Since I finally got my password reset, I missed this thread back in March.
A couple of my personal thoughts...
1. The US population in 1990 was 250M in 2020 is was 331M. The amount of land is not increasing.
2. These hunting "reality" companies are sharp. They are well financed speculators and they understand land value and income potential. These guys miss nothing and they have the ability to get the word to many clients in a matter of minutes thanks to technology.
Case in point, a friend was promised a crack at his grandmothers farm, which was surrounded by wealthy NRLOs. A known CRP contractor knocked on her door with a lucrative CRP maintenance contract to manage the CRP for a reasonable price. At that time I told him that contractor was connected to a well known "reality" firm and that land is as good as gone. Sure enough, 18 months later she told him he had to remove all his stands and blinds as the new land owner was taking possession in 4 months. I'm certainly not insinuating any wrong doing but rather offering my opinion that the game has changed and these speculators have moved themselves into the mix as middlemen. I had a person known for buying and selling tell me once that when you develop an emotional attachment to the dirt, you'll never make money. It's too late for me, i'm attached...
I have accepted that I will never sell my land willfully. That said, if we continue down this rathole of "progressive/liberal" or whatever we want to call these garbage economics theories and thought processes, we may be forced to sell out due to property taxes and big insurance. There is a sense of pride and accomplishment in owning dirt that cannot be replicated and I hope all young folks on here get that opportunity.
