Where to start?

Hi,

I'm looking to start a journey in to a lifestyle block within the next 12 months. I'm looking within the Wellington region preferably within about 40kms.

From Trademe searches my budget will probably get me up to about 5 to 15 acres of "hilly" bare land, allowing enough (I hope) to build a small cottage. I would also need space for my sister to build a house in about 18 months time when she emigrates. Is there anything, in general, I should be looking out for in terms of the land? are there any gotchas?

I know it's a "how long is a piece of string (or should I say #8 wire)" question but is there a
rule of thumb on how much maintenance both time and $'s are needed per acre?

Being mostly a novice I will need to learn a fair amount before putting livestock on the land. What options are available to get started (There is a lot of info on this site which will need reading ?
Are there any evening (or intensive) courses I can take to prepare me?
Would sharing grazing with others help me learn from the more experienced?

I know there are a lot of questions (and I have lots more...), but I will appreciate your assistance, even if the answer is just a url:-)

Cheers, [email protected]

Crikey, [email protected] (love your signature) - you're right about how long is a piece of string... There are some excellent posts on this subject, so an archive search would be useful.

Speaking as one who lives in Wellington, I would say it's a great place for a small farm. Despite rumours to the contrary, the weather here is quite mild and we've had a much better time of winters the past few years than some in other parts of the country have had.

I'm sure you'll get a whole heap of responses, but one of the most important for me is water. We live on river flats and although this can be a blessing in many ways, it can also be scary and an ongoing concern when threatened by flooding. Conversely, you need to make sure that whatever property you purchase, you've got easy, reliable access to water for house and farm, that you're not continuously bogged down whenever it rains, but have sufficient to see you and your grass through summer.

Think about what you want to do with your land, in the early stages and once you get more experienced. Try to find a property that will give you the most options, as circumstances and interests change with time and experience. Do lots and lots of research about prospective land, easements, restrictions etc and ask lots of questions. There are no stupid questions here and other people's experiences can be enormously valuable. This site is wonderful in that regard - we've all had positive and negative times on the land and I've always found people very willing to share with people new to this life.

Look forward to hearing about your journey.

Cheers, Mich.

Hi and welcome [email protected] There are few on here down where you are looking-I'm a bit further up the coast, 90kms away. The land is probably less rugged and cheaper up this far, some of those gorse and scrub covered hills will be a real challenge!

I would just check before you purchase any land as to housing consent-I'm not sure you can put two houses on one title in many places.

There are probably plenty of people you could lease horse grazing to if the land was suitable.

Not sure of any courses, but plenty of reading is a good start and then just ask away on here and plenty of people will join in with their answers and opinions!

I can help with chicken and cow questions when you get settled on to whatever piece of land you find. It really depends on how cultivated the piece is as to how much you will need to spend on fencing, water, weed control, fertiliser etc etc!
Good Luck!

Welcome from ex Wellywooders we ended up over here as land cheaper but still love down there. Make a list of what you want then one what you need. As Sue said check out about two houses.

Hi and welcome.
I am in Wellington (About 25 kms from the city).
I live on a block with my sister, we have 2 separate houses that are 150 meters apart - so sounds like what you are aiming for.
One thing I would stress would be to seriously look into the resource consent process in regards to a second dwelling on the same property. There is alot of regulation around this, it would be dreadful to buy the land and then find you can only have one dwelling on it.
Good luck and hope you find you piece of paradise soon.

Hi,
My partner and I have bought in Lower Hutt recently ( rural residential ) and through the Hutt council it will state 2ha per house. We are presently doing a boundary adjustment so the cottage and house on our property meet this standard ( we were a little less than 4ha so are going to be a little over 4ha ). Upper Hutt and Porirua may have different ratios to work with.

Sue, I am not far from you at the moment! The commute is tough so running a block up this way would not be possible even thugh there are some great properties

I will check up on the 2 houses - worst case "one" large one should suit

I've just realised that some of the land I've been looking at is on the south west of a hill is this a problem with limited sun?

Cheers
James

Sue;377736 wrote: Hi and welcome [email protected] There are few on here down where you are looking-I'm a bit further up the coast, 90kms away. The land is probably less rugged and cheaper up this far, some of those gorse and scrub covered hills will be a real challenge!

I would just check before you purchase any land as to housing consent-I'm not sure you can put two houses on one title in many places.

Good Luck!

Hi [email protected], look at the south facing hills in this sort of a season, at different times of the day and see if that is where you want to build a house!

If you are not far from Levin/Ohau send me a pm and come round for a chat some time and will help to answer a question or two if I can, been there done that-bought a 13 acre bare block back in 1975!

I have never lived in Wellington but I can tell you from living in the upper part of the North Island that you do not want to live with South Easterly/Westerly cold. The perfect property in NZ is North facing, sheltered from the South and your costs for heating you house, sheltering your animals etc is increased hugely.

I can say this as I spoke with a Real Estate Agent recently in respect to a friends' property and she was short and sweet with regards to the price as it was built on the wrong side of the road i.e. facing South.

Bear in mind, that it will cost you more to buy the North facing sheltered property (as others have worked that out as well) but what point is there in going to the same cost of building a house that is not capturing the sun against building the identical house in a warm sheltered spot? BUT - money speaks at the end of the day and you can find that lovely piece of land that is in a valley - whatever - but my input to being aware of resale value and harmony is nasty horrible weather. In an ideal world!

And if you can't get resource consent for two houses there may be a case to build your dwelling and then co-join your sisters as a mirror image. I have seen this done on an American home, where the laundry-utility room was large and was the joining factor. It allowed a mother and daughter to build two houses on one property, but under the "title" of an extension.