I had fallen in love with alpacas. I thought the alpaca farm i was visiting was amazing and they were living the dream !! So what now ? I lived in Birmingham and worked full time as a nurse. I had a house I had bought in Earl Shilton with my partner, he worked as a manager in a manufacturing factory. Where on earth do we begin ? Most farms have been in families for years and are huge. We learnt from the farm we had been visiting that you dont need a massive amount of land to start with alpacas, really all you need is a field . Sounds simple !
So we began..........
We started with a business manager who helped us draw up a business plan to show the bank. We put our house up for sale and began to search for the perfect site. Land is not easy to find and the smaller amount you want the higher the acreage cost. We looked at different plots, some out of our price range, some completely unsuitable with access issues, and some not alpaca friendly. Then we viewed a 5 acre field in Atherstone, it had just come back up for sale and had been used for horses. We peered over the gate and knew he had found the perfect spot ! It was the right size and in our price range. All that was on it was stables and a barn. It did have water which was a big bonus but no electricity. We went home so excited and scared. Would we be able to convince the bank and put in an offer before someone did ?
We made an offer .... and it was accepted. The bank agreed a loan . An offer was made on our house. Only thing missing was animals.....
NEXT TIME.....TIME TO START ALPACA SHOPPING
