started, we are really ready to give up our house for a caravan in the hope of in the future building a straw bale house.
We grow the odd veg in our garden, and enjoy it.
The kids are leaving home this coming September and we are ready for a life style change.
Please throw at us your thoughts as we have a lot of dreams with out a path to lead us there.
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Well I would go for the buying option if you can, there would be nothing more cruel than to rent somewhere, get it up and running and then have to leave! And definitely go for it ;D, good luck
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hi and welcome from moray, advice would be look and look and look some more and your dream property will find you and live that dream, we did and we love it, no going back for us, :wave:
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hello and welcome :)
what sort (breed!) of goats do you have?
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We have a pygmy goat called Alice she is a lovely little girl aged 2 the only problem is she thinks she is a staffi as she spends most of here time with our two, this is some times a major problem as if she cant eat it, usually Tizzy our 2yr old deaf staffi will destroy it first then she hides the evidence by eating it, Team work at its best.
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Hello and welcome to the forum :wave:
I'd say buy too - but if there's no house or plannning permission on the site be careful :-\ It's easy to assume you'll get the permission, but sadly not always the case. And buy as much land as you can afford at the start rather than try to add to it later.
But go for it ! You're only here the once and you should do what makes you happy.
Karen :pig: ;D :pig: ;D :pig:
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for what it's worth and I fully appreciate that MANY roads lead to Rome.
We used to live in Berkshire and wanted to move to Scotland. Originally we were looking at Aberdeenshire but decided Moray suited us more.
1) We got the estate agents round and asked how to get MAX value from the house (redecorating/getting rid of naff conservatory/new carpets etc etc), followed their advice and put it on the market beginning March. Even though it was an ex-council house (and looked it) managed to sell it within 6 days.
2) Rented property in Moray whilst looking for the 'right place'. Took just under two years but now have a lovely home (almost as good as Dan and Rosemary's - that's a thought, buy theirs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Guess the message here is sell first then you are in a better position to offer on the new place and have already 'let go' of the past. As the saying goes; good things come to those who wait. BUT are also clear of intent and have faith.
Ha, was posting this and Faith0504 got in there first. The small holding fairies have something to say perhaps!!??
Write a 'wish list' being clear what you would (realistically) like. Stick to it. Fuzzy thinking/changing mind may delay the arrival of your wishes.
I really hope you fulfill your goals. Please keep us posted. :farmer: :bouquet: :goat: :chook: :brocolli:
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Hi and welcome from a wet West Sussex, just wondered from your post do the kids know yet that they are leaving in September????????? good luck
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We are hinting every day and praying for UNI acceptance LOL
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Welcome and all the very best in your life style change - Live the Dream ;D
Sue
Dark Brown Eggs
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we started in Perthshire - sold up and rented in Perthshire while looking but our circle got bigger and bigger and we stuck out for what we hopped for and ended up with 3 stone walls and 5 acres in Aberdeenshire. Don't regret a minute of the past 3/4 years building/caravans/goats/goats eating caravan insulaton/ducks/ducks in the caravan/hatching eggs/ kidding/building/building more/changing things/buying sheep ... life is a challenge and is just great - best of luck to you both
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Agree about buying - if you rent between selling and buying don't do it for more than a few months or you'll fall off the property ladder - the prices are scheduled to start creeping up again later this year. Best of luck and yes, Dan and Rosemary's place is lovely but only just over an acre I think. If that's enough fro yuo then it's worthwhile looking at it. I love it, and if I thought I could sell mine I'd buy it.
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Our house is coming off the sale market and going for let until May 2012 at least - maybe you'd like to try it Mark and Bev. ;D
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Spend whatever time you have between now and moving reading everything on here, read as many books as you can on self sufficiency, and if at all possible go on courses for every type of bird, animal, skill you may possibly utilise. It could save you expensive mistakes finding cows are not for you, or that you hate milking goats etc.
Good luck, be warned pigs are very addictive.
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better sell soon because houses are going down in real terms and will be for years yet. the fieldtofarm forum has good advice to get you started.
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better sell soon because houses are going down in real terms and will be for years yet. the fieldtofarm forum has good advice to get you started.
Oi ! That's a bit cheeky - we've got loads of good advice too ;) ;D ;D ;D
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Definately go for it!! Buy though as like the others have said, nothing worse to put all those hours, money and dedication in only to have to move out.
we moved here June 2009 having lived somewhere with a diddy garden. Now we have land and an orchard, livestock and a new soap business that has been borne from our goats milk. Like your wife, I was a health care professional (nursing sister) but needed something else and this is that 'else'. Yes its hard work but at the end of the day, leaning on the fence watching the sunset and feeling that lovely happy, relaxed feeling makes it so worthwhile.
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better sell soon because houses are going down in real terms and will be for years yet. the fieldtofarm forum has good advice to get you started.
Oi ! That's a bit cheeky - we've got loads of good advice too ;) ;D ;D ;D
thats absolutely correct. i just gave some. lol
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I had a look at that field to farm forum. I still prefer TAS though ;)
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Hi to you,
I live in mid Norfolk and for some slightly complicated reasons wanted to get about 10 acres of land here. It was quite hard going but eventually bought 24 acres.
The first difficulty is that most land is offered on a sort of auction basis. You put in a sealed bid and wait. If you are seriously interested, you have to put in a high bid or risk losing out every time. We paid about £5,000/acre but that was 3 years ago and the story is that land prices have increased since then.
The other trick was to employ a local estate agent as out buying agent. We picked a company in the area which sold land (as well as houses) so that they had a good knowledge of the market. They advertised locally for us. They then contacted people who might have had land to sell and negotiated. We then put in a formal offer based on their advice. This cost around £500 - again, 3 years ago.
As a result of the delay in getting the land, we had to buy a house 'in the area' but it is about 17 miles from the land. Bit of a problem but not insuperable. We could move again or perhaps build on the land if we can get planning permission.
This means that we have bought a trailer to cart tools and equipment from house to field. Keeping animals there is not possible because of the distance but that wasn't our plan.
If you could use wooded land, there is a company that offers plots on woodland which you have to agree to use 'for recreation' (no building). The price is fixed by them and might be attractive to you. Here is a link to their web site:-
http://www.woodlands.co.uk/ (http://www.woodlands.co.uk/)
You would be amongst other new woodland owners and their plans could be a problem for you but the deal is quick, neat and tidy.
Small plots of land - around 1 acre - tend to be offered on the basis that their might be planning permission in the future. So the price is relatively high and there is no guarantee that your would ever be able to build there. Similarly, houses with 1-2 acres of land also tend to be priced a lot higher than the additional land is worth for agricultural purposes. Some houses like this are offered with the restriction that the owner MUST be in agriculture. These are less expensive so they are worth looking out for. This web site might be of interest:-
http://www.land-shop.co.uk/Land-for-sale-in-Norfolk.htm (http://www.land-shop.co.uk/Land-for-sale-in-Norfolk.htm)
All this is based on your plans and the available properties being suitable for what you have in mind. So there is a fair bit of luck involved. The internet can be very useful and there are some interesting web site. You need to spend a day searching for links and then check them every few days if you are to find anything interesting. But with patience, you will find some possibilities every few weeks. Then you have to check it's what you want (like buying a house) and decide on what to offer. You may have to go 30 - 70% over the stated guide price if you want to get the property so judge your plans and budget carefully.
I just offer these thoughts so you can see where you might finish up.