Buying woodland
Discussion
I've got some elderly relatives who live in the country, and they have always wanted to own a woodland (specifically one with bluebells in it!).
There are quite a few websites that come up when you search for woodland on Google, but they have a very limited selection of woodlands. Pricing for a 5-20 acre area seems to be in the £5-10k/acre range for the South East. My relatives are pretty comfortable financially and want to buy somewhere.
So, my question is about acquiring woodland. There are quite a few small bits of woodland near my relatives, it would be much preferable to get something near to where they live. I don't expect them to move from their current house until they go into a care home or similar, so won't be able to enjoy the woodland anyway.
Is most woodland privately owned by farmers etc, or Forestry Commission or some other public entity? I was thinking about selecting the five nearest woodlands, finding out through the Land Registry who owned them, and then asking a surveyor to approach the owner with an offer at the market rate.
Am I going in completely the wrong direction? The thing about woodland is it's not like a house or farmland, which inevitably seem actively in use. Woodland has a use in timber value, but that takes ages to grow, and also as somewhere for people to go and enjoy themselves. If the place is currently being used for commercial reasons, then you would have thought they'd be quite happy to part with it for the right deal. If it's being used as "amenity" then it may be more difficult.
Any suggestions welcome, has anyone done similar before?
There are quite a few websites that come up when you search for woodland on Google, but they have a very limited selection of woodlands. Pricing for a 5-20 acre area seems to be in the £5-10k/acre range for the South East. My relatives are pretty comfortable financially and want to buy somewhere.
So, my question is about acquiring woodland. There are quite a few small bits of woodland near my relatives, it would be much preferable to get something near to where they live. I don't expect them to move from their current house until they go into a care home or similar, so won't be able to enjoy the woodland anyway.
Is most woodland privately owned by farmers etc, or Forestry Commission or some other public entity? I was thinking about selecting the five nearest woodlands, finding out through the Land Registry who owned them, and then asking a surveyor to approach the owner with an offer at the market rate.
Am I going in completely the wrong direction? The thing about woodland is it's not like a house or farmland, which inevitably seem actively in use. Woodland has a use in timber value, but that takes ages to grow, and also as somewhere for people to go and enjoy themselves. If the place is currently being used for commercial reasons, then you would have thought they'd be quite happy to part with it for the right deal. If it's being used as "amenity" then it may be more difficult.
Any suggestions welcome, has anyone done similar before?
Its not cheap is it?
I take it like anything else in life, location and condition matters?
We have a wood near us I fancied last year but I was scared off by the very, very dense unpenetrable undergrowth, lack of any kind of access and the large trees overhanging the main road. I had a picture of creating a clearing, and well, that's it.
Try:
http://www.ancientwoodland.com/
It is a great way of buying woodland and not having to spend too much money.
I think these guys have pioneered this method.
Anyway to cut a long story short, I wanted to buy woodland but could not afford it. Ancient woodland allowed me to have a place of my own.
IceBoy
http://www.ancientwoodland.com/
It is a great way of buying woodland and not having to spend too much money.
I think these guys have pioneered this method.
Anyway to cut a long story short, I wanted to buy woodland but could not afford it. Ancient woodland allowed me to have a place of my own.
IceBoy
Just curious... what's the point in owning some woodland with bluebells, can't you look at bluebells for free in public woodland?
If you buy the woodland do you have a massive fence around it so the general public can't get in and you can have naked picnics or whatever.
Is it an investment? Can you harvest the trees for cash from time to time?
Couldn't you make a donation to the National Trust or something instead for them to maintain some woodland? Is it possible to sponsor some woodland so it's looked after in your name?
If you buy the woodland do you have a massive fence around it so the general public can't get in and you can have naked picnics or whatever.
Is it an investment? Can you harvest the trees for cash from time to time?
Couldn't you make a donation to the National Trust or something instead for them to maintain some woodland? Is it possible to sponsor some woodland so it's looked after in your name?
Scawie said:
Just curious... what's the point in owning some woodland with bluebells, can't you look at bluebells for free in public woodland?
If you buy the woodland do you have a massive fence around it so the general public can't get in and you can have naked picnics or whatever.
Firstly, this isn't me we're talking about so I don't proclaim to know the reasons in full! Woodland is generally private property, so you can't just roam over any you see fit. There's an attracting in owning a woodland local to you, you can have fires in it, set up camp, and let your grandchildren build a tree house. Also you have a greater degree of privacy if you want to have a naturist picnic, as you say If you buy the woodland do you have a massive fence around it so the general public can't get in and you can have naked picnics or whatever.
edb49 said:
Scawie said:
Just curious... what's the point in owning some woodland with bluebells, can't you look at bluebells for free in public woodland?
If you buy the woodland do you have a massive fence around it so the general public can't get in and you can have naked picnics or whatever.
Firstly, this isn't me we're talking about so I don't proclaim to know the reasons in full! Woodland is generally private property, so you can't just roam over any you see fit. There's an attracting in owning a woodland local to you, you can have fires in it, set up camp, and let your grandchildren build a tree house. Also you have a greater degree of privacy if you want to have a naturist picnic, as you say If you buy the woodland do you have a massive fence around it so the general public can't get in and you can have naked picnics or whatever.
If this will get introduced here (down south) is another questions.
edb49 said:
clarkey said:
Quite a lot of woodland seems to be unregistered with Land Registry so hard to track down who owns it.
Intersting to hear that. How do you track down the owner of some land if it's not registered at the LR?Gassing Station | Business | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff