Potential house purchase… thoughts please..
Discussion
Evening all,
So, today we went to view a potential house purchase…
Link here : https://www.nockdeighton.co.uk/properties/kcm25013...
Lots of positives, very secluded, very peaceful, wonderful views.
Access is via a private farm track… nearly half a kilometre long. MOT type tyre tracks with a grass centre.
Passable just about in our saloon car, but a bit dicey in places, clearance wise.
One of the main bones of contention between Mrs CTO and I is that the property has only electric power, and storage heaters instead of radiators…
My main concerns are that these may end up being heinously expensive to run, although solar panels are installed, not sure how much they could offset the running costs?
An LPG or similar install wouldn’t be an issue, per se… I put the tank and the feed to the house in for our current place, and then had it all connected up.. of course the house would then need a full GFCH install also… likely to be around 10-15k I would assume..
That’s if the LPG guys agree to being their truck down a narrow farm track.
See below for distance of said farm track… red line next to it for ease of reference
And fairly crap google earth picture of said farm track to give an idea of spec..
The track is owned by a farmer, and obs would need to check access rights etc. The house is the only property down there, so no one else would be using it..
And that’s about it…
Over to you lot, what you saying?
Thanks, as always.
CTO
So, today we went to view a potential house purchase…
Link here : https://www.nockdeighton.co.uk/properties/kcm25013...
Lots of positives, very secluded, very peaceful, wonderful views.
Access is via a private farm track… nearly half a kilometre long. MOT type tyre tracks with a grass centre.
Passable just about in our saloon car, but a bit dicey in places, clearance wise.
One of the main bones of contention between Mrs CTO and I is that the property has only electric power, and storage heaters instead of radiators…
My main concerns are that these may end up being heinously expensive to run, although solar panels are installed, not sure how much they could offset the running costs?
An LPG or similar install wouldn’t be an issue, per se… I put the tank and the feed to the house in for our current place, and then had it all connected up.. of course the house would then need a full GFCH install also… likely to be around 10-15k I would assume..
That’s if the LPG guys agree to being their truck down a narrow farm track.
See below for distance of said farm track… red line next to it for ease of reference
And fairly crap google earth picture of said farm track to give an idea of spec..
The track is owned by a farmer, and obs would need to check access rights etc. The house is the only property down there, so no one else would be using it..
And that’s about it…
Over to you lot, what you saying?
Thanks, as always.
CTO
Wish said:
Stunning.get £20k off the asking and by a 4x4 for the wife or get the lane level with a tractor and a scoop and add a bit of MOT
And worry about heating at a later date
Beautiful
Yeah, am not too bothered about the lane tbh. A few 18 ton loads of MOT would sort it out quite easily and a day or two with a digger to grade it…And worry about heating at a later date
Beautiful
Had plenty of practice with that in the current place.
Most farmers I know aren’t too arsed about stuff being done as long as a) they get asked, b) it’s free, and c) it’s to their benefit
hidetheelephants said:
A glutton for punishment, bored of your caves already? 
I'd be surprised if a track like that would stop the average LPG lorry, as long as they can turn around it shouldn't present difficulty. Oil is cheaper than gas though.
I'd be surprised if a track like that would stop the average LPG lorry, as long as they can turn around it shouldn't present difficulty. Oil is cheaper than gas though.Edited by hidetheelephants on Friday 5th September 21:45
Not bored, per se, but I happened to see a local property for sale that I liked, and although we didn’t proceed on it, the genie is now out of the bottle with Mrs CTO
Re the heating question… what I can’t work out, is the reason no one else has done it previously…
It would have added a decent chunk to the saleability of the place… I would think at least…
CTO said:
Yeah, am not too bothered about the lane tbh. A few 18 ton loads of MOT would sort it out quite easily and a day or two with a digger to grade it…
Had plenty of practice with that in the current place.
Most farmers I know aren’t too arsed about stuff being done as long as a) they get asked, b) it’s free, and c) it’s to their benefit
Save a huge amount on MOT by getting recycled MOT or crush. Sometimes a 1/3 of the price. Had plenty of practice with that in the current place.
Most farmers I know aren’t too arsed about stuff being done as long as a) they get asked, b) it’s free, and c) it’s to their benefit
Why LPG over Oil?
ive only been in a house with LPG for a year and why the previous owners went with this over oil like all the other nearby properties i have no idea. ive calculated im paying about x2.4 the price of mains gas. where as oil on its good day can be cheaper and bad days still not be as expensive as LPG. also dont need to deal with scummy LPG companies.
im not overly sold on ASHP's but i would be impressed if it was more expensive to run than LPG.
ive only been in a house with LPG for a year and why the previous owners went with this over oil like all the other nearby properties i have no idea. ive calculated im paying about x2.4 the price of mains gas. where as oil on its good day can be cheaper and bad days still not be as expensive as LPG. also dont need to deal with scummy LPG companies.
im not overly sold on ASHP's but i would be impressed if it was more expensive to run than LPG.
That place has a vast open southerly vista - great for solar! I’d go down the GSHP route - you have sufficient land for a sizeable slinky array to the west - especially if you plan to stay there long term.
Spending now will future-proof your energy costs for the next 25+ years.
Spending now will future-proof your energy costs for the next 25+ years.
Edited by dobly on Saturday 6th September 04:19
Only access is via a long crappy track, that you don't own, maybe can't meaningfully improve, and you're not even sure about the access rights?
That's a massive red flag right there.
Bit of a b
h if you needed other services running in too. Problems over access and services can both be killers.
The novelty of being surrounded by someone else's active fields can wear off too.
That's a massive red flag right there.
Bit of a b
h if you needed other services running in too. Problems over access and services can both be killers. The novelty of being surrounded by someone else's active fields can wear off too.
dobly said:
That place has a vast open southerly vista - great for solar! I’d go down the GSHP route - you have sufficient land for a sizeable slinky array to the west - especially if you plan to stay there long term.
Spending now will future-proof your energy costs for the next 25+ years.
Thanks Dobly,Spending now will future-proof your energy costs for the next 25+ years.
Edited by dobly on Saturday 6th September 04:19
Is the government grant still active, would it be applicable?
JoshSm said:
Only access is via a long crappy track, that you don't own, maybe can't meaningfully improve, and you're not even sure about the access rights?
That's a massive red flag right there.
Bit of a bh if you needed other services running in too. Problems over access and services can both be killers.
The novelty of being surrounded by someone else's active fields can wear off too.
Thanks Josh,That's a massive red flag right there.
Bit of a b
h if you needed other services running in too. Problems over access and services can both be killers. The novelty of being surrounded by someone else's active fields can wear off too.
Turns out we know the previous owners to the current owner… the guy who did the landscaping for our current house grew up there….
Small world
Fair points that you make though, the access issue would need to be bottomed out…and the fields are actively farmed.
CTO said:
JoshSm said:
Only access is via a long crappy track, that you don't own, maybe can't meaningfully improve, and you're not even sure about the access rights?
That's a massive red flag right there.
Bit of a bh if you needed other services running in too. Problems over access and services can both be killers.
The novelty of being surrounded by someone else's active fields can wear off too.
Thanks Josh,That's a massive red flag right there.
Bit of a b
h if you needed other services running in too. Problems over access and services can both be killers. The novelty of being surrounded by someone else's active fields can wear off too.
Turns out we know the previous owners to the current owner… the guy who did the landscaping for our current house grew up there….
Small world
Fair points that you make though, the access issue would need to be bottomed out…and the fields are actively farmed.
Fall out with the farmer, or the farmer’s son, or the person the farmer sells his farm to next year and life could get quite difficult. Also don’t assume they’ll let you maintain the track. To me, the track is more of a red flag than the heating. Be aware it may affect future marketability.
After my father’s experience I’ll certain never buy a house that doesn’t have its own access to the adopted highway. However, it took 60 years for a problem to arise, so it’s not guaranteed.
The house does look really lovely so I can completely understand the appeal, just make sure you’ve done your due diligence on the track. Like others have said I’d be investigating more solar, battery storage and air or ground source heat pumps.
The track is a known issue that can be looked into, a lot of houses have this problem, people survive.
If the track only serves that house, maybe it can be bought?
The heating I would see as a problem. To fit central heating is going to have a lot of impact on decor and flooring.
I looked at a house with no CH about 10 years ago, they'd spent a lot of cash on nice flooring, kitchen, bathrooms etc, it would have been very difficult to retrofit radiators without trashing most of it. Maybe it's possible to put an oil boiler outside and run the pipework without too much damage?
I had a house where all the CH plumbing was at first floor level, with pipes running down to ground floor rads.
Aircon as heating might be considered, but you have a lot of rooms to serve.
Then again, I keep telling my self that if I'm spending £800k on a house, a few £k here and there to heat it is a mere detail.
If the track only serves that house, maybe it can be bought?
The heating I would see as a problem. To fit central heating is going to have a lot of impact on decor and flooring.
I looked at a house with no CH about 10 years ago, they'd spent a lot of cash on nice flooring, kitchen, bathrooms etc, it would have been very difficult to retrofit radiators without trashing most of it. Maybe it's possible to put an oil boiler outside and run the pipework without too much damage?
I had a house where all the CH plumbing was at first floor level, with pipes running down to ground floor rads.
Aircon as heating might be considered, but you have a lot of rooms to serve.
Then again, I keep telling my self that if I'm spending £800k on a house, a few £k here and there to heat it is a mere detail.
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