Would you sell your land to a property developer?

JupiterKid

If your farm is close to a major town or city, and there are plans to expand that town by building large housing estates, would you be tempted to sell up to a developer if they offered you very large sums of cash for your land?

This farmer in Southern England was offered a whopping £275 million (€350 million) to sell up to a housing developer but has turned it down, refusing to sell his land as he sees it to a greedy property developer who wants to destroy the rural character of his community. I say fair play to him!:)

http://attitude.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Hugh2.gif

But in reality, if you were offered huge cash sums to sell up, would you not be tempted? I know of cases where farmers in West Dublin in the 1970s and 80s lobbied to have their lands rezoned to housing so that they could enjoy huge windfalls when selling the land on.

What do ye think?

maidhc

JupiterKid wrote: »

If your farm is close to a major town or city, and there are plans to expand that town by building large housing estates, would you be tempted to sell up to a developer if they offered you very large sums of cash for your land?

This farmer in Southern England was offered a whopping £275 million (€350 million) to sell up to a housing developer but has turned it down, refusing to sell his land as he sees it to a greedy property developer who wants to destroy the rural character of his community. I say fair play to him!:)

http://attitude.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Hugh2.gif

But in reality, if you were offered huge cash sums to sell up, would you not be tempted? I know of cases where farmers in West Dublin in the 1970s and 80s lobbied to have their lands rezoned to housing so that they could enjoy huge windfalls when selling the land on.

What do ye think?

Definitely would. Many farmers did well in the Celtic tiger and now sit on 1000 cow units a lot more thanks to selling land to developers...

farawaygrass

Well if the city/town/development is going to be all around your farm then I don't think it would be a too pleasant experience farming it and the rural setting would be gone then too. For tens of millions it would be hard/mad not to sell. When I was younger, pride Nd sentiment would have madee feel guilty for selling, but not anymore. I think if our forefathers were in the same situation they would probably sell too. If you are keeping it just for the love of farming, then with that kind of money you should be able to buy top of the range farmland, and still have millions left over. Best of both worlds.

realdanbreen

The vast majority of farmers would sell to the highest bidder regardless of who they were. I know of farmers who would not allow the council to take 2 feet of ditch away along a 50 yard stretch in order to make a very windy and dangerous road safer. I know you can't generalise but in my experience the bigger the farmer I met the meaner they were.

The part time boy

Been a 6th generation farmer on this farm I find it very hard . In top of that been here all my life too .

However if someone offered that much money or money well over agricultural prices then you be silly not to sell up and replace with money in the bank

tractorporn

Never going to be an issue here as we are in the back of beyond but if the opportunity arose I'd sell and buy another piece somewhere, especially if I could end up with it all in the one block rather than the 6 we have now.

patsy_mccabe

If someone offered me 350 million for a few acres, i'd refuse. I'd look for 400 and we'd shake hands on 375.

ganmo

realdanbreen wrote: »

The vast majority of farmers would sell to the highest bidder regardless of who they were. I know of farmers who would not allow the council to take 2 feet of ditch away along a 50 yard stretch in order to make a very windy and dangerous road safer. I know you can't generalise but in my experience the bigger the farmer I met the meaner they were.

You said it yourself, the council wanted to take the ground not pay for it

riasc

Sell, and buy it back when he goes broke!

whelan2

It's a hard question. We have land zoned development land. We are on the edge of a village opposite an industrial estate. plenty of road frontage. I suppose it depends on the offer.

The Cuban

Is there not a huge windfall Tax in place now, something around 80%, if not then there should be

Timmaay

riasc wrote: »

Sell, and buy it back when he goes broke!

I'd know at least half a dozen who did just that!

visatorro

Timmaay wrote: »

I'd know at least half a dozen who did just that!

I know a few who invested the money and now have nothing, terror how it works for some people!

Capercaillie

Nope, put too much work into it.

Username John

Yes, why not, if they paid enough...

But the chances of it happening are very, very, very low

Bass Reeves

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

If someone offered me 350 million for a few acres, i'd refuse. I'd look for 400 and we'd shake hands on 375.

That reminds me of a story towards he end of the Celtic Tiger. There was a proposal to allow the upper limit on supermarkets to be extended. Tesco had a supermarket a joining children's ball play area. They offered the owners to buy out the lease. The offer was well in excess of 10 years profits of the business. The owners refused and Tesco upped the offer and when the owners of the business refused again requested what price they wanted. The owners diddered not knowing what to ask.

In the meantime the government under pressure from smaller convience stores and other independent supermarkets decided not to extend the upper limit. Tesco walk away from the project. The recession started the ball area went belly up. I think Tesco took part of the area as a storage area if not it all when the lease fell through.

Greed is not always good. If someone offered you euro million lotto money for a farm I be inclined to take the money and his arm from as near the shoulder I could get. There alawys has to be something in it for the other fella.

melloa

i wouldn't sell a stone,

my evil auntie got her dirty claws on my poor grandfathers land when he passed away,

sold the lot to the highest bidder,

i managed with a bit of luck to save 3 acres around the home-house,

all i can say is she is a greedy evil itch,

i'm working on buying a few acres back,

cest la vie

Boaty

A section of land close to the town center of a town which is a "Large Growth Town" was zoned for was houses even though the farmer didn't want to sell the land or build houses himself.

I think that in the majority of cases any farmer that refuses to do anything with zoned land which badly needs development should be forced to sell.

The council zoned the land for a reason(services , location etc) and the benefits to the local community should come before one man.

JupiterKid

Boaty wrote: »

A section of land close to the town center of a town which is a "Large Growth Town" was zoned for was houses even though the farmer didn't want to sell the land or build houses himself.

I think that in the majority of cases any farmer that refuses to do anything with zoned land which badly needs development should be forced to sell.

The council zoned the land for a reason(services , location etc) and the benefits to the local community should come before one man.

Well, there is the CPO - Compulsory Purchase Order where the local authority can compulsorily purchase the land for roads or other essential infrastructure. Housing land can also be CPOd but this is very rare.

In the U.K., there is a rule called "Betterment" dating back to its 1947 Town & Country Planning Act which caps the amount a landowner can get for land zoned for development, to ensure windfall gains are not made at the expense of the local authority.

davidk1394

We're quarrying on our place and it has allowed us to buy and replace in excess what's being lost. Also there's plans for a motor way to be passing through aswell. If i got a big offer I'd sell it and replace it.

realdanbreen

melloa wrote: »

i wouldn't sell a stone,

my evil auntie got her dirty claws on my poor grandfathers land when he passed away,

sold the lot to the highest bidder,

i managed with a bit of luck to save 3 acres around the home-house,

all i can say is she is a greedy evil itch,

i'm working on buying a few acres back,

cest la vie

And here's me thinking that John B Keane might have been exaggerating when he was writing the field!

Cattlepen

I have sold to developers. I never regretted it. An uncle of mine had a rule of thumb that if you sold, the selling price should be Able to buy five times as much land a little further out in the country.This worked for him.
My grandfather never inherited land but bought it himself through hard graft and astuteness. With the result that he would think nothing of buying and selling a farm within the same year because he wasn't born with the obsession that Irish farmers born with the silver spoon of inheritance have with the "land"

The part time boy

realdanbreen wrote: »

melloa wrote: »

i wouldn't sell a stone,

my evil auntie got her dirty claws on my poor grandfathers land when he passed away,

sold the lot to the highest bidder,

i managed with a bit of luck to save 3 acres around the home-house,

all i can say is she is a greedy evil itch,

i'm working on buying a few acres back,

cest la vie

And here's me thinking that John B Keane might have been exaggerating when he was writing the field!

I heard he actally wrote it about a fella down that side of the world . A fella got killed over land. I don't think it was a yank though

Sam Kade

JupiterKid wrote: »

If your farm is close to a major town or city, and there are plans to expand that town by building large housing estates, would you be tempted to sell up to a developer if they offered you very large sums of cash for your land?

This farmer in Southern England was offered a whopping £275 million (€350 million) to sell up to a housing developer but has turned it down, refusing to sell his land as he sees it to a greedy property developer who wants to destroy the rural character of his community. I say fair play to him!:)

http://attitude.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Hugh2.gif

But in reality, if you were offered huge cash sums to sell up, would you not be tempted? I know of cases where farmers in West Dublin in the 1970s and 80s lobbied to have their lands rezoned to housing so that they could enjoy huge windfalls when selling the land on.

What do ye think?

I think he's a feckin eejit.

patsy_mccabe

My father sold a few acres of very poor land to a developer over 40 years ago. They hounded him for years until he sold. We continued to graze the land until the Celtic Tiger came along and it was developed. Over a million alone in hardcore went into the base after they removed the bog from it. I know cause I counted the lorries. It was sold at an Allsop auction for 135k. I was all set to buy it but the solicitor spotted an issue with it that scared me off.

kk.man

Sam Kade wrote: »

I think he's a feckin eejit.

Pure and utter!..most things in life has a price. I'd buy the best 1k acre estate and put the balance in the post office!

Mooooo

Possible the case in the op was a lad who already had millions. Personally I prob would once discussed with family

pedigree 6

A brief history of British Columbia's Agricultural Land Reserve programme prohibiting any development on prime agricultural land.

http://www.llbc.leg.bc.ca/public/background/200603bp_agricultural_reserve.pdf

realdanbreen

JupiterKid wrote: »

If your farm is close to a major town or city, and there are plans to expand that town by building large housing estates, would you be tempted to sell up to a developer if they offered you very large sums of cash for your land?

This farmer in Southern England was offered a whopping £275 million (€350 million) to sell up to a housing developer but has turned it down, refusing to sell his land as he sees it to a greedy property developer who wants to destroy the rural character of his community. I say fair play to him!:)

http://attitude.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Hugh2.gif

But in reality, if you were offered huge cash sums to sell up, would you not be tempted? I know of cases where farmers in West Dublin in the 1970s and 80s lobbied to have their lands rezoned to housing so that they could enjoy huge windfalls when selling the land on.

What do ye think?

What's the big deal with farmers and their land? I mean if you go back far enough you will find that most farmers acquired their land by either collaborating with the landlords or taking advantage of someone who had fallen on hard times.

Cattlepen

realdanbreen wrote: »

What's the big deal with farmers and their land? I mean if you go back far enough you will find that most farmers acquired their land by either collaborating with the landlords or taking advantage of someone who had fallen on hard times.

They think of it as a vital organ, like it's something sacred. After religion, land is the main cause of most civil wars in the world. What I find the funniest thing about a lot of Irish farmers is that they will tell you that their family has owned the land for 2 or 3 hundred years. Sure the land acts only came to be in the 1900's. I had one fool telling me that the breed of his suckler herd was in the family 2 hundred years. I suppose its probably down to some kind of insecurity but you would have to laugh

patsy_mccabe

People rented land before they owned it. Have a look at Griffiths Valuation of circa 1850. Half of the farms around here were in the same family name back then.

Count Mondego

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Over a million alone in hardcore went into the base after they removed the bog from it. I know cause I counted the lorries.

You must have fcuk all to do, Patsy :-)

Count Mondego

realdanbreen wrote: »

What's the big deal with farmers and their land? I mean if you go back far enough you will find that most farmers acquired their land by either collaborating with the landlords or taking advantage of someone who had fallen on hard times.

Bull****. Some amount of bitterness from lads who didn't inherit the farm on here.

realdanbreen

Count Mondego wrote: »

Bull****. Some amount of bitterness from lads who didn't inherit the farm on here.

Surely you have a grant application form or something to fill out rather than crying Bull****!

Buford T. Justice XIX

realdanbreen wrote: »

What's the big deal with farmers and their land? I mean if you go back far enough you will find that most farmers acquired their land by either collaborating with the landlords or taking advantage of someone who had fallen on hard times.

If by collaboration, you mean paying the rent charged on the land, then, yes, they collaborated.

Or did what they had to do to feed their families would be a more nuanced way of putting it.

Username John

Count Mondego wrote: »

Bull****. Some amount of bitterness from lads who didn't inherit the farm on here.

Should we take it so, that you have nothing to back up your initial statement?