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Streetrod
Original Poster
4,978 posts
75 months
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I have always kept a beady eye on the real-estate porn thread with ambitions of one day in the dim distant future of owning a reasonable pile in the country. I have always wondered if my very romantic view of a small country estate for myself and family was completely out of wack with the reality.
So I am putting this out to the PH massive, what is it really like to own a decent pile in the country and am I just heading for a world of hurt?
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singlecoil
14,863 posts
115 months
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You need a lot of money to keep the place in good condition. Especially the older properties.
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Harry H
379 posts
25 months
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According to the Red tops we nearly had a Mansion Tax recently if that nutter Vince Cable had his way which was anything valued at over £1m. So that would be 50% of the population of Surrey then.
There are mansions and mansions. Living in a nice manor house with a few acres, paddocks, stable blocks and a barn type of thing would be nice providing you've got the spare readies for maintenace and Gardeners etc otherwise it would all just be a pain in the arse. Living in a stately home wouldn't appeal at all
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Streetrod
Original Poster
4,978 posts
75 months
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Living in a leafy part of Surrey as I do the one million pound property is more the norm than the exception. The thing is most of the occupants are general middle class sorts working for someone else and not on outlandish salaries’. Our houses have just jumped in value over the years. Also on my street I was the last to move in almost ten years ago, with most here having been in residence for over 20 years.
The leap to that next house will be a big one if my dreams are too be realised as I would like a few acres with the house at the end of a long drive and gates at the entrance.
The sale of some land we own to a developer might allow me to make that jump earlier if it comes off but that’s all up in the air at the moment.
As you say Cable and his mansion tax is just a revamp of the old window tax from a bygone age and is hopefully doomed never to appear in law
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aponting389
258 posts
47 months
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dazzalse
202 posts
48 months
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The reality is somewhat different to the dream, we spent over £ 25,000 on gardening last year and £ 10,000 on oil
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boobles
12,154 posts
84 months
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Streetrod
Original Poster
4,978 posts
75 months
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dazzalse said: The reality is somewhat different to the dream, we spent over £ 25,000 on gardening last year and £ 10,000 on oil You sound like the man I should be speaking too. Most of the houses I have looked at have had oil fired central heating, how efficient is it? And do you have a live in gardener or someone who pays a regular visit. I currently look after our three acre development plot and that is a pain to keep the grass and weeds down. I left it for 4 weeks recently and when I came back it looked like Jumanji
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Ganglandboss
6,663 posts
72 months
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dazzalse said: The reality is somewhat different to the dream, we spent over £ 25,000 on gardening last year and £ 10,000 on oil Is that for boiling up and chucking off the ramparts when Safestyle knock on the drawbridge? 
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Jonnas
743 posts
32 months
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dazzalse said: The reality is somewhat different to the dream, we spent over £ 25,000 on gardening last year and £ 10,000 on oil Jesus wept! I did about £4k on oil last year and thought I was hard done by! I don't feel so bad now!
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BoRED S2upid
9,428 posts
109 months
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dazzalse said: The reality is somewhat different to the dream, we spent over £ 25,000 on gardening last year and £ 10,000 on oil Good work. How many acres are we talking?
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hidetheelephants
5,580 posts
62 months
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Can you spell moneypit? Maintaining even average sized country piles(say 6-10 bedrooms) is ruinous; if you're spending less than 2% of the value a year you're either a DIY mentalist or skimping your way to rack and ruin. Even that will only cover the basics; if you want it looking nice and fresh inside with gold leaf, suits of armour and chandeliers then double it or more. Then there's the heating bill...
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singlecoil
14,863 posts
115 months
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Streetrod said: dazzalse said: The reality is somewhat different to the dream, we spent over £ 25,000 on gardening last year and £ 10,000 on oil You sound like the man I should be speaking too. Most of the houses I have looked at have had oil fired central heating, how efficient is it? And do you have a live in gardener or someone who pays a regular visit. £25K would be marginal for a live-in gardener, by the time the wages and cost of the cottage etc are taken into account. A large property does really need live-in staff though, ideally a 'couple, i.e. housekeeper and gardener/chauffeur/handyman, especially if the owners are often away at one of their other houses abroad.
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Deva Link
26,883 posts
114 months
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singlecoil said: A large property does really need live-in staff though, ideally a 'couple, i.e. housekeeper and gardener/chauffeur/handyman, especially if the owners are often away at one of their other houses abroad. I would give that job to my parents, and hope they'd be grateful. 
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ClaphamGT3
3,362 posts
112 months
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8 bedroom 9.5ksq ft Georgian house with swimming pool, stables, staff cottage, range of old farm buildings and 26 acres of grounds costs c. £100k per annum to run. That is not including domestic staff costs or mortgage
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singlecoil
14,863 posts
115 months
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One good tip for intending purchasers, one can often do a deal with a local farmer for him to graze sheep on the fields FOC, it's good for the fields and you don't need to cut the grass.
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NightRunner
4,228 posts
63 months
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Until they downsized, the elders had a largish house: 8 bed, games room, office, 3 cellars/workshops, triple garage and indoor pool.
They were mortgage free, but the cost to run the house was equal to what the mortgage would have been.
There were silly things, a cupboard the size of a big double wardrobe, just to store spare lightbulbs.
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callyman
2,610 posts
81 months
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boobles said: Wow, where's that?
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dazzalse
202 posts
48 months
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When you take into account electric (£8,000 a year)
Housekeeper £23,000 a year plus cottage and car
Sinking fund £25,000
And then there is everyday things carpets, we have just redone the hall, £26,000, new curtains in the drawing room £30,000 and all this before you pay school fees and put petrol in th car, and we are only there 8 months of the year
The list is endless, and the expenses grow every year
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Streetrod
Original Poster
4,978 posts
75 months
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So does your house keeper pay rent or do staff expect free lodging in these circumstances?
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