Sitting on a piece of land as a longer term investment ?

[fastfredracing]

Im not super interested in the stock market . I like tangible things . I need to park some money somewhere.
Im going to keep playing the car market, I enjoy that, and do well at it ( usually ) but that is small potates .
I have beeh looking for interesting pieces of property , just a tad north of current hot development areas .
Seems like Land never really goes down in value . I know this area super well . I can see the influx of urban people moving out this way .( Townies ) Housing plans popping up everywhere. Plots of land with mcmansions, etc.
I looked at this 18 acre plot , with a foundation for a home and barn ,long since demo'd and removed . Elect, water and sewage on the property . Adjacent to an interstate and busy 2 lane highway . Cool place. I could even move my partial retirement tow truck biz up that way when I finally hang up my wrenches .
I have to add, that I like to dig, build things, , cut trees, clear land etc.. I hope to keep moving and working till I drop .
So, I am looking for something interesting that can add some short term personal value to my life, but also gain value as the years trudge on.
The areas I am looking at are also , low taxes, no zoning , so maintenance and fixed costs/insurance are insigficant .
Best part.....No tenants
Just curious what the smart guys here think about using this strategy . As always , thanks for your input

[Evans, Marv]

I'm no smart guy, but that scenario sounds really great. If were me, I'd seriously consider committing to it as an investment, especially if it's in a corridor where future development might seem to be trending.

[KFC911]

While we're waitin' on folks much smarter than I am in these matters ... I say gopher it

Sounds perfect Fred

[masraum]

That sounds like a good investment. Maybe you can check the property values on the county tax assessor's website for that land and any surrounding land. (you can do that here).

Also, see if you can convert any of the land to agricultural use. That's common here, and really cuts WAY back on the yearly taxes. Texas has a bunch of different ways to do that. There is keeping cattle on it (sounds like a pain), growing hay (often can get someone local to harvest and use that, so no/low cost), and many other options.

[Bill Douglas]

Also check if you can subdivide a bit off. Ya know, just enough to buy that classic car you have to own.

[look 171]

Hey Freddy,

A very wealthy and smart older man once told me over a beer at his house when I was doing some work on it told me, the earth is 70 water, the rest is real estate. I was a lost, dumb, 22 old but knew exactly what he was talking about.

If you know the area ans are seeing changes, do it. One thing I have to say is Harris's policy on long term gain and unrealized gain scared the hell outta me. Better quit before this goes to parf. Let us know how it goes.

[dad911]

Hard to comment w/o the numbers, or a knowledge of your area.

On our honeymoon in Maui we joked about buying a farm. Could have afforded it then. I'm afraid to see what it would be worth now.

Most property we have developed and sold over the years is worth orders of magnitude more today.

However McGreevy cost us (7 figures) in NJ by speedballing the Highlands act. It took us quite a few years to recover.

Can you get income from the property? Rent out for farming, gun clubs, etc?

[Seahawk]

When investing, to thy own self be true: You are on the right track already given your OP.

With real estate, it is always the three L’s so I have zero insight in your area.

I really wish more folks had your frame of mind concerning investing.

[LWJ]

I really LOVE the idea of buying in front of development. If you can predict where things are moving, you will have a total gold mine over the long term.

Comparison- the S&P500 returned 10.x year over year from 1990 to 2023 (I think!). Not awful by any means.

I have an apartment investment that has increased my equity 5x in 6 years. Not without some serious hassles and virtually zero cash back to me- it was all reinvested. I use a manager for this. And, we bought in a very opportune location at a great time.

Future? If I was brilliant and could read the future, buying land is great. Also warehouses with NNN leases is appealing but I am somewhat ignorant about this.

Summary: buy what you know. I go by the “a fool and his money are quickly parted “ theory. Meaning- don’t be a fool.

Good luck!

[GH85Carrera]

One of the big land owners here in Oklahoma City area bought every bit of land he could. He said he did not want to own everything, just his property, and the property next to his.

If you are buying land in a "good area" and not in a bad part of town, it is hard to go wrong long term. Only in parts of the Big Island of Hawaii is there any new land, and it will not be on the market for hundreds or thousands of years. Your plot sounds like a good deal.

One of "friends of a friend" had his father in law call him and tell him to buy a piece of property and to sell assets and borrow all he could to buy it. He listened, and within a year Walmart came knocking and offered him a nice profit. He called the FIL and he said whatever they offer, say no unless they double it. Walmart would walk away, but come back a year later. In the end he sold the property for a huge profit, and promptly asked his FIL if he had another advice for a good piece of land.

[Rusty Heap]

I've owned and lived on two seperate 5 acre lots over 35 years. Rural lifestyle, hah, I raised llamas for 25 years............kids are too friggin' expensive!


As a youngster, somebody told me "Buy all the land you can cuz they ain't going to make any more of it......"

For a business location, sounds perfect your spot along an Interstate and Hwy.


Me, I'll take seclusion as the last house at the end of the road in a 100 acre subdivision (20 5 acre lots) that only has 8 homes on all of it.

[rfuerst911sc]

There is an old saying " they aren't making land anymore " . Lotta truth in that .

[Bill Douglas]

While on this subject... I live in a place called Lyall Bay, a small beach town near Wellington NZ. It was thought as being a windswept wasteland. But it's near a largish city and next to an international airport. 200 meters from me Peter Jackson bought a smallish bit of land for about 50 million (he could have my land for half that LOL) then bought another patch of land next to it for 106 million. Suddenly everyone thinks it's the place to be. I think he's going to build a film museum/conference centre and the other bit of land maybe a historic and fighter plane museum. So as they say, pick future development places and commercial can be good.

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

I've owned and lived on two seperate 5 acre lots over 35 years. Rural lifestyle, hah, I raised llamas for 25 years............kids are too friggin' expensive!


As a youngster, somebody told me "Buy all the land you can cuz they ain't going to make any more of it......"

For a business location, sounds perfect your spot along an Interstate and Hwy.


Me, I'll take seclusion as the last house at the end of the road in a 100 acre subdivision (20 5 acre lots) that only has 8 homes on all of it.

Is the building with the green roof your garage???

[john70t]

Originally Posted by masraum

Also, see if you can convert any of the land to agricultural use. That's common here, and really cuts WAY back on the yearly taxes. Texas has a bunch of different ways to do that. There is keeping cattle on it (sounds like a pain), growing hay (often can get someone local to harvest and use that, so no/low cost), and many other options.

Find out what the existing zoning is, and for the general area: Residential. Mixed-use. Agricultural.
Changing the property to Ag might or might not be possible.
(One of our MI political candidates got an Ag grant, even though her family farm hadn't grown anything in years, because it was originally titled Ag.)

Another strategy to lower taxes might be deeding part of it for 25-100yrs as wildlife preservation. Install a pond and migratory bird-friendly grasses. Whatever qualifies.

https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/agricultural-use definition.
(State and Local definitions may be different)

[Rusty Heap]

Originally Posted by WPOZZZ

Is the building with the green roof your garage???

high bay has 14'x14' doors for scale........

roughly 30x100.

done most of it myself.

[LWJ]

Grandpa got wind of Thriftway coming to town. Found the only piece of dirt that would fit. Locked it up. Made a small mint. Just sayin.

[fanaudical]

There is something that bugs me about the description of this location (adjacent to an interstate and next to a busy two-lane highway):

What's the possibility the state wants to connect the two right through that piece of property? Verify there are no long-term plans or eminent domain risks...

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by fanaudical

There is something that bugs me about the description of this location (adjacent to an interstate and next to a busy two-lane highway):

What's the possibility the state wants to connect the two right through that piece of property? Verify there are no long-term plans or eminent domain risks...

Good thinking. That's what happened to 40 acres a friend inherited...taken by eminent domain. He got peanuts compared to what he would have gotten if sold to a developer.

[KFC911]

I have never lived my life focused on "maximizing" investments per se. If something is "what I want" and is a fit "for me", and reasonable (or mebbe even not ) ... then I gopher it ... all the "whatiffin?" is for others.

I have a history of not maximizing purchases, sales, and day-to-day dealings, etc. to my full advantage.... for I am a lousy businessman ... usually by choice.

And I'm good with that too

"Fred's World" .... everybody doesn't need or wanna be Walt Disney ...