Need the brain trusts' thoughts. Looking pretty seriously at making an offer on a unique tract of land out of state. 6th gen family farm, with the current owner retaining a few acres up front (where the farm house is). Barn with a 10x10 finished room in it has water and power.

The way the lot is shaped, the actual land is a long way (it's over a mile from the front to the furthest point) from the front of the property to the back, with only one way to access the back part of the property where the bulk of the land is (i.e. access could be easily monitored). Current owner will continue to cut hay on the property in return for keeping pastures (hay) and roads clear. Long-term, I believe its fairly low risk on future issues with the sectioned out tract, as I'll have ROFR, and it's just out of the way of the rest of the land.

I don't really have a desire to use the property very much over the next 5 years. I really just want to get into the market in that area, so prices don't continue to run away from me. The way I see it, there is enough infrastructure on the property to make it easily usable (power and water, camper can go in the barn to be protected from the weather), while not being "vulnerable" to problems like a place with a house would be. Lots of economic growth in the surrounding area. Tons of deer and turkey

My only real desire / concern is that the land not be left fallow and go overgrown. I can't imagine it would be all that difficult to get someone to cut the hay off it (3 pastures about 6-8 acres a piece) if the current arrangement fell through due to health reasons or other issues, but maybe I'm being naive. Taxes are minimal / manageable, even with no ag breaks and full market value assessment

It's an hour away from a major airport (2 hr flight), and drivable distance away (long day - but I've done it before).

It's a really unique piece of property (tucked up against a lake - drinking water reservoir, so you can fish on it, but no dock access - 100 ft easement around the lake owned by city), and owning land has been a lifelong dream of mine. I've probably seen every property listing in a 100 mile radius of this area for the last 3-5 years, and this is one that got me on a plane to go see it, so I definitely have rose colored glasses on here. Looking for a reality check (that I will probably ignore if I'm being honest)

What kind of advice are you seeking?

I advise you put an offer on the land of your dreams, today!!

oh no said:

---

What kind of advice are you seeking?

I advise you put an offer on the land of your dreams, today!!

---

It's official, the OB has spoken

In all seriousness, just looking for people's thoughts and opinions / experience. The way I'm looking at it, in 5 years I can be 5 years older and own land, or be five years older still chasing something, and tomorrow is not guaranteed.

But there are guys on here with a lot more life experience than I have, so I figured I might get some different perspectives.

Congrats on getting you some land!
Check for important things that can mess you up long term:
1.) Water supply-quality of the water-well drilling restrictions, if any, how deep you gotta go to get it and how much GPM available.
2.) Check for any hidden easements or ROW's
3.) Get a fresh survey no matter what before buying.
4.) Check for good reliable power sources.
5.) Check for any buried chemicals, tanks, or past landfill on the property.
6.) Check on availability or the status of the mineral rights.
7.) Fly the property and do research on what's happening around it …. planned subdivisions, construction and zoning and future planned uses etc.
8.) Verify ingress and digress access agreements/ROW's or easements.
9.) Look at current tax statements.
10.) Verify and understand the actual availability and use of that lake and what private landowner rights you have to restrict trespassing or public use of the land that borders your property to the lake.
11.) Check condition of perimeter fencing if applicable.
12.) Check with local law enforcement agencies on crime in the area and check on fire departments and availability of such.

These are things I have verified or confirmed on every property I have purchased.
I'm sure there or other items that others can share.

Good luck.

MrWonderful said:

---

oh no said:

---

What kind of advice are you seeking?

I advise you put an offer on the land of your dreams, today!!

---

It's official, the OB has spoken

In all seriousness, just looking for people's thoughts and opinions / experience. The way I'm looking at it, in 5 years I can be 5 years older and own land, or be five years older still chasing something, and tomorrow is not guaranteed.

But there are guys on here with a lot more life experience than I have, so I figured I might get some different perspectives.

---

In all seriousness, I just bought land for the first time myself, but it sounds like my criteria was a lot different than yours. You sound like you already made your decision on a great piece of land you've been searching for for years; you just need a nudge to take that final step.

Is this a property that you would want to live on in the future?

If you plan on moving to it one day I would say go for it. If it is for recreation only I probably wouldn't purchase it. If it takes a full day to get to by car or you have to fly there I would think the trip would get old after a while once the new wore off.

Is the property under the state's ag valuation for tax purposes?

Gunny has some great advise!

An easement is one of your top priorities long term. Look into the option of actually purchasing the land the easement will sit on! You can put verbiage in the contract that protects you and the other landowner as you both agree open.

Easements "can" be fine, but actually owning the actual access to your property is the best option!

Gunny456 said:

---

Congrats on getting you some land!
Check for important things that can mess you up long term:
1.) Water supply-quality of the water-well drilling restrictions, if any, how deep you gotta go to get it and how much GPM available.
2.) Check for any hidden easements or ROW's
3.) Get a fresh survey no matter what before buying.
4.) Check for good reliable power sources.
5.) Check for any buried chemicals, tanks, or past landfill on the property.
6.) Check on availability or the status of the mineral rights.
7.) Fly the property and do research on what's happening around it …. planned subdivisions, construction and zoning and future planned uses etc.
8.) Verify ingress and digress access agreements/ROW's or easements.
9.) Look at current tax statements.
10.) Verify and understand the actual availability and use of that lake and what private landowner rights you have to restrict trespassing or public use of the land that borders your property to the lake.
11.) Check condition of perimeter fencing if applicable.
12.) Check with local law enforcement agencies on crime in the area and check on fire departments and availability of such.

These are things I have verified or confirmed on every property I have purchased.
I'm sure there or other items that others can share.

Good luck.

---

City water - lines already run down into the property as well, with independent shutoffs, for watering stations. Fencing is good, recent too (~10 years). Cross fenced away from the lake with multiple gates. Don't plan on running livestock, but cows can keep pastures clear as well as a mower push come to shove. Will definitely get a fresh survey, pulled the deed and some of the language is funny (90 feet from the black locust tree - type language). That might raise it's own issues. Only easements on record that I can pull from the clerks office are water and sewer in the front. Will obviously check that with title company

I've pulled the lake rules the city produced, called the marina, etc. It's a small lake, and property enforcement by the lake of the 100 ft they own is lax currently as it relates to adjacent landowners accessing / crossing the municipal land. That could always change. I'm fine with the rules as they are written. Land is on the opposite end of the lake from the marina. It's strictly a fishing lake, so recreational boating / swimming is not allowed. Bank fishing only allowed by the marina (opposite end of the lake), no camping/ picnicking allowed anywhere other than the marina. No waterfowl hunting is allowed on the lake either. Boat traffic on the lake is minimal as a result of the rules and its size. Ultimately, that's a good thing in my opinion.

Thanks for the detailed list! Helps organize my thoughts.

All access to the property is deeded. No easement needed for me to access / use. No other easements (that I can find in the clerks office - but to be confirmed) other than sewer / water by the road.

ag0207 said:

---

Is this a property that you would want to live on in the future?

If you plan on moving to it one day I would say go for it. If it is for recreation only I probably wouldn't purchase it. If it takes a full day to get to by car or you have to fly there I would think the trip would get old after a while once the new wore off.

---

Yes to the move, eventually. My job is demanding, but relatively flexible. Need to add some more people to my team (in process), but within 5 years I'll be able to work remotely for chunks at a time. That's when I would put a house on there with a nice lake view.

Interim plan would be to go twice a year to hunt turkey and whitetail. Maybe a winter trip here and there so my kid can see this thing called "snow"

There are good airbnb's very close by (less than 5 minutes), so I can leverage those to make the amenities nicer for family trips

My grandparents lived in this area when I was a kid, so I grew up visiting it every year (my parents threw 4 kids in a car and drove straight-through - this is before there was screens in cars...brave souls).

It's not, taxes are less than 1k a year now, so not been worth it to them. I need a schedule F to submit for the ag number, and then can get the exemption. Will take a year. Unexempted taxes are not that steep though, so not a must have

Yes sir. I listed some of those because I learned by the school of hard knocks the mistakes I made.
Sounds like you are doing your due diligence for sure!

MrWonderful said:

---

It's not, taxes are less than 1k a year now, so not been worth it to them. I need a schedule F to submit for the ag number, and then can get the exemption. Will take a year. Unexempted taxes are not that steep though, so not a must have

---

Wish Texas was like that.

For how strongly republicans are opposed to a wealth tax...we sure fork over a lot of monthly rent to our state government for the privilege of owning our own real estate!

I'm just jealous that you're in a position to be able to consider this! Since your little guy isn't in sports or anything yet, I would probably do this before all of that starts. Now that my kids have crap going on every weekend, I cannot imagine trying to buy something like this and be able to get up there and work on it. If land and work was already part of my schedule, we probably wouldn't have taken on ALL of the activities they're in now.

Why do you want the land? Hunt? Doesnt seem so since you want it to not go fallow and be more hay/cattle land type.

Is this an investment reason?

Retirement property?

I bought land in Kansas strictly for quality deer hunting and not throwing money away on a lease. I rent out to a farmer for crops (soybean/corn) so I get income that way. I did cancel doing hay off my fields after this summer to improve the deer hunting. I need fields to go fallow as during hunting season the field might as well be a desert offering no cover or food source. Im planting native grasses and switchgrass for bedding/cover to gold more deer and mature bucks. Otherwise they just come to grain fields at night

I bought land for investment and quality hunting.

Recreation land is more valuable and more marketable than farm land. You cant make a living farming unless you inherit the land or win the lottery/get oil wells.

City people want land for recreational purposes when they retire or to getaway.

I would buy the land fyi

Jack of all trades property. If it was just me, I'd buy more of a pure play deer hunting property. I will definitely hunt this, there are a ton of wildlife (it's not exactly trophy country but there are 140s to be found). It just also needs to be a place that the wife and kids can enjoy beyond just being out in the woods / driving around the sxs. This is 25 minutes from a real deal town, on the lake, etc.

Definitely a place I could see retiring to, but that's a ways down the road. I think the area will do well as it continues to develop, so also looking at it as a way to get into the market, so if I want to reposition in 10 years, I've already got equity to use.

That's a great point, get something in the family schedule / rotation before all the sports activities start!

Get it under contract and check the title commitment out good. And the survey.

Admittedly, I have not read all of the replies. This may be redundant but I might recommend buying the property in a TRUST.

Not too young to think about it, but Out of State property may be subject to all kinds of unusual Probate rules!

...not a lawyer, just an investor! So!??

This 1000 times about owning the access instead of an easement. Great advice duddleys!

While utilities are available, you might look into what it actually takes and costs to run trailer hookups to the barn for a camper. And what it might take to do so to the future house location. Power might be close, but the utility company requirements and cost per pole or per buried foot might be a deal breaker later if not 100% known now.

With it being near drinking water reservoir is septic an issue in proximity to the lake?

Sounds like a great place. I'm guess Ozark ish area (mizz or Ark).

Great question on septic, I need to find that out to understand any potential future limitation on home sites. There is municipal sewer (and water) at the front of the property. Water and power are both already run to the barn (barn water is spigot right next to the barn, but easy enough to tee off there). Barn has 220 amp service in place with a breaker box, just have to add the outlet for trailer.

Well then buy it before someone else does, silly!

Little update here for the OB. Closed on this yesterday morning. I have my own little slice of Kentucky. 25 minutes to Bardstown and within 30 minutes of most of the major distilleries

Survey came back 10 acres to the good, which brought my per acre price down about 15% off the already reduced asking price. That included 7 dump trucks of gravel to finish out the driveway and fill in the barn where I'll be parking my camper, as well as the water and electrical connections finished out all the way to the barn

Cherry on top was I asked for and got a deeded general ingress / egress / utility easement through the cities land. As far as I know, I'm the only landowner on the lake with that.

Thanks all for the advice, feel like I landed a square deal. Sellers are fantastic people and have already proven out to be great neighbors. My 2.5 year old caught his first fish in the pond and was fired up about it. Weather was pretty crap all weekend, but here are a couple of shots we got on Friday afternoon before it started raining. Looking forward to making many memories out there!

Congratulations and here's to many happy decades of land ownership!

Awesome. Congratulations- that's a place to raise your kids in the outdoors!

Man o man. Congratulations sir! So glad you got it done. May God always bless your land and your family with good fortune and beautiful lasting memories.
You got you your own slice of heaven here on earth now!

Congrats I'm glad it was not in Minnesota - F that state.

My sister lives south side of LVille, on road toward Bardstown; beautiful area. I think you picked a great state.

If you need someone local to check on things, my nephew would be all over it.

I want to buy some land in the next 5 years - but have to get out of debt first (selling my 2nd car to do this - don't want to) and have to get my food trailer off of the ground.

Stating that you will use the property very little in the next five years is key. I have owned properties out of state that were a 12 hour drive from my home and around a 4 hour flight with accompanying layovers. With kids, dogs, bags and gear, we almost always had to drive. The result? Even though we love the place, we rarely use it now. NOT using a place is far worse than using a place frequently because you then have to deal with a longer laundry list of issue when you do go and that can further detract from enjoyment. I bought a ranch 3.5 hours from my home and, although I would have rather purchased a place somewhat closer, the land was in an area I really wanted to be and the price was right. Even a 3.5 hour drive can get old.

Point being, your personal return on investment (not financial, which is a separate consideration and is the reason I have no plans to sell the place 12 hours from home) may be greater if you have a place closer and easier to access. In fact, I think you will find it likely. However, if that is a place you plan on living close to eventually then buy the place while you can still afford it! I bought the ranch I did because real estate prices in the region have increased from 6K and acre to as much as 12K in just a handful of years.

Good luck!

Look at it this way. Land is a great investment. Rarely ever loses value. Congrats on your purchase!