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Looking for an honest opinion!

Q

QDM

Active Member
Based on the information I'll be providing I'm looking for an honest, no BS, opinion on whether I'm totally off my rocker about purchasing land for hunting/investment reasons!

Ultimately my dream is to own land but the conservative in me always wins out and I just end up "window shopping". I'm far from rich making a decent living in the low to mid $40k range, minimal debt (small student loan and average mortgage $100k). The land purchase would likely need to be $100k or less??

I'm the type of guy that gets by with decent vehicles (paying them off and continue to drive for years afterward), don't need new hunting equipment very often and frugal spending habits to save up for land. I also wouldn't sacrifice a 3-6 month emergency fund to come up with a down payment. I participate in a 401k plan currently (35+ years away from retiring) but would like to diversify a bit.

I'd love to hear first-hand, personal accounts of guys who have attained land ownership by means of average incomes, hard work and dedication to fiscal responsibility to achieve this goal! Again, if anyone thinks I'd be getting in over my head, please I'd love to hear your thoughts also.

Thanks!
 
No better investment than land if you ask me, the down payment is usually the toughest part but well worth it.
 
I finally bit the bullet in 2012 and purchased 50 acres near Brighton, IA. I got tired of fighting over hunting spots or the landowner I had permission from also giving others permission and wanted a place of my own. I put 20% down and refinanced my house because I only owed 50K on a 200K property. So I got a 3% loan on my land mortgage. If you get a rec land loan it was going to be a variable rate starting at 4.5% and then it could double after 5 years. I got lucky. I am 43 years old and had been saving up for a few years so I was ready to do it. I hope to buy more in the future. Now I can do whatever I want and plant foodplots and cut whatever trees I want and hunt all seasons and I have never made a better decision. It is 1 hour away which isn't too bad but I never see land in Muscatine for sale, it always gets sold by word of mouth.
 
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I dont think you will ever regret it. There is nothing like owning your own land. It is scary to take that first step but once you get past that part you will wish you had done it sooner. Good luck.
 
I have very similar circumstances to you and decided to purchase a small tract (only 27 acres) with a cabin on it in early 2012. Obviously it has only been 2 years, but I have never regretted it for a second. In fact, I have found that I enjoy managing my small property so much, that I'm already making plans to expand to additional properties or sell the current one and go bigger in just a few years.

You are the only one who can know for sure if you are ready or have the means, but do know that it is possible and very rewarding.
 
I came from MI, and wife and I bought 40 acres in S-IA. We are paying it off. We have a small home and garage. It is fun to do whatever you want on Your Land. In reality you are just renting it from the County-State, but is yours for awhile. You can't take anything with you, but enjoy it while you can!
 
QDM said:
I'd love to hear first-hand, personal accounts of guys who have attained land ownership by means of average incomes, hard work and dedication to fiscal responsibility to achieve this goal!

Thanks!
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Pretty much exactly how we did it. It helped that my wife and I were renting and looking to buy a place to move to, so we didn't have a pre-existing mortgage. The mortgage we took out was for the house and land. We share the same fiscal mindset, so we didn't have to new vehicles, didn't have to be fancy house, and didn't care to eat out at restaurants all the time.

We were lucky to be able to borrow a small amount of money from her mother, which along with a side note was the down payment. Gardened, fished, ate lots of wild game but it was all worth it.

Good luck and hope it works for you, it can be done.
 
Here's something I've contemplated into checking out.. I have several friends who farm who are always looking to purchase additional property. If they can get the 5% down farm loan.. I could cover that portion of it and basically rent to own the desired timber acres and eventually split off the tillable that they would keep and I would have the timbered acres... kind of going into a partnership with them until it's paid off and then split the acreage. Not sure how well it would work, but maybe a thought.
 
You guys all nailed it. No doubt in my mind you will never regret it. Be able to weather ups and downs in the market and keep plugging, long term you will be in great shape. Most people usually end up blowing their $ on something so land is really a forced way to save/invest. I 100% feel comfortable buying land right now. The only land I wouldn't buy right now is maybe the $9,000-$15,000 tillable. Beyond that, a good mix, you will be absolutely in great shape long term. Don't care if things go down a little or whatever short term, I'm buying more. Best earthly thing (investment or whatever category you want to call it) I've ever done with my money, hands down. If you take advice from the guys who actually pulled the trigger and purchased land, I think you're going to have a hard time finding anyone who will tell you they regret it. Maybe they didn't like the piece cause the neighbors sucked or something but they will sell that and buy elsewhere. The general idea of buying land, after a guy has done it, no way you'll regret that. Good luck.

On the flip side, if someone tried to talk me into hunting on "permission" or even leased land now - oh man, that would be an incredibly hard pill to swallow. 10x harder than the pill I swallowed to buy land. I loved hunting way too much to constantly be frustrated with the crap I used to deal with on all the permission land I hunted, or even the public when I was young - what a headache. I started with zero to my name, graduated college with a small student loan. Did the public land hunting thing and my mom (when she was a single parent) even leased us boys a 5 acre piece of woods to hunt as we had no where to go. Life's too short for the fall season to be a headache when you can have the enjoyment when you own it. Owning land has its headaches and challenges as well but I'll take them any day of the week vs anything else.
 
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Over the past 45 years that I have actually made more than I absolutely needed to spend, the only investment that has yet to (sooner or later) bite me in the a$$ is land. If there is any way to swing it, do it. If it looks like there is no way to swing the deal, do it any way. I can remember when land (next to where Kiskys are now) was a few hundred bucks an acre and thought, "maybe I should but it would be tough" & I didn't! STUPID!!! Do it, even if it hurts a little now. 10 or 20 years from know you will not be sorry!
 
Right or wrong I put 10% of my gross income into a 401k and 10% into a liquid savings account. I learned to live off of 80% net income.I saved for awhile and came up with my 20% down. I looked for property that had the combo of crp, tillable, timber and running water. Obviously, the income from the crp and/or tillable helps offset your mortgage, taxes, or helps with improvements. Once I purchased, to diversify a bit, I reduced my 401k contribution to 5% and began placing 5% into an account to pay my land note. I am one year from owning my farm free and clear. I know there a thousand other strategies but that's how I did it. Hope it helps and good luck. Purchase as soon as you can afford it, prices will only climb.
 
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Thanks again for all that have posted, this is exactly what I love about this site, above all others!

NEMOHUNTER- The down payment part isn't my main concern...it's the uncertainty that the future holds. I do understand that as long as I do my research and buy it right I should be ok if something unexpected happens.

JRNBRNC- Being able to live on the land would make the decision much easier IMO but I live and work in the Linn/Johnson county area. There just doesn't appear to be much available and what there is I wouldn't be able to justify the cost.

I don't mind the idea of purchasing some distance away if it means getting a better deal per acre. Lots of great insight/ideas so please keep them coming!
 
QDM, the only guarantees in life are death and taxes, and you're correct you never know where the real estate market is headed. But, historically it does extremely well if you jump in for the long haul. During the 2008 market crash my 401k took a big ding but rec ground held steady. Every time I hesitated to buy thinking prices would decrease, they didn't! Good luck.
 
QDM said:
Thanks again for all that have posted, this is exactly what I love about this site, above all others! NEMOHUNTER- The down payment part isn't my main concern...it's the uncertainty that the future holds. I do understand that as long as I do my research and buy it right I should be ok if something unexpected happens. JRNBRNC- Being able to live on the land would make the decision much easier IMO but I live and work in the Linn/Johnson county area. There just doesn't appear to be much available and what there is I wouldn't be able to justify the cost. I don't mind the idea of purchasing some distance away if it means getting a better deal per acre. Lots of great insight/ideas so please keep them coming!
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Things can be a bit uncertain, my dad and I have bought 4 different farms, we've kept one that we will always have and the other one we have now will probably be sold after we make some improvements to it an we'll buy another. The 2 we've sold so far we've made good money on and enabled us to step up to bigger properties through 1031 exchanges, these properties are my retirement plan. One thing that's not uncertain with land is if one day you have 100 acres your still going to have it the next day, and it will normally appreciate, the stock market is where I see the most uncertainty, one day you may have 10k in the stock market and the next day it might be worth 8k. You'll get a lot more use out of the land than you will money in a bank or stock market, this is just my opinion.
 
Retirement is what I am doing also. Would rather put my money in something I can use rather than a stock. I look at each acre as a share of stock.
 
Do it, Do it, Do it......you WON'T regret, you'll only wish you would have done it sooner.....Don't give up on land close to home. Place a small ad in your local paper and on craigslist. Explain your situation/ needs. Buy the local plat books. Go on google/ Bing aerials, look for small pieces of timber/rough ground ....find out who owns it and send them a letter......It's a lot of fun, hard work but can pay off...you just don't know until you try. ...I love to find "Black Holes" on aerials.....small patches of timber/cover surrrounded by crop and or CRP.....every big buck in the area will eventually cruise in looking for does........Also, look for areas with few roads. Land at the end of a deadend road can sometimes be good because it limits escape options for poachers AND if your land is the only land at the end the county will put up a gate for you at their cost......good luck....time to get started !
 
I love having my land but it can be the most frustrating thing. I have very bad neighbors and can be the most dangers place in the world to be. Bought my land in 1999 from a farmer that was being forced to sell from his bank and he has blamed me ever since. I am lucky that it is close to where i live and can go all the time. But here are a few things that have went along with ownership..30 flat tires in one month, hunters walking down my fence line with 45's shooting into my place to get deer running, hunters saying a deer was shot cant stop them have 6 friends on otherside to drive deer out, have to spend shot gun season on gravel road watching my place or they will drive it, one neighor twice pointing gun at me...I could go on and on..Yes the land has went up in value but I thought I would have more rights as a land owner then I do. The worst thing is the deer hunting today is worst then when I bought it and I have worked so hard to improve it.
 
Be patient and find EXACTLY what you're looking for and buy as much as you can afford. By far the best investment out there...plus you get to enjoy it. How could it get any better than that?
 
Long term I don't think you can go wrong buying land. I only have 3 regrets: I didn't buy sooner, I didn't risk more at the time and buy a bigger farm, and that I took on partners.
IF AT ALL POSSIBLE BUY YOUR FARM ON YOUR OWN. By a smaller farm, get another job, be patient and save more money etc. etc. Do what what you need to do afford it on your own.
 
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