Small Ranch Purchase Opinions

[Hooverfb]

Do it. If you dont like it, sell to me for a discount since it wasnt so good but for real, as long as you're not harming yourself with debt, cant hurt. Only if it fits right though, dont want to get it and just feel like you missed something else.

[mrpetera]

We bought 100 acres in October 2018. So far I don’t have any regrets. The family loves going out and we saw plenty of deer year one. Last season was different, but I blame the acorns as we have about 70 percent oak trees.

We talked about waiting and my wife reminded me the kids and us aren’t getting any younger. If we wait we will miss creating some great family memories.

We are 1.5 hours from the place and get to enjoy it often. To me, time to the place is key as busy as life gets sometimes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wingnut]

Interest rates are extremely low right now! But it and enjoy it. Later if you want a bigger property, sell yours and get a bigger property.

[double bogey]

Consider it your starter property. Keep it a few years and sell to get a bigger place. That's how lots of people move up size in real estate. Or keep lookin.

[PassnItOn]

Just bought 94 acres in McMullen county. Had some of the same concerns but no regrets so far. Plenty of deer and a few decent bucks, the wildcards you see during the rut are what makes it fun. Turkey, hogs, dove and quail a big plus. It is pretty rough but that is what I wanted. Making it special is the fun part. Regarding the size, start with what you can afford, improve it and expand or sale and move on to something bigger. This one may be up for sale in about 4 years and it will be an absolute gem!

[Tony Pic]

Nothing like YOUR own piece of land. The longer you wait. EVERYTHING gets more expensive. It bites that Real estate is not like a car dealer where you can add options that it does not have. Real estate comes as is. Life is not getting any longer, and better to regret the things you did, than the things you didn't do. I hunt small parcels and are successful. 78 acs should be enough for you to make magic upon. It all changes when you own it. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Darton]

As mentioned earlier, interest rates will NEVER be this low again! Don’t procrastinat and don’t over think it, or a guy like me will make the decision for you For me, it’s been a life changing decision and one that I only wish I had made sooner! Good luck and be BOLD

[PROD49]

It's all about location and neighbors. I have a small place and covered up in Axis, I have a few young 10's running with lot's of potential.

[30-30]

It seems to me folks who have only ever leased someone else’s property always want big acreage when they decide to buy.

No matter the size of a property, there’s always more work that could be done than you will have the time/funds to handle. Shredding, fence upkeep, fallen tree removal, road maintenance, brush control, seeding, spraying, tractor repairs/maintenance, tree trimming, etc. On top of any improvements you want to make (bunkhouse, barn, skinning shed, cooler).

78 acres in a prime location is plenty. I promise you could(will) burn through any excess in your budget on improvements very quickly.

[sharpstick35]

It’s low fence all around.
I thought about going to the hill country to get axis and hill views but the drive is pretty long

almost all of my neighbors are from the Houston area, but they don't come out but a few times a year.

[TransPecos]

I just sold 35 acres I’ve had for 12 years. On smaller places, you are either playing or hunting, but usually not both on the same weekend. My boys loved tooling around on our golf cart, but it would blow all the game off the place for the weekend.

[Heath]

Read through this thread. https://discussions.texasbowhunter.c...d.php?t=668630

Lots of fun packed into 81 acres. And if life takes a change can always sell and revisit wants/needs in property later.

Lots of great memories and hard work right there!

When I was looking for a small place, I wasn't as concerned with acres since acres hunt way different. Here is what I was looking for....

Good access - No easements
Electricity on site as I didn't want the extra cost of running it
Water - Had to have a creek or tank
All huntable brush - I didn't want wasted acres
Bigger neighbors - I saw the word ranchette and I was out
Under $300K (all in after improvements) - I was told this is about max for 1st time land buyers.
Good layout - Didn't want have to put camp in the middle of the place. Don't forget to think about wind direction
Location - It had to be within my circle of counties I drew

Even though my budget was $300K Max, I kept my searches to $500K just to know what the market was. Once you find the place, do a search for all the properties with the same price range and/or acres to see how it compares to what is on the market. Same thing when you are selling.

For me, I was still in my research phase when I found the place I bought. I honestly was about a year away from being in the spot I wanted to be but I jumped on the opportunity when it checked all my boxes. My thought the whole time was to find a smaller place, fix it up, sell it, and buy bigger and keep the process going. I also thought about what a future buyer would want or how they would look at the place when I did put it on the market. I had to jump on the property earlier than planned, but I made it work and very proud of how it turned out. I also sold it way earlier than I planned when I got the job offer to move to San Antonio and would be 5 hours away.

As far as the 80 acres, it was a fun place to hunt. I made sure to have a big blind so I could fit 3 adults in and made it our main hunting spot. I put multiple feeders on the place I could see from that blind. Off each feeder, I had a bow setup (one for north wind, one for south wind). I had a way to enter my property on wind direction as well depending on which bow stand I was going to hunt. We had rounds all the way around the perimeter and through the place, so we could crush for pigs or just ride around. If you are looking to kill trophy deer, go get on a high dollar lease. If you are looking for a fun place to hunt you can share with friends and family this may be thing for you.

We saw plenty of game. We would be watching the ball game, cooking, have a good time and I would go shine the spot light on the food plot 75 yards away from the cabin and it would be covered up with animals at night.

In all, it was a great experience. I spent double what my budget (improvements) was and I under estimated the work but in the end, I turned over the keys to somebody else and was really proud of the effort. It was as piece of raw land and I turned it into a turnkey property. I would not get caught up in the size of the land if it checks your boxes.

[Honker]

I felt like I was settling when I bought 62 acres, but its been more than enough to keep me busy.

I made it a point to meet and make friends with my neighbors. I worked a deal to lease the hunting rights from my neighbor last year on an add'l 250 acres.

If the 78 acres has everything you want (other than size), I'd snatch it up and and put down roots. Befriend your neighbors and the locals...I suspect you'll be happy.

[wudduk]

I have 100 acres close to my house. My son killed his first deer, turkey, rabbit, and dove on this property. More memories and fun than you can imagine. So far this turkey season, my son has killed 3 gobblers off of it and I have killed 1. Helps that I have good neighbors.

[ken800]

Buy what you can afford if you like it. I would love to have 400+. I can't afford it so I settled on 65.