Ever feel like you’re never gunna own that hunting land you want?

[daniel craig]

These days it feels like the only way I’m going to be able to afford hunting land is if I inherit it. Even then, I don’t know about the property taxes. And who knows, by the time that happens the surrounding land might be developed property.

 

[.455_Hunter]

I sure won't own elk hunting land in any reasonable quantity. Luckily, we have lots of public land available for good hunting.

 

[jmorris]

For property taxes we do agricultural exemption, saves many thousands a year on the farm. If we can’t get that, we go for wildlife exemption, more work but still saves a lot. Even here at home, ag exemption on the land that buildings are not on saves $6,000 a year. I haven’t even tried to collect the $1 a year we charge the farmer to lease the land and bale hay. That’s about the easiest to because you don’t need a very good fence to keep them in and you don’t have to feed them when it’s cold and muddy.

Instead of doing things like everyone else, cook your food at home, drive paid for cars, don’t make payments on anything except the land you are wishing for.

Buy a new car, RV, boat, motorcycle etc every few years and pay interest on the things that will be deprecated to the point of throwing money away and paying $15 for a cheese burger or $50 for a sit down dinner every day and it’s a lot harder to dig out of a hole, unless you have a really big shovel.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Land is attainable. It takes longer for us millennials though. We are the first generation in many, many generations that have a lower standard of living than the generation that came before us. This is not said to discourage you but I know from your previous posts that you are probably 10 years younger than me.

My dad bought his land when he was 36. I am 38 now and just bought a much smaller plot than he has. I am more business savvy and have no kids though so that is how I was able to do it this soon.

Just stick with it. Nothing happens fast or free.

 

[Telum Pisces]

Some parents want to leave that generational land and others don't! Some kids want that generational land and others don't. I wish my parents or grand parents worked toward it. No one in my family valued land. I am trying my best to be the first in the family to start generational wealth in land etc... It's hard to do! But it's got to start somewhere. Even if it's a simply 10-20 acres for starters for the next generation to turn into 50 - 100 acres and so on and so on.

I'm 38 with three kiddos. I have been saving as much as my kids allow me to. Which isn't much. But I hope to have some land set aside once they are older to "come home too" etc...

I have an older friend and his kids want nothing to do with his 600 acres that he has. I somehow got to know him and me and my kids hunt and fish on his 600 acres. I keep up the land for him and we have hunting rights to it. That's the closest I am getting right now. I hope to have the same as him one day. But his land is generational from 5-6 generations before him. Used to be more. But as people pass, the heirs keep selling their portions! All they see is dollar signs and not leaving it to their kids etc... Sad really

 

[five.five-six]

As long as you are paying property tax, you don't own it.

 

[Rembrandt]

Buying for the express purpose of hunting can be a mistake....land purchases should be supported by the income generated from what the land can produce, hunting should be a secondary benefit to owning. Of course staying married with no divorce, no smoking, drinking, or drug habits will add substantially to the positive balance side of the equation.

 

[WestKentucky]

Hmmm not specific as to what game or location so I’m going sideways here. Where is the cheapest land per acre in the continental US? Once that is found, what is available to hunt there? If we have an arbitrary $100,000 to buy land, it might buy me 25 acres in TN or KY where I grew up and know the values. That’s woods with deer and turkey. Tn has possibility for bear and hogs, but likely not at that price point. Probably more like 15 acres in the areas I know of that have hogs and bear. It’s huntable, but it’s not big. Out west...? Perhaps a bigger chunk but what is there to hunt in cheap desert? Anybody got a handle on property values around $1000 per acre or less?

 

[Cypress]

That statement about millenials is pretty spot on in my book. I often give confused looks at my co workers who ask to come rape my land while they drive $50k trucks and laugh at my Ford Ranger pushing 350,000 miles. I don’t know if I should pity them or just continue hating them for being so ridiculously stupid. There is no free lunch. You have to decide what is important in life. Hell...I actually take pride in making that truck last to 350k. I guess I should have been born 100 years ago!

 

[earlthegoat2]

That statement about millenials is pretty spot on in my book. I often give confused looks at my co workers who ask to come rape my land while they drive $50k trucks and laugh at my Ford Ranger pushing 350,000 miles. I don’t know if I should pity them or just continue hating them for being so ridiculously stupid. There is no free lunch. You have to decide what is important in life. Hell...I actually take pride in making that truck last to 350k. I guess I should have been born 100 years ago!

I have just under 200k on my car now. I’ll most likely drive it into the ground but I have my eye out for a “new” one. You know, one from 2005 or so with around 100k miles I can get for $1500-2000. Haha.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Buying for the express purpose of hunting can be a mistake....land purchases should be supported by the income generated from what the land can produce, hunting should be a secondary benefit to owning. Of course staying married with no divorce, no smoking, drinking, or drug habits will add substantially to the positive balance side of the equation.

Well said. I once heard the key to wealth building is to not get divorced. Of course that is only one aspect.

The small parcel of land I have is primarily used for hunting right now. I make a paltry sum off leasing it out to a couple folks. In 20 years it will be harvested for pulp wood. Next year it will be utilized for my business.

I will tell you, once you start a business and build it up a bit, get a taste of a little success, nothing seems impossible. Land, running for office, paying off your house, buying more land. It’s invigorating.

 

[Random 8]

I used to feel that way. Was trying to buy land about 6-9 years ago. Market was down, and I had a stable income unlike many who were forced to sell their dreams. I was READY! 3 years in a row, a major system in my house failed, and my blood, sweat and tears of a down payment went to a costly repair. Lost out on 3 really great parcels that I was actively chasing. Took a year off from the search...it was breaking my heart. Spent my "land" money on building the wife's dream bathroom and some other light remodels of my house. Fast forward to Feb 2016. My wife was casually searching a listing site, and found 40 acres for a steal in Northern MN. We were going to the area to visit relatives, and dropped in to give it a look. Just shot a compass line due N and started walking from the access point. Halfway through, I had decided we WOULD buy this parcel. Something to be said for an "up" market, a cash-out refi easily netted the money needed to cover the full price and zero out a credit card or 2 at a really low interest rate. With the cost savings over the life of the loan, it was like they were paying me to buy land. The parcel is a blank slate, but well timbered. Like anything worth doing, time and hard work are needed to get it where it needs to be. Built a 12x16 off grid cabin onsite. Have since added an open air generator/pump shower, sand point hand pump well, privy/tool shed, and a Finnish sauna build is in progress. We have shot some deer on the property, but it's a work in progress. Coupled with some harsh winters, hunting is difficult. We've still been filling the freezer mostly from nearby paper company land. Besides just the hunting, it's our getaway. OUR place that WE built with our own two hands. It's a base to visit family in the area, explore fishing and other hunting opportunities, or simply unplug from the rest of the world. Worth every drop of sweat and counting. My advice would be to look at land prices around your state. Almost every state has remote/economically depressed areas with low land prices. Concentrate on an area that has low prices, the property taxes usually follow. A healthy dose of swamps or public land nearby will keep a lid on development. Be willing to look at outside the box properties that need some work. Poor access, brushlands, auctions, etc. Don't be afraid to go off-grid. The price of setting an electric meter and wiring for power will buy a lot of generator fuel. We really don't miss the electricity. The only time we fire the genny is for showers or power tools. You'll get there, just do your research and close with a realtor. It's worth the extra couple hundred to make sure the ts are crossed and the i's dotted clear title-wise.

 

[Random 8]

Hmmm not specific as to what game or location so I’m going sideways here. Where is the cheapest land per acre in the continental US? Once that is found, what is available to hunt there? If we have an arbitrary $100,000 to buy land, it might buy me 25 acres in TN or KY where I grew up and know the values. That’s woods with deer and turkey. Tn has possibility for bear and hogs, but likely not at that price point. Probably more like 15 acres in the areas I know of that have hogs and bear. It’s huntable, but it’s not big. Out west...? Perhaps a bigger chunk but what is there to hunt in cheap desert? Anybody got a handle on property values around $1000 per acre or less?

Look up St Louis County MN on Landwatch. This is where the property I have is located. I got mine for $600 an acre, which was a real value as it was lower than the cruised timber stumpage value. Current hunting land is selling for $700-$1500 per acre, depending on access, improvements, timber, and how wet it is. Whitetail deer, bear, grouse, waterfowl if it has open water, some turkey in the southern half. Quality public land (large parcels with spotty access and low pressure) in the area, world class fishing, ATV trails and snowmobiling, close proximity to Boundary Waters Wilderness and Voyageurs Natl Park are added benefits.

 

[daniel craig]

Buying for the express purpose of hunting can be a mistake....land purchases should be supported by the income generated from what the land can produce, hunting should be a secondary benefit to owning. Of course staying married with no divorce, no smoking, drinking, or drug habits will add substantially to the positive balance side of the equation.

I mean, I do want to also try to make some money off of it but I also just want peace and quiet from other humans and hunting in my backyard

 

[caribou]

The problem is that they quit making land a looooooong time ago, and its value only increases....

Were lucky and own enough land here and there to put a structure and have some breathing room......and maybe thats just for fishing and not so much hunting....fishing is fairly constant, while hunting is not.
A place to stay in an "area ", so to say, would be good, a sort of 'base'..as the animals move and some times dont arrive....
Thing is, the local Inupiaq Eskimo Tribes that own a ton of land here keeps them open and encourages hunting, Fed lands as BLM, Monuments, Wildlife Preserves, Refuges and Parks make up most all the lands here, and as the migrations move back and forth in season, its best to be flexable, hence we use tents.
Fact is, Im in my 50's , so in 30 years or so, Ill be more inclined to have a hut rather than a tent in particular areas....and I have an Ice fishing like shack on skids that tows anywhere easily enough.
My backyard/hunting unit is larger than Illinois, just to give it some context.

 

[jmorris]

As long as you are paying property tax, you don't own it.

I understand the sentiment but there are very few places that have zero property tax. The only way to avoid them it to not own any land or die.

 

[wombat13]

As long as you are paying property tax, you don't own it.

That's the shame of property taxes. They run $35/$1,000 assessed value or 3.5% per year on the value of your land and it never goes down. When you buy land in NY you have simply bought the right to rent the land from the state. Moreover, around here they'll tax you on the value of your trees! Then environmentalists wonder why the forests are degraded. Land owners some times have to cut the trees because they can't afford to keep them.

 

[wombat13]

I understand the sentiment but there are very few places that have zero property tax. The only way to avoid them it to not own any land or die.

True, but the magnitude of the property tax can make a big difference. We have a friend in CO who was paying $3k per year in property tax on a house he paid $600k for. In NY you'd pay $21k per year in property tax on a house assessed at $600k. Looking at land, let's say you buy 100 ac @ $1k per, 20% down and you finance at 3% for 20 years (all typical numbers here). You're looking at a monthly mortgage payment of $443 and monthly property tax of $292, which never goes away and in fact only increases. Oh, you built a pole barn on that land? That'll add another $60k (even though it only cost you $30k) to the property value and another $190 per month in property tax.

 

[misser]

a friend of mine just bought 52 acres of land near Houghton lake for hunting . he told me for this year i have the exclusive privilege of hunting it . sad part, i have a leg injury that going to keep me from walking .

 

[jmorris]

True, but the magnitude of the property tax can make a big difference.

This is true, why I brought up agriculture tax exemption first thing in #3.

Not only that but you get one of these that also exempts you on taxes on other stuff you use there.



Like a tractor, trailer, fuel, feed (including corn for deer).

No reason to complain about how people can legally get around taxes, when you should be figuring out how you too can do the same.

 

[CraigC]

We moved from FL to TN 13yrs ago expressly to own land that we could hunt and recreate on. The things we gave up to live here are unimportant. The sad and aggravating thing about it are all the people here who inherited land but do not appreciate it.

Anybody got a handle on property values around $1000 per acre or less?

Not with timber on it.

 

[earlthegoat2]

@jmorris is hitting on some important points of owning land.

The land can work for you passively if you do it right. It may not make you money (but it can) but it can also save you some money for owning it.

Do some homework and you may find land is more affordable than you thought.

 

[Alaskan Ironworker]

https://www.zillow.com/talkeetna-ak/land/
....cmon, come to Alaska

 

[Barbaroja]

We qualified for a program that the USDA runs to get people to move to more rural areas. They essentially insure the loan and your not required to put a down payment. We moved into our house on 8 acres and just had to start paying the mortgage. There are options people don’t realize are available.

 

[Patocazador]

Two years ago I bought 150 acres about 200 miles from home mainly as a hunting piece. However, it was clear-cut but had been replanted in pines. It was about $1700/acre which is dirt cheap (pun intended) for Florida. Because it is a tree farm, it qualifies for an ag exemption. I brought my tractor and mower there and was amazed at how many species showed up on the cameras I put out. Mature forest does not provide much for sustaining a good deer herd or much else but a clear-cut is a bonanza for food plants for many animals. That seems to be the case but after about 4 years, the trees start to shade out the weeds, grass, and other small plants. Thinning the trees at 5-7 years helps a lot.

Basically, it is a future income producer and a great hunting piece IF one keeps the trees from crowding out all the successional plants. I don't see how a young person can go wrong buying a large acreage piece and putting it in trees.

 

[wombat13]

This is true, why I brought up agriculture tax exemption first thing in #3.

Not only that but you get one of these that also exempts you on taxes on other stuff you use there.

View attachment 947018

Like a tractor, trailer, fuel, feed (including corn for deer).

No reason to complain about how people can legally get around taxes, when you should be figuring out how you too can do the same.

I don’t see where I was complaining about people getting out of paying taxes. More power to you as lOng as its legal. My point was the magnitude of taxes. Would you be paying 3.5% per year on the value of your land in TX (forgetting the Ag exemption)? Doubt it. Now as far as exemptions go, it is kind of BS that farmers get lower taxes but if you try to grow timber you pay more (in NY at least). Our land can’t be farmed. 700’ ridges and very little flat land.