Buying land just for the sake of buying land?

[Nick Leduc]

Anyone own land just to own land? With no intent on using it anytime in the near future? Looking around the country, there is some cheap land. I know it's cheap for a reason. Water/resources/proximity to things.

But the prices are tempting.

 

[Deleted member 67409]

Land is cheap but peasants cost extra.

 

[Drix]

I've often been tempted, but in a cost benefit scenario generally I don't see the benefit. If you're not going to use it you're rolling the dice on it being more valuable than what you paid + taxes when you're ready to get rid of it, which isn't always the case.

 

[Broc]

Anyone own land just to own land? With no intent on using it anytime in the near future? Looking around the country, there is some cheap land. I know it's cheap for a reason. Water/resources/proximity to things.

But the prices are tempting.

The price is cheap ... fine. So what?

What is your end goal? Sell it for a profit 10, 20, 30 years later?

How long will it take to sell?
Will you actually make a profit?
What will that profit be? 5%, 10%, 50%?

If the end goal is to make a profit, wouldn't it be better to put that money in a ROTH 401K or any other investment account?

If the goal is to use as SHTF ...
will you really use it?
How will you get there?
What resources does it have?
How will you prevent other people from being there before you arrive and how will you deal with them?

Or is your goal to just throw money at it for the sake of saying you own land without any idea or future plan?

Without any idea as to what you will do and not being close enough to use it, in my opinion, it is just a waste of money.

 

[Spanz]

Anyone own land just to own land? With no intent on using it anytime in the near future? Looking around the country, there is some cheap land. I know it's cheap for a reason. Water/resources/proximity to things.

But the prices are tempting.

when my brother was alive, there were tax auctions going on in Colorado. If you do not pay tax for four years, i think it was, they auction off the rights to your land. but there is a long holding time where the owner can "buy back" the land if he just pays the back taxes, and you lose out (if i recall, you DO get YOUR money back then)

there were some fair sized ranches coming up out there, lots of 3-5 acre, 10 acre, some 50 acre, and some even bigger plots. was tempted, but jeez, what do i need a plot of land 2000 miles away for. and now that he died, half the reason for going out there is gone now.

the key was to buy a property at tax auction cheap, then hold it for the grace period hoping that the original owner did not pay off the back taxes. Kind of like buying scratch tickets in the lottery, for a 1 in 40 chance of winning

People would get water and a septic tank going, put up a small garage with electricity, and boom, move an RV there for the week and you had a hunting lodge!

What Happens If I Don't Pay Property Taxes in Colorado?

If you fail to pay your property taxes in Colorado, you might lose your home after a tax lien sale.

www.nolo.com

not sure if other state have a similar scheme, but it was a cheap way to become a "land baron". Literally for tying up say $3000, you might end up with a huge plot of land, and maybe some buildings on it too.

 

[Spanz]

issues with out of the way land are:
is there an electric pole within a reasonable distance?
is there a county road nearby you can make a driveway from?
Is said road plowed in the winter, or otherwise maintained. Road maintenance is pretty expensive if you are the only one doing it.
And in places like Colorado...IS THERE water you can drill a well to? There literally might not be, even 3000' down. Or it might be chock full of nasty natural chemicals/metals.
if you are an older dude, how close is the nearest hospital, home depot, food market? If you have a heart attack, waiting an hour for an ambulance to show up sux bigtime.

 

[VTski4x4]

Sorta. I bought a ton of land in Maine because the price was right and the taxes are super low. I'm very young and won't be able to build anything on it for years to come, but for now I can hunt and shoot on it, camp, or do whatever the F I want with it. When I have the money, I'll build my retirement home and enjoy it. Would I love to be able to do more with it now? Sure. Do I regret the purchase, hell no.

 

[jkelly1229]

Idk find a local development that has plots for sale...wait for them to build the other lots... turn around and sell

 

[TrashcanDan]

They're not going to make more land.

If the goal is to scoop something up and sit on it for 20 or 30 years, go for it.

One of the guys here bought 47 acres in Maine 30 years ago for....................12 grand?
Sold it last month for 600 grand. A lot can happen in 30 years. Must be near some ski area.

 

[76Too]

I’m in the process of trying to buy a house just for buying a house. It’s two streets away from me and already has a tenant in a lease.

I can pay cash for it and not be left with much else in savings...just enough of a safety net in case something catastrophic happens. If the deal works out, I’ll have an extra $1100 a month (taxable) income, and my money will be ‘safe’ in a time when there’s not many good places left to put money...at least not for dummies like me that don’t know squat about investing.

With my ‘extra’ income, I’m vowing to up my pre-tax contributions to my 401k and let the professionals at Fidelity handle the investing for me.

So basically (as far as I know), I’ll be responsible for the tax on the home, capital gains, and any repair/maintenance items on the home. LAND seems much easier, because there’s no tenants and virtually no repairs that you have to worry about.

If it were me, I’d be looking for a place with a building or two and/or at least have electric hookups. That gives you the option of putting a camper there so you can at least get SOME use out of it.

 

[bondsman333]

Only if its in driving range (4-6 hours).
Would be nice to have a dozen acres somewhere I could camp, shoot, do my own thing. Build a shack or get a couple shipping containers and just enjoy the great outdoors for a week or two a year.

I'm not sure I'd get on a plane for it though.

 

[M125X]

Ask Bill Gates, he’s the largest farmland owner in the US.

 

[ReluctantDecoy]

I'd be concerned with three things: Local Zoning, carrying costs, and upkeep. If it's a long term play, you really need to understand the local jurisdiction's long term zoning plans. Imagine buying something to potentially build a house on and 5 years later it gets swept into the fringe of an industrial zone? Carrying costs would be real estate tax, liability insurance (unless you're a gambler) and potential grounds keeping to keep inspectional services violations off your back. I'd also not want to buy without a clean 21E or similar environmental report.

 

[boiler_eng]

Ask Bill Gates, he’s the largest farmland owner in the US.

I would say that random land and farmland are two very different things.

If someone let me in on a large farm deal I would be all for it, but buying up small sections bit by bit has got to be very expensive. You can buy 2000 acres for a lot less per acre than you can buy 20 acres if the quality of land is equal.

 

[JRRC]

They aren't making more.... BUT the good lots are gone. Most everything is wet, needs to be blasted, and utilities to far away.

 

[Dante231]

I don't know if you guys have looked at prices in New England recently . . . land is not cheap!

 

[VTski4x4]

I don't know if you guys have looked at prices in New England recently . . . land is not cheap!

I beg to differ, you just need to know who to talk to. My plot is 7mi to a major ski area in Maine, and I paid less for 100 acres than what people are asking for half an acre 5min down the road.

 

[Dante231]

I beg to differ, you just need to know who to talk to. My plot is 7mi to a major ski area in Maine, and I paid less for 100 acres than what people are asking for half an acre 5min down the road.

within the past 12 months? Prices for land in NH, VT and ME are as ridiculus as the prices in the classified

 

[VTski4x4]

within the past 12 months? Prices for land in NH, VT and ME are as ridiculus as the prices in the classified

Just closed on an additional parcel last week that abuts what I bought 3 years ago.

 

[FiremanBob]

How to successfully buy land:

1. Find some land and buy it through a corporation.
2. Contact your congressman or senator and tell him that you'll give him a 15% interest in the company that owns the land if he gets a bill passed to create a federal project on or abutting the land, making you both rich.
3. After the bill is signed, sell the land for a fortune. Be sure to contribute the federal maximum of $2700 to your "representative's" next campaign.

 

[cathouse01]

My college economics professor always said land was the only thing in truly limited supply. Can’t make more of it (at least not in quantity) and can’t find more of it (the world has been completely mapped).

ETA One other thing he said was to make sure you get the mineral rights when you buy land, particular out west or anywhere they are doing fracking.

 

[NavelOfficer]

There could always be oil, gold or other rare earth elements in that land. Always worthwhile to have some place to grow your own, if/when it comes to that.

 

[VTski4x4]

Some states like Maine also have great laws that make insurance on the land unnecessary. Of course if you have a house you'll want it, but unlike some states, if some a**h*** decides to go hiking on my property and breaks their leg, I have zero liability.

 

[Nick Leduc]

I'm just thinking that at some point, the human race and/or the US population will far exceed the lands ability to support everyone. Look at areas 30 years ago that were nothing and are now booming. No matter how far things are from civilization, civilization will expand to those points IMHO.
It's just how long it will take to reach that point.

I know some farmers back in MA that made an absolute fortune selling land that they bought for nothing when it wasn't worth anything.

But I am aware of the long term cost for the land and potential that it could be worthless forever.

 

[Irish65]

Crappy land is still cheap.... Because it's crappy. Good land as multiple posters above have defined it, used to be cheap but isn't anymore.... It's actually really expensive, if you can find it. It's also really helpful to have cash.... Financing raw land is not easy.

 

[Deleted member 67409]

I'm just thinking that at some point, the human race and/or the US population will far exceed the lands ability to support everyone. Look at areas 30 years ago that were nothing and are now booming. No matter how far things are from civilization, civilization will expand to those points IMHO.
It's just how long it will take to reach that point.

I know some farmers back in MA that made an absolute fortune selling land that they bought for nothing when it wasn't worth anything.

But I am aware of the long term cost for the land and potential that it could be worthless forever.

Predicting suburban sprawl is different from buying 100 acres of pine trees in northern Maine. Farmers in southern New England cashed out thanks to increasing white flight from cities spurring suburban sprawl, aided by the Interstates and other highways, and because their families either didn't want to take over or preferred the cash.

Some parts of the country simply aren't ever going to become very valuable, where the nearest economic hub is three, four, five hours away. Think about it this way - no one's buying up houses dirt cheap in Berlin, NH, expecting the city to become a tourism mecca like Conway. There's no economic future up there for the foreseeable future.

 

[Bt74]

I'm just thinking that at some point, the human race and/or the US population will far exceed the lands ability to support everyone. Look at areas 30 years ago that were nothing and are now booming. No matter how far things are from civilization, civilization will expand to those points IMHO.
It's just how long it will take to reach that point.

I know some farmers back in MA that made an absolute fortune selling land that they bought for nothing when it wasn't worth anything.

But I am aware of the long term cost for the land and potential that it could be worthless forever.

I grew up In SoCal. I remember my folks talking about having a chance to buy some land about 2 miles inland from the ocean. $300 an acre, but you had to buy a 10 acre plot. My folks said" no power, no water, just a bunch of sagebrush, who would ever live here?" That was in 1960....fast forward to 1975, the area was covered in houses on 1/8th acre plots. When I left in 1985, the roads were gridlocked, car dealerships and strip malls were everywhere. Have some vision. What appears to be worthless today, may be worth a fortune 20 years from now. Bought a sandpit in Epping NH with my BIL (123 acres) back in 1993 for $58,500 from the Resolution Trust when they took over a bunch of banks, sold it 12 years later for $550,000 , buyer did a paper subdivision and sold it 2 years later for $2,000,000. Now it's covered in $650,000 houses.

 

[JRT]

Gold, Bitcoin and Land.

 

[dcmdon]

I'd be concerned with three things: Local Zoning, carrying costs, and upkeep. If it's a long term play, you really need to understand the local jurisdiction's long term zoning plans. Imagine buying something to potentially build a house on and 5 years later it gets swept into the fringe of an industrial zone? Carrying costs would be real estate tax, liability insurance (unless you're a gambler) and potential grounds keeping to keep inspectional services violations off your back. I'd also not want to buy without a clean 21E or similar environmental report.

One comment re insurance.

If you have undeveloped land in current use in NH, the state indemnifies you if you allow the public to trespass on it.

Also current use essentially eliminates taxes. A $200k piece of land will have in the area of $100/yr property taxes.

 

[dcmdon]

They aren't making more.... BUT the good lots are gone. Most everything is wet, needs to be blasted, and utilities to far away.

That's not true at all. A good friend just bought 38 GORGEOUS acres in Campton NH. 3 acre field with views in the middle of the 38, on a state maintained and plowed dirt road. The driveway is about 1000 ft, so its going to cost him about $30k to put in electricity, figure another $20k for a well.