Looking for woodland

[Paul in the woods]

Depending on what you're after don't just limit a search to woodland. We found our patch of several acres by noticing some paddocks that had a couple of acres of woodland attached. Often buyers only want the fields so we had the opportunity to buy the woodland separately as well as a few more acres to make a decent sized patch. The price was a small fraction of 10k/acre as well!

 

I also wonder if it would be possible for people to woodlot their own larger piece of woodland. I've seen woodland sold by John Clegg etc get split up and sold for much higher prices by the woodlotting companies.

 

I also wonder if it would be worth speaking to local land owners / farmers yourself. I think some would be interesting in selling a bit of woodland for £5k an acre or so if you sorted the legal fees.

[devon TWiG]

Small woodlands command ridiculous prices. I've seen £100k for 5 acres in the south east. As TWIG mentioned you need volume to get the price down. 20 acres seems to be when the price acres begins to drop then substantially from 100 acres plus.

 

This is true because there are very few potential purchasers for such large amounts , also a lot of the bigger woods are pure plantations with conditions attatched and in more remote locations .... the price of small affordable useful lots of woods near larger towns etc will always be considerably higher .... just plain old market forces at work ! same as with a pony paddock near a village compared to a mountain side in the uplands ...! Fields in the area I live are fetching 15k plus per acre and many of those are steep , poor hedges / fences down miles of horrid single track lanes . buying volume and breaking in to small plots is exactly what some companies are doing for the reasons stated above , I doubt that those selling the bigger plots will remain unaware of this situation for long and can then command greater prices or divide it themselves ...

[richy_B]

I thinks it been discussed before - group purchase. 5 people buy 100 acres between them. Get the agreement in writing and solicitor approved and could see it working - I'd do it

[devon TWiG]

......I also wonder if it would be worth speaking to local land owners / farmers yourself. I think some would be interesting in selling a bit of woodland for £5k an acre or so if you sorted the legal fees......

I tried this for quite a while and no one seemed willing to part with land unless you make an overly generous offer , a plot of land for 5-10k is very rare nowadays and much farm woodland is not conveniently easily separated from the farm ( having to go through yard / fields to get at it etc ) and been used as a dump for years .., most land owners are not poor so 5-10 k is of little temptation for the bother , and as one land owner said, what could he do with 5-10 k , not worth keeping in the bank or it gets you a reasonable 2nd hand car ... so they do not sell .... dedicated woodland usually has it's own road access and away from dwellings and main roads etc One piece I looked at was a SSSI and was long , narrow ,steep no vehicle access and backed on to a housing estate with lot's of mature tree's overhanging gardens , and back fence gates on to land for dumping garden waste and for dog's and kid's to play in ... it was a liability not an asset !!

[richy_B]

My experience with farmers is they will never sell. The only way you get the land is one dies and the family sell it off.

[devon TWiG]

I thinks it been discussed before - group purchase. 5 people buy 100 acres between them. Get the agreement in writing and solicitor approved and could see it working - I'd do it

.... Easier said than done I think .... same as getting 5 people to buy 1 house , who has what rooms , who is responsible for the roof etc what if 1 wants out ? etc etc .. and in a way this is what woodlot companies do as a living .

[richy_B]

True - the paperwork would need to be detailed and cover many eventualities.

[HertsWood]

Woodland in Herts went for £16K / acre...

[timbernut]

Where are you selling?

 

 

Hi felix, sorry only just saw this, we're about 10 miles south of Norwich

[growforest]

What do people think about this splitting up of larger woodlands into small parcels?

Strikes me this often leads to poor outcomes for woodlands. Drainage doesn't get managed as a whole; forestry objectives in any management can be neglected; prices for woodland get inflated artificially.

What are the benefits?