I'm cross posting this on the real estate board, but thought there would be some good advice here as well. My wife and I are thinking about buying some acreage near Brenham. Right now we are think 20+ (i'm more on the plus side) to give us a place to get away and relax with our kids and friends and family. Really I want a place I can shoot a little and make contributions to the snake thread. We are open to something with structures already in place, but are also willing to build our set up over time. Here are the specific things, I'm love some advice on:

1.) What are the options and practicalities of doing something to defray cost? Is leasing for cattle or cutting hay a good option? How much could we actually get back? I have no delusions of being cash flow positive, but some help would be nice.
2.) What do I need to know about utilities? I would assume water and power or a cost per foot to connect to the nearest utility hookup, but how much? Does anyone have experience with being totally off the grid?
3.) What is the process like? I assume I need to find a realtor that specializes in rural properties.
4.) Any other advice or pitfalls to watch out for?

Thanks

Watchlisted!

Do you have an idea about what you want to pay per acre versus what you are going to pay per acre?

I buy land for my occupation, albeit for development, not consumption. That said, we regularly pay someone to cut hay or graze, just to keep the ag exemption. I honestly don't think you could make enough doing that for cash flow purposes. Only benefit I see is keeping your taxes low.

First......hope you find your dream place and little piece of Texas. Hay production income will depend on what and quality and amount of acreage.
Make sure you research mineral rights and leases. Make sure you know about all existing and passed easements, including but not limited to utility, access, etc.
Check with the county water district to see what is required to drill a well if need be.
Check with local electric co-op to determine cost per foot for new service hook ups.
Check for any flood plains on property.
One more thought....there has been a lot of talk about possible transmission lines being run through the Brenham area in the future to carry wind farm power. Do you research as having one of these lines run through a ranch can be a disaster as far as ruining land value. My old Aggie room mate spent two years and tons of dollars fighting a utility company to keep a transmission line off his property.

There is no Groundwater Conservation District in Washington County. If I know anything about those Germans I lived amongst for nine years it is this; there never will be one unless the legislature and/or the courts force it on them.

CowtownAg06 said:

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I'm cross posting this on the real estate board, but thought there would be some good advice here as well. My wife and I are thinking about buying some acreage near Brenham. Right now we are think 20+ (i'm more on the plus side) to give us a place to get away and relax with our kids and friends and family. Really I want a place I can shoot a little and make contributions to the snake thread. We are open to something with structures already in place, but are also willing to build our set up over time. Here are the specific things, I'm love some advice on:

1.) What are the options and practicalities of doing something to defray cost? Is leasing for cattle or cutting hay a good option? How much could we actually get back? I have no delusions of being cash flow positive, but some help would be nice.
2.) What do I need to know about utilities? I would assume water and power or a cost per foot to connect to the nearest utility hookup, but how much? Does anyone have experience with being totally off the grid?
3.) What is the process like? I assume I need to find a realtor that specializes in rural properties.
4.) Any other advice or pitfalls to watch out for?

Thanks

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Sent you a PM.

Also, it's very hard to make anything off of 20 acres. At best, just keep your ag exemption to keep taxes down.

Bluebonnet Electric has a price estimator on their website for new construction costs of electric lines. That will help you on that. If utilities are already on the property, that will save you a lot.

Get with a local realtor, give them the info you are looking for and then wait for the perfect place. Go look at several places and don't settle. The perfect one will eventually pop up. Make sure there's no crazy restrictions if that's what you want and it's already Ag Exempt (assuming you want to keep taxes down). Maintain the exemption by leasing if you want to go the easy route.

I'm familiar with real estate in this area.

Only from looking at listings. Seems like these properties sit on the maket a long time so not sure how relevant list price is.

Washington County acreage sells a bit differently the closer you are to Houston. The East end of the county is a reasonable commute inside the loop 4-5 days a week. The West side isn't for most folks. There is a lot of competition in your stated size range from the Harris County crowd for country life and easy(ish) access to the city.

Have fun. It's an interesting market.

Prices along 290 corridor are silly wild, that's where everyone wants to have a little weekend place.

Hay farmers aren't paying very much at all to lease pasture because hay isn't worth much. Texas has had good rains over the past few years and so there is hay stacked up all over the place. That said, you will want to keep your pasture free of weeds and looking good so a tenant farmer is a good option since they will spray herbicide to keep it clean and improve the value of the hay that is produced.

You have selected a very expensive area of Texas to buy property. Where do you live? Is this a weekend get away? There are probably other parts of the state where you can buy more acreage for much less money. I watch property values pretty closely along the gulf coast and in South Texas. It is very difficult to assess property values because property is listed on the market at such big variations in asking prices. I would target several areas and then reach out to real estate agents in those areas. I would also follow up with them about every 3 months or so because they have people contact them daily and request that the agent let them know when something comes onto the market.

Current Washington county residence...not from here originally but live here now.

The locals tell me all the time that Brenham and the entire Washington county area has two real estate markets. The first is the "Houston market" which is as expected heavily advertised and highly priced. The second is the "Brenham market" which is the property that isn't even listed, but is available and priced very reasonable for this area.

My advice would be to really try to learn each of the different areas within the county before you make a sizable purchase like that.

Went back and thoroughly read your first post, and had so more advice.

1. If you can get an homestead exemption you can cut down on the utility cost, I'm not sure the details for qualifying for this but it's something to look into.
2. My family has a lease pasture that charge an annual per acre rate, which doesn't produce much but it at least covers the annual taxes and keeps the property Ag exempt. If you decide to cut and bale hay you will need to invest a little more time, it will be more cyclical based on rainfall etc. but I would think you could make more money. A friend of mine made 2 cuts this year, was able to fully stack at 6 trailers (150-250) and sold them for $6 a square bale. Spoke with him last week and only had 200 left. Solid side business here.
3. Got a quote for my parents a few months back and the utility company said the first pole was free, $250-$500 for each additional pole that was needed. There was also a distance rate, I can't remember what that was those, maybe like $25 per 10 feet, I could be way off though.

My wife and I live in the Brenham area on a few acres here. Many folks on this thread have been correct, Washington county land is pretty high because of the proximity to Houston and Austin. Generally land can be hard to come by but patience and knowing folks can help. As someone mentioned, a local realtor may help get you a jump on some land here.
-The electricity for us averaged about $3.50/ft. That includes the meter loop. You will want to check with any neighbors to see if you can pull from an existing pole. It is your responsibility to get your neighbor to agree, Bluebonnet just is there when the easement signs off.
- There is no fee for drilling a water well in Washington county. Some rural places have a community water source but they are expensive. We drilled a well and needed about 225 feet to produce 75 gpm. When you find your place, call Justin Bilski for a well. He has knowledge of depths all over the county and can give you an idea.
- Hay is plentiful here. We lease our place and you will find guys to cut and stack if you don't have the equipment. Expect to pay $30 - $45, maybe more if you want string wrapped vs net wrapped) per roll to cut and stack depending on size. Selling has been very difficult. I am still sitting on hay from 2016. I also agree with the others. Spray for weeds and fertilize if necessary. Otherwise your customer pool is very limited. Somerville Farm and Ranch is very easy to work with on this.
- Septic permits are very painless compare to Brazos county etc. Just go pay your fee ( I think it was $250). The county does a site analysis and your pretty much set. One sheet of paperwork and your on your way.
- For lending go see Abby Frank or Jeff Milikin at Texas Farm Credit in downtown Brenham. They are great to work with.
- I could give local realtor recommendations but everyone has a different feel and how they like their transaction to go.

Lots of good advice you are getting. Make sure if what you buy is under an ag exemption that you understand how rollback taxes work. Have a plan before you buy to keep it in ag and avoid rollback taxes. Understand/plan that if you build a home/living structure on ag exempt land that some portion (one to five acres probably) will be subject to rollback taxes. Make sure the seller signs an affidavit at closing acknowledging that if he took the property out of ag, then he is responsible for the rollback taxes. You will sign a similar affidavit.

Generally the ones that have been out there a long time aren't really interested in negotiating. Others have undesirable traits about them - neighbors, shape of property, high lines running through them, active oil wells, near train tracks or poor road access. With rural land it's hard to watch from the Internet. You will need to visit each place your interested in.

Put a wish list together and prioritize. But know that you won't get it all with 20 acres.

Have you considered just moving out into the country?

Just to add a couple of thoughts...

Mineral Rights: Know who owns what, what is being conveyed, and who owns the executive rights. You don't want someone else being able to make the decision on whether a well is drilled on your land or not. This is a non-negotiable thing for us.

Access: Make sure you have guaranteed legal access to the property. Understand all easements. This is especially of interest if you are buying land accessed via Private Road. We actually walked a contract on a piece of land when the title search came back and said we didn't have legal access to the PR. We could have gone to the expense of cutting in another road off the County Road, but that was something we didn't want to fight.

Taxes: As stated above, understand Ag exemptions, local county regulations to set an Ag exemption, and rollback taxes if you ever want to move out of Ag status or build a home.

Good luck in your search. Be patient. Find the right piece of property. It took us a year to do so...

I work in downtown Houston and this really is just a weekend place. We're aware that there is a premium on that area, but the proximity is worth to us.

Thanks for all the help. If we do something closer to 50 acres, then does that change what's available for cattle?

Knowing that the area is gonna be $$$$ is what my first post was about.

If you understand that, then more power to you and good luck!

Just like others have posted, my first thought was you're looking at an expensive area to buy land, mostly because of people similar to you (houston-ites who want a weekend getaway place).

One of my favorite books to recommend on land is a book we were required to read for my land economics class at A&M. Its a good starting point, although I wish it was a tad bit cheaper. Buying Rural Land in Texas

You can definitely run cattle on 50 acres, but I'd be careful on how much and to not overstock it. Our family place is in Burleson county so just a bit north of where you're looking so I'd assume similar landscape and we run about 1 cow to 3-4 acres of pastureland and still supplement cubes and range meal in the winter time.

I'll leave most of the other things you asked about to the pros on here, but did want to make one last recommendation to try Truth BBQ once you settle in. Awesome place that serves some of the best BBQ in the state!

if the land is ag exempt, do whatever you can to keep it that way. If you have neighbors with cows that's the easiest wa, work out deal where they will graze.

Hay IMO is a pain, you'll have to pay somebody to cut it or give it away, many counties make your fertilize it even if you don't cut it. Plus cutting hay just mines your soil nutrients.

Best thing to do is go wildlife, plenty of experts on here on how to do that. Also there companies you can pay, I know one guy that does that specifically in Washington county, I think his name is Blake Eisterhorn or something like that. But you can do it yourself.

Other option is bees.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK ON THE AG EXEMPTION.

If the property is not currently under Ag evaluation, doesn't it take 5 years of qualified ag use in order to qualify?

SanAntoneAg said:

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If the property is not currently under Ag evaluation, doesn't it take 5 years of qualified ag use in order to qualify?

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yes to regain it. but I would question or I'd suggest doing a pretty good balance sheet to see if it's worth getting back. Running cows or cutting hay isn't cheap. I wonder if people spend more money on keeping it ag than paying the taxes on it.

Not sure on the price difference per acre but I'd also suggest looking at the Round Top/Carmine, Fayetteville & Belville areas as well. Our family place is near Round Top and it's a great town with lots to do, albeit the population is "90".

I think the general consensus is that you can't do enough research on the Ag exemption guidelines and standards.

This is critical because it can be a costly mistake if not done correctly.

This is the 2017 tax estimate for our family land.

Estimated Taxes With Exemptions: $243.40
Estimated Taxes Without Exemptions: $9,383.90

OP, have you considered selling your current place and just MOVING to some property? I work an hour from my home so that I can do exactly what you are wanting to do except that I LIVE there. It's completely different that having a weekend place in a good way. But if you don't like driving, then this is not the solution. LOL.

I have wildlife exemption on mine. I have bees too, but thats because I like them.

I've been thinking about a strategy to get the Ag exemption back on my 10 acres. 8 of it were once exempt but the previous owner let it expire. Now it will take 7 years to demonstrate it is back in production. Thinking about sheep, wildlife, or maybe even bees and wildflower on several acres of it. I like the idea of putting it back into production instead of just grooming and shredding the clear parts of it. My wife knits and trains herding dogs as hobbies hence the sheep consideration.

Anyhow, yeah, land right off 290 near Brenham can be pricey. Maybe try one of the smaller towns or areas on one of the side roads. Take a weekend and drive around. Not all properties for sale get advertised online and by aggressive agents. Granted, I live closer to Austin in Paige, west of Giddings, but it's not 45 minutes from Austin and off the highway a few miles, land is still pretty cheap, just not always available.

BQ_90 said:

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SanAntoneAg said:

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If the property is not currently under Ag evaluation, doesn't it take 5 years of qualified ag use in order to qualify?

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yes to regain it. but I would question or I'd suggest doing a pretty good balance sheet to see if it's worth getting back. Running cows or cutting hay isn't cheap. I wonder if people spend more money on keeping it ag than paying the taxes on it.

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I would say just lease your land to someone for hay or a few head of cattle. Way easier and really no expense and keep at exemption. This What my dad does Washington county. But the lesee is a good one and neighbor. He fertilizes, herbicide, and shreds when needed.

You could make 60k a year off it! Not sure if it would make the ideal getaway tho.

drred4 said:

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BQ_90 said:

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SanAntoneAg said:

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If the property is not currently under Ag evaluation, doesn't it take 5 years of qualified ag use in order to qualify?

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yes to regain it. but I would question or I'd suggest doing a pretty good balance sheet to see if it's worth getting back. Running cows or cutting hay isn't cheap. I wonder if people spend more money on keeping it ag than paying the taxes on it.

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I would say just lease your land to someone for hay or a few head of cattle. Way easier and really no expense and keep at exemption. This What my dad does Washington county. But the lesee is a good one and neighbor. He fertilizes, herbicide, and shreds when needed.

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No doubt if Ag exemption already exist. I'm talking about the cost to get it "back"

But he's already got the marketing, processing facilities, customers from is other operations.

You're not making $900 a pig just on your own without all that other infrastructure.

I know I just always enjoy the logic he uses... it cracks me up how easy he makes it sound simple

TxA&Mhunter said:

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I know I just always enjoy the logic he uses... it cracks me up how easy he makes it sound simple

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I like a lot of his concepts, but he's in the perfect climate and near enough urban people with money to buy his products.

I've heard him speak and read many of his books. But yeah he makes it sound so easy

BQ_90 said:

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drred4 said:

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BQ_90 said:

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SanAntoneAg said:

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If the property is not currently under Ag evaluation, doesn't it take 5 years of qualified ag use in order to qualify?

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yes to regain it. but I would question or I'd suggest doing a pretty good balance sheet to see if it's worth getting back. Running cows or cutting hay isn't cheap. I wonder if people spend more money on keeping it ag than paying the taxes on it.

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I would say just lease your land to someone for hay or a few head of cattle. Way easier and really no expense and keep at exemption. This What my dad does Washington county. But the lesee is a good one and neighbor. He fertilizes, herbicide, and shreds when needed.

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No doubt if Ag exemption already exist. I'm talking about the cost to get it "back"

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So say they are buying to keep long term. Hypothetical for 5 years while land is leased for cattle or hay they pay 2k a year for taxes as not ag exempt yet. That is 10k. So they keep is 20 more years under ag exempt and savings per year on taxes is 1750. That's 35k they would not pay due to ag exemption during those 20 years.

On OP. Not sure but guessing 20 acres or so would probably be around 15k and up per acre. Second Bilski on well. You do not want community water system. It will get outrageous in monthly bills. I like Capital Farm on acreage loans or construction loan(at least last time I used them).