What is the going rate for buying garden land?

Want to buy 3250 square feet of next door's garden, not to build on, just to make our garden bigger. What kind of money should I be looking at?

What is the going rate for buying garden land?
Probably depends upon the going rate of land in your area.



Have you talked to owners of land next door to see if you can rent/lease the garden space.



Or perhaps strike a deal with them, you will provide them a share of the harvest in exchange for lending them their land.
Reply:There isn't a "going rate", because the circumstances can differ so much from case to case.The following are some of the factors which will affect the price:

1. Where are you? If you live in Kensington, land is going to be worth a lot more than it is in the back of beyond.

2. What effect will losing the land have on the value of your neighbour's property? Might your neighbour wish to build on his garden some day, and would reducing its size make this impossible?

3. What effect would gaining the land have on the value of your property? Very little, if you already own rolling acres. Quite a lot, if your present garden is really tiny.

4. Land ownership can be a very emotive thing for some people, If your neighbour is one of them, it will obviously take more persuasion in the form of money.

5. If your neighbour's house is not his/her "only or main residence", or if his/her land is larger than half a hectare (about 6,000 square yards), he/she will need to take into account the possibility of paying capital gains tax on the price.



I reckon the best starting point might be to get a valuer to advise you on points 2 and 3 (and he would obviously have point 1 in mind, too). Your starting point would then be the answer he gives to point 2. It may be that, because of the relative sizes of the two existing plots, the answer to 3 is greater than the answer to 2, and if your neighbour realises this, then he will hold out for a higher price.

You will probably have to offer to pay your neighbour's legal fees, as part of the bargain.



I always reckon that land (which doesn't wear out) must be worth more than cheap carpet (which does). Modest carpet costs ￡9 per square yard, which is ￡1 a square foot. On that basis, the land would cost you at least ￡3,250. Mind you, I don't really recommend that you base your offer on the price tickets at Carpet World!