Acreages are my favorite type of property to help my clients buy and sell. This is probably due to my upbringing on a farm and my love of horses.

When Mike and I bought our first acreage in 2009 we didn’t think much about what we needed; we only had two horses at the time and knew we needed a couple of acres. The property we purchased had 4 acres and an older lean-to type shelter. We quickly put up some basic post and electric high tensile wiring. We were able to buy small square hay bales from a neighbour and ran a hose from the house for water and extension cord for the trough deicer in the winter. Voila. Perfect for a couple horses on a small acreage.

Fast forward 10 years and we’ve upgraded to a larger acreage. It took us 2 years of searching to find this property as we wanted to be in a specific area. At first sight, I thought it had everything we needed (minus an indoor arena, it’s still on the wish list!). A 4 stall barn with attached hayshed and attached workshop. Three fenced paddocks with shelters, two fenced pastures, 5 acres of hay land, and a somewhat suitable location for an outdoor arena. However, growing to 10 horses, we’ve certainly made some changes to meet our needs over the years… and I think we’re just about there!

What are your needs and wants in your search for an acreage? Here are just a few things to consider:

• how long of a commute are you willing to make to work if you need to? Are you comfortable with winter driving?
• how much gravel are you willing to travel on?
• do you need equipment for lawn mowing and snow removal (yes, we have been snowed in twice for 3 days in a row in the past 10 years!)
• what water services are you comfortable with? Is there a well (what’s the quantity/quality?), a cistern (where will you haul from/is there nearby delivery service?), or municipal (has the installation been fully paid for?)
• what backup options would you consider if the power was out for an extended period of time? Do you want your new property to have a woodstove or would you purchase a generator?

If you have animals, in particular horses, have you considered:

• do you need a barn, or is a shelter sufficient? Will you need to build one?
• is there enough pasture for the number of animals you have?
• how are you going to store and handle hay and straw? (for 10 years we flipped round bales into pens, finally upgraded to a skid steer that can lift them)
• is there a hay supplier nearby who can deliver, or do you need equipment to haul your own?
• do you need to consider manure storage and disposal?
• is there a water supply and electrical close to where livestock will be housed?
• do you need to build and or change fencing? have you considered the cost of this?
• do you need an outdoor riding arena? is there a suitable space for one?

If you’re searching for an acreage I’d be happy to help you!