Process to buy a portion of a field?

useruser · 25-10-2014 10:28am #1

Hi All,

I am renovating a house in rural Cork that has a boundary right on a neighbour's field (the gable end of the house sits on the boundary). I would like to buy a small piece of the neighbouring field surrounding the house and am wondering what the process is to do this? Assuming that my neighbour is amenable to the idea, how do you actually go about marking out and registering/transferring a small amount of land? I am thinking that it would be less than 1/8th of an acre that I need.

Has anyone been through this before who can advise on what needs to be done and also what sort of costs I might expect?

Thanks!

Randal76 · 26-10-2014 8:27am

Talk to your Neighbour first and agree on a new boundary and mark with timber pegs on ground. It's also important to agree a purchase price.
Contact your solicitor once you have agreement and they will prepare the contract plus recommend a surveyor to go a measure the agreement on the ground and prepare the necessary map for contract. Sale go through once the other party are happy and sign contract.

useruser · 26-10-2014 5:26pm

Thanks Randal, that sounds straightforward enough - would you care to hazard a guess how much it might cost to do this?

893bet · 26-10-2014 5:55pm

Expect to pay 600-1000 in fees depending on how complex it is (u never know what historical right of ways etc that are on the small piece of land) to the solicitor plus the cost of the land.

hexosan · 26-10-2014 7:45pm

And don't forget if your neighbour knows you want the land he could effectly ramp up the price (assusming he's agreeable to the sell in the first place)

Have you ever seen "The Field"

sky6 · 26-10-2014 9:28pm

I have done this in the past. It's pretty much as has been said except to warn you that it takes a while to complete.
In my case no money was involved just an exchange of land that suited us both. It still took about 12 months.

useruser · 27-10-2014 7:23am

Thanks all,

Hexosan, I have seen "The Field." I'm hoping that "the corner of a scrub-field" is not quite such a convoluted story :-)

sky6, it's useful to know that the process can take so long. 893bet, perhaps it's actually not as expensive (in fees) as I had feared.

Finally, I think that the going/asking rate for an acre of scrub land is about 10,000 in the area (is there a register anywhere of land prices so that I can see actual sale value?). Any suggestions for a reasonable offer to make for a corner of such a field?

DeeJunFan · 27-10-2014 10:20am

useruser wrote: »

Thanks all,

Hexosan, I have seen "The Field." I'm hoping that "the corner of a scrub-field" is not quite such a convoluted story :-)

sky6, it's useful to know that the process can take so long. 893bet, perhaps it's actually not as expensive (in fees) as I had feared.

Finally, I think that the going/asking rate for an acre of scrub land is about 10,000 in the area (is there a register anywhere of land prices so that I can see actual sale value?). Any suggestions for a reasonable offer to make for a corner of such a field?

I would put the 10 grand an acre out of your head. Your not buying scrubland your buying land to extend a site. The seller can ask for whatever price they want.

I bought some land this way from a family member and they charged 4 times the 10 grand per acre figure. So be prepared for an asking price way more than you are currently thinking.

useruser · 27-10-2014 4:11pm

DeeJunFan wrote: »

I would put the 10 grand an acre out of your head. Your not buying scrubland your buying land to extend a site. The seller can ask for whatever price they want.

I bought some land this way from a family member and they charged 4 times the 10 grand per acre figure. So be prepared for an asking price way more than you are currently thinking.

Interesting perspective, thanks. In my case the land is not essential for my building it is only something that would assist with one design idea I have. If it's too expensive I will simply pass and the land can remain scrubland (there is zero prospect of it being granted planning permission for any other development).

Addle · 27-10-2014 4:53pm

You really won't know until you talk to your neighbour.
I know a couple who extended their garden and driveway by buying just 1/4 of an acre from their neighbour.
He didn't charge them anything, but they signed an agreement that they'd sow and maintain a hedge.

spin777 · 03-11-2014 11:37pm

Did you talk to your neighbour yet. I have a few suggestions, I would agree with other posters that you have to get the agricultural price of land out of your head in terms of value, I always think that if its for private use then it should be two, three or four times the value of agri land. But in terms of bidding, agri prices are a good place to start.

My suggestion is as follows. Lets basically say the land is worth €20,000 an acre and you are looking to buy only about an eighth. This is only €2,500. The legal costs to the farmer would be almost this amount, and you will likely have to pay his legals to convince them so the cost per acre is a lot. It might make more sence to try buy a a quarter or half an acre off your neighbour, much more chunky sum of money to attract the farmer and much more likely to suffer all the stress of paper work, solicitors and title deeds if he was gettting a figure that he could at least buy something with. Also, when you add in the legal costs, its cheaper in a per acre calculation. Good luck anyhow.

Process to buy a portion of a field?

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