Absentee owners & land purchase

MariaAZ · #1 04/04/08, 08:02 PM

DH and I were talking about our plans to purchase land for retirement. I have family obligations that make the chances of moving anytime in the near future pretty much zilch, and I stand very firm on this issue. The real estate market where we live is starting to pick up a bit, and we were thinking of maybe selling one of our rentals and purchasing some sort of acreage. Problem is, after reading about timber theft, squatters, etc. I wouldn't want the property to sit unattended especially since we'd probably be looking at something that's a good 1000+ miles away.

I know people aren't fond of absentee owners, but we are brainstorming ideas for what we could do to put some sort of oversight on the property. So here's the question; if you could purchase a small quantity of land (let's say under 40 acres, depending on the condition of the land) but you couldn't buy it close to where you currently live AND you knew you weren't going to be moving for many years, what would you do? How would you handle being an absentee owner?

Old Vet · #2 04/04/08, 08:15 PM

The best way to do this is to buy raw land and let one of the neighbors have use of it. Either pasture or woodlands. The only way I could have owenship in something like this is to have it to where I can go for vacation or at least for a weekend a couple of times per year. The neighbor to my right is a absentee landlord and he let the neighbor on the left use the land for hay. He makes verry little rent (about $1 per acre) so both of them have a bargain.

Mare Owner · #3 04/05/08, 12:15 AM

That is the way one owner around here does it, local farmers use the land and watch the place for him. It works great.

jassytoo · #4 04/05/08, 02:19 PM

We have land on the other side of the state. Its leased to a neighboring rancher who grazes cattle on it. It helps us 2 ways. They keep an eye on it and we also get to keep our ag. status which saves us a bundle on real estate taxes. We don't get over there very often ( its been almost 3 years ) but we hope to run it ourselves in a couple of years.

Ramblin Wreck · #5 04/06/08, 12:05 PM

I have two pieces of property some distance from where I live, and I tried to get to know the area/neighbors before buying. If you have good neighbors, it takes a load of worry off your shoulders. The idea of renting/leasing (as noted above) sounds like a good one too. Best wishes at finding something that works for you.

Common Tator · #6 04/06/08, 01:25 PM

If it had a house on it I would rent it out. That would get folks in it that would offset your costs, and give you tax deductions.

luvrulz · #7 04/06/08, 01:30 PM

We bought our property in 1998 and didn't move up here til 2003. We had someone bush hogging it in exchange for hunting on it and it worked out great. He kept an eye on it, his granny kept an eye on it - it was cleared when we came up to camp on it and it was a WIN WIN situation!!

indypartridge · #8 04/07/08, 05:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Vet

The best way to do this is to buy raw land and let one of the neighbors have use of it.

We have absentee neighbors. They have a cottage they use on occasional summer weekends, but that's it. The pasture we keep our horses on, the adjacent hayfield, and the surrounding 50+ acres of woods belong to them. We keep an eye their place, keep the frontage mowed, and make arrangements with local farmers to cut & bale the hay on shares. The property owner gets the ag exemption, we get the hay and use of the land.

Wisconsin Ann · #9 04/07/08, 06:04 AM

The land we bought was owned by a family who lived a couple states away and just used it for vacationing/hunting. The neighboring farmer was using the pasture/field part for corn/hay in exchange for rough cutting the lower parts. He also added it to his hunting areas. worked out pretty well for both people.

The realtor who sold the property to the people also kept a good eye on it in exchange for hunting morels. Now THAT was a good deal for the property owners. The realtors who handle farm/vacant land in a rural setting are a completely different breed from the city realty people. They're always roaming around looking for good places to list...they'll keep an eye on farms and make friends with the farmers....just in case one has some acreage down in a valley, or up on a hill, that might be too much trouble to farm but would be a GREAT home site.

Wisconsin Ann · #10 04/07/08, 06:12 AM

hmm. another thought on the realty. Once you select an area to search for land in, and find a realtor, ask HIM/HER what to do. They may have lease options to farmers, hunters, selective logging.

actually...around here (wisconsin farm land) it's not unusual to buy a 40 acre piece from a farmer and not move on to it until years later. Farmer keeps using it, tax free, gets a boost to his pocketbook, and you get a good neighbor. Just make sure there is a signed deal about his having to give it up when you move there. (a good realtor would take care of that for you)

fantasymaker · #11 04/07/08, 08:47 AM

Something else to remember is that the best deals seldom go thru a real estate agent .Good deals go to friends and relatives. Its hard to get the last status but if you visit the area a lot and make friends with the locals while telling them what your looking for you might get the friend level deal.