Finding Cheap, Small Acreage in the Country
One of the websites that I have been visiting lately is a virtual community over at city-data.com. They have a nice forum for people who are interested in learning more about Texas (or any other state). I saw an interesting question the other day:
“Why is it so hard to find small acreage for sale?”
I think it depends on what you are looking for. Obviously, in the metro areas, you’ll find small lots (smaller than an acre) for sale, or maybe a couple of acres. However, when looking for country land, your objective probably is to get more than one acre, if possible. So, this reminded me of a little story (from the book, Country Property, Dirt Cheap) I read recently about a guy who asked that very same question. I took some liberty and added some authentic Texas flavor to it:
Snobbish City Man (SCM): Hey dude, why IS it so hard to find small acreage for sale in the country?
Texas Rancher (TR): Howdy, well, there are a number of good reasons why any good Rancher worth his salt don’t wanna break off a small part of his holdings.
SCM: Like what?
TR: For one, many people who live in the country don’t want neighbors, they like being away from others, especially city folks.
SCM: Actually, that’s one of the reasons why I am looking for land. I like being out where no one is. I’m tired of the city life.
TR: There’s another thing. State law limits how many times I can break a parcel into small pieces before I have to contend with local sheriff and the subdivision laws.
SCM: I never thought of that.
TR: Then there are the expenses.
SCM: But you’d incur some expenses in any sale, regardless of the size of the land.
TR: True, but with a small parcel, there’s not enough profit. If I sell a large parcel to you for $120,000, I’d make some money. But if I sell a small parcel for $5,000, it’s not worth the time and the trouble. That’s not all…
SCM: Oh Gawd, What else?
TR: Son, many of the ranches around here have been owned by the same generations. Over the years, a man gets mighty attached to the land. His pop and his daddy–all probably fought and died for it. Just down yonder, in Harper, a mother lost half her children to the Kiowa Indians in 1886. Can you imagine that? You’d think she’d curse the land. Probably want to leave the godforsaken place. But, she sweated and bled so many years trying to make a living off it that she was not going to quit. It becomes almost like a part of the family, your right hand. For instance, take my ranch. In 1892, that’s over a hundred of years ago, my grandpappy built the farmhouse we live in, and he cleared with his own hands the land that we still till. My dad was born in this farmhouse, and I wouldn’t sell off a square foot of this land.
TR: Beautiful country.
TR: A man can still get lost out here, forget there’s people and things that ain’t so simple as this.
TR: I’d die for it. In this day and age, how many people would say that about their home?
SCM: Well, I just wanted to buy a small piece of…
TR: Son, buy a big ranch from someone who is retiring, a ranch with some valuable tillable ground, as well as some rough land or timber. Then sell off the cropland, but keep the timber for yourself. Or, rent out the cropland for a few years before you sell it.
SCM: But I don’t have enough money to buy a big piece of land.
TR: Well, then find someone who has recently bought a large ranch…160 acres or more, maybe. The new owner won’t have any special feelings towards the land, and if he’s already farming or ranching the other land, maybe he wont’ need the buildings. He might be willing to sell off the barns, along with a few acres.
As you can see, it’s an interesting idea. What if you found someone who also wanted to buy a small parcel? Get a group of like minded individuals together and then you can all purchase a big ranch and then split it up. By combining your resources, you could take advantage of the fact that large parcels are easier to find than smaller parcels.
But, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Keep watching this blog and I’ll tell you why it’s actually more difficult in the long run…and a bad idea based on my own experiences running a small business.
April 13th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
[...] less than 20 acres, $3,000 or more per acre was the asking price. In other words, as stated in my little story of the “Texas Rancher and the Snobbish City Man”, the greater the number of acres in a [...]
August 16th, 2007 at 11:29 am
I have 2.5 acres in a rural area about 30 miles from PHOENIX, and on the outskirts of a very small town. I don’t know what you mean by cheap, but it’s a nice piece close to a wash on one side so that no one can build to the north of us. We have dogs and that is their playground. We are not in any part of the wash and enjoy the view of the mountains from our back yard. The surrounding area is growing fast but no one else can come any closer to us. Our little town of Witmann, Az 85361 has 1 traffic light and 2 country stores. Other than that we have a very small community center and that’s it. Take a look at our website.
September 7th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
Beautiful spot for horses and 1 or 2 homes…..acreage is already split and fenced……horse property. Huge water well across the street. Nice neighborhood….block watch. Located on the outskirts of Wittmann, Az 85361.
Contact Lorene M Favrow 623-521-6687 (cell)
May 12th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
I have got undeveloped 2 land plots ,of each 1 acres in Texas, on different,but not far places about 1,5 hours from el paso , between Sierra Blanca and Van Horn. Going cheap