The Right 20 Questions for Land Buyers

May 20, 2020 by chorton Leave a Comment

What are the right questions for a buyer to ask when considering purchasing a piece of rural land for sale? It all depends on the objectives the buyer has in mind when making their purchase.

A recent article on LANDTHINK entitled, “Top 20 Questions for Land Buyers” garnered a lot of attention and created quite a bit of controversy among LANDTHINK readers. I read many of the comments, and started thinking about what my list of questions would look like as I perform due diligence for myself or my clients when considering a property. That list would need to be tweaked a little depending on the objective for the purchase. For example, a person considering developing a tract into a subdivision on a river would have some significantly different questions to answer than a person merely buying a rural retreat for their family. So the following list would be my jumping off point for most buyers of rural tracts:

How is the property accessed? (Road frontage, deeded easement, etc..)
Are there any water features on the property? (rivers, creek, lake, springs)
Are utilities available to the property?
What is the timber like? (stand types, age, planted or natural)
Has the property been surveyed? (Are boundaries marked?)
Who are the neighbors surrounding the tract?
Can I get a clear title to the property with title insurance?
Do the timber, mineral and water rights convey with the sale?
Are there any easements on the property? (adjoining owners, conservation, utility)
Are there any known environmental concerns or latent defects with the property?
How is this property zoned? (agricultural, residential, commercial?)
What are the annual property taxes?
Have the owners received notice from any governmental agency about possible assessments or actions in the near future that would affect this property?
Will the property be conveyed subject to covenant and restrictions? (If so, what are they?)
How does the land lay? (slopes, bottomland, elevation change, etc…)
Are there internal roads and trails?
Do all of the improvements to the property convey with the sale? (gates and fences, shooting houses, out buildings, etc…)
Does the land drain well or does it stay wet for much of the year?
If I had to sell this property again in a year, is it desirable to other potential buyers?
Can I pee off my porch in privacy?

Buyers that are considering purchasing land for growing crops would also be concerned about things such as:

What is the corn grain yield per acre?
Is it possible to irrigate with a center pivot?
Is an irrigation permit available from the Army Corps of Engineers?
What is the soil profile of the property?
Where are the nearest grain processors?

An investor purchasing timberland for their portfolio would ask questions like:

What is the site index of the land?
Is any of the timber merchantable now?
Is more than 70% of the property sloped suitably for growing and harvesting timber?
Where are the nearest wood outlets and mills?

The list could go on indefinitely for developers, hunters, farmers, investors, and survivalists. The point I am trying to make is that you need to know what your objectives for owning a rural property are before you can even know the right set of questions to ask. This is one reason a buyer should engage the help of a competent agent when purchasing a rural property. Having someone working for you that knows the right questions to ask can save you thousands of dollars and make your transaction much safer and pain-free.

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Beautiful Texas country living it’s finest.

May 13, 2020 by chorton Leave a Comment

14902 FM 914, STEPHENVILLE, TX 76401

Beautiful Texas country living it’s finest. This gorgeous property features custom built Austin Stone home sitting on close to 50 acres with incredible views of the surrounding area. Main house is stunning with an awesome gourmet kitchen featuring a dbl oven, granite countertops, big pantry, & large island bar. Expansive ceilings, large fireplace, split bedrooms, master suite, & small guest aprt & that is just the main house. Guest house is 1450 sqft. Also part of the grounds are adtl outbuildings for horses, goats, llama’s whatever you may want to bring out to your own slice of picturesque Texas ranch living and enjoy the country. Hi Speed 100 MB Fiber available. Tractor & a smoked brisket included!

If you are looking for a working cattle ranch in Texas, hunting lodge in Texas, or horse property in Texas – Then Preferred Properties of Texas is here to help you make that want a need and we will make you want become a reality!

Hunting Land For Sale

May 1, 2020 by chorton Leave a Comment

Hey y’all looking for a place to hunt, no worries our team of land specialists is ready to help you to find your dream property. While hunting deer may be the primary motivation to purchase Hunting Land For Sale in Stephenville located in Erath County Texas, but there may be other activities also important to you? Fishing, small-scale farming land or livestock. Maybe lake, tank, pond or live water creek that offers excellent opportunity for fishing when it’s not deer hunting season. When buying hunting land, there are some things you need to check out. Whether water is convenient on the land, that usually enough for hunting purposes. Streams, creeks, tanks or ponds are also welcome benefits that provide easily accessible surface, and alleviates the need and cost of tank, pond, lake or well.

Camping with your family in your hunting area is also good fun time that you can take part pleasure in any time of the year when you need a break from hunting. If you are searching for Hunting Land For Sale, look at small tracts a little differently and consider buying one. You can call us at (254) 965-7775 to buy your land. You can visit our website at preferredpropertiestx.com to know about our other services in other areas of Texas.

Building On Your Land – What You Need to Know

April 15, 2020 by chorton Leave a Comment

The land we own can serve many purposes. Some buy land as a place to hunt or fish, while others plan to grow crops or start a farm. For others, it’s a place to build your dream home or vacation getaway. Regardless of your reason, if you’re planning to build a home, cabin or outbuilding on your land, there are a few things you need to know first.

Zoning

Before building any structure on your land, you need to determine whether it’s actually legal to do so. Zoning restrictions and topography may dictate that a home or structure may not legally be built, or it will be required to be in a certain area of the property. Be sure to check with an experienced local builder to help you navigate any potential issues.

Finding a Lender

Once you have any zoning issues sorted out, your next step should be to meet with a lender that’s experienced in construction loans so that you can be pre-approved for a loan based on your financial needs. In general, a build-on-your-lot or custom home will require a down payment of 20% to 25% of the entire cost of building the home, including permits and site preparations. Most lenders are willing to finance construction for a year. When the home or building is complete they will require you to refinance into a permanent loan for the property.

Building a Home

There are three primary options for having a home built on your land. Choose the one that fits your needs and budget best:

Build-On-Your-Lot Builder – Most of these builders will have a variety of pre-designed floor plans for you to choose from. Oftentimes they can offer you a choice of specific fixtures and appliances for your home. This can save you money, but make sure these products match what you’re looking for.

Design-Build – These firms work with you to plan your new home from the ground up. It’s a similar process to working with a build-on-your-lot builder, except your home will be a custom design. These firms usually have in-house architects or a contract with an architect who will work with the construction company.

Architect – Of course, you can always hire your own architect to build your new home or building. The architect can create the exact home you’re envisioning using your ideas and their expertise. If you choose to hire your own architect, be sure that the architect and builder are willing to work together and can confidently meet your budget.

Feel free to contact our office, we are happy to answer any questions.

The Realtors at Preferred Properties of Texas in Stephenville are here to help you buy and sell real estate for over 25 years!

Everything to Know About Road Access

April 7, 2020 by chorton Leave a Comment

This article was originally published on landhub.com

by Caroline Kirby

If you’ve been searching for land for a while you’ve likely come across listings that talk about road access time and time again. But what does that actually mean and why is it so important? We’ll break it down for you.

Don’t Get Landlocked

When searching for land to buy you don’t want to get stuck in the middle, surrounded by properties owned by other parties leaving you unable to freely access your own land. In order to avoid buying landlocked property you should have an idea of the different types of road access to make the best decision based on your needs.

Generally, access falls under one of three legal categories: public access, un-deeded access, and deeded access.

Which One Do You Need?

Public access is the easiest to look at, so we’ll start there. This is property that touches a government-maintained road meaning you won’t have to cross any other person’s property to get to your land.

Un-deeded access is essentially the equivalent of being landlocked—you’ll have to cross another party’s property to access your land. To reach your land you will have to cross a road or trail owned by another person; or maybe there’s no road at all. There is likely an existing path that people have always used to gain access to the property, but there is NO written legal agreement. While this may have worked for previous owners it can complicate easily and quickly, unfortunately un-deeded access may not be the best route.

As you could probably guess, deeded access is just the opposite of un-deeded access. There is a formal, written agreement with adjoining landowners that gives you the freedom to cross the road to reach your land. Land with deeded access poses no potential issues for investors and will protect you as it’s usually recorded in the local courthouse.

Why Does It Matter?

While every state has their own laws regarding land, for the most part you want to avoid getting mixed in with un-deeded access. Doing so could result in issues with running utility lines, water or pipe lines across properties or even the lack of an easement. Investing in land with un-deeded access could actually prove to be more trouble than you’re looking for, but with that being said there are exceptions to every rule.

If you are intending to use your landlocked property for hunting or growing timber you can typically get access granted easily, either by the adjoining property owners or the state. However, contention with neighboring property owners could lead to costly legal battles and a lot of wasted time.

How you plan to use your land could make all the difference in the road access debate so make sure you have a clear idea of what you want before you start looking for properties or at least before making any offers.

When you’re ready to start shopping around you can browse our properties here.

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The Realtors at Preferred Properties of Texas in Stephenville are here to help you buy and sell real estate for over 25 years!

Three Things on Unrestricted Land

March 30, 2020 by chorton Leave a Comment

These 3 Things to Know about Unrestricted Land

Rolling Hills

In a recent article on Land.com by Laura Mueller she details things one might need to keep in consideration when buying unrestricted land. First and foremost “unrestricted” does not necessarily mean “unrestricted” the state or county may have certain criteria the soil or terrain of the land may need to meet in order to build certain structures on or to run certain types of businesses on – for instance in the county I live in of Erath in Texas there are quite a few dairies, this does not mean that you can just buy 100 acres and put a dairy on it. There are certain factors the state and county look at when providing a license of a dairy, one such factor is water runoff and how the water may be processed into the water table.

Another thing you may want to consider is that your neighbors may know that you can do alot of different things on your land but you may want to consider their feeling about things before building something. No one like a bad neighbor that does not consider the others around them.

These are only two things but if you want to check out what Laura Mueller suggest check out her article 3 Things You Need to Know About Buying Unrestricted Land

If you are wanting to see what is available in the area for Farm, Land, and Ranch properties CLICK HERE or if you want to learn the difference about a Farm and Ranch check out this article Farm or Ranch

The Realtors at Preferred Properties of Texas in Stephenville in Erath county in the Cross Timbers area of North Central Texas are here to help you buy and sell real estate for over 25 years!