Deep in every Englishman – or perhaps not so deep – is the country squire. Every owner of a small house in the UK seems to yearn for acres of land. But is it a good idea?
We had a client recently who was searching for a Dordogne property – a largely predictable wishlist, and we showed him what we had. But it turned out that the gardens were too small. He wanted a hectare of land – about two and a half acres. The client in question was in his early fifties. He lived in the home counties and had a fairly standard back garden – for argument's sake 150 feet long by thirty wide. He was fond of garden and obviously wanted to expand his horizons.
Obviously, as a Dordogne estate agent, I am not going to take people's life decisions for them. These are grown people who can make up their own minds. But I have to ask whether it is sensible for someone to take on this amount of land as a garden.
Creating a burden for yourself
Leaving aside the small minority of people who are avid gardeners and who are happy to be outside in all weathers, the majority of us want to have an attractive environment in which we can potter around without feeling under pressure. And that's the point: if you have too big a garden it soon becomes a burden. It's fun designing it all, laying it out, planting it up. But after a few years, when it's established, there's a danger of the fun wearing thin. Do you want to spend your days weeding? What happened to your original dream of a house in the Dordogne where you could sit on the terrace sipping a glass of wine?
By the time your garden is established you are likely to be around sixty. Unless you are fortunate enough to be able to afford gardening help, you will find yourself becoming increasingly oppressed by the burden you have taken on.
The hazards of letting the farmer cut your grass
Of course, you may just want to have the security of space around you, and the knowledge that nobody will build. You may have a friendly farmer next door who says he will be happy to cut the grass in your field – no need to pay him, since he can use the grass for his cows. It all seems fine, doesn't it?
The only problem is that if you don't pay the farmer at an arm's length rate, French law will imply an agricultural tenancy. The result is that, without your realising it, you will have a tenant for your field. No bother, perhaps. At any rate not until you come to sell.
When it comes to a sale the farmer will have a pre-emption right over the land where he is cutting the grass. Moreover, the terms of his implied tenancy will be such that you will not be able to get rid of him without his agreement. So your land may suddenly be reduced in value for an incoming purchaser.
Double whammy
So there you are – a double whammy of giving yourself a backbreaking burden and granting someone rights over your property without realising it.
Why not let me show you somewhere with a courtyard garden that you can garden intensively to your heart's delight? after which, you can have that drink you always dreamt of…
We had a client recently who was searching for a Dordogne property – a largely predictable wishlist, and we showed him what we had. But it turned out that the gardens were too small. He wanted a hectare of land – about two and a half acres. The client in question was in his early fifties. He lived in the home counties and had a fairly standard back garden – for argument's sake 150 feet long by thirty wide. He was fond of garden and obviously wanted to expand his horizons.
Obviously, as a Dordogne estate agent, I am not going to take people's life decisions for them. These are grown people who can make up their own minds. But I have to ask whether it is sensible for someone to take on this amount of land as a garden.
Creating a burden for yourself
Leaving aside the small minority of people who are avid gardeners and who are happy to be outside in all weathers, the majority of us want to have an attractive environment in which we can potter around without feeling under pressure. And that's the point: if you have too big a garden it soon becomes a burden. It's fun designing it all, laying it out, planting it up. But after a few years, when it's established, there's a danger of the fun wearing thin. Do you want to spend your days weeding? What happened to your original dream of a house in the Dordogne where you could sit on the terrace sipping a glass of wine?
By the time your garden is established you are likely to be around sixty. Unless you are fortunate enough to be able to afford gardening help, you will find yourself becoming increasingly oppressed by the burden you have taken on.
The hazards of letting the farmer cut your grass
Of course, you may just want to have the security of space around you, and the knowledge that nobody will build. You may have a friendly farmer next door who says he will be happy to cut the grass in your field – no need to pay him, since he can use the grass for his cows. It all seems fine, doesn't it?
The only problem is that if you don't pay the farmer at an arm's length rate, French law will imply an agricultural tenancy. The result is that, without your realising it, you will have a tenant for your field. No bother, perhaps. At any rate not until you come to sell.
When it comes to a sale the farmer will have a pre-emption right over the land where he is cutting the grass. Moreover, the terms of his implied tenancy will be such that you will not be able to get rid of him without his agreement. So your land may suddenly be reduced in value for an incoming purchaser.
Double whammy
So there you are – a double whammy of giving yourself a backbreaking burden and granting someone rights over your property without realising it.
Why not let me show you somewhere with a courtyard garden that you can garden intensively to your heart's delight? after which, you can have that drink you always dreamt of…
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