I live in Auckland. I want to leave Auckland. Unfortunately the wife does not. Not able to/ doesn't want to participate in garden. Possible compromise. We live on the edge of north Auckland. Or Divorce?? (Bit reluctant after 30 years). I have been looking at land for a long time. I have noticed that small bits of land are considerably more expensive than larger bits when you break it down to the acre.
Has anyone had any experience with buying land in non family partnerships? Any advice gratefully listened to. How would others suggest we go about this? Is anyone interested in doing this? I am wanting two to three hectares.
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Hiya Peter,
i bought a house with a friend of mine from Uni (we last lived together 25 years ago @ Uni) Both our families were very nervous about it, but we talked about it for years & went through every possible scenario, including one of us dieing before we got to live together. She doesn't garden & we bought a section that is a lot of work. She earns more money than me so pays for a gardener once a month to help out.We have a contract which we think covers most stuff & talk heaps when issues do come up.
Previous to buying this place we were looking at buying near Kaiwaka together & with a couple who are friends of mine. the couple didn't want to live on the land but the husband wanted somewhere to go duck hunting & the wife wanted an orchard on the land. The plan was that we would own shares in proportion to the cash that we stumped up with & my labour would be partially included as capital as i would be a sort of caretaker/gardener. It didn't happen because we decided we wanted to live in town when we were old...I guess my thoughts are that if you are sure about what you want & talk to as many people as you can, someone will stump up with the complimentary of what you need. The trick seems to be considering all the possibilities, including the ones you think will never happen & decide all together what would happen if...& take time to make decisions. It took us probably 8 years and a ton of talking things through to be clear about what we wanted.
Thank you Karen for the positive thoughts.
Hi Peter, I have no experience in purchasing in non-family partnerships, but think it is a way of the future. There are many people in your position.
Do NOT give up on your dream of providing for yourself from the land... my husband took 13 years to prize him out of the city, but is now happier on the land than a pig in S*%t!
And as for you... it has that much draw for you (just as it did me)... there is no question, you have to find a way that works to fulfill that need. You are obviously committed to the relationship, and the best relationships always have some degree of compromise... you will find a way of it all working to suit you BOTH :)
Another option is to work in with some older people who have land but are losing the mobility or enthusiasm, and can welcome some new blood to help and both reap the rewards (they will probably share their knowledge too and enrich your lives and theirs). How to find these people (& that you strongly relate to) is of course, the next challenge!
Keep us informed of your learnings,
Karen :)