[40acres]

Well been onto a local auctioneer and gave him the folio and a link to a Google streetview of the land.

He has said due to the steep nature of the land it would be considered 'mountain values' ., There are farms on the same road with the same topography, but he reckons this will affect the price.........alot 


I cant find an reference to 'mountain values' for land , my mate ,who owns a large equestrian ground-working company , said its the usual type of grazing land up in the Yorkshire area.

Im sort of confused on this, grazing land sells well, this land is grazing, not conducive to machinery, but all the same, good grazing. The quote on the per acre price isnt very good, 


Any ideas, guys? 

[Small Farmer]

In my time I've commissioned a few thousand valuations of all manner of property in all manner of places.  I even persuaded the RICS to delete two particularly stupid valuation standards (ERP and ERRP).


The valuer's problem is that he/she is required to give a number and cannot give a range.  It's supposed to be based on current comparable market transactions.  When there aren't any its a bit of a bugger.   You only ever need one buyer, and that buyer does not need to be rational or informed. 


Being told it's worth 15 when the valuer thinks it's worth between 10 - 20 just ain't helpful.  Nor is being told 10 by the auctioneer or 20 by the estate agent.  By saying "mountain values" he possibly means even fewer buyers than for flat pasture.  Stupid bloody system which is of doubtful use in the boom and damn all use now.

[40acres]

I'd say 'mountain values' are very harsh as it has road frontage and is very fertile. The farmer next door (literally) farms sheep,cows and pigs on his. Admittedly, the pigs are next to the farmhouse, but you see what I'm saying. The auctioneers opinion seems a little harsh to say the least, he does have the same last name as the surveyor, but Im  told they're no relation   

I'll keep plugging away as I, personally, think they're wrong, or too say the least, cautious.

[Small Farmer]

You do only need one buyer.  Get a big enough price and the whole valley rises in value!

[40acres]

You do only need one buyer.  Get a big enough price and the whole valley rises in value!

Very true ,SM 


The area is idyllic, Im still not in possession of 'similar' sales to compare to.I'll just sit on it for now whilst I hatch my  'value added' plan 

[smiley bucket]

Do you have someone there to keep an eye on it for you while you decide what to do?  It would not be unheard of for someone to just take it over without telling you and that could be big trouble!  What about putting some kind of mobile/log home on it and renting it out for five years to some goodlifers?  It would give you an income from it, they would look after it and may even come to buy it at a nice figure rather than leave somewhere they'd fallen in love with.  Might be a safer option than leaving it bare, ask for a decent amount up front, a big deposit and at least six months rent in advance with a watertight lease.  Am very jealous, wish I had your problem of forty spare Irish acres, even if they are classed as mountain value by a (probably very greedy) local auctioneer!

[40acres]

Do you have someone there to keep an eye on it for you while you decide what to do?  It would not be unheard of for someone to just take it over without telling you and that could be big trouble!  What about putting some kind of mobile/log home on it and renting it out for five years to some goodlifers?  It would give you an income from it, they would look after it and may even come to buy it at a nice figure rather than leave somewhere they'd fallen in love with.  Might be a safer option than leaving it bare, ask for a decent amount up front, a big deposit and at least six months rent in advance with a watertight lease.  Am very jealous, wish I had your problem of forty spare Irish acres, even if they are classed as mountain value by a (probably very greedy) local auctioneer!

I think planning would be a problem. If the land is being worked ,I can build a home for  shelter, but whoever lives in ti has to work the land (I think?) Might put PP in to see how the land lies. Did think of building stone cottage as there's plenty of granite on site, a bit of demo for raw materials and a few bags of gobbo (I know its not that simple) but you get the idea. 

[fiestyredhead331]

MY OH spent a lot of time farming/forestry in the south of Ireland and he reckons you should go to one of the commercial forestry companies and plant the land with trees or perhaps elephant grass, depending on the land. You can get a grant that will cover the cost of planting, fencing and maintenance for 7-10 years then you sell at year 7 as an invest-able proposition. Try speaking to FEL based in Dublin or Southwest Forestry Service.
for impartial advice before you do anything speak to Coillte

hope this is of help 

[40acres]

MY OH spent a lot of time farming/forestry in the south of Ireland and he reckons you should go to one of the commercial forestry companies and plant the land with trees or perhaps elephant grass, depending on the land. You can get a grant that will cover the cost of planting, fencing and maintenance for 7-10 years then you sell at year 7 as an invest-able proposition. Try speaking to FEL based in Dublin or Southwest Forestry Service.
for impartial advice before you do anything speak to Coillte

hope this is of help 

Oh ta,fiestyredhead,   

The land isn't conducive to planting, but  elephant grass and 'some' softwood planting will be acceptable. Ive looked on the Coilite site, but they seem to just do their own land, nothing about managing other peoples sites.

Am I reading it wrong?

Will have a look at FEL tomorrow, give me something to do on Christmas Eve