Marathon County WI Land for Sale.....Would you Buy or Run Away

[Doohop65]

I am in the beginning phases of land shopping and I would like the opinion of the more seasoned veterans in the room on this property. I have not walked the property yet but the limited questions I asked the realtor did not impress me on his desire to be helpful.

I have google earthed the rough property border in the attached picture.

That being sad, the property has some promise and some question marks.

Questions

1. How close is too close to a major highway? The land does not touch highway 29 but it is close and it is an interstate in wi
2. The marathon county dump is 1 property west. How big of an issue is this?
3. How far from a town is too close? Ringle is about a mile west.
4. There is power line that cuts off the east corner. I have a friend who hunts a parcel with a power line and doesn't mind it but what are other opinions.
5. I have very little experience in marathon county. For those familiar how would you feel about land in this neighborhood?

As far as I can tell without having walked the property there is access on the southwest corn and the north east corner. I would verify both before I would move forward. Primarily hardwoods/softwoods with very little low ground but for the very south of the property.

What thoughts to ppl have? Be brutally honest as I am sure my wife won't be pleased if I ask for a do over. Thanks in advance.


Here is a link to the property. If this is not allowed please let me know and I can remove.
https://www.whitetailproperties.com...ll-timber-hunting-big-buck-history-central-wi

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Unless that area is where you want/need to buy land, I think you could get a great property in a better area for the same price. Im not sure what the wolf situation is there, but that's something to think about as well. Taxes are very high for recreational land too, so that could be a $4000 per year adder as well. But taxes on ag are next to nothing and you could get rental income in addition to lower taxes. I have land in rusk county and the predators really slow down the population rebound after a bad winter.

 

[Terrific_tom]

That area has a good deer population as when I go thru there on Hwy 29 there are always a lot of deer in the adjacent fields. Some of it looks to be wet, which isn't all bad if you are just buying for deer hunting. I might be a little concerned about dump being so close especially if you were planning on building on property in the future.

 

[Seabee]

I once hunted a woods that bordered Interstate 65. The farthest part of the farm was probably 500 yards from the road. Even at that distance I got tired of hearing the traffic. Never new so many truckers honked their dang horns in the middle of nowhere. I did kill big deer though! That power line looks fantastic. I'm not familiar at all with Wisconsin, but none of this things you mentioned would stop me from buying a parcel if it was proven there were big deer in the area.

 

[kl9]

1. Whitetail properties is always overpriced.
2. Never buy the first property you look at as you still have much to learn.

 

[kl9]

Concern 1. Is the primary issue. The others wouldn't bother me. SW WI is where the big boys roam.

 

[kl9]

In what part of WI do you live? I can tell you where to look based off of that. How far of a drive to you want?

 

[swat1018]

1. Whitetail properties is always overpriced.
2. Never buy the first property you look at as you still have much to learn.

You may not like Whitetail properties, but the market sets the price -- not the realtor. Few properties sell for listing price.

 

[kl9]

You may not like Whitetail properties, but the market sets the price -- not the realtor. Few properties sell for listing price.

You're correct, still doesn't mean I'm wrong. Call any appraiser on your market and they will tell you Whitetail Properties always lists properties well above average sale price per acre. I don't have a problem with supply/demand. I have a problem with realtors toting every property as a whitetail haven, which they do.

 

[bwoods11]

My advice would be to buy a farm with some crop on it. Income and a natural food source.

Otherwise make a low offer, see if they bite?

 

[Doohop65]

Thanks for all of the replies. There are many good thoughts.

We have. I plans to build a home in this property. We would be interested in a shed/cabin but for the next 20+ years I expect we will live in the valley.


I am certainly not married to this property and I agree it is overpriced. That being said everything in life is negotiable. With the recent interest rate hikes property values will be pressured south.

I live in the Appleton wi area. My wife and I have agreed a property within 1.5 hours is best for our family situation. My biggest interest is in shawano, Waushara, waupaca, outagamie, Winnebago, marathon or brown county. I am not against others But i probably prefer the first 3 counties.

We really want good neighbors in a good deer area. With a young family a healthy deer population is as important as monster racks. That being said dad will only be hunting mature deer. The kids will get there but today they aren't even old enough to hold a gun.

We prefer to buy a property in the 120-250 acre range but money will dictate what we can do. My hope is to create a family legacy type property where my children will learn to love nature.

 

[Doohop65]

I also agree on the whitetail property comments. I am not in the business of bashing but if these guys were my realtor they would be fired.

I drove by the property and if I didn't know exactly where it was I wouldn't have found it given the lack of signage. One small plastic piece in the weeds.

Took the realtor several days to respond. When I asked how big the power line access was he suggested I use an online app to measure it since he didn't know.

There were several other questions he didn't answer well and left me feeling like a bother. Not impressed at all.

 

[Tree Spud]

First, create a check list of items/features you are looking for in the property. Consider all such as geography, history, water, type of cover, potential for food plots, family use, buildable, electric service, amount of high/low ground, etc. Then separate list into critical (required) and desirable (important but not a deal breaker).

Forgot the list price. As others have stated Whitetail Properties realtors always inflate property value by 30-40% over market value. Check the county property tax records and get a feel for the surrounding land values.

Look at the online Platt map for the property on the counties website. How big are the surrounding neighbor properties, what land use are these properties, etc.

It looks like a good property from the pictures on the listing, but you got to walk it. Concerned with the nearby towns and possible traffic noise; however, that is a personal thing.

You really need to walk as many properties as you can to get a feel for the property "bones". Take your wife along too, always good to get the CFO's buy in. ;)

Review Mo's link, lots of good info by many of us veterans who have been there, done that ...
http://www.habitat-talk.com/index.p...your-hunting-property.6650/page-5#post-129434

 

[Mud Hen]

Is electricity available at either of the access points? It may not be important to you now, but in the future, lack of electricity can limit what you do with the property.

 

[Doohop65]

Tree, thank you for the link. I have read and reread that from mo. It is very informative.

Would you recommend finding a buyers agent? Also, what are people's thoughts on what is reasonable to expect of an agent? Is it unreasonable to walk 50 properties?

 

[kl9]

Find the right agent!!! I wish you were interested in SW WI because I could give you the name of the most honest agent I've met. Find an agent that presents the facts, answers your questions, then leaves you alone.

 

[bwoods11]

Tree, thank you for the link. I have read and reread that from mo. It is very informative.

Would you recommend finding a buyers agent? Also, what are people's thoughts on what is reasonable to expect of an agent? Is it unreasonable to walk 50 properties?

Not sure if a buyers agent is the answer, depends on the situation. Get someone your comfortable with.
In a competitive market, the listing agent has a lot of pull on the offers that come in.

I sell farms, the most I've ever shown one buyer is 4-6 farms. But, my county rarely has more than 3-5 farms on the market.

Good luck to you. Be patient, hope you find a good deal!

 

[Tree Spud]

Tree, thank you for the link. I have read and reread that from mo. It is very informative.

Would you recommend finding a buyers agent? Also, what are people's thoughts on what is reasonable to expect of an agent? Is it unreasonable to walk 50 properties?

I see no use for a buyer's agent. They cannot represent you legally and from a negotiating standpoint, you'll get more help & good advice here.

Regarding expectations of an agent, there are none. Once you make an offer you are on your own as Realtors in Wisconsin cannot represent legal issues. Make sure you have an attorney involved as they be filter/auditor of all paperwork from initial offer to accepted offer, mortgage company, title company, and even the surveyor.

Remember your initial offer sets the stage for all legal protection through the purchase process to getting title insurance that is why you have your attorney pen the offer.

 

[Tree Spud]

Find the right agent!!! I wish you were interested in SW WI because I could give you the name of the most honest agent I've met. Find an agent that presents the facts, answers your questions, then leaves you alone.

Good to see that some on here have a sense of humor ... :eek::)

.

 

[Doohop65]

Again, thank you all for the posts. Many things here have been presented that I hadn't even thought of.

I clearly need to think about wells, power, lawyers, in addition to all the other things I was looking at.

This is harder than buying a house I am finding. It is looking like it will take me more time too.

I really do appreciate all the insight. I have been stalking this forum for the last 6 months. I have learned a great deal and clearly have a lot more to learn.