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Wanting to buy land

nwhawk

Member
Have been pounding the websites you would typically check for timbered land. Wondering if anyone knows of any that would maybe not be listed. Looking for between 175 and 250 acres. Would like a good amount of income generated from the property as well as a stocked pond. Every property is different depending on location and type of ground but I'm looking for approximately a 50/50 split to a 75/25 balance of timber to income generating acres. Thx in advance!
 
If you can wait 1 more year for what you are wanting you might be better off. Prices might level off or drop since corn is worth 5 times less than last year. In my area prices went from 2500/acre to 5000/acre in 3 years when corn boomed.
 
Looking basically anywhere west of I 35 north to south. Could be possibly persuaded into the 2 tears of counties east of I 35 if it were the right opportunity. I've got mixed feelings on whether or not recreational ground will come down in price per acre at all. It might slightly correlate to grain prices but to a certain extent I feel that recreational ground is in a different market. Though I would certainly welcome a reduction in the price per acre!!
 
There is a nice income/timber parcel in Union County for sale. Personally, I cannot remember the total amount of acres, but if you (Google-Union County Iowa hunting farm for sale) it should come up.
 
I bought some timber land in SE Iowa in 2012 for 2K/acre for 80 acres and at the time there was a larger tract for around 1600/acre that was just too much for my price range. I don't think prices have changed much since then....?
 
I want to revive this thread. Anyone seeing any land budging that is not listed on the market? I have done a lot of talking to farmers and realtors and it seems everything is holding pretty tight because the price realization is not there. Local realtors dont want to list high because they will not make money on their time invested and owners do not want to sell at a lower price. I think some of the bigger name realtors have a lot of land listed and are listing the less desirable pieces at premium prices.


I want to buy land but I am nervous to invest right now at the higher prices and everything being in limbo with the grain and farm bills. I also am struggling with finding a decent piece with a good layout and some offsetting income. What is the trick to finding land that is being sold and not listed? Any success stories?
 
Can you specify (counties/amount of acres)??

I do know of a couple farms that are not listed on market.
 
Who cares what the "market" is going to do. The people that keep saying I'm waiting for ground to go down aren't probably that serious about buying a piece in the near future. I don't think there's ever going to be a sharp drop in premium farms or neighborhoods. It might be done going up but you might be waiting forever for it to go down. When you find a nice piece in the area you want make it happen and start enjoying it. If that means less acres than you'd ideally like then you can always add on or go bigger later.
 
What is the trick to finding land that is being sold and not listed? Any success stories?

Sometimes I think you just have to be lucky. But talking to people in neighborhoods you like is a good first step. I know one place that has sold twice in the last three or four years and to my knowledge was not listed or posted at the property either time. I would have loved to buy it had I known, but I guess it didn't really matter as unfortunately I didn't have the capacity anyway.
 
Get in touch with the guys who are selling land in that area wether it be whitetail properties or someone else and let them know what you're looking for.
 
What is the preferred type of Income?

When people are looking for land, do you think it cuts down on the audience if it is enrolled in CRP? Is income plain old income or is it better if it is not locked into a CRP contract for many years. Use decent farm ground as an example CSRII of 52 and CRP Rates of around $170 per acre.

What are your thoughts and preferences?
 
I care because if I want to upgrade farms or buy more land I dont want to be owing more than the property is worth. I want it to be a smart investment, building block, and something to enjoy. You are right though, I dont feel the need to buy something tomorrow, I will watch the market react and decide when I see the right piece come along. I know a lot of land deals are done off the market and wanted to know how some people found the land for sale.
 
When people are looking for land, do you think it cuts down on the audience if it is enrolled in CRP? Is income plain old income or is it better if it is not locked into a CRP contract for many years. Use decent farm ground as an example CSRII of 52 and CRP Rates of around $170 per acre.

What are your thoughts and preferences?

I would think this depends on what the buyer is wanting to do with it. Some will prefer established CRP, some will want to till up anything they can. So if the buyer is wanting to till everything, then a long term CRP contract may turn them off. I know there are some farmers dead set against any type of government programs/control, so they would likely not be interested in existing long term contracts. If you're talking hunting property only with some offsetting income, then I would think established CRP would be desirable as they would have habitat as well as income and could always try to get food plots approved as part of the management plan if wanting some crops for that purpose.
 
Timing can be critical because as lv2 said, try to sell a parcel and buy up when the price of that parcel has gone down.

It has happened in various markets, tillable down 20% in some areas. I've seen lakeshore drop as much as 50% in MN. Everyone said "they don't make anymore lakeshore". You have to buy right, good area, and then hopefully it has some income to offset payments or for return on investment.
 
lv2, If you know a piece you love I would approach the landowner and let it be known youre interested. Sometimes you get lucky, it puts you on his radar should he sell later, and he may know of acquaintances looking to dump a piece.
 
Put a bug in people's ear or landowners ear that u might be interested In buying if they ever decided to sell. It's a small world everybody knows everybody. I spoke with a landowner almost 3 yrs ago about a farm that was 1mile down the road from current farm. Well we just Closed on it this past fall got a call out of the blue wanting to know if I was still interested In buying never went on the market. Word of mouth can go along way.
 
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