Need help of thought...Future investment in land for Farm/agriculture?

[Chicken7777]

Hello everyone, Coming to you guys again for assistance and support of thought.

Recently with how things have been with the economy( I know everyone knows that)
soo many things have changed. One thing in particular that has caught my attention has been land prices. I have noticed that land has lowered around my area, and one thing for sure is that land over here isnt cheap to come around. Recently I have been thinking if I should invest in land.
I have always wanted to have a type of farm to keep animals, have some crops and use it as family use. One thing though that is of concern is of course money but I am dong research to see if I can find something good around my area. I have seen land with 2 acres(way too expensive) and 5 acres to 40.

What I am wanting to know/ask and appreciate the help is...

1.How has land value been in your area with this economy??

2. What would you guys recomend in land amount? Minimum: ? acres Upto Max: 40 acres...
I would like to have of course..Chickens, some cows(is there an amount of land required for cows?)
goats, maybe some horses, and I would love to grow some fruit trees and some other crops.

If I could get all 40 acres in a property, I would but I also have to check on the price and distance.....Which comes to my last question...What do you think the maximum distance should be from my home? Max an hour?

I appreciate the help, suggestions, tips, and even recomendations from your past experiences!

Thank you soo much fellow BYC'ers!

 

[Chicken7777]

I would appreciate the help with this guys as I do have many things to think about if I would like to purchase some land in the future.

Thanks...

 

[HennysMom]

doesnt matter what the cost of land is until you find out what its zoned.

THAT makes all the difference in the world. Just because you have 5 acres or 50, if its not zoned properly for ag use..you cant put animals or crops on it.

So... better to check first before buying - also... make sure it perks before you purchase. Worthless land if it doesnt perk.

as far as the drive - thats totally up to you. No one can tell you how far to drive as each person is different. We currently live 65 miles away from my DH's job - he drives that each and every day, one way....but... we knew that going in and he wont work forever (hopefully) and we will be able to enjoy this place once he retires.

 

[Whispering Winds]

Yes, find out about zoning. Asking about electrical and water might be a good idea too, because if you want that many different kinds of animals, you will want some good water and lights, and you need to research where it will be coming from and what its going to cost you to have electricity run to your barn, as well as digging a well and probaby want a septic too, in case you want to build or camp there. . . .horses need 1 acre per horse where I am, don't know a thing about cows and their land needs . . . you know what ole' Will Rogers said about land . . ."buy all you can, because they ain't making it anymore!!" Check on taxes too, which if its agriculture will be very reasonable. I am in mid central Illinois, about 60 miles East of St. Louis. . . and farming and pasture ground, with a little timber is selling anywhere from $2800 an acre to $4000+. If you buy some farm ground along with your pasture, you can have someone plant and grow hay for you on shares for feed, which is a wonderful way to help take care of your needs . . .go to the courthouse and see what some of the farm ground in your area has sold for in the past year, because it has come down some with the economy being the way it is. I am realtor, and this IS a buyer's market for sure!!! Good luck!!!!

 

[HennysMom]

well = $15-20K for deep bore well - then you have the lines being run and hook up.

electricity.. YEOWZA - chaching there too.

If you're planning on living there (like building a house) then.. yep, you need to find out what it will cost TURN-KEY

if you're just planning on housing animals and living elsewhere - you still need a water and electrictiy source as well as zoning and permits.

Either way..its going to cost you quite a bit and banks usually will require quite a bit of $$ upfront, espeically now. Even though its a buyers market, its not a LENDING market and banks are requiring anywhere from 30-50% downpayment just for a house. If you want land, and then build, the old requirement was you had to have 5% equity in your land before you could roll it all in for building on. Now...it's more than that - around 20% equity or more.

Check, double check then triple check. Better have stellar credit too because its very hard to get loans now a days with this economy unless you have exorbitant amounts of good faith money up front.

 

[farmerlor]

I've noticed land prices going down in our area too. My advice, get as much as you can afford. They ain't making any new land these days and even if you never do anything with it, if this thing turns around you can sell it and make a profit. If it doesn't turn around you've got a place where you can grow your own food and camp out if nothing else.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
One thing to consider about any kind of investment: don't invest more than you're willing to lose. So unless this would be somewhere you'd move in the *real* near future, bear in mind all the sudden unfortunate surprises that can happen (even apart from changes in the market value of the property), both to the land itself and to you and your ability to utilize it.

2. What would you guys recomend in land amount?

To expand on what HennysMom very, very correctly says about 'it doesn't matter til you find out what it's zoned'... it also doesn't matter til you find out what the soil is like. Type of soil, how well it's been treated, and how the drainage is. (In fact I'd say that drainage is a *huge* issue, except in place where the issue is more water availability than drainage). A lot of land available cheaplly and/or in small amounts is not good cropland, and much is not well suited to livestock either, or can sustain only a fairly low stocking density.

Chickens, some cows(is there an amount of land required for cows?) goats, maybe some horses, and I would love to grow some fruit trees and some other crops.

You might want to add up the cost of all this. THe fencing alone gets pretty spendy; horses in particular are not cheap to keep either, in most places, and are not nearly as *easy* to keep safe and healthy and well-behaved as other livestock. And the upkeep on all them animals and crops adds up quite quickly. Not trying to discourage you, just want to make sure you've thought through the realistic aspects of this.

What do you think the maximum distance should be from my home? Max an hour?

Oh, wait, is this property to build/live on, or just to keep livestock without actually living there? If you don't live there and aren't going to have a caretaker, I'd say no more than 5 minutes if at all... even aside from animals requiring daily care and checking, there are an AWFUL lot of things that can be reeeealll problems if you are not there to notice and take care of them. Cows exit stage left in middle of night, horse colics or gets caught in fence, etc etc. Absentee livestock ownership does not usually work well except on a grand scale e.g. running cattle on thousands of acres.

Honestly, if you want to keep chickens and maybe a couple partly hay-and-grain-fed cattle, few goats if you want, and grow more than enough food for your family to eat, all you really need is 3-4 acres, and you could do it on less if you had to. But it would be awful hard to do on a part-time commuting basis, you'd pretty much want to *live* there.

Good luck,

Pat​

 

[Chicken7777]

Yea I am thinking that way as well with the expenses and responsibility, but I am wanting to know on if five acres should be enough to have animals in and have some crops, and if it is going to suit the needs of the animals as well.

I found a really good property which is zoned agricultural and the taxes are pretty good priced. It consists of five acres and its actually 30-40 minutes from where I live. That is pretty good because this is exactly what I want, which is have seperate land where people cant bother my privacy and that way I can have what I want. If I do buy land either 30-40 minutes away with 40 minutes is the max i am wanting; Ill be going to see the land and tending it with the animals everyday since it is close by....

Do you guys think five acres is a good amount of land for what I want? I honestly wont be building anything(besides a coops, stables for the animals in the future before I have them) on the land anytime soon if i do buy it.
I live in a residential area...even though around my neigborhood(even in our mall, lol) we see people who have horses in their land. This place has grown soo much these past few years.

I do want to buy some land, because I would love to have a small farm and keep the animals I want, where I want them, and grow the crops I want. I know everything is a little money here and there but I better start doing some more research.

If I do buy land I am going to start off small...first some chickens and then add some more animals from there. Im going to have that land prepaired and well tended for before any animals are brought in That way everything will be fine with the land and the animals.

 

[mistylady]

I think land is an excellent investment. You can grow some crops - even small ones - to save some grocery bills and you also kow you are eating good food not something abused by shipping and covered in pesticides.

But look into zoning before you buy anything and make sure your realtor knows you want to have livestock. If you can get a place with a well on it you will be in a good shape right of the bat! Also fenced is nice. But make sure the fence goes all the way around the place. Lesson learned : our front is fenced nicely and we assumed the rest was also. Once you get into the trees the fence is gone in most places or laying on the ground. Never assume anything! And taste the water before you buy. Some water can be downright gross tasting. You can get filters but that gets expensive.

Land around here has always been reasonable and it hasn't gone down. Here you need to make sure you have the mineral rights. And find out any utilty easements that are on it. Any mines nearby? They strip mine around here.

I would have the property so I could build a small home or put a trailer on it and move out there but thats just me. If you don't want to live there then I would be less than an hour from it. You want it close enough to town so that you can get to it on one tank of gas but not close enough for zombies to come out of town and walk to it and raid the garden and the animals.

Have fun looking! and good luck!

ETA - land size - we have 20 acres. Over half in trees. Most of the mowing is done by the goats and the flatter areas are mine to keep short. The hillsides panick me on the mower so those are dh's. I feel myself flipping over on the mower so I had an nice anxiety attack last year and now dh does the hills. We are now searching for a tractor and brush hog. Maybe one with a rollbar.

But 20 acres is a lot of land to keep up with and we leave the treed area alone. Also we have problems with hunters roaming all over the place.

 

[jnjross]

well to be fair land price where you are don't lose value , my parents lived in wimauma on 301 , and they were able to sell it for nearly double in 3 years, any improvement you do ie water , power , will give you a 30% boost in value.
if you plan to raise animals on it i would go more than 30mins one way or you just won't go out as often because of the drive.