Pros and Cons of owning large acreage.

   / Pros and Cons of owning large acreage. #21  
I'm with Byrd on the perc issue. We have red clay which doesn't perc very well and everything is going over to aerobic. It's worth looking into. I'd also bet with that much land you could find a spot that percs better than others. Most builders don't spend allot of time looking over the whole piece of land. It's not worth their time.

As for having more land, I have 300 acres and doubt I've seen ten percent of it. If I could afford more, I'd buy it. Land sitting still doing nothing, is still gaining equitity.

Good luck,
Eddie
 
   / Pros and Cons of owning large acreage. #22  
I have to agree with Poppa, there's a reason the developer would rather build on the smaller lot. Check the property out really well and take a hard look for any environmental restrictions, and don't rely soley on any local government officials. There was a couple near Seattle that had a signed letter from the local office stating that agency had no knowledge of any "wetlands" on their property. After hauling in tons of fill and leveling their land, some environmentalits raised a red flag and the couple ended up having to restore the wetlands. Appearently it was their responsibility to hire a professional to determine any environmental impact with their plans.
 
   / Pros and Cons of owning large acreage. #23  
The perc issue can costs lots of dollars very quickly. Years ago, Bird and I had a talk about his septic system. Seems like his
system cost something like 3-5K. In my area it would cost 20-30K.

Yes you saw that right. 20,000-30,000 dollars. Why? Its what the market gets for those systems. I sure don't see the costs in the system itself but its what the contractors are asking and getting. The higher end spectic systems require engineers and STATE inspections and permissions. More complicated and expensive but not 20,000 dollars expensive but that is what is happening...

On our land there are a small number of perc sites. Some good most bad. A developer would have problems making money off the land. I bet he can take the smaller parcel and make more money off of it than he can the larger one. We wanted land and don't want to sell it off so we only need a handfull of perc sites to do what we want and we have those sites so we are happy. So if our TBN member wants more land, can get a septic site where he wants to build and there are no other issues it can be a win win for the him and the developer.

I wish we could by another handfull of acreage to our south and west. If I could afford more land I would buy it if possible.

Later,
Dan
 
   / Pros and Cons of owning large acreage. #24  
So, been thinking about this. I think that the answer is yes, more land is almost always better. I have five acres and look longingly at the thirtyfive acres across the street. But, I think the important thing for this post is whether or not this is the RIGHT piece of land to get more of. Bad Perc, Possible wetlands considerations and a Developer ready and willing to exchange it for a smaller piece of property. These all come across as warning signs to me. Doesn't mean don't do it but it should definitely mean look into each possible problem and weigh the corrections.

I remember driving through Colorado about twenty years ago, long before I lived here. There were signs for miles along the highway talking about seventeen thousand acres for sale. I have often wondered what it would be like to own that much land. Would it be enough or would you look over the hill and see an adjoining piece that you would just like to have?

More is better in Horsepower, Land and beer. Not so good in mice, fleas and wives.

Mike
 
   / Pros and Cons of owning large acreage. #25  
Yeah, Dan, I still don't understand where the cost difference is, or why. My brother's aerobic system cost $5,000 in '96, mine cost $5,000 in '97, and a brother-in-law's cost $5,100 in '98. I do know that the "permit" in that county has since gone from $10 to $400 so I imagine the system is up around $6,000 total now, but don't know exactly. I just can't imagine why it would be so much higher in your area.
 
   / Pros and Cons of owning large acreage.
  • Thread Starter
#26  
Many thanks on the replies.
I will check with the county on Monday about tax liability.
I belive I can get by with only 2 acres and the home at the high residential tax rate the rest can be put into land use.
I just need to know what constitutes land use? Growing hay will be no problem and boarding horses but I am not sure that is enough.
Percs in general seem to be much harder to come by in this county very few conventional ones available, the system required here is called a Low Pressure Distribution, basically just like a conventional but with an extra tank and pump to ensure the affluent is dispuresed evenly.
The biggest issue on the surface for me is the spring (stream) that runs through the property it is close to the road frontage.
We had some very strong thunderstorms today so I plan on going out to check the land to see how it handles the water.
As far as why the developer would want to swap he says most buyers just dont want such a large parcel and the lot I currently own is in a prime location within the develpement this parcel is in the back and out of the way. I consider this a plus!!!
 
   / Pros and Cons of owning large acreage. #27  
Crown,

Will the lot have state roads? Or will they be private? That being said it opens up a whole lot of other issues with easements and service/maintenance.

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
   / Pros and Cons of owning large acreage. #28  
Just for thought. My wifes cousin owns 80 ac next to ours. He was here this weekend from NJ and bought another 120 ac 1/2 mile down the road.
 
   / Pros and Cons of owning large acreage. #29  
Any pics that we can drool over and help you to provide further encouragement? We have 30 and wish it was 300. On the land use, talk to the assessor, even if it is not used, or "set-a-side", it still might be considered significantly devalued if it is un developable, but the assessor is the one that is going to decide this. Usually, if you take the time out of your day to meet these guys, in a non-confrontational situation, they can be pretty informative and reasonable.
 
   / Pros and Cons of owning large acreage. #30  
My guess is that your builder/developer would not swap with you if he could subdivide further. It still may be a good deal if you have some use for the extra acerage. It could be a good investment--a lot of people like to buy large places in the country to keep horses, hunt, run their ATV's as well as small farming operations. If you have a good building site reasonably accessable with soil that will pass "perc" why not go for the larger lot. You can always have soil analyzed from various places on the property to determine sutibality for agiculture etc.
 
 
Top