Gotcha.They nest in chest high scrub oak's,lacy,vacy oaks.Black capped vireo's,what black capped vireos?

Talk with your real estate agent but I think you need to find a piece of property with the agricultural exemption in place at the time you purchase it for tax purposes. Most Texas counties require 5 years of running livestock before you can establish the exemption if it is not in place when you purchase the land. The agricultural exemption is not technically an exemption. It is an assessment valuation based on agrucultural use. Landowners may apply for special appraisal based on their land's productivity value rather than market value. Typically, a productivity value is lower than market value, which lowers property taxes. Landowners must use their land in agriculture. There is a rollback tax for taking such land out of its productivity use.

Property owners may qualify for agricultural appraisal if land meets the following criteria:


The land must be devoted principally to agricultural use. Agricultural use includes producing crops, livestock, poultry, fish, or cover crops. It also can include leaving the land idle for a government program or for normal crop or livestock rotation. Land used for raising certain exotic animals (including exotic birds) to produce human food or other items of commercial value qualifies.


Using land for wildlife management is an agricultural use, if such land was previously qualified open-space land and is actively used for wildlife management. Wildlife management land must be used in at least three of seven specific ways to propagate a breeding population of wild animals for human use.


Agricultural land must be devoted to production at a level of intensity that is common in the local area.


The land must have been devoted to agricultural production for at least five of the past seven years. However, land within the city limits must have been devoted continuously for the preceding five years, unless the land did not receive substantially equal city services as other properties in the city.

If land receiving an agricultural appraisal changes to a non-agricultural use, the property owner who changes the use will owe a rollback tax. The rollback tax is due for each of the previous five years in which the land received the lower appraisal. The rollback tax is the difference between the taxes paid on the land's agricultural value and the taxes paid if the land had been taxed on its higher market value. Plus, the owner pays 7 percent interest for each year from the date that the taxes would have been due.

See link below for wildlife exemption:

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/land/private/agricultural_land/


Hopes this helps

Junction guy,great post and welcome.

Here are some general tips on how to buy land article. http://www.thelandblog.com/2008/10/land-buying-information-and-tips.html

Great thread! I've got land fever right now, and I'm trying to better educate myself on the subject before I rush out and make a bad decision.

I'm not even 1/4 the way through this book (link below), and it is already worth every penny I paid for it.

If you are wanting the in's and out's and the do's and dont's of buying land, and every other aspect often overlooked (like water wells and the due diligence involved, which is the chapter I'm currently on), this book is for you. Written by a real estate attorney who has owned rural properties for four decades and helped countless clients with their real estate transactions. This book is the fourth edition.

http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Buying-You...0447&sr=8-1

Place the land in a seperate trust from your other assets. If anything were to happen on your property and somebody sued you, they could not tap into other assetts that were not in that trust.

just my .02

Finding the right land is very time consuming and buying land is a big commitment. Most people do not realize the 'carrying" costs and fail to factor them in prior to purchasing.

IMO the banks with their tighter lending policies are inadvertently doing most people a favor by making them prove their commitment by coming up with a hefty down payment.

Simply put,do not make the commitment until:1)you know you are able and are not just fooling yourself and 2)you are willing to forego other things you could do with the money spent servicing a land note. And make sure what you buy fits your needs. Worst thing ever is being financially bound to a piece of property you don't want.

Having said all that, I got extremely lucky and was able to buy some property that suited me to a "T". It was a big commitment but I have enjoyed having it more than anything I have ever owned. There is absolutely no substitute for knowing the land you are walking on belongs to you and all that comes with that.

Good luck to all you guys thinking about making the plunge!

I have bought and sold land and timber for a living since 1992 and worked as a petroleum landman for the last 6. Those are my credentials, here is my advice:

1) I agree with those who suggested Texas Land Bank. Its been my experience that the "land banks", "farm banks" and "ag banks" give the best rates, longest terms and lowest down payments. Shop around!

2) Get an ag or timber exemption to pay the least amount of taxes (I am not familiar with the "wildlife exemption"). The tax assessor/collector will be glad to provide the information you need for exemptions. All of the exemptions have some "requirements" but most are not difficult and none require you to spend massive amounts of cash to fill the requirements. I, or any other forester, can write you a timber plan sufficient for tax purposes in 20 minutes.

3) No insurance on the "dirt". You can buy insurance on any crops, including timber, growing on property, but its EXPENSIVE!

4) see next post - this is getting long

4) Mineral rights may or may not be included. Most title companies, which you will use for closing if you borrow the funds, will NOT provide any information on mineral rights. These will have to be searched in the county records. (PM me for more info on this - massive amount of information)

5) Title insurance - you will also pay for this at closing if you borrow the money. The title company will also check for liens, back taxes, judgements, etc. that encumber the property.

6) DON'T SIGN ANYTHING IF YOU ARE NOT SURE!! Again, DONT SIGN ANYTHING IF YOU ARE NOT SURE!

good luck!

Last advice, buy land with road frontage. County road, city street, farm to market highway, etc - it doesnt matter. Easements (the right to travel across someone elses property) are ALWAYS a problem! (well not always, but I advoid them if at all possible)

PM me if you have more questions - I keep thinking of things to post ha


good luck

My grandmother has been letting me hunt on a 360 acre parcel of unimproved land she owns for free. She is 91 and may not be with us much longer. She suggested I purchase the land before she dies and it goes to probate in her will to be devided among the 3 daughters.

Based on reading all 7 pages, I do not want to attempt to have a bank finance the property. My mother suggested an "owner finance". My grandma and I would figure out the sale price and payments. The payments would just go into her estate to be distributed amongst the heirs. I can afford the property, but dont want to deal with the hastle of bank financing.


I have never heard of this. Is this a common practice for intra-family land sells? And what else do I need to know (specific to the owner finance)?

be glad you have a grandma that is willing to do that!

i would set up an escrow account to be deposited directly quarterly that pays out to her estate.

you can buy the property owner finance, get with a good title company and have a real estate lawyer draft up a contract.

they will handle all the paperwork.

You have to have Ag Exemption in place in order to get a wildlife exemption.

Agree with texastrophy85 on the grandma deal.

Once you've signed the contract allowing owner finance of the land with your grandma, the terms cannot be altered by her estate.

Get that taken care of asap. If you wait much longer, her direct heirs could probably successfully argue that the contract was signed when she wasn't in right mind to enter into a legally binding contract (the elderly are often taken advantage of, even by their own families).

I have done conversion of ag to wildlife and it really is pretty simple.

agree 100%

do this right now if you haven't done it already

As a new land owner myself there is a lot of good information in this thread. One thing I would recommend is not just looking at the price per acre, but the improvements to the property such as house, water, electric, fence line, cleared timber and tanks or lakes. Dozer work generally runs 75 to 100 per hour and a large lake cost big $$. You will also need to consider the cost to maintain the property and tractors are not free. After you purchase your place you will drive by other ranches and appreciate nice fences and beautiful pastures

Im looking at buying land right now. My hometown bank is offering 6.4% 15yr , but refinance after 7yrs. Is that bad? It was 6% two months ago, just wish i would have found something months ago.

Just found this forum and this thread and had to reply. There is some really good information posted here. I'm a certified wildlife biologist and real estate broker. I just recently started a new blog dedicated to wildlife management and hunting properties. This forum has given me some great ideas for future articles. Below are a few blog post that I hope may be informative. Please feel free to PM, email, or give me a call.

http://erwildlifeme.wordpress.com/2012/0...a-prerequisite/

http://erwildlifeme.wordpress.com/2012/0...rty-should-ask/

http://erwildlifeme.wordpress.com/2012/0...ing-properties/

http://www.wildlifeme.com
http://erwildlifeme.wordpress.com
eritter@wildlifeme.com

I used Capital Farm Credit...they were great...financing similar to a house...

If you are going to have people out to hunt, 4 wheel, etc. get an umbrella liability policy.

Best advice I can give you: if the property doesn't have water and electricity find out what it will cost to get both. They can be a huge cost.

Check out www.whitetailproperties.com for all your hunting and ranch land needs!

Our Land Specialists are hand selected based upon their individual expertise within the real-estate, hunting land management, and farming trades. They share a passion for the outdoors and have a firm understanding of how to show hunting and ranch land while explaining the benefits of land ownership.

Hey bud, If you find the right property you might not even need to get a big loan. I work for Mossy Oak Properties of Texas and I am constantly running into little stuff that is already Ag Exempt. If you are willing to go smaller like under 100 Ac you might be able to buy something for under a 100K. it seems that everyone got hung up on the financing but for the most part it is very similar to buying a house. However, do not have the real-estate agent that helped you buy your house help you buy a ranch. That is my biggest tip, a home Realtor can seriously muck up a farm and ranch deal.

Also, do what Ekdahl said and go to a bank that specializes in rural real-estate. They are Way more helpful.

Having just purchased 100+ acres recently, my advice is to offer considerably less than the asking price. I was very surprised to close my deal for 75% of the original asking price, on what already looked like a very good deal. The guy was just ready to sell it after no offers for a relatively long time.

So, I am thinking of buying some hunting land in my name and then leasing half of it back to my company(I own it) for hunting. My question is, can I take money out of my retirement for a down payment? If it has a house on it wouldn't it be considered a second home and therefore I would not have to pay a penalty on the money coming out of my retirement? Does anyone know the answer? I plan on meeting with my CPA about it also. I need to do this before the land prices start going up again. Thanks for any info.