Hunting Land In Edwards County

Hello folks,

My boys are 13 and 11, and I'm wanting to find some acreage for us to spend time on. I'm not looking for trophy deer all the time--we'd be thrilled with a buck and a doe per year. It's really more just about us being out together than anything else. Anyhow, I've been fishing since I was 6, but this hunting stuff is all pretty new to me. I'll probably have a ton of questions, and I sure do appreciate all the insight I've already gotten from this forum. I'm learning about how important it is to find out about who your neighbors are, how much the land has been hunted, how much cover it has and whether it has water and electricity.

My first question is two part, specifically about Edwards county: I see lots of listing on Landwatch and Lands of America for properties in Edwards county. Anybody have any idea a) why there are so many more listings in that county, and b) why the land is so much cheaper?

thanks for your help,

Adam

Welcome and good luck!

Lot of small tracts of land in subdivisions out there that gets hunted really hard. Ask lots of questions and look at lots of land before deciding. Land is cheap due to over hunting in many cases. You have to deal every once in a while with Anthrax outbreaks. It can almost wipe out a population of deer. It not a question of if it will happen again it is just a question when it will happen again. Lot of land will not have water and/or electricity on it. Roads can be poor at best. Not many places will have fences.

Try landsoftexas.com for more Edwards County listings. I bought 100 acres in Carta Valley recently. I bought there because of the exotics and it's cheap(er). You're correct, there are lots of listings in Edwards County. My real estate agent said a few years ago there were lots more than now. If you go an hour or so north or east you'll pay lots more. There is occasional outbreak of anthrax but according to my neighbors who've been there for 13 years our subdivision hasn't had any outbreaks since they've been there. When I found a few properties I was really interested in I contacted the neighbors and asked them all sorts of questions. That was not the easiest thing to get these phone numbers. I had to do lots of research but am so I glad I did it. Knowing what kind of neighbors you will have is so important. I came close to buying a property that ended up having lousy hunting. The roads in my subdivision are great but other subdivisions aren't that good.

Good to know. Thanks for the feedback.

Thanks for the info. Did you see game pretty soon after you bought the land, or did you have to set up feeders and water to start drawing them in? Also, we love to fish, and I'm wondering how accessible Amistad is from around there. Fish there much?

Land out there is cheap for lots of reasons:

1 - Over hunted, as STX stated. Not all of it is, but I remember a guy a few thousand acres away that made a comment like 4 years ago.. "I cannot believe we only got 12 deer this year between our entire family..." and he only owned 50 acres.

Not all land is over-hunted AND you can get the deer back in time after getting the land for cheap. Look at the land, walk it and look for signs. Look at the neighbors and see what they are like.. are they large land owners, or smaller ones? Does the guy next to you own a tract(s) that is fat or small.. i.e. there is a guy around here that has a neighbor to his north that has a tract that is like 30 yards across at one point. The only deer he sees is something that is crossing his land from someone else's to someone else's... so look at the lay of the tracts around you.

Again, deer will come back, if given the chance.

2 - Land is cheap because it costs an arm and a leg to improve it. Electricity and/or a well will cost you 20k if you are VERY lucky... EACH.. or, as many find out, 40-75k for electricity and 25k for a well. Be prepared for the shock, if you plan to add it. If you get lucky and electricity is across the road, make SURE you get permission beforehand to get to it. Many folks won't let you touch it as it would mean an easement on their land.

3 - Wildlife Management plans - CALL the ECAD place in Rocksprings if a place says they have a WLM on file and active. I have seen a LOT of folks buy land thinking they had one and the taxes went up like 100 times when in fact the previous owner let theirs expire. Land is cheap for a reason.... find out why.

Sometimes it can just be because people do not know what they have and/or the land around them is cheap. You can get lucky, like we did, and get a good deal. Just have to do your homework.

Russ

Thank you, Russ. One other question: If a property already has an ag exemption, does that automatically transfer to the new owner?

Yes!

That isn't correct. The new owner has to apply for the ag exemption and qualify based on his/her own usage of the land.

True,my bad, but you don't lose it. When we bought our place the tax office sent us a filled out form. We just had to sign & send back. You do have to do something ag related or you will lose it. You can go to wildlife exemption if currently in ag exemption.

Actually... you get the WLM exemption, but you really REALLY (I cannot stress this enough) have to make sure it is not set to expire.

I have seen a lot of people buy land thinking they had an exemption, even got a letter to that effect in their closing documents, only to close and find out it was an error or the WLM had already had warniong letters sent to the owners that they were inadequate ot not following the guidelines and the owners were dumping the land as fast as they could to get out from under the taxes.

Trust me.. seen it happen and I have worked with the people that it happened to to help get them their WLM back as much as possible. Got it for a couple, most don't.

Remember, always, buyer beware.. don't assume that the realtor went to the site and printed the page that shows it had a WLM and that worked. The clerk in ECAD needs to get you some sort of letter that you get in your grubby little hands directly from standing in front of them at the counter or you don't believe them... heh

THEN.. you get the WLM.

Anything less than that and I would not trust them.

Once THAT is done, you have to file your WLM plan. I would suggest the previous owners include copies of the previous filings as part of the closing, so you can see what they did and that they DID the filings.

Once you close, ECAD will require YOU to make a filing that will last 5 years and states what YOU plan to do. If you do not get a WLM plan from the previous owner, then you have to figure out how to make one on your own and submit it.

You're the owner now.. heh.. getting the exemption means you qualify to get it.. you still have to have a plan that is yours and on record with ECAD.

Russ

Listen to this man. Everything he said is 100% accurate. ECAD is one of the toughest counties when it comes to enforcing the WLM guildines and won't hesistant one second to drop an exemption on someone's property if they aren't following the guildlines.

I own land in Edwards County as well. Its a heck of a lot easier if you just run cattle or sheep to keep your ag exemption. If you plan on going the WLM route, be darn sure you do what you tell them your going to do.

Good points & advice shared above. I will ad that I've owned 2 tracts of land in Edwards, and just like property anywhere, it all comes down to those 3 words. Location, location, location! Both the tracts I owned were loaded with game, including some exotics. Yet, neighbors 1/2 mile down the ranch road had little to brag about. Guess it was just either me getting lucky, or doing my homework and researching the area well before buying. If I was buying again, I would find the area & terrain you like, and then do a whole lot of shopping around. Get a property with a clean, live-able cabin (your boys will appreciate it) and hopefully go with the AG exemption (much less complicated than wildlife).
There are some good guys on this forum that can really help you, just ask. Like I said, my tracts were full of game from jackrabbits & quail, bobcats & coyotes/grey fox, hogs galore, WT deer, and occasional exotics axis, sika, fallow, aoudad. Crazy some of the stuff running around, in the rougher terrain areas, out there.

Good luck.

If you have the AG. exemption keep it. I looked into the Wildlife Exemption at one time and it is a PITA. Even the CAD told me don't do it. And I don't know about Edwards Co. but here when a property changes hands the CAD comes out and looks at it even if it did have AG. to see if there is water fences etc. for the new property owner to continue the AG. Exemption.