Is agricultural land a good investment?
Discussion
Leithen said:
Well, we've been farming crops for a while, it's not like we ever stopped....
If you are looking to make a big gain, you've probably missed the boat. Arable prices have already risen over the last few years, with a combination of scarcity (no-one is selling) and grain prices the reason. As a safe haven, land has always been a good place to be - they don't make any more of it. However the returns from it, even with grain values doubling, are not great - all the other cost inputs are going up too.
As the safest possible element of a range of investments, good idea. Otherwise, unless you are rolling your sleeves up yourself and driving your John Deere, you might be disappointed by what it earns you.
Well...If you are looking to make a big gain, you've probably missed the boat. Arable prices have already risen over the last few years, with a combination of scarcity (no-one is selling) and grain prices the reason. As a safe haven, land has always been a good place to be - they don't make any more of it. However the returns from it, even with grain values doubling, are not great - all the other cost inputs are going up too.
As the safest possible element of a range of investments, good idea. Otherwise, unless you are rolling your sleeves up yourself and driving your John Deere, you might be disappointed by what it earns you.
I was thinking of the land as a background investment to augment income that could be produced from the land. I was thinking predominantly of equestrian use - mainly livery, and help my little sister get her racehorse retraining enterprise off the ground.
I could also run several other elements alongside - Riding Lessons, Coffee shop, maybe even move my cab business onto the land to save on rent etc...
You grow crops, I take it... What do you grow and how do you sell your produce? Are there still massive subsidies to stop you using the land, or can you ignore these if you don't take the payments?
What's the best way to get my hands on some land then? I need to go and buy a house in the next year or so anyway (been waiting for this market to drop for three years!). Maybe I can raise the money for a house with some land.
Is it possible to get an agricultural mortgage that will take account of income from land?
Is it possible to get an agricultural mortgage that will take account of income from land?
Plotloss said:
Agri land for conversion into a riding school will require power and buildings and planning, if theres a hope of getting these then you wont be able to buy the land at agri prices.
If you're buying land as an investment, you're probably best off leasing to a an arable farmer to grow on, rather than doing it yourself, unless of course you know what you're doing with arable.
Arable farming? Not a fIf you're buying land as an investment, you're probably best off leasing to a an arable farmer to grow on, rather than doing it yourself, unless of course you know what you're doing with arable.
king scooby... 
It's not really so much a matter of investment... it's really me just wanting to know if land prices are set to go up over the next 10-20 years. I'd like to set up the equestrian business anyway but with an emphasis on using the land as productively as possible - which I guess is tougher because of all the planning laws etc.
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