Everything you need/want when buying land

This is just some insight as to what I’ve noticed and jotted down in my memory banks about my future land purchases. As I was reading Grouse’s post and also all the replies about how much work everyone does to their favorite slice of heaven, it got me thinking. I have always known this, but it takes a lot of work and money to keep it up and keep it usable. I’ve always, always wanted my own piece of land somewhere. I’ve always said that I’d like it to be at least 80 if not 120 acres. Mixed bag of woods and set aside, river or creek with a good sized pond. That is my dream anyway, maybe after Wednesday’s powerball, that day will come.

Anyway, I’ve had the privilege of working with a buddy of mine’s land in Harmony for going on 10 years now. He sitting on 78 acres of his little slice and we’ve done tons of work to make it his. I do just as much if not more work than he does, but I also have free run of the place pretty much anytime I want. We both love to hunt, cut up tree’s, plant food plots, I burn the 14 acres of CRP every year too. Like I said in return I have a place to get away from public land and bring the family to just get away from it all. But, with out equipment and equipment knowledge, it would be a very tough go at it.

We started out with Four wheelers and a pull behind aerator/plugger for our first ever plot. Eventually he bought an older JD 4020 with the boom out front. It came with a bucket and a disk. Attachments were made down the road with forks for the boom, blade for the 3 point, brush mower and finally a 5′ tiller. Now mind you, my buddy is a small business owner and has done pretty good for himself and family. He is not super wealthy, but is able to sustain his hobby farm/hunting land with his income. But, if it were up to me to pay for all of this stuff, 4 wheelers, chainsaws, tractors, attachments, sprayers, seed spreaders, weed whackers, log splitter, trail camera’s, on and on and on. Not to mention, you need to place to keep all of this stuff out of the weather and away from prying eyes. I would have an 80 acre, over run pile of land that would be tough to hunt and tough to maintain.

I think, that you would need to look at purchasing land as if you were starting a business. It is going to take a lot more than just the initial investment to keep the place up and running. So far, for me anyway, it is just a pipe dream. My wife and I do have plans to move out into the country someday in the next 10 – 15 years. The kid needs to be out of high school and I need to be retired from the Fire Department. All I know is this, with all of the help and work I have done for my buddy over the years, it has shown me one thing for sure. It takes a lot more than a little bit of cash flow to keep and maintain your dream.

What are everyone else’s thoughts on this. Yes, the same amount of work that we do can be done with less equipment, but then you have more and more time invested. And isn’t it just as much about enjoying the land as it is about working it?

Just random thoughts and such. Enjoy the outdoors all.

I would say you nailed it. We bartered a ton of the equipment and labor you talked about. We had to buy some equipment and rented/bartered the rest. Thankfully we were in farm country so we could barter with the neighbors for tractor/field work on our 4 ten acre plots. The fire dept did controlled burns for in exchange for practice.

Very expensive and time consuming. Like I said in the other post. Unless it is your one and only hobby and you have the time and money it may be more than a guy wants. Lee/Tiffany and the Drury boys spend all year working thier land just to shoot those few deer each year.

For me personally, owning land is rewarding on so many levels. Some random thoughts. After sitting on my for 20 years fixing computers, I love a good hard days work in the field. It brings me back to my roots helping family and friends on their farms. If my father didn’t own the tractor for his business needs, we would be doing things on a much smaller scale. I see the destruction of wetlands and miles of prairie, if my little slice of land can provide for a few critters that in itself will make every penny and drop of sweat I put into it time well spent.

I’ve thought about this a lot since the original land post. There is no right or wrong answer. Each individual must decide for themselves. I will say, after focusing on deer and making our land better for them the last 3 years, it’s working.

I agree with much of what people are saying and even the points made by the “don’t do it” folks were totally valid.

For me, the driver that provided the “push over the edge” was this: Opportunity cost. If I didn’t try to buy the parcel of land NOW, what would this missed opportunity cost me in the future?

In my case, I feel an overwhelming obligation to my two young sons to do the things in my life that will enable them to carry on the traditions and to get all the enjoyment from the chase that I have gotten.

My father is a hunter, so was my grandfather, so was my great grandfather, so was my great-great grandfather and the tradition goes back fruther than that. I am the eldest son, of an eldest son, of a eldest son, of a eldest son, of an eldest son. So for obvious reasons, the responsibility of keeping the family tradations alive weighs heavily on me.

How many times have I heard people say, “I wish I would have bought X back 20 years ago when it was cheap/easier to find/I was young, etc, etc, etc”? Opportunity cost.

Grouse

I had a lot of planets and stars alighn perfectly when we bought our farm. Price was on the front of the boom. So, by today’s standards we got it very cheap. Split off two 40’s that we sold and that covered a lot of expenses.
We ran a small beef farm for over 15 years. That helped. We also bought it on the eve of my dad’s retirement. So, my parents have lived there for 21 years. The amount of work my dad has invested is indescribable. In addition the skillsets of our neighbors. They helped with so many things.
Finally I doubt I’ll hit the lottery or be able to leave my daughters the $$$$$ that I would like to. They could never sell it for what I have invested, but it gives us that special place that is ours. Long after I’m dead someone will appreciate the work I have done.

Kooty-
I can not believe the growth you have on your bucks in February! That is quite the winter feeding program you’ve got!!!

Stupid Cudde!

Dad asked me the other day. “Why didn’t you set the date on the Cudde?” Believe me, I tried.

The barter system made it possible for us to get some work done in the early years. we still have a good relationship with a local farmer to this day. We let him feed cattle and hay all the fields. We have had him cut roads, work plots and pull a few trucks out of some bad situations. You can also rent most things you need for larger projects for pretty reasonable prices. I guess what I am saying is it’s nice to own your own equipment but there are plenty of other options.

Forgot to mention…IDO has given me so much knowledge I rarely have to learn my lessons the hard way anymore while wasting resources and energy