"Drakanthus" wrote in message
...
... Plenty of the sites have search specs for land and 'big garden or
smallholding.. Try www.propertyfinder.co.uk and similar listed in the
Google directory..

I just tried that one. With search criteria of up to £150k and Cornwall
it
says no properties are available - and suggests I WIDEN the search
criteria!
Same for Devon too. Somehow I don't believe the results!

I'm affraid that Devon and Cornwall, for that type of property, are no
longer cheap. It seems that folks in SE England have been getting stupid
prices for their houses lately and a great many have either retired, or
"down-shifted" (or whatever they call it) and moved west. Check out
www.upmystreet.com for trends. Prices for detatched properties reflect what
someone in the SE might get for selling a semi in Wokingham or similar; it
will get worse since government policy is to build very few detatched
properties, none with land, and none beyond existing large settlements.

On the plus side, property here (Okehampton, Devon) doesn't seem to be
selling very quickly at present so I suspect that prices are set rather too
high and you might be able to haggle. Even so for places with a decent
amount of land £150 is very little and you're close to the price of a
building plot; so even a derelict house would sell for that figure if it
has a decent view, nearby pub, etc.

I probably need to NARROW the search results and do individual searches
for
each individual town along the coast. Frustrating.

Keep away from the coast, it's going to cost you several £10k that you
could spend on other things. Unless you're within walking distance it's
worthless and you're never going to afford a sea view and a garden (which
would generally be on a severe slope anyway). If you're within 30 minutes
drive surely that would be good enough? I've a short list of Okehampton
agents at
http://okehampton.freezope.org/direc...=estate_agents

In the past I've seen details of properties that appear to meet your
criteria and are much cheaper than others - examples include next door to a
filling station, backing on to a main line railway line, oh and next door
to a working quarry. There are I'm sure also "bargains" to be had near to
land fill sites, slaughter houses, etc. Indeed these days overhead
powerlines and mobile phone masts may help to make a property more
afforable, as might a risk of flooding. Take your pick.


....


Michael Saunby