About to take the dive and close on ten acres of woods.Thoughts?
 

So we are about to take the plunge. The option period ends on Monday and we close on the 15th of Sept. We are buying ten acres of woods (mainly Oak with a bunch of Poison Ivy and Greenbriar thrown in for good measure) in Central TX. The property includes an old but sturdy DW with all the necessary utilities in good order. Septic checks out, well tests clean. At the risk of unleashing a torrent of opinions, I ask the next question. What are some of the things we may not be thinking of to check out before we sign our life away to a life in the country? I feel like we are going into this with both eyes open but at the same time would love to hear from all of your experienced souls out there of things that maybe you forgot to check out or consider before you took the plunge. Thanks in advance!:bow:

what do you plan on doing with your property?

I would want to know if it is in a flood zone or sits on top of some chemical dump. (I would talk with the county officials about it before I bought it.)

Easements, to it or through it.

Oil and mineral rights too.

well flow, and does it go dry

What are the neighbors like?

Make sure you know the boundaries and that they are properly marked, and that a title search reveals no liens. Title insurance is probably a good idea also. I don't like easements as they take away some of your property and are a permanent thorn in the side. TTT

water, easements/right of ways...
we have coal mines here in PA which I did not want to live over, not sure what you have in your part of TX

If you haven't done so already, get a boundary survey made, with permanent irons and lots of flags. Eliminating any misunderstandings with the neighbors before you get to know them keeps it businesslike. (Then record them with pics for the future.)

geo

Flood plain?

Any endangered species?

Well, to update... Survey is good, Flood plain is nil, Mineral rights are non-issue, Endangered species not an issue, Well is good, also has co-op water. Only problem I see is that in addition to having lots and lots of trees, (which was a requirement) we would like to clear enough to garden and become more self sustaining. That means a lot of stump removal.:grump: We definitely have our work cut-out for ourselves.
I thank you all again for the suggestions. There were some in there I had never considered. Let the work begin!:clap:

Congrats! Don't burn the poison ivy/oak!
Something I would also want to know is if there are any low level flight training routes that the military uses over your property.

Also check with LCRA about proposed power line routes.

Find out if the back taxes are paid up and if there is an ag exemption already in place. If not, find out how long it takes to get it and all the requirements. Talk to neighbors and ask them about it too, not just the tax assessor people.

Hopefully ya'll have camped out there real often... to see what is actually there... otherwise, folks before me have mentioned the obvious... neighbors, water, nuclear power plants, airports, neighbors, commercial waste sites, did I mention neighbors?

Also, have a Title Insurance policy, with everything written out for you to look over up front.

3 or 5 years in Texas if there isn't an ag exemption in place, unless you are in an endangered species habitat, then you can get wildlife management exemption the first year.

Also if there IS an ag exemption in place, know that you have to file every year or lose it, and if you lose it they can come after you for 3 or 5 years worth of back property taxes at non ag exemption rates. And they come after you, not the previous owner.

Since you list as North Central Texas, I am guessing proximity to Ft Hood is not an issue.

Woods are beautiful, but gardens need sun. Raised beds might be a good choice for you. Watch where the sun falls, and where the water runs off after a big rain.

Clearing the poison oak will be a challenge. You'll likely need to do some regular spraying the first year or two. As mentioned above, you can't burn it. It's almost impossible to pull up (there's always more!) If you have children, it might be a challenge keeping them away from it.

I love this thread since I am looking to sell my land and possible buyers are so paranoid and negative. It helps me to see what they are (rightfully) worried about!
One thing not mentioned that I would worry about if I were a buyer is financing from the aspect of mortgages being sold and resold. If you have a prepayment without penalty clause with your original financing arrangement, can it be lost or tossed as your mortgage is bounced around?
I wish you luck on your purchase! Trees in Texas? Huh. I lived in Texas for awhile and I wonder where that might be? Hope it's really nice!

You must have lived in West Texas or the Panhandle. Trust me,there are lots of trees in Texas. But it's a Big State, with very different regions.

In addition to all of the above, put some thought into the clearing process. Is there marketable timber or firewood? That may help off-set the cost of clearing. If they log it, they make a BIG mess that will require a bulldozer to level off. The best way to deal with it is to have the trees pushed over with a big excavator, then deal with them on the ground. Stumps are harder to deal with once the tree is gone. Cut the branches and stumps off, then see if you can sell the trunks and larger limbs, or keep them for firewood. The brush and stumps get pushed into a pile to burn after they've dried out some.

I would spend the weekend searching everything you can. Does your area have GIS mapping? In some areas, GIS can tell you a lot about your property, from topography to soil type to crime statistics.

There is a pretty large lumber industry and 3 large national forests in Texas. To the tune of about a billion board feet of lumber a year logged.

Trees are pretty dense everywhere but the panhandle and far west Texas Desert if they haven't been cleared, and east Texas is basically one big forest.

As for clearing, it's a lot easier to knock trees down, than to deal with stumps...

The eastern part of Texas is heavily timbered... same kind of trees that grow in most of the South. I've got cypress trees 10' across, less than a mile away. Have oak trees below the house 3' through, and pines just as big (up to 100' tall). Think old growth hardwood forest.

Head out past the 100th meridian, and you're getting into the dry part of Tx and the trees start shrinking down to 'large' shrubs, except in draws and along streams and rivers.

well oaks are deep rooted so you might not have to take out as many as you think to garden..unless of course you are planning on row crops..you can garden among the forest trees ..pick up a copy of Gaia's garden or some other books on forest gardening.

you might only have to clear out some of the trees to get enough sunshine in..but depending on if you are gardening for your family or gardening for income..you might have enough rooom around your house to do most of your gardening..

i have mostly wooded areas around our house and i do most of my food gardening in some shade..and have a very smallish group of gardens that are in sunshine for fruit and flowers...and some annual vegetables...and perennial vegetables..but mostly i garden in some shade

post some photos if you can

Thanks again for the advice. Yes trees are prevalent. In some places too much so. But then again, I would much rather have trees than plains. I like the idea of forest gardening. I will have to check that out. Perhaps the lack of full sun could be an attribute in weather such as we are having now in the 100's for weeks now. For some photos you can check out the blog I started. Only the first four or five photos are from the land. The other one is off the internet. Wish us luck!:dance:

http://gettingout09.blogspot.com/

It looks like you've found a truly beautiful site. Good luck.

..............I'd want a list of Any deed restrictions , esp. any issues related too drilling "Your" own water well ! , fordy

.................What about Rollback taxes ? With only ten acres the Tax Nazis can reclassify your property too non Ag , reclassify and go back 5 years with much higher yearly property taxes . , fordy

One word of caution as to what trees you leave around your garden area. If you have walnut trees, your garden will not do well. (Seems there is something in the roots that negates the vegetables/fruits from doing well. My uncle had a beautiful English Walnut near his garden; and everywhere those roots extended, nothing he planted grew well. An agricultural agent told him it was the roots of that tree causing the problems.)

the more open woodlands that showed in your photos is a perfect example of the great place to start a food forest..some of the smaller trees that are in poor shape can be removed and replace with your understory food forest trees like fruit and nut trees.

it appears very open in the photographs, however, i'm aware that photos don't always show a true representation ..as i have taken photos and my woods looks a lot more open than it is as well.

i would be piling up some leaves and mulches in areas in the sunnier spots to prepare for your planting of your more permanent perennial food plants right away and also prepare a few partially sunny areas for some of your annual crops..of course i think you are in an area where a lot of things might be perennial there that are annual here in Michigan.

good luck