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Totally Hypothetical #7625377 10/06/19 07:10 PM
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I have a hypothetical question for you guys (and gals). If you wanted to buy a small tract of land (under 50 acres) for hunting (whitetail, duck, dove, hogs, etc) within 3 hours of Dallas, then what area or county would you buy land?

I was watching the Back 40 Meateater show, and I started thinking about how cool it would be to buy a property for the sole purpose of hunting and outdoor recreation. I wouldn’t necessarily ever build a house on the property, but something like an outdoor paradise to visit on the weekends and take family.

Last edited by shea.mcphail; 10/06/19 07:11 PM.
Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: shea.mcphail] #7625423 10/06/19 08:01 PM
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How big is your checkbook?

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: maximus_flavius] #7625553 10/06/19 09:50 PM
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Wife and I are both teachers. We bring in around 110k annually. Not very deep pockets.

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: shea.mcphail] #7625805 10/07/19 01:55 AM
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I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's not practical. There's no feasible way for you to buy a piece of property at your combined salary while still maintaining a desirable lifestyle, especially around the Dallas area even if its 3 hours away. You won't be able to afford the piece of property and just use it for hunting alone. If you got the tract, it'd be much better if you work with a rancher if there's pasture to have cattle on the place or a farmer if there's cropland to farm the acreage. That won't bring in much money, but it should help. We own some property and we can't afford to keep it without having it generate income on its own, through agricultural practices and hunting. You can make it a business and use a lot of expenses as a tax write off, but you still need to have the land generate some income on its own in some way, shape, or form. Despite all of this, right now would have to be the best time for you to buy a piece of property with the interest rates being so low. I wish you luck on your endeavors!

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: RPG1997] #7625837 10/07/19 02:15 AM
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Oh I totally agree that we can’t afford it at this time. I’m just curious what area or county people would want to buy land in within a reasonable distance from Dallas.

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: shea.mcphail] #7625848 10/07/19 02:23 AM
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Look on landsoftexas and see what prices are for the areas east of Dallas as well as north of Dallas even into Oklahoma. I fee the better prospect would be going to Oklahoma for tax purposes (don’t need at exemption there) as the cost of cattle is pretty high enough to make it tough, although you could find a nearby farmer to work some land and make it exempt in Texas.

I didn’t look hard on the Dallas side, due to me living on the west side of the metro, but red river county always had cheap land. Generally the further away the cheaper land gets, but for 50+/- acres you will still be looking at 2500+ acre is my guess. Might find some around 2000/acre but land might not be good hunting land.

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: shea.mcphail] #7625988 10/07/19 12:10 PM
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If bump out your radius a little more to 3.5-4.0 hr, you will find acreage drops substantially, going west, Haskell to Stonewall county you can probably find acreage for $1800 to $2000 unimproved and if fortunate have some decent deer that may pass through the place. Closer in like you're ideally thinking would put you in the Young< Archer to Throckmorton county range going west, Erath to Eastland and Commanche going a bit west to southwest. Those counties are probably going to run you on avg. between $2000-$2800 per acre. Timing on real estate purchases like anything else is part of the key and finding that one seller that may be in need of a "quick sale" for cash is always a plus as well. Good luck to you...

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: shea.mcphail] #7626063 10/07/19 01:14 PM
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Where there is a will, there is a way...if buying land is a priority for you and your wife, let it be a dream you strive/save/work for over a set amount of time. If you go with unimproved land and a mortgage, you will need to look outside of regular mortgage companies/banks and go with a Farm Credit lender. The length of the notes is typically shorter and the down is a bit higher, but they understand your needs and will work with you. Figure 20% down.

As others said, being 3 hours from Dallas will be a challenge, and you may need to spread out a bit. Our place is in Brown County and about 2:45 from my door to door - but I have several buddies who go further. The drive out is not a problem, but the drive home can be a bit tedious. I would think that being teachers, you may have more flexibility to go and stay for longer periods around holidays and the summer - that would be nice.

Will add - as previous poster noted, a neighbor of mine has about 40 acres in Red River County, north of Detroit, and I think they got it for less than $100k. It is a really nice piece of land and they've put a small cabin on it. Lots of deer, turkeys, and hogs.

Bottom line - don't think it can't be done, it just takes patience and dedication to your goal. Good luck!

Last edited by Dalroo; 10/07/19 01:21 PM.

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Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: shea.mcphail] #7626136 10/07/19 02:08 PM
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Eastland, Stephens, counties are good deer, etc. Unimproved land if you look can be had for 2,500 per acre. Some a little less, some a little more in your 50 acre range. Land is like kids. If you wait until you can afford them you will never have any.


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Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: shea.mcphail] #7630412 10/12/19 12:59 AM
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I’d look into Oklahoma if I were you

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: shea.mcphail] #7631076 10/13/19 12:55 AM
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The further you get from Dallas, the cheaper per acre for unimproved land. Also, the smaller the acreage, the bigger the price per acre. Look around Montague County.


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Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: shea.mcphail] #7631196 10/13/19 04:33 AM
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Hunting land is like women...what do you like? Personally I like big trees (oaks and pines) with some elevation changes so I would never buy a place west of DFW. I like the terrain of East Texas much better so that is where I bought my place. I will say it has gotten more expensive in just the last 3 years alone.

I bet you can find 40-50 acres for around $125-150k if you look hard enough, maybe less. The nice thing about land is the payment is much less compared to a home mortgage because the taxes are next to nothing. I looked for about a year to year and a half before I found my place because I was fairly picky with what I wanted. It may take a while to find exactly what you want so best thing to do is go look at some places in different areas and spend some time behind the wheel.

Good luck!

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: shea.mcphail] #7631200 10/13/19 05:23 AM
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It would be much better to just lease a good spot on a deer lease. IMO

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: shea.mcphail] #7631643 10/13/19 10:13 PM
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I appreciate all of the advice. My parents have land in Canton (100+ acres) that will be split between myself and two sisters after my parents pass away. The land doesn’t really have much wildlife outside of varmints and hogs. I figured out west would have better land for hunting purposes. I think it would be cool to own land out east and west to pass down to my children after I die. Totally different terrains for them to explore and keep in the family.

Just a dream (right now).

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: shea.mcphail] #7631929 10/14/19 03:28 AM
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Fisher county a little past the edge of your distance
https://www.landsoftexas.com/property/79.14-acres-in-Fisher-County-Texas/7474506/
79 acres for $85,000. If you are lucky a neighbor will sharecrop it for you to bring in some income to offset the payments.


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Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: dogcatcher] #7632026 10/14/19 12:22 PM
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Originally Posted by dogcatcher
Fisher county a little past the edge of your distance
https://www.landsoftexas.com/property/79.14-acres-in-Fisher-County-Texas/7474506/
79 acres for $85,000. If you are lucky a neighbor will sharecrop it for you to bring in some income to offset the payments.


That is the first time I’ve ever heard “lucky” & “sharecropper” in the same sentence.

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: dogcatcher] #7632253 10/14/19 03:57 PM
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Originally Posted by dogcatcher
Fisher county a little past the edge of your distance
https://www.landsoftexas.com/property/79.14-acres-in-Fisher-County-Texas/7474506/
79 acres for $85,000. If you are lucky a neighbor will sharecrop it for you to bring in some income to offset the payments.


Not to pick that listing apart.
Some things folks don't consider when looking for property.

About a 3.5 hr drive from Mesquite, give or take a little, 7 hours in a vehicle every visit.

East side not fenced.
Say 3080' of fence needed at $3.00 per foot = $9200, unless you have time tools & material to do it yourself.

No mention of electricity on site or nearby or distance to.
Depending on distance to source could be as little as $800, just as easily be 10, 20 even 30+ times that amount to get useable power to site.

Cost of water meter & hookup or cost to drill functioning well. $200 - $30,000+

Sanitary / septic, basic outhouse to septic system $20 - $6,000+

Lots of flat open ground in the area, be dang hard to find a spot to set up a blind & feeder or leave anything on the property that isn’t easily visible from road or surrounding properties. 1 - 2 miles off highway is easy access for LO, quick & easy access for thieves & poachers too.
For security add some type of structure to at least hide anything of value - $2,000 - $30,000.

Plans to keep property in 1D or 1D1, County rules on conversion to wildlife property tax valuation.

Is any part of the property in a flood zone, flood hazard zone. Fisher county is one of those unmapped areas. Doesn't mean not prone to devastating floods.

Encumbrances.

Any history of injection/disposal wells/sites, including abandoned & covered pit type dump sites.

Distance to necessities & conveniences, at least emergency medical care, fuel, food etc...

$1074 per acre sounds like a deal, to make it suitable / enjoyable for your part time use wouldn't be hard at all to spend an additional $200 - $400 per acre.

Better off looking for property in the $1300 - $1800 per acre range that already have at least some of the basics.

A check of an updated satellite view of the property & surrounding area can prevent wasted time & fuel going to look at a property that could’ve been ruled out.

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: Rustler] #7632428 10/14/19 07:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Rustler
Originally Posted by dogcatcher
Fisher county a little past the edge of your distance
https://www.landsoftexas.com/property/79.14-acres-in-Fisher-County-Texas/7474506/
79 acres for $85,000. If you are lucky a neighbor will sharecrop it for you to bring in some income to offset the payments.


Not to pick that listing apart.
Some things folks don't consider when looking for property.

About a 3.5 hr drive from Mesquite, give or take a little, 7 hours in a vehicle every visit.

East side not fenced.
Say 3080' of fence needed at $3.00 per foot = $9200, unless you have time tools & material to do it yourself.

No mention of electricity on site or nearby or distance to.
Depending on distance to source could be as little as $800, just as easily be 10, 20 even 30+ times that amount to get useable power to site.

Cost of water meter & hookup or cost to drill functioning well. $200 - $30,000+

Sanitary / septic, basic outhouse to septic system $20 - $6,000+

Lots of flat open ground in the area, be dang hard to find a spot to set up a blind & feeder or leave anything on the property that isn’t easily visible from road or surrounding properties. 1 - 2 miles off highway is easy access for LO, quick & easy access for thieves & poachers too.
For security add some type of structure to at least hide anything of value - $2,000 - $30,000.

Plans to keep property in 1D or 1D1, County rules on conversion to wildlife property tax valuation.

Is any part of the property in a flood zone, flood hazard zone. Fisher county is one of those unmapped areas. Doesn't mean not prone to devastating floods.

Encumbrances.

Any history of injection/disposal wells/sites, including abandoned & covered pit type dump sites.

Distance to necessities & conveniences, at least emergency medical care, fuel, food etc...

$1074 per acre sounds like a deal, to make it suitable / enjoyable for your part time use wouldn't be hard at all to spend an additional $200 - $400 per acre.

Better off looking for property in the $1300 - $1800 per acre range that already have at least some of the basics.

A check of an updated satellite view of the property & surrounding area can prevent wasted time & fuel going to look at a property that could’ve been ruled out.


Holy crap. I wasn’t actually considering buying this property, but you still opened my eyes to a lot of extra factors about land purchases. I’m going to create a part two for this thread to find what are all of the factors people look into before making a land purchase.

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: shea.mcphail] #7632526 10/14/19 09:20 PM
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Never said you were, just using that one listing as an example of a few of the things that stood out to me at first glance.

There is also a reason none of the neighboring property owners or even a local bought the place before it went onto the open market, price usually the #1 reason, then some form of property history, encumbrance or defect.


Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: Rustler] #7632552 10/14/19 09:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Rustler
Never said you were, just using that one listing as an example of a few of the things that stood out to me at first glance.

There is also a reason none of the neighboring property owners or even a local bought the place before it went onto the open market, price usually the #1 reason, then some form of property history, encumbrance or defect.


No, I love that you went through that property ad to tell me what all you saw. That helps a lot! I really appreciate it.

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: shea.mcphail] #7632576 10/14/19 10:31 PM
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My place has never had a fence on one side, never saw the need for it, it is farm land. Water, the ad stated a water line easement, it will be for a community water service, meters are probably available, but monthly fees are usually high. I have a meter, not hooked up, we carry drinking water and catch rainwater for other needs. Haul if we need to, a $60 a month water bill is a luxury, not a necessity.

On the ad's property, there is a house to the north, about 300 feet that has electric. Need to check with the cooperative to find out out costs, our electric coop was free pole up to 100 yards.

Lot of pasture, cover, to the southwest and west of the property, a wheat field would be like a magnet for deer. But how many other place are planting wheat magnets.

Would I buy it? In your boots, I don't know, in mine no way, I am in my 70's, we have a house in Abilene, so it is a 45 minute drive, but I have a place in Runnels county that is about the same that is 75 minutes, door to gate. But the time factor, is not a factor, we have a house in Ruidoso, it is 6 and half hours one way, 13 hour round trip.


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Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: shea.mcphail] #7632685 10/15/19 12:17 AM
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I have been looking in Foard county and have seen land for $1000 per acre.

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: shea.mcphail] #7646051 10/29/19 06:24 PM
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Most banks/credit unions are going to want a much larger chunck down on raw land, anywhere from 30-50%. Don't know OP's situation but the down payment is going to be a stumbling block for a lot of people without a plan and some years to save up. Another thing to keep in mind is the cost of upkeep. With rural land there isn't an HOA, a city, etc to help foot the bill. If your entrance road needs work and grading you're the one that foots the bill, etc. Habitat improvements making clearing, an internal road system, etc. all add up quickly even if you do the work yourself. Make sure you do an accurate projection of what the upkeep costs are going to be before you make a decision to buy.

50 acres isn't a lot to hunt and the further west you go the less animals that 50 acres will support due to lack of rainfall. Land around Canton can be very good for hunting if you put the work in. A lot of places haven't been pretty much neglected and let the forest canopy close so there isnt' much "productive habitat". I would seriously consider talking to your parents about putting the money you would spend on a place into improving the habitat on their place or if you're dead set on buying them trying to buy an adjoining place to theirs. This would probably get you the most bang for your buck.

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: Dave Davidson] #7646176 10/29/19 08:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Dave Davidson
The further you get from Dallas, the cheaper per acre for unimproved land. Also, the smaller the acreage, the bigger the price per acre. Look around Montague County.



Montague is a good county for hunting. But it's pretty pricy, most smaller acreage stuff is going for $3,700-5,000 per acre depending on quality, improvements, etc...

Re: Totally Hypothetical [Re: huck18] #7646720 10/30/19 05:10 AM
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Originally Posted by huck18
Originally Posted by Dave Davidson
The further you get from Dallas, the cheaper per acre for unimproved land. Also, the smaller the acreage, the bigger the price per acre. Look around Montague County.



Montague is a good county for hunting. But it's pretty pricy, most smaller acreage stuff is going for $3,700-5,000 per acre depending on quality, improvements, etc...


I have been hunting there for 15 years on 3 places. Been on 1,100 acres for 10 years now. Good for a lease but not a good land investment just for hunting purposes IMO in some parts unless you control a big area. Love the area though but expect lots of hunting pressure and open land which supports nothing that only idiots pay to hunt. But land around us has been $1,700 to $2,500 for a long time and then recently jumped way up. Now $3,500 plus for no reason. Idiot's next to us bought 300 acres next to us for $2.2k an acre last year and trying to sell ranchettes for $9k an acre but reduced to liquidation sale of $5k now! It's open pasture! Game left that side of our place. It's unhuntable! But it gets cold, has droughts, and snakes so they won't last long luckily. Had hard freeze 2 weeks ago so looks dead already luckily or not... Without $100K in equipment we wouldn't even be able to access our place after several floods.

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