The 141+ acres that joins my farm is up for sale. It has an old house with water, electricity and septic and further back a cabin with water electricity and a composting toilet and a newer central air. Its land locked and is accessed by a 12' easement that runs beside a neighbors house so you never know anything is back there. It's a dead end drive off a dead end road. Both houses need work but look livable. There is a little tilliable but mostly woods some could be loged again.

I wanted it before I looked at it because land is going up around here and I will be priced our of expansion in the near future as it continues to become suburbs. But after I looked at it I fell in love. The land reminded me of a tv deer hunting show with cleared multi season food plots and great rolling terrain.

The neighbor on the back side is a good friend and will go in and split it with me if all the details work out. I can't afford half, heck really only 30- 45 comfortably. And that's I'd the Democrats lose becuse they will shut my job down if they win.

I keep looking for income ideas also I can afford to buy more besides the obvious renting of the houses. I prefer to avoid that. The people that would be atrackted to rent the old houses probably are not the type I would like to deal with as far as reliable renters that would take care of the property.

I guess I could offer a few limited guided youth hunts complete with youth firearms, instruction target practice field dressing and lessons on internal organs and deer behavior. But even if I find a market for that with rich people the profits would be limited.

I don't know I'm at that crossroads. Buy as much as I can afford comfortable stretch myself a little thin. Buy nothing at all and spend my cash on my current ground for improvements and deal with a lifetime of regrets once the land sells. Just the Same as 30 did on the other side I should have tried to buy but was maxed out at the time
that now has a house dogs and the things that go with city people with money that move to the country.

Some times it helps to type it out.

Buy it

20 years ago 880 acres came up for sale next to I and my brother's 700 acres. They were asking $1000.00 an acre. We with two nephews had the money lined up plus logging it would easily have paid it off. Could have bought it for $750.00 an acre. We backed out and regret it to this day. The 80 up front on one side we border had mature oak and hard maple. Almost a million in timber at that time off that 80 acres. Dumb, Dumb, Dumb! They are not making more land (except china) and price will not go down. It is near you now. Find or make a way to buy it.

Buy, you usually have one chance to buy adjoining property. What about small farm opportunities with vegetables or fruit that can be sold locally ? Especially if you can produce jams, preserves etc. without too much gov. regulation.

He ain’t making any more, so scoop it up if you can.

If you want it and can afford it-buy it,as long as you can cover taxes etc.
If it has marketable timber and you log it off the value of the land for re sale will likely never go back up where it was in your lifetime unless maybe you turn it into crop production or something.

Air B&B will help make the payments.

I would not buy it. Spreading oneself too thin with debt is a recipe for disaster. Sounds like you could probably squeak by making the payments month to month, but that first little curveball life throws you will knock down all your best laid plans like dominoes. Pretty soon it’s snowballed to the point you’re having to look at bankruptcy.

Good rule of thumb is to spend no more than 25% of your take home pay on your home/land.

Get as much as you can, whenever you can, when it makes sense. This does for you.
Especially sooooo close.
Like someone else said, they aint making any more land.
And like you said, suburbia is encroaching and it makes a guy sick.
Prices will only go higher.
Youll make it work.

I'm waiting for my neighbor to put his land up. It used to be part of my land until some financial issues in the '80s and my father had to put up those acres on the block. The neighbor said he'll let me have the first crack at it, I just hope I can afford it when it happens.

155 acres in 1998 for 58K, fast forward to sale in 2020 for 310K. Throw two timber cuts in during that time period and it still made money. You need to think if your keeping it for your estate or if your going to just consider it an investment for profit.

Rural property is the next big thing. Homes and land in the rural setting don't stay on the market long, city folks who can afford to move are buying and moving as quick as they can. I have seen in my area rural land has gone up just over $200.00 per acre in the last six months. And if you farm and property comes up touching you buy it if you can sir.

Buy it. If you get in a financial bind you can always sell it.

Sound advice. Here is some background
I'm 40 years old and owe 20k on one morgage my in laws are living in and paying the payment. Other than that I'm debt free.

This summer I spent out of 20k out of savings on farm improvements. That was before I missed 1.5 months of work due to covid quarantine, my daughters accident and my old car became destined for the junk yard.

I also am putting in 1900' of water lines on the farm by December.

So my savings is very low currently.

I just bought another cheap transportation truck a 97 ranger with 52k for 3200 cash. Yuck 2wd but cheap and will hopefully last.

I dont like debt.

Payments on a 20 year 100k= 33 acres of it roughly will be just under 600$ a month. I
I Can cash out 20 k from my 401 pay off that morgage and turn that into 400 a month and use that property for collateral for the down payment. Making my payments the equivalent of ,$200 a month or less than a days pay per month.

That makes it easy to buy even more of the ground. As stated it always going up in value and they are not making any more. Add in that it borders my place and probably won't be for sale again in my lifetime at least that I can afford makes me really to buy as much as I can.
If it were advertised it would sell quickly and easily probably for at least 1 k more per acre if for nothin more than from some big money deer hunters.

x2

The biggest regret I have is not buying an adjacent property when I had the chance. Also, if it is landlocked now and you can provide access by buying it you will immediately increase it's value.

Nobody ever says, “I sure am glad I didn’t buy that land 20-30-40 years ago”.

Sure they do, when they have to file bankruptcy and lose the land as well as the equity because they were over leveraged to begin with.

All the math in the financial world concerning debt leaves out one factor, the biggest factor, which is risk. If your income stops from illness, or something expensive happens to you that you have to pay for, sometimes both at once, then you are screwed. The math works when it’s just math but life happens.

I definitely would not cash out retirement funds to buy it. Don’t steal from your future to find your now.

This everyone I know regrets not buying land when they could have.

If you buy it you can atleast decide what happens to it and choose your neighbor. If not its the luck of the draw.

Buy it.