Buying land with a barn = bad idea?

[3chestnuts]

So I think deep down I know the answer to this, but I will defer to the CoTH wisdom to help talk me off of the ledge.

I currently have three horses: one is boarded, the other two are kept at my house. My long-suffering husband has resigned to the fact that I will always have horses, and despite my best attempts to smack the calculator out of his hand, he has figured out how much money boarding will cost us over the next 20 years.

In his mind, boarding is like renting - paying someone else for their facilities. He’d rather have me keep my horse at home (did I mention how lucky I am?). The caveat here is that I don’t have the room at home - I already have my two retired horses here, and have no arena and no room to expand.

Moving to another house with more land is out of the question. However, 2.5 miles away (less than five minutes - on my way to work), a parcel has come up for sale that includes four acres and a 22’x42’ pole barn. The lot is already mostly cleared with power, septic and two wells (artisan well along with a drilled well). Is it crazy to consider buying this lot?

I’d be looking to put in four stalls with in/outs to individual paddocks and a 20m x 60m dressage arena. While there obviously won’t be any room for trails on the property, I’d be happy to have a perimeter track.

Has anyone successfully had a setup like this? There would be no one living on the property, which would take some getting used to. I know how much work goes into taking care of horses in my backyard - of course having to drive down the street multiple times a day would be exponentially more work. This would be a very large initial cash outlay, but at least we’d be paying for something that’s ours. My husband and family have the resources to do the work to get this up and running themselves. I have no intention of getting more horses, but it would be nice/a requirement to have a few boarders to keep my horse company.

What do you guys think? Something I should pursue? I understand that this is a personal decision, but hearing from others who may have been in a similar situation would be helpful.

Financing will also be a consideration, as we’d be using equity in our home as a down payment.

[Sempiternal]

You might want to look into the laws in your area. I know where I am, you are supposed to have five (open) acres, plus an acre for every horse. Not sure if that applies to actual boarding facilities.

[3chestnuts]

Thanks, Sempiternal, calling the town and checking into the various zoning laws would definitely be my #1 priority.

When I looked into this before bringing my two home, they chuckled and said they don’t have land minimums for livestock - they’re happy to be keeping honest to the towns agricultural history (as long as they weren’t near wetlands!)

[trubandloki]

I know there are places that allow that many horses on that amount of acres, but like Sempi already suggested check with your local zoning laws. Where I am there is also a minimum acreage (20 acres) before you are allowed to a horse business of any type, that includes boarding.

I personally have no issue with you having a barn on property you are not living on. You are very close and it would be easy to get there in an emergency. With today’s technology you can set yourself up so you can see the barn from your home computer.

[Blume_Farm]

I have two friends with similar set-ups. What person 1 did: they put a nice trailer on the property and rent it out. That person keeps an eye on the horses and cares for them when they go out of town (which is often). The days the renter cares for the horses is deducted from her rent. They have been doing this for years and it works great for them. Great renter, good deal for both.

Person 2: has a five acre set up down the road from her other 5 acre farm. The property they live on is where she keeps her broodies and youngsters. Once they are ready to get started/ riding they move to the other place where she has a barn/arena/roundpen. She has a small apartment above that barn that a young woman lives in and runs a small training business. She also starts her youngsters for her. I think they are able to keep 10 horses on the 5 acres. Nice private training facility for the trainer, she cares for the horses and is great for getting young ones started. They have done this for years (like 10 years) and it works well for them.

[merrygoround]

A 2,5 mile run to the barn several times a day can get to be a real nuisance. Been there, done that. Just getting in and out of the car for your runs will require more organization, than walking out the back door.

Adding boarders in the future could compound your headaches.

[Cherry]

I don’t think this is necessarily a bad idea (I posted the exact same kind of question a couple years ago), but you need more info…

In my case the asking price for what the land was was outrageous. It would have left us with no money to work with. There were neighbors all around the property and most were not horse friendly–I could envision manure complaints. The outbuildings were slap-dashed together (including the barn) and would have to be torn down and rebuilt–I’m pretty sure the neighbors would have demanded it… Looked like hillbilly heaven!

Keep asking questions before writing off the idea!

[tangledweb]

I don’t think you are crazy to consider it, but I’m not sure it can really make sense from a financial point of view.

Even if you pretend the land, stalls fences, and arena are free the annual cost of property taxes and arena, barn, fence and pasture maintenance will probably cost significantly more than boarding one horse.

If you can afford it and would enjoy it, go for it, but think carefully about boarders. Having your own retirees to keep your working horse company might be satisfying and relaxing (if hard work). Having boarders means you’ll have pressure to keep everything maintained all the time. You won’t be able to ignore the arena for a week if you are sick, or ignore snow or potholes on the driveway for instance. If the plan requires boarders, it’s probably a bad plan.

[suz]

In your situation I too would be all over it–IF I could have someone live there too though.
So an apartment or rv I which I could barter rent for security would be what makes or breaks it for me.

[SMF11]

To be blunt I think this makes no economic sense at all.

It would mean you borrowing a lot more money and refinancing your current house. That is tying up a LOT of your assets – SO much easier to pay out say $1,000 a month versus tying up $500,000 (obviously insert your numbers there).

The only possible upside is that the new property might appreciate a lot and you might make money that way, but that would mean a significant amount of time would have to pass (normally, like 10 + years).

You would really only have one boarder with that set up as I understand it, which will do little to cover your costs.

Who is doing all the horse care? You? Is anyone else in the family helping?

I could be all wrong, but I’d say at a minimum think LONG and hard about this!!

[3chestnuts]

I appreciate all of the feedback! Yes, it certainly doesn’t seem to make much economic sense - about as much sense as most of our horsey endeavors

The boarding idea is more to avoid having my single horse on the property, over receiving boarding income. The extra money wouldn’t hurt, but I suppose moving my retired horses there might be the smartest option.

This would be a long-term plan. Seeing as I plan to stay in the area for about as long as horses will be in my life, it might make sense. I’m happy to hear that other people have had been in a similar situation and made it work. The pragmatic side of me is saying “what are you thinking, this will be a money pit” but the idealistic side of me is saying that if I can’t picture boarding for the rest of my life, this is a perfect opportunity.

sigh

[normandy_shores]

I would agree with the idea of having a trailer or manufactured on the property to rent out, as it helps with the workload and ongoing cost. If you don’t do that, at least make sure you leave a good building site (could be pasture for now) for any future development should your situation change or you need to sell. You just never know.

[Mallard]

Guess it depends on where area of the country you live…
Bad enough that I have to walk 100 yards to may barn, but getting in my car and driving through a blizzard in minus 30C at 6 am or 9pm would not be ideal!

[poltroon]

Truly I think going to the other property to care for horses will be more of a barrier than you expect. When you board you also get freedom from building and maintaining the ring and the ability to go on vacation or just vegetate when you are sick. Having horses at home can be worth those costs, but if you have to get in the car anyway, I think it makes less sense.

The exception would be if you set it up as a rental/caretaker and you had someone you trusted to live there and do the barn chores, at least some times if not always.

[Texarkana]

I’d look at it like a rental/investment property-- as others have suggested, it could be a “win win” to put a modest residence on the property. Rental income could help offset the cost of purchasing the land. Also, double bonus if you can find a renter who is animal savvy and can help with feeding/chores.

If your situation ever changes, hopefully you could sell the property for a small profit with the addition of a residence and other improvements.

But yeah… horse farms are money pits. I’m not so sure I’d want two farms sucking money out of my pocket. And driving even a couple miles down the road to care for the horses twice a day just plain sucks. :lol:

[kdow]

[QUOTE=Mallard;8069354]
Guess it depends on where area of the country you live…
Bad enough that I have to walk 100 yards to may barn, but getting in my car and driving through a blizzard in minus 30C at 6 am or 9pm would not be ideal![/QUOTE]

Yeah, depending where you are, you may want to consider having some kind of trailer/shelter even if fairly minimal (think insulated shed you could stick a space heater in) on the property so that in the event of any kind of emergency, someone can be really Right There.

I think even in places that don’t have the kind of weather that can make driving hazardous, I’d want at least an area where I could comfortably bunk down for the night if I had some kind of equine health concern and wanted to stick close to keep an eye on things. (Might be in the barn, might be a good patch you can put a tent on, whatever.) But I tend to be kind of paranoid.

[js]

You are only boarding out 1 horse so I don’t see how it would be financially better for you to buy property just for the 1 horse. Why not just bring the remaining horse home? So what if its a tight squeeze, you’ve said the city doesn’t matter how many horses you have on your property. Do you have room for a small arena? Even if you were thinking of moving your other 2 horses there, it still doesn’t make good financial sense. For what the property would be costing you, you could invest that money into your current property and make it work for your 3 horses. I’ve seen some very nice properties done on very small acreage that included barn and arena. Invest in what you already have and make it work.

[Guilherme]

On the surface it doesn’t sound too bad, but I’d do the math first.

What kind of money are you talking about? Is the lot buildable? You may not want to build there but your heirs might. If the lot is unbuildable for any reason then you (or they) have a problem.

Check the zoning carefully. You don’t say where you are but there are lots of places where “The Authorities” have decreed unnecessary acreage requirements for horses.

We don’t know where you are. What regular weather phenomina in your area will prevent you from making that 5 min. trip to provide care? What will you do if you can’t get there?

What’s around this piece? Do you foresee problems with kids or vandals or teens looking for a place to drink/neck or other such issues? Will it become a haven for drug sales? Will you get a call from a lawyer contending that their client was injured while trespassing on your property to “pet the pretty horses” and wants to get paid?

How much will it cost to properly insure the place?

What kind of fences will you have? How will you know if a fence fails and you have an elopement?

I understand your husband’s financial concerns. But “full care” board is a lot more than just renting an “equine apartment.” It’s more like a sophisticated “assisted living” facility.

G.

[rockymouse]

How old are your retirees?
It is likely far, far cheaper to pay for board until one of those retirees passes away than to buy this place.
Is there no way to put one more on your current place?

[merrygoround]

Do not forget to add traditional insurance into the financial picture. That insurance would increase with boarders.