Offering Full care, self care, or co op?

[js]

Check to see if your mortgage is okay with this being a business and not a regular home mortgage. Check zoning laws that will directly impact the property. Look at insurance costs, waste removal costs, hay, feed, water, electricity etc. Also you will need to own equipment like some kind of tractor, implements for arena and pasture upkeep. Maintenance costs will be on you also. Make absolute sure your fiancé is on board with this and all the costs/work involved. Remember as newlyweds you are giving up a fair amount of privacy by owning a boarding facility.

I personally would not undertake a mortgage that I relied on boarding fees to help offset the cost, it has the potential to be a disaster.

[Guilherme]

@EveTaylor

So we, my fiance and I, are currently in the process of purchasing a horse property/our first home(yay us). Besides finally escaping the 350 square foot apartment that we’ve lived in for four years, we are finally able to bring my horse home. The property we are looking to purchase is from a family friend who is moving themselves to a larger facility. The property has a lovely custom l-shaped shedrow that has a ten foot overhang with 12 stalls and three birthing stalls in another barn. All together they make a u-shape. Although we don’t intend to fill all of the stalls since the property can’t support that many horses we’d like to have a few boarders to hopefully offset the larger mortgage we are taking on.

The property has a large beautiful all-weather outdoor arena with a full jump course, two large pastures, three very good sized paddocks, and a huge tack and feed room. We are located in Maryland, which if you don’t know can be a pricey state for everything. Generally, full board prices around here run anywhere from $400-$600 a month, higher-end with an indoor and outdoor, the lower end usually with just an outdoor or indoor but it varies. It’s challenging to find self-care around here, but we were thinking $250 a month. There aren’t really any co-op barns around here so I am not really sure what the price of that would even really be.

We would be limiting the total number of boarders to five or six total max so that we don’t wear down the fields. While we are not looking to make heaps of money we just want to see what’s going to be the best ‘bang for our buck’ to help us cover some costs.

Any thoughts, tips, etc. are appreciated.

Are you familiar with the musical “OKLAHOMA?” In it there is song that contains the lines:

We know we belong to the land,
But the land we belong to is grand!

I’d say that most folks who board (either their own horses or somebody else’s) would agree with this sentiment. But when the song says “belong” it means it! If you’ve managed a barn before then you know that. The mistake that folks make is charging too little for the service. They do that because their love for horses, and the land, drives them to undervalue the service they provide. If you don’t try and make a profit you won’t just lose a little, you’ll likely lose a lot. I personally know at least a half dozen folks who tried to do what you’re thinking of and got burned, and burned out, pretty quickly. The ones who stuck to it did it as a “labor of love” and didn’t care about the difference between expenses and earnings.

Do a “market survey” and ask operating barns in your area what they charge for various board types. While you’re doing this get out your yellow pad (or open up Excel) and start building spreadsheet on costs. Be sure to include such things as fencing, taxes, depreciation, and reserves for problems. These would be in addition to the standard stuff most folks think about. Make SURE you include labor. One thing you’ve not said is if your SO is “on board” with this project. Are they going to ride and care for their horse and be an active participant or is this you doing your thing and they will do theirs and help you out as they can? If it’s the latter item then your likelihood for success is reduced.

Good luck in your project.

G.

[MsM]

Your best bet in this situation might be to find someone looking for a facility to lease. You might be able to find a compatible trainer to run their small operation out of your stable. They would take over running the barn, including basic care for your horses for a rental fee. You can leave hiring barn help to them. Obviously,a really good contract spelling out duties, money, limitations and expectations would be essential.