Anyone own land by rocksprings???

We are looking at a ranch by rocksprings, and wanted to know what the areas comps have been in last coiple years or what yall have seen for 200-250 ac tracts primary use would be hunting.

I own 223 acres that is 13 miles North of Rocksprings. I purchased it in spring of 2012. A lot of the price will depend on if electricity and water are already present. That is something you will definitely want in this area. Another factor is location to Rocksprings. Havent looked at listings in a while (couple of years), but used to see land South of town around 1k/acre, North and East of town around 1.5 to 2k/acre. But I will say, I just paid my taxes and the tax appraisal jumped 30% this year to over 2k/acre. Not sure what it's like for the rest of the area.

What part of Edwards County are you looking at? Does it have water and/or electricity? Is it AG/Wildlife Exempt?

Its in southwestern edwards. Looks to be about 20-30mi south of rocksprings. Realtor says tax exempt. Whats avg cost for well and depth to drill a well?

Land in that area used to be around 1k/acre a few years ago. Not real sure about it now though. Hopefully someone else will chime in and have more info about pricing in that area.

If the listing realtor is telling you it's tax exempt, DO NOT just take their word for it. Ask for the owners name, then call the County Tax Appraisal District and then you will know for sure. Its best to be 100% positive the tax exempt status is active and will transfer to you.

Our well was present when I purchased. But the rancher who has grazing rights replaced the submersible pump about 5 years ago and said depth of the well was around 400-500 feet. Thinking it was closer to 400 though. If I had to guess, it prob cost around 20k or so to drill a well.

Another thing is: is the place you are looking at in a subdivision? That will affect price as well.

My advice, before looking at any property, sign the realtor agreement with [b]a realtor of your choosing[/b] and then look at property. I advise getting a different realtor than the listing agent. DO NOT just go look at the property with the listing agent/broker without signing the agreement form, they work for the seller only then, not you. I learned that the hard way. I already looked at the property with the listing agent, but my dad really wanted it, so I put an offer on the property.

Ask about past problems with Anthrax in that area. Is it in a subdivision?

You would be hard pressed to find anything good for 1k an acre, maybe on a cash deal and lije the 1st poster said, no cabin, no water and no elec., property has almost doubled there since 2012 i ended up buying a tract in Montell last year but i looked at about 4 or 5 places in that area closer to 100 acres and most were around $1500 an acre, the closer to the highway the more you will pay as well. If you head to Mountain Home its 4k an acre +.

Zac Kerbow is a good realtor in that area they worked hard for me.

I paid about $1,600 /acre last year for 100 acres that are 31 miles from Rocksprings (Carta Valley). No electricity but has a few community water wells. $1,600 an acre is a lot, especially since there wasn't a cabin/house, either. I wanted a place that had lots of critters and this place does. It has lots of valleys, dry creek beds, etc.. I told my real estate agent that I wanted to talk on the phone with a few of the neighbors of the final three places I was interested in. He said he's never had a client request this which I found bizarre. I was smart to talk to the neighbors. I got unbiased & truthful information from them.

Big spread on ranches in Edwards county

Lots of factors come into play in that area.

What ranch are you looking at?

Anywhere in Edwards co. west or south of rock springs is ground zero for anthrax. Buyer needs to understand that every decade or so you will lose 80-90% of your whitetails.

Does Anthrax kill any other species besides whitetails?

Definetly smart talking to other property owners in that area

I want to say a big thank you to the anthrax warning, and all great info. It is very near to carta valley. Its about 4 miles in to the east off 377 just north carta valley. The terrain looks awesome, but as with anything due diligence is key. The big thing is we are trying to meet deadline for 1031 exchange. Not sure about if its a tract on a big ranch. Awaiting that to be answered by realtor.

No such thing as "tax exempt". Property could have agricultural valuation, but is certainly not "exempt".

You are right about that Erath. I made the mistake of saying that in my first post as well. But after paying high, and I mean HIGH taxes for a few years, having the Ag valuation in place now, almost feels being exempt. $6600 last year to $190 this year.

Yep, he has an ag exemption, my mistake on the wording. Realtor says $500 a year on wildlife exemption.

I heard that. That's about the difference we pay. Except for 1 acre around each house.

I believe that Ag or Wildlife exemption do NOT automatically transfer to new owner. You have to re-apply, re-qualify. Usually there is not a problem, but don't assume it is automatic or transfers. Rules change.

John, you are correct, Ag or Wildlife exemptions DO NOT TRANSFER automatically to the new owner, you must apply. I would not even look at any land that was not Ag or Wildlife exempt. If it is not exempt, you have to apply for 5 long years, paying the high taxes before you can become Ag or Wildlife exempt.

Thank you fir the heads up

Clarification on the AG exemption - You have to fill out the form but if it HAS a tax exemption, you GET to fill out the form.. if it does NOT have the tax exemption, you don't.

Okay, that being said, unless YOU have a piece of paper signed by the people at ECAD (the appraisal district) stating the exact tract you are purchasing has an AG exemption or a WLM exemption that is current, you do NOT have a guarantee. I have seen multiple people purchase land and then go "I was told it had a tax exemption!"

The problem? - It HAD one.. but the people that HAD it did not want to maintain it and never filed the paperwork so the website still listed the exemption but it was in the process of being stripped... hence why a lot of folks were dumping land before it showed up on the website as lost and a LOT of new owners got screwed or came close to it but had to fight their way out of getting it.

Do not take ANYone's word....ANYone.. drive down to the office in Rocksprings and get them to sign a piece of paper showing you have the exemption and it is current and they will give you the form you file.

Now...once you have that.. I can give you copies of what I file each year and you can modify that to fit your needs if you like. When I made my annual report, which always includes the form they will give you as well), there was nothing out there as an example so I spent 6-10 months haggling with all the TPWD people and biologists I could find to come up with a real report.

If you lose a WLM (Wildlife Management) exemption in Edwards County... and have less than 400 acres, forget ever getting it back. The state mandates who gets a WLM, the county mandates the minimum acreage for an AG exemption. If you want WLM, you must have had an AG for 5 years.. if you have less than 400 acres, you will never get an AG exemption, thus you will never get a WLM back.

Water wells are running about 20-25k to drill. That is if they find water the first time.. if not, expect like 7k for the dry well and 20-25k for the non dry.

Electricity.. we got off EASY.. it cost us 30-38k to run electricity to two cabins 3/4-ish a mile.... most people get quoted 50-60k and it is usually another 20% more. Electricity is KING and it is expensive as hell. One guy behind me had to run about 1000 ft and it cost him about 12k, minimum.

Don't let all of this scare you if you can live off a generator or solar or rainwater.. the land out there.. there are deals to be had, but a lot of people want way more than their land is worth.

Sorry for the long post. If you want to know more, let me know.

Russ

Oh, do not let the anthrax part scare you.. Anthrax is natural. Be warned.. be knowledgeable.. but that is the extent.

Knowing the signs and what to do is important. Once you get past that, you can deal with it easy. Anthrax will happen... eventually.. but you can mitigate it and control it.

Russ

^^^^^^ Russ is right on with everything. Its great info if youre looking into buying land in Edwards Co.

Edwards County has been thru 4 chiefs appraisers this year alone. If youre buying land, follow Russ's advice. Get it in writing from the appraisal office. Lots of land in Edwards County lost its AG/Wildlife Valuation. But the 400 acre rule can be bypassed. If you're buying in a subdivision, you can pool your land together with your neighbors to get to 400 acres. Thats what I did. Better to ask the neighbors before buying though, as some neighbors dont want cattle or goats on there land.

I got 4 of my neighbors to agree with me, we are fenced together, and our acreage totaled 1400 acres, so the county appraiser office approved me as I was rebuilding my AG valuation. But its best to ask first, as Im not sure if they'll allow this anymore.

Do the laws concerning the transfer of an Ag exemption vary from county to county? I have bought and sold a couple of properties in Waller and Lee counties and when I sold there was a form at closing that I signed that stated that I had used the property for agriculture (hay production). That was all that was needed to transfer the exemption to the new owners. When I purchased land in Lee county I received the same form from the previous owner. There was no hassle at all. I automatically received the 1-D-1 exemption. Taxes are $69 for 50 acres.
Sounds like Edwards county is desperate for tax dollars.

They all are. Real county is the same. We have watched our taxes double just in the past few years.

TexasKC:

Like Mr. T said above, the most common 1-d ag appraisals do not transfer to new owners. You were asked to sign that form so that the new buyer felt comfortable that he would not get hit with rollback taxes in the future. You were promising you had actually used it for ag in the past, etc. The new owner has to qualify for ag use. Most people are talking about 1-d appraisal.

An exception to that can be if the property itself is 1-d-1 ag open space, that is very uncommon though. 1-d-1 appraisal stays in place until a change of use.