Buying land for rec use...

[tdwinklr]

There's probably a thread in here already about this but I'm looking at a large (for me) acreage for purchase that is 90% flood plain, limited utilities, good road access, lots of heavy timber, some open areas, fenced.
Obviously can't build a house on it, so other than just hunting and rec use on it, what else could I do with it? Was considering buying it, clean it up and attract wildlife to it, then possibly resell it in a few years.
Is that something some of you have ever done?

I'm looking for advice in that direction, what to do, what NOT to do thx

[BitBackShot]

I just sold a place almost exactly like that. I’d recommend not doing it for any more than 30% of what non-flood plain in the area sells for. Stuff is hard to sell.

[tdwinklr]

I just sold a place almost exactly like that. I’d recommend not doing it for any more than 30% of what non-flood plain in the area sells for. Stuff is hard to sell.

So, why did you sell it?
What did you do with the land while you owned it?
Improvements?
What problems did you have?
What issues did you have with selling it, other than flood plain?

thx

[whitehunter]

I just sold 40 acres in Centerville. its all flood plain. made a superb profit. I bought it really cheap. hunted the entire time. my kids killed all there firsts there. I sold the timber=profit. plus sold for 3 times what i paid for it. It was a great deal and I did the same on 20 acres up the street. I would find vacant land owners and call them. make an offer a low offer. see if they want to sell. thats what I did. 2 years ago it was 8 ft deep across the property. I built a pond years ago. put my campers and nice stuff up on a big hill fro the pond dirt 10 ft up. all my feeders up high. Was a great deal. I only sold to buy property in Concan. so I can go to the river a screw off when I feel the need. plus I can hunt Concan as well. Was a 10 year investment and was just the right time to move on. buy something with the profit and put in a house later for retirement.

[elliscountyhog]

Doing it now with a place on the trinity river. Just waiting for acceptance of contract. The. If all goes well we have the inside on places surrounding this one. Should make a nice large tract along the river with multiple Rec activities. If we could even break even in 5 years it would be worth it.

[SFAbowhunter]

I just sold a place almost exactly like that. I’d recommend not doing it for any more than 30% of what non-flood plain in the area sells for. Stuff is hard to sell.

This. Every tract I see that is 75-100% flood plain sits on the market for a LONG time. I've seen some close to here that has been on the market for at least a year. The flood plain is hard to get rid of. Good luck! If it were me, I would be looking across the red river and buying some land that you can sell easier.

[BitBackShot]

So, why did you sell it?
What did you do with the land while you owned it?
Improvements?
What problems did you have?
What issues did you have with selling it, other than flood plain?

thx

Okay, so my place was basically the worst possible scenario for land, but I was stupid and got googly-eyed when I saw 30 deer driving in...

100% flood plain between 2 substantial creeks in a bottom area. The elevation change from my highest spot to my lowest spot was like 1 ft. Flat. When I say "flood plain", I mean that it actually floods. The years I had it were unusually high for rain upstream, but I'm talking 4ft under water. Hence, no fences as floating debris tore them down. No livestock as it would have drowned. I had tons of deer, hogs, coons, a few foxes, tons of waterfowl including wood ducks, and great fishing. Very close to a big city, probably some of the best hunting and fishing in the state for a small place, all things considered.

My land was (sorta) land locked, but actually had good access. I'll explain. The area my plot was in was a bottom area that had been closely held forever until I bought it in an estate sale. I was like the 3rd owner since the Mexican government. There was 1 shared right of way that was never deeded, but that every owner in that bottom area used. We all contributed to upkeep of the road, etc. That said, banks wouldn't finance it without deeded easements, although I got some local private banks that said they would just knowing the land. There was 1 owner whose land the road went through getting to my place, and he didn't get along with some of the other owners and was always threatening to stop letting people use the access road. I don't think it would have held up in court as everyone (9 owners) had to use it, but it was still a threat.

Land was like 80 acres, 50 in highly productive Johnson grass with 30 acres of woods surrounding it on the creeks, which made the borders. Got 200 round bales a year, but I just leased hay rights out to a guy that watched over the place.

Anyhow, if you can't put a structure on the place, can't put livestock on it, and it is truly exclusively recreational with a little added benefit of hay production, it's really dang tough to find a buyer. I paid like 40% of the going rate of surrounding land for it and didn't even get my money out of it, though in full disclosure, I had an offer early on to buy it for much more than I paid, but I wasn't a seller at that point. I think I lost like 10k, which I was fine with. Lesson learned.

Just know what you're dealing with. My place had multiple issues and they all added up to a tough sell.

[texasbrad]

I bought some similar to what you are describing. I have had a blast on it and do not regret it at all. I like the fact its in a flood plane for my use. There is never going to be anything more around it than there is now.

Now I didn't buy it to resale in a couple years and expect to make a profit. I plan on enjoying the place as long as I like with no expectations on what I might sale it for, if and when that time comes. Its close to the house, has lots of game and I really enjoy spending time in bottomlands.

If you are OK with the place giving you nothing more than what it has to offer now, then why not.

[batmaninja]

Keep in mind that the flood maps (and possibly restrictions) will probably be changing after Harvey, and not for the better.

[tdwinklr]

Okay, so my place was basically the worst possible scenario for land, but I was stupid and got googly-eyed when I saw 30 deer driving in...

100% flood plain between 2 substantial creeks in a bottom area. The elevation change from my highest spot to my lowest spot was like 1 ft. Flat. When I say "flood plain", I mean that it actually floods. The years I had it were unusually high for rain upstream, but I'm talking 4ft under water. Hence, no fences as floating debris tore them down. No livestock as it would have drowned. I had tons of deer, hogs, coons, a few foxes, tons of waterfowl including wood ducks, and great fishing. Very close to a big city, probably some of the best hunting and fishing in the state for a small place, all things considered.

My land was (sorta) land locked, but actually had good access. I'll explain. The area my plot was in was a bottom area that had been closely held forever until I bought it in an estate sale. I was like the 3rd owner since the Mexican government. There was 1 shared right of way that was never deeded, but that every owner in that bottom area used. We all contributed to upkeep of the road, etc. That said, banks wouldn't finance it without deeded easements, although I got some local private banks that said they would just knowing the land. There was 1 owner whose land the road went through getting to my place, and he didn't get along with some of the other owners and was always threatening to stop letting people use the access road. I don't think it would have held up in court as everyone (9 owners) had to use it, but it was still a threat.

Land was like 80 acres, 50 in highly productive Johnson grass with 30 acres of woods surrounding it on the creeks, which made the borders. Got 200 round bales a year, but I just leased hay rights out to a guy that watched over the place.

Anyhow, if you can't put a structure on the place, can't put livestock on it, and it is truly exclusively recreational with a little added benefit of hay production, it's really dang tough to find a buyer. I paid like 40% of the going rate of surrounding land for it and didn't even get my money out of it, though in full disclosure, I had an offer early on to buy it for much more than I paid, but I wasn't a seller at that point. I think I lost like 10k, which I was fine with. Lesson learned.

Just know what you're dealing with. My place had multiple issues and they all added up to a tough sell.

thx, I appreciate the input.

[crumrw]

I own 84 acres that is about 60% flood plain. Never have regretted it one bit! Best hunting you can find is river bottom land. Most fertile property you're gonna find is bottom land. Cheapest land you're gonna find is bottom land. Just consider the reasons you're buying it, and make the decision on that. Land doesn't go backwards in value very often, and not at all in some areas, even flood plain. Just think, you're not the only person looking for an affordable entry into land ownership for rec purposes.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk