Outdoors
Sponsored by

Buying Land

5,107 Views | 23 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by dodger02
TXAGFAN
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
2:39p, 10/16/17
AG
Do we have a general thread on this yet? For months now I've been toying around with the idea of buying land East or even South of Dallas. A place with a well maintained home or barndominium, an outbuilding, and some land with some timber and such. In my mind I think 60+ acres would be the minimum to allow some land to shoot/hunt on, feel alone, etc. This would be a second home, I'm keeping my residence in Dallas.

Can anyone who's been down this road provide some pointers? Things you wish you'd known, etc? Optimal amount of land?
Reply Quote
2
2 edits
will.mcg
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
2:44p, 10/16/17
AG
Once you get it plan on spending a lot of time maintaining it. If not perhaps you are able to hire some trustworthy individual or company to maintain it so you can purely enjoy spending time there......food for thought
Reply Quote
4
JaneDoe02
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
3:22p, 10/16/17
AG
I'm pretty sure everyone on this board has bounced this idea around in their heads. For me the biggest issue is that I can't afford a "big" piece of land that is within 3 hours of home.

3 hours seems to be about as far away as you can get and still go out there regularly.
Reply Quote
2 edits
JaneDoe02
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
3:28p, 10/16/17
AG
Also, you'll get a wide range of opinions as to how much land is enough for hunting.
Reply Quote
2
cbr
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
3:33p, 10/16/17
AG
get a good farm and ranch realtor, one who lives on a ranch and lives the life. My wife does that, but not really that far north.

fencing, prevailing winds, cover, how the property does with heavy rain, etc.

septic, wells, power,

any county issues such as permitting, floodplain, wetlands/enviro crap, taxes, etc. (obviously you dont want to be in city limits or ETJ)

barndos need to be situated right with prevailing wind, check wind ratings, layout, etc.

neighbors, access, nearby 'stuff' like restaurants/gas, drive all the way around the area.

availability of local help if you dont live there.
Reply Quote
9
Zosima
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to JaneDoe02 • 3:36p, 10/16/17
JaneDoe02 said:
Also, you'll get a wide range of opinions as to how much land is enough for hunting.


60 acres should be plenty if he puts up high fence.
Reply Quote
17
docb
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to TXAGFAN • 3:56p, 10/16/17
AG
TXAGFAN said:
Do we have a general thread on this yet? For months now I've been toying around with the idea of buying land East or even South of Dallas. A place with a well maintained home or barndominium, an outbuilding, and some land with some timber and such. In my mind I think 60+ acres would be the minimum to allow some land to shoot/hunt on, feel alone, etc. This would be a second home, I'm keeping my residence in Dallas.

Can anyone who's been down this road provide some pointers? Things you wish you'd known, etc? Optimal amount of land?
If you can afford it you should do it. I have 234 acres in Blanco County that is just a place to have fun. I really don't even hunt that much but it's a great place to hang out. Only one hour and twenty minutes from my house in Leander. Nice to have a place to get away. It can be a lot of work. It is really helpful if you are a hands on kind of person.
Reply Quote
PFG
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
4:08p, 10/16/17
AG
Come on down to the Hill Country! I have 6.67 acres for sale.

But for real, I've enjoyed owning a small piece of land. Best of luck in your search.
Reply Quote
CharlieBrown17
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
4:17p, 10/16/17
AG
Also curious on this. What is a good way to find accurate tax records on land? From my limited looking I've been finding 1 or 2 acres with a house on it as the only tax record instead of the 60-200 acres for sale by an owner
Reply Quote
TXAGFAN
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to Zosima • 4:50p, 10/16/17
AG
Zosima said:
JaneDoe02 said:
Also, you'll get a wide range of opinions as to how much land is enough for hunting.


60 acres should be plenty if he puts up high fence.
This will primarily be a place to go out to and f around, hunting is secondary. I'm well aware some of you wouldn't hunt on less than 1,000 acres.
Reply Quote
1
TXAGFAN
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
4:53p, 10/16/17
AG
WHat kind of maintenance are some of you talking about? We grew up with land up north, sadly we live 20 hours away from it, but I don't see that we were doing that much maintenance. If you had animals and such, sure...
Reply Quote
texags82
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to TXAGFAN • 4:54p, 10/16/17
AG
TXAGFAN said:
Do we have a general thread on this yet? For months now I've been toying around with the idea of buying land East or even South of Dallas. A place with a well maintained home or barndominium, an outbuilding, and some land with some timber and such. In my mind I think 60+ acres would be the minimum to allow some land to shoot/hunt on, feel alone, etc. This would be a second home, I'm keeping my residence in Dallas.

Can anyone who's been down this road provide some pointers? Things you wish you'd known, etc? Optimal amount of land?
We have 77 acres in Morris county outside of Omaha, Texas that we are considering selling. It was the family home place. PM if you want more details.
Reply Quote
1
easttxag11
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to TXAGFAN • 8:24p, 10/16/17
AG
I would call Chris Wiesinger with Drake real estate in Tyler. He's a good farm and ranch broker that's very active in the East Tx area. Fellow ag too.
Reply Quote
1
TamuLou
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to texags82 • 9:14p, 10/16/17
AG
Clear lake ag - I don't have stars so I can't PM, but would be interested in some additional info. My email is username @ Gmail.com
Reply Quote
Neches21
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
9:15p, 10/16/17
Quote:
WHat kind of maintenance are some of you talking about? We grew up with land up north, sadly we live 20 hours away from it, but I don't see that we were doing that much maintenance. If you had animals and such, sure...


If you have land west of 35 there may not be a ton of maintnance except cedar control, but if you are looking east of 45 it is a jungle. If you have more than a couple acres you will have to have a tractor. Without a tractor you can forget driving onto your property. It will grow up in vegetation in less than a year. Even if you just want to walk or ATV into your property it's still going to take a lot of brush management.

I'm familiar with land up north as well. The difference is that we get more rain and a 12 month growing season.

It's a lot of work...but it can be worth it. It is not just a hobby or recreational passtime though. It can be a lifestyle and a significant commitment
Reply Quote
2 edits
jrbaggie
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
9:55p, 10/16/17
I sold 57 acres (closed today) in Leon county, about an hour east of B/CS. There is another 52 or so, with a house on it, that joins the tract I sold. About 2 hours south of Dallas and 2 hours north of Houston. It is available.

I know of roughly 1400 acres that can be bought reasonable in the county and is absolutely the wildlife meca of the county.
Reply Quote
2
1 edit
normaleagle05
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to TXAGFAN • 10:35p, 10/16/17
AG
Don't believe advertised acreages when buying rural land. Decide what a particular ground is worth to you on a per acre basis. Then don't be surprised when a competent survey shows a 20% difference. I've found it many, many times. The appraisal district operates on the record. Sometimes the record is an 1870's survey, or earlier.
Reply Quote
agfan2013
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
10:45p, 10/16/17
AG
https://www.amazon.com/Buying-Rural-Texas-Charles-Gilliland/dp/1603447954

This was a good book that was required reading for my land economics class, covers a lot of topics that have been pointed out in several posts.

Land size for activities depends on what the land is like. My old man has 50 acres outside of Caldwell that is 35 acres of cleared pastureland, the rest is wooded. It hunts just fine: I've shot deer, dove, duck, hogs, & coyotes. Probably wouldn't work as well if it was all open pastureland.

Lastly, agree with the post about keeping it as close to your primary residence as possible. If it's a long drive you'll start to find reasons not to go and won't enjoy it as much as if you can get out there in under an hour or so.
Reply Quote
docb
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to TXAGFAN • 7:35a, 10/17/17
AG
TXAGFAN said:
WHat kind of maintenance are some of you talking about? We grew up with land up north, sadly we live 20 hours away from it, but I don't see that we were doing that much maintenance. If you had animals and such, sure...
Probably the most maintenance I deal with on the land is maintaining the roads. It's amazing what a heavy rain will do to a rock road in the hill country. I like to keep certain areas of the ranch mowed with my tractor. And then there is the cedar issue which is never ending. If you see property where I am that is left alone it will be choked out with cedar over time. My neighbors property looks like that and I guess it doesn't bother them. Their house looks like crap also. I personally enjoy cutting the cedar with my skid steer but it takes a lot of time and a lot of burning. Then there is the whole other issue of owning a house that is in a fairly remote location. More maintenance on that than you would think. You have to want to do it.
Reply Quote
1 edit
plowboy1065
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
12:36p, 10/17/17
S
Farm & Ranch Properties
Reply Quote
Gunny456
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
9:33a, 10/18/17
AG
Texagfan, Good for you on looking for some land of your own. My wife and I bought our ranch about 25 years ago and it was the best thing we ever did for ourselves. Nothing like working the land and knowing its yours and it can be your sanctuary and little piece of heaven. We have learned a lot in those years. Here are a few things that were told by an old land realtor who was an Aggie in Kerrville that ended up being very good words of wisdom:
Buy all the acreage you can afford if you are going to hunt on it....you will always wish you would of bought that little bit bigger place.
Check out the neighboring land to the one you are looking at.......go meet the people and get to know them a little..you can find out a lot in friendly conversation.
Do some research and make sure one of the neighboring places is not getting ready to subdivide it into a new subdivision or something.
Check on the mineral and executive rights and check the history of such.
Research the underground water resources...does it have a good well or water supply? Restrictions on well drilling and if the place is controlled by a local water district....water is life!
Check on annual rainfall.....ask questions of surrounding neighbors to make sure the place is not in a consistent "dry area that misses the rains". This happens....We can get a good rain but just 4 miles from us I have a good friend and he consistently gets about one quarter the rainfall we get. Again water is life!
Check on easements through the property, including private access, utility etc. Check the title history and make sure there is not some old ingress easement or right of way that is on the place that his hidden or obscure.
Check various web sights of Utility/Power Companies, IE: LCRA etc. and make sure there is not some distant plan to bring power lines or pipelines through your place that would totally destroy your property value.
Check any floodplains or FEMA restrictions if applicable.
Make sure the place has a good access and if it has a easement or right of way access make sure you check on all the rights and restrictions of that easement/access. Deeded easements are the best because then you own it.
Be prepared for doing a lot of work to keep up with maintenance etc. Unless you are so fortunate that you can afford to have that all done for you!
Be wary of looking at a piece of land that has been for sale for a long time and has not sold if it is priced right. There is usually a reason for that.....something that is not right.
Check on past mineral production (if any) and make sure environmental hazards such as any past dumping, mining etc. have met clean up requirements. Walk the place and see if you find any evidence of past digging, dumping, etc.
If you decide to high fence be prepared for putting into place an intensive management program to insure that you harvest the needed animals annually to control population densities and prevent overgrazing/overpopulation. (Very important on smaller acreages)
I hope this helps you. I have owned multiple places and made some mistakes along the way by not looking at all the items above that came back to bite me later. Above all have fun on the place......don't work on it all the time...make time for pure enjoyment of owning your own piece of Texas and enjoying Gods creation.....there is nothing like it! Like they say.....they are not making any more land!
Reply Quote
5
Coin
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
9:16a, 10/19/17
I would add that a competent Appraiser would discover many of the issues you should be looking out for. That is their job, they know where to look. I do stress competent though, many aren't. Also, you get a good idea of what the land is really worth before making an offer.
Reply Quote
2
AggieEE2002
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to CharlieBrown17 • 9:37a, 10/19/17
AG
Quote:
Also curious on this. What is a good way to find accurate tax records on land? From my limited looking I've been finding 1 or 2 acres with a house on it as the only tax record instead of the 60-200 acres for sale by an owner

It depends on how the county appraisal district's website works, but in our county for tracts that are ag exempt and also have a house/barndo, there will be one parcel for the unimproved land, and a separate one acre tract that the house sits on (which obviously is not ag exempt). They do not show up separately on the CAD map online though. So we get two tax bills each year, one for the house + 1 acre, and another for the rest of the unimproved property with the ag exemption.
Reply Quote
3 edits
CharlieBrown17
User Profile Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
In reply to AggieEE2002 • 10:55a, 10/19/17
AG
That makes a lot of sense and I'd bet that's what I was seeing. Thank you.
Reply Quote
dodger02
User Profile
Private Message
Ignore User Stop Ignoring
How long do you want to ignore this user?
24 hours One week Permanently Cancel
11:02a, 10/19/17
AG
As was said earlier, I'd bet a good number of us have tossed this idea around in our heads.

For several, cost isn't the overwhelming deciding factor - though good pieces of land can't be cheap.

I think many of us underestimate the amount of time and effort it would take to maintain a nice sized piece of land - or, we overestimate the amount of time (and money) we may have to maintaining it.

There's a certain lurker on this board who has floated the idea to me. There's no way in hell he'd ever be able to maintain the 100+ acres he's previously considered.
Reply Quote
Refresh
Page 1 of 1
 
×
subscribe Verify your student status
See Subscription Benefits
Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial.