For those that have sold a farm- Why? Regrets? Lessons Learned?

[Howboutthemdawgs]

A good deal right now seems to be just paying market price before the next increase! I bought a farm this summer in two different transactions and in a span of 5 months he increased the price $800/acre. Gotta pay to play right now unfortunately.

 

[gjs4]

Anyone ever find themselves in purgatory with what to do?
I am putting my heart out there saying I have no freaking idea to do with my place; It has a perfectly balanced listed of pros and cons and (as a few have mentioned) the market is bare for the blue collar shopper.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Anyone ever find themselves in purgatory with what to do?
I am putting my heart out there saying I have no freaking idea to do with my place; It has a perfectly balanced listed of pros and cons and (as a few have mentioned) the market is bare for the blue collar shopper.

Fwiw I am more at peace focusing on what I have rather than chasing the dragon constantly.
But here’s an exercise. Get on whatever real estate website you prefer. Look for land in the area you realistically can be in and the price point you realistically can afford. Look every day till this summer when it gets too late to move for this season. Ask yourself how many of those properties would you trade for no questions asked. May be 10, may be 0 but it’s a good test.

I literally look at land every day. Outside of some crazy fliers in Iowa and Missouri that I could never afford or ever get to, I’ve seen exactly one property in my area I would consider cashing in everything I had to get in the last year plus. Even it wasn’t perfect. Mobile home and no shop so it would be a huge step back in that area. The land could have been a turd for all I know but it looked good online.

You may be surprised how little good properties there are that check your boxes. Or not, hell i don’t know!

 

[gjs4]

Howboutthemdawgs......and yet again we are aligned.

I am totally chasing the dragon of the next best, or perfect, place. I know things I don't like about my property for sure, but I don't know why it doesn't present better deer than it has. This has me baffled and acting without clarity and we all know that's not a smart thing.

I look at least once a day and haven't really seen any until I pretend I have 2-3xs what I could actually swing trying to buy caviar on a cat food budget. Then I get the idea of selling and flipping into the next and the next and eventually writing the Drurys a check for all their farms. lol

In 1999 I planted my first food plot, (1/3ac of clover) to which i felt sinister with how "the poor deer" would be drawn to this isolated oasis of the best deer chow ever in front of the best hunting trap ever presented....I often miss those days and that naïve bliss.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Howboutthemdawgs......and yet again we are aligned.

I am totally chasing the dragon of the next best, or perfect, place. I know things I don't like about my property for sure, but I don't know why it doesn't present better deer than it has. This has me baffled and acting without clarity and we all know that's not a smart thing.

I look at least once a day and haven't really seen any until I pretend I have 2-3xs what I could actually swing trying to buy caviar on a cat food budget. Then I get the idea of selling and flipping into the next and the next and eventually writing the Drurys a check for all their farms. lol

In 1999 I planted my first food plot, (1/3ac of clover) to which i felt sinister with how "the poor deer" would be drawn to this isolated oasis of the best deer chow ever in front of the best hunting trap ever presented....I often miss those days and that naïve bliss.

I get all of that. The lack of quality deer is maddening. I don’t know if we are more aware because of the 8 billion cameras or if we are too efficient at killing that our quality is tanking rapidly. To make you feel better, I’m in the same boat and most everyone I know is in the same boat. Between me and a neighbor we have a thousand contiguous acres and ONE shooter that made it past November. I have another almost 200 acres with zero shooters. A buddy with 725 acres with zero shooters. I have many more examples of friends and acquaintances that tell me the same thing. So on that end I don’t know if you ever going to find that utopia that is holding multiple shooters all season long. I know that’s not good news exactly but at least misery loves company!

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I get all of that. The lack of quality deer is maddening. I don’t know if we are more aware because of the 8 billion cameras or if we are too efficient at killing that our quality is tanking rapidly. To make you feel better, I’m in the same boat and most everyone I know is in the same boat. Between me and a neighbor we have a thousand contiguous acres and ONE shooter that made it past November. I have another almost 200 acres with zero shooters. A buddy with 725 acres with zero shooters. I have many more examples of friends and acquaintances that tell me the same thing. So on that end I don’t know if you ever going to find that utopia that is holding multiple shooters all season long. I know that’s not good news exactly but at least misery loves company!

That is wild. Stories like that kind of suck the hope away from anything but a spot in the right neighborhood.

 

[MN Slick]

I've moved 3 times to improve hunting. Sold in Wisconsin to buy farm 1 in North MO: huge hunting improvement. Farm 1 to farm 2 in MO was another jump and we thought it was our forever farm. It wasn't perfect, as there was a ton of pressure to our west, along with an outfitter an 80 away ,but we consistently had the right bucks moving up in age class. Then the neighbors, who are farmers with deep roots, decided to carve off 90 acres along our east line to sell. Most of the deer in the area bedded on the 90 which is overgrown cattle pasture. We tried out best to buy it but ultimately failed, and immediately began to search for farm 3. I just couldn't see the right bucks continuing to get to age with another 3-5 guns all over the prime bedding.

We are in year 3 of farm 3 in North MO. So far it's about equal to farm 2 hunting wise but is 30 minutes closer to another farm I own. There is one "personality" trait on the new one that sucks, but others, like it's penchant for attracting late season bucks is very nice.

 

[bwoods11]

I’m interested in buying and selling land. Do you guys have any tips for finding good deals? Are you waiting for good deals on land that get listed, going to land auctions, or contacting land owners on unlisted land?

Sometimes it pays to contact land owner directly . I don’t go to auctions personally because it’s hard to research the farm and you don’t know the selling price.. I like to analyze every farm—income, habitat, water/ponds, hunting opportunities, access, potential changes, how attractive will in be in the future?

If you see price reduced or motivated seller. Don’t be afraid to throw out a low offer . I bought a farm in Iowa years ago for half the original list price .

Those opportunities are rare now, but don’t give up on it !

 

[gjs4]

A few "just wow" head shakes reading through these responses (esp HBTD and MN S). There's some comfort in company but its sad when we are sharing a boat headed for the falls....

Forgive the repeat, but how can one judge the actual hunting quality of a parcel from from afar? I understand the roll around the block glassing fields, looking for neighbors having targets in their yard, or just bad neighborly behavior (hoarders, fenceline stands, etc)...glaring items and low hanging fruit after the aerial reviews, forum poking and harvest data.,

 

[Turkish]

A few "just wow" head shakes reading through these responses (esp HBTD and MN S). There's some comfort in company but its sad when we are sharing a boat headed for the falls....

Forgive the repeat, but how can one judge the actual hunting quality of a parcel from from afar? I understand the roll around the block glassing fields, looking for neighbors having targets in their yard, or just bad neighborly behavior (hoarders, fenceline stands, etc)...glaring items and low hanging fruit after the aerial reviews, forum poking and harvest data.,

Where quality hunting exists only in pockets, it can take years of spending time in an area and knowing the people there to understand. Big buck neighborhoods are like big bucks. I don’t know that it’s reasonable to expect it to be super simple to figure this stuff out, especially for non residents.

ETA: southern IA. Shareholder clubs in the batture lands of MS, AR, LA. Those are the easy button. I used to be surprised at the popularity of the latter, but now I think I’ve grown to b surprised they aren’t more popular.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Where quality hunting exists only in pockets, it can take years of spending time in an area and knowing the people there to understand. Big buck neighborhoods are like big bucks. I don’t know that it’s reasonable to expect it to be super simple to figure this stuff out, especially for non residents.

ETA: southern IA. Shareholder clubs in the batture lands of MS, AR, LA. Those are the easy button. I used to be surprised at the popularity of the latter, but now I think I’ve grown to b surprised they aren’t more popular.

I agree with the above. One low hanging fruit is look at a) how many neighbors a tract has and b) how big those neighbors are. Not fail safe but not a bad start. If I see a bunch of 5-20 acre tracts and especially with houses on them, I’m automatically out. For “destination” states of the midwest, I’m also paying attention if the neighbors are out of staters. Usually a good sign. They have a lot of skin in the game from a time and money standpoint and usually arent content with the first 120 that walks out.
There are a few other clues but those two are my starts. I’ve also called the warden before just to ask about an area.