Pros and Cons of Acreage or Can One Have too Much?

[BillyP]

I have 20 acres, 48,000 sq ft of poultry houses and a 3,500 sq ft home. My property taxes run right at $1,000. I usually make enough off of hay to pay my property taxes. The good thing about the hay is the lady comes and cuts it, rakes it, bales it and writes me a check.

If it were in my budget and had the chance to buy 100 acres, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

[KubotaSteve]

Buy as much as you can or you could end up like a few people where I live. They only bought 5 acres and then a developer came in and bought the other 50 or 60 acres and put houses on 1/4 acre lots.
Consider the extra land an investment and the interest is tax deductible. There is nothing more relaxing than a nice walk through the woods.

 

[rockinmywaypa]

could Ted Turner [CNN] have too much?

 

[Jimbrown]

I do not think 20 ac is enough for the horse facilty you describe Unless you like living with the horses. Barn, round pin, stalls. turnouts. maneure pile, house, arena. Tack rooms, hay storage. Plus goats. You are going to be crowed.
I vote for 100ac. I have 80ac and wish I had more. But then agin my neighbor has 11,500ac and wants more.

 

[Bob_In_MN]

I grew up in a small town just SW of the Twin Cities (MPLS/St. Paul). Farmland is now selling for $15,000 an acre.

We moved north of the Twin Cities and purchased 7+ acres for what I could have purchased a house in a development on a quarter acre in my home town. I see the land prices continue to rise in my area. There's 20 acres next to me and the guy doesn't want to sell, but he doesn't want neighbors either so it works out OK. If he decided to sell, I'd buy it, but even 27 doesn't seem like a lot once you are used to space. As most everyone else has mentioned, you really can't have too much land. The 7 we have now just seems like a nice little buffer from the rest of the world. I'm looking for more (50 at a minimum).

I would rather have a small house on 100 acres than a big house on 5.

Bob

 

[5030]

Here is my angle on the subject of land....

God isn't making any more. What there is is all there is. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif If you can afford to buy it, buy as much as you can conceivably afford. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Real estate is the best investment you can ever make. Even vacant land never depreciates in value. It only increases. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

If you want to really know about the value of land, just ask someone from Hawaii. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

 

[AndyM]

<font color="blue"> Real estate is the best investment you can ever make. Even vacant land never depreciates in value. It only increases. </font>

MOST real estate goes up in value. We sold our last house for over twice what we paid for it. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

There are exceptions though. I know of an entire neighborhood in Youngstown where you would be happy if you got $5000 for your house! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[AndyMA]

In NE Conn where my farm is I have 76+ acres. Half of that could never be built on due to wetland restrictions. It's being taxed at the lowest catagory but still runs me about $2400/ year. I have to keep the use the same for 10 years or else I have to pay the back taxes plus pentaly for all the prior years if I change usage. That said I'd have a few hundred acres if I could. Obtaining liability insurance is also a problem on large or vacant land.

Andy

 

[AndyM]

<font color="blue"> God isn't making any more. What there is is all there is. If you can afford to buy it, buy as much as you can conceivably afford.

Real estate is the best investment you can ever make. Even vacant land never depreciates in value. It only increases.
</font>

Is this why the federal government owns 30 percent of the land in this country? You go out west and that number climbs much higher. They own 87 percent of the land in Nevada, for example.
They continue to increase this percentage each year too! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[rockyridgefarm]

You can buy 100 and sell 60...

You can buy 100 and see how it feels...

Goats will do a lot to keep it tame (I have about 30)

Horses are a royal pain without plenty of land.

You would also have room for a tbn proving grounds. Hosting the annual tbn convention would be a real honor.

Buy 200. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif