Special offer

Buy land. They ain't making no more of it!

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Advantage
BUY LAND

How many times have you heard this?  Perhaps with a little more class but the saying means the same.  It's smart to buy land because no more is being produced.  I've never met a man who didn't want to have land, ranging from a big yard to acres and acres.

I'm here to give a personal testimonial about land.  My first husband and I had been married just a few years.  He was from Searcy Arkansas and even though we were a military family he hoped someday to return to Searcy.  But even if he didn't he thought land would be a good investment for the future.  He picked out a little 39 acre parcel of land, called a farm, that seemed a long way from town.

It had a little old farm house on it and a dairy barn and a couple of ponds and an old barn.  The price was $22,000 and that was in the sixties.  He got scolded by his father and his banker and everyone else because they said he "paid too much."

Upon his death in Vietnam I held onto it.  The little old farm house rented for several years for probably $30 a month.  It finally got so bad I had it and the dairy barn removed.  My second husband, who calls himself a cattleman, ran cows on the farm, cut hay and generally helped take care of it.  The kids kept a horse on it and had to chase it down for a ride.

The highway expanded so there is now a four-lane in front of it, the city has practically grown out to it and the value has increased tremendously.

But the thing that inspired me to write this is that I just received a check from Chesapeake for royalties! I leased it to a company when they came in leasing up everything because of gas exploration in our Fayetteville Shale in this county.  So the little "overpriced" farm is now in a section that has a gas well and the little farm is paying off in a new way.

So listen up!  Buy land if you can.  If will always seem overpriced but what seems overpriced today will level out in a few years! 

 

Mark Organek
And the United States of America - Mesa, AZ
It's not a game, it's your life.

Barbara - Great post and such an interesting story to back up the meaning of the message.

Jul 03, 2008 10:11 PM
Scott Daniels Florida Real Estate 2.0. Agents Earn 100% Commission.
Florida List For Less Realty, Inc. Broker/Owner. - Cooper City, FL

B,

I agree with your assumption but, in some area`s land is at a point where it`s priced too high in some cases it doesn`t make financial sense.

Jul 03, 2008 10:44 PM
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Mark, thank you.  Have a great 4th of July.

Scott, land is always high.  How much would $22000 be in today's dollars?  But I'm like you.  I haven't invested in any more parcels.  My first husband was wiser than I.

Jul 03, 2008 11:14 PM
Chip Jefferson
Gibbs Realty and Auction Company - Columbia, SC

Land has been one of our best investment to date. We have a small tract that has went up in value over 7X in 9 years. And we love the land!

Jul 03, 2008 11:54 PM
Charlottesville Solutions
Charlottesville Solutions - Charlottesville, VA

Always good advise to buy land. Of course not just any land :-)

Happy 4th of July from Charlottesville!

Jul 04, 2008 01:25 AM
Mike Saunders
Retired - Athens, GA

Barbara - so your husband calls himself a cattleman, what do you call him? Is it repeatable in mixed company;^)

I finally had some land that my parents bought in the 60's in Arizona appreciate to a reasonable level two years ago.

However, undersea volcanoes and coral are making new islands all the time. We might have to wait a few centuries before we can plant our for sale signs on them......

Jul 04, 2008 01:31 AM
Dick Betts
TOUCHSTONE REAL ESTATE - The Villages, FL
REALTOR® The Villages, Florida

I am home for 10 days and loving it!  Not all my students are naughty, just a few when I get places like Searcy!  Happy July 4th my friend!

Jul 04, 2008 02:49 AM
Jan Wood
None - Gallatin, TN

Barbara:  I loved your story and agree that buying land, especially if you can find land at a crossroads, is a great investment.  The part I liked the most, was your land lease deal.  The fact that a company will lease your land for shale exploration is very interesting.  Congratulations on the deal. 

Jul 04, 2008 04:20 AM
Peter Nikic
Broad & Bailey Realty LLC - Valhalla, NY

Barbara, great post and great reminder. people have a tendecy to forget that land value increases with time, especially because the population is constantly growing and land is constant.

Jul 04, 2008 04:48 AM
Carol Culkin
Diamond Partners Inc - Overland Park, KS
Overland Park Residential Real Estate

Barbara - Land in the right location is a good investment. I think you also need to be able to read into the future a little and try to get a glimpse of how the location will remain desireable or gain in popularity - much like every other segment of RE!

Jul 04, 2008 05:35 AM
Debi Ernst
St. Charles County, Missouri - Prudential Alliance Realtors - O'Fallon, MO
GRI, e-PRO, Broker/Sales Associate

I agree.  My husband & I are wanting to purchase some land, too.  It's just kind of hard to make the plunge...Thanks for the encouragement!  :)

Jul 04, 2008 05:37 AM
Charles Buell
Charles Buell Inspections Inc. - Seattle, WA
Seattle Home Inspector

I think it can happen, but it is pretty unusual to go wrong buying land.  Barbara, now that you are rich, can I borrow some money?sunsmile

Jul 04, 2008 06:51 AM
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Laura, congratulations on the the good investment!

Charles, Happy 4th of July to you!!

Mike, you are good at reading through the lines!  lol  I call him the car dealer, which was his main career.

Dick, have a good holiday.

Jan, when the land was bought and up until about 3 years ago, we never considered mineral rights at all.  They just went with the land.  Now we find gas on the land.  People fight over mineral rights. And the land has gone UP if mineral rights convey.

Peter, you're right.  Thanks for comments.  Happy 4th!

Carol, of course this took a long time.  But land doesn't require much attention.

Debi, just do it!!!!

How much do you need, Charles?  How about if I buy a share of your home inspection business????

 

Jul 04, 2008 01:25 PM
Steven L. Smith
King of the House Home Inspection, Inc. - Bellingham, WA
Bellingham WA Home Inspector

Barbara,

I clicked on the feature button. Good post. Keep your eye on Charlie. He has a way of getting his hand on your wallet.

Jul 05, 2008 05:43 AM
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Thanks, Steve.  That Charlie has a lot of bad character traits, doesn't he.  What I didn't tell is the amount of royalties that I received.  I'm not rich yet!!  Thanks for suggesting feature!

Jul 05, 2008 09:31 AM
Charles Buell
Charles Buell Inspections Inc. - Seattle, WA
Seattle Home Inspector

Yup, I am the quintesential sheep in wolf's clothing:)

Jul 05, 2008 10:59 AM
Steven L. Smith
King of the House Home Inspection, Inc. - Bellingham, WA
Bellingham WA Home Inspector

Barbara,

Good blog whether a feature or not. Lately Charlie has been padding the right palms and getting the features -- hopefully not with money mooched from you.

Jul 06, 2008 05:19 PM
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Steve, Charlie will soon be running with the beautiful golden children or perhaps he already is.  But  upon analyzing, where would he be without all your wonderful creative insults!!  You may have to put your palm out and say no more insults without a little payoff now and then.  lol

Jul 06, 2008 11:40 PM
Mary PAUL, ABR, CRS,GRI, e-PRO,
RE/MAX Advantage Realtors, Searcy, AR - Searcy, AR

Barbara,

Hey, I'm glad you got a check!  You are right, they are not making land, good investment!

Jul 07, 2008 05:50 AM
Barbara S. Duncan
RE/MAX Advantage - Searcy, AR
GRI, e-PRO, Executive Broker, Searcy AR

Thanks, Mary!  It took a long time but worth it, I guess.

Jul 07, 2008 06:07 AM