Starting over

  • Thread starter Thread starter bat man
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Head to the Alex area. I've spent a few hours in the woods in Northern Douglas and Southern Ottertail counties the last few weekends, cams have been out for 10 days. I'm impressed! Must be one of the hot zones population wise: we saw deer at all hours of the day and have pics of 2 over 140 to chase this fall. Ground with swamp on it (bedding!) seems reasonably priced up there too and lots of guys practicing some form of QDM.

Prairie to Woods QDMA Banquet on Saturday in Parkers Prairie. Whose going? hahaha!!!!!! I'm actually going to attend to learn more about the area and network a bit. I'll make sure to ask how much of the funds raised stay in the chapter versus go back to corporate.

Don't forget Missouri. You need to buy the 225 acre south of me.
 
Good luck! I just wish father time would roll back the clock on us when we start new projects.
 
Another area I've been spending some time exploring is between Cushing and Motley. You could take Hwy 10 the whole way :D
Stu, funny you should mention Hwy 10, a guy can take that all the way to northern Buffalo Co as well!;)
 
Stu, funny you should mention Hwy 10, a guy can take that all the way to northern Buffalo Co as well!;)
I like that drive on Hwy 10, better that I-94. 9 times out of 10 I take Hwy 10 versus I-94 when I drive to MSP.
 
HA, Batman isn't even in this conversation anymore and it continues 4 pages further. :)
 
Been busy taking notes. This aint just talk from my end. I have gone through 224 listings with a focus on access and narrowed it down to 7 potential pieces to take a peak at. Of those most have crap soil, but I plan to road trip and place cameras on most of them to see if there is any age class. Good way to see how the neighbors are I would think.

Every spot mentioned I have had the realtor do a search, and I have contacted one of the guys here on the land coming up that is not for sale. I need to chat with Sutherland as well.

If I find a spot the lowball offers will start flying. (unless its a no brainer gotta have it) If I don't then I keep looking.

I bought the wrong piece once and put in 40 apple trees, hundreds of spruce, clear plots etc. I won't do it again. Maybe.
 
Been busy taking notes. This aint just talk from my end. I have gone through 224 listings with a focus on access and narrowed it down to 7 potential pieces to take a peak at. Of those most have crap soil, but I plan to road trip and place cameras on most of them to see if there is any age class. Good way to see how the neighbors are I would think.

Every spot mentioned I have had the realtor do a search, and I have contacted one of the guys here on the land coming up that is not for sale. I need to chat with Sutherland as well.

If I find a spot the lowball offers will start flying. (unless its a no brainer gotta have it) If I don't then I keep looking.

I bought the wrong piece once and put in 40 apple trees, hundreds of spruce, clear plots etc. I won't do it again. Maybe.

I like the idea of throwing up a trail camera to see what's actually on the parcel right now. That will tell you all you need to know about the neighborhood.

Have you thought about buying a lower priced place right near home where you can hunt in 5 minutes when you're pressed for time and getting a property in a better area an hour or two away? Best of both worlds there-
 
Have you thought about buying a lower priced place right near home where you can hunt in 5 minutes when you're pressed for time and getting a property in a better area an hour or two away? Best of both worlds there-

Looking for a lease close to home. Land not so much cheap less than hour from the cities.
 
Land is like oats.

If you want good,clean oats, you must pay a fair price. But, if you can be satisfied with oats that have already passed through the horses.....well, those come a little cheaper.
 
Land is like oats.

If you want good,clean oats, you must pay a fair price. But, if you can be satisfied with oats that have already passed through the horses.....well, those come a little cheaper.

Cant completely agree with that. Be in the right place at the right time and you will find clean oats at passed through prices. Not saying it will happen for me, but I know it can. Lightning can strike again.
 
Just saying....the difference in price for an 80 at $1200 compared to one at $1500 is $24,000. Not a small number......but it should not deter you from buying what you want and need.
 
A real good 80 would not likely slip away for $24k. I concede that.
 
The area north of Alexandria (near Parkers/Urbank) is very good for MN standards.
Prices are not bad either.

Sleeper area but a much longer drive for you is NW Minnesota. Prices range from $600-$800 an acre in most cases--maybe $1000-1100 for prime stuff. If you have food plots and do habitat improvements you will draw deer in for miles. Some stud bucks come from that area!
 
we were fortunate to purchase our newest property just 2 years ago for a steal of a price. now I feel land anywhere around 1k is expensive because of that. not a lot of land for sale, but it's an area to explore and not cross off the regions to check out. however, if you're after land with topography changes, look elsewhere. most properties don't see elevation changes of more than 1-2 feet per half mile
 
The area north of Alexandria (near Parkers/Urbank) is very good for MN standards.
Prices are not bad either.

Sleeper area but a much longer drive for you is NW Minnesota. Prices range from $600-$800 an acre in most cases--maybe $1000-1100 for prime stuff. If you have food plots and do habitat improvements you will draw deer in for miles. Some stud bucks come from that area!
Wow we haven't had these prices in my area in 30 years. If u don't think quality hunting impacts recreational land prices, your living under a rock. You can't find land under $3k/acre by me. Quality land goes for $4k. Before the recession, prices were being listed at $6k/acre, which many bought at.
 
I would agree with dipper. Even crap swamp land in the extreme northern tier counties of WI normally sells in the $800 to $1,200 range. Usually the ones I see for around $800 are in desolate, wolf infested, deer decimated areas and most of them you couldn't legally build a doghouse on the place much less a cabin or home. Occasionally you will come across a larger(120-160 ac) parcel that is around $800 with an OK building site, but you might have to build a driveway through a 40 square of swamp to get to the high ground. When you are talking about "prime stuff" in WI, it starts at $2,000(not really prime) and goes up from there. That goes back to personal decisions, do you want a great 40 or 80 or a mediocre 120 or 160?
 
I was just talking to one of my customers yesterday about land & land prices. He lives on 35 acres in the Lodi school district, which is about 35 minutes N / NW of Madison, WI. His elderly neighbor owns 40 acres of woods that borders his property. He said he recently offered her $5,000 an acre to buy her 40 acres and she politely turned him down. She said she has already been offered significantly more but didn't want to sell it.

Brooks, good luck in your search. I hope you find what you're looking for and at the price you want!
 
The Lodi area has become very sought after by many folks in Madison. They can move to the "country" and still be close to Madison. Close to Lake WI, the WI River, and some other decent little lakes too. I'd guess wooded acreage is going for close to twice the $5K he offered :eek:
Stupid urban sprawl
 
The Lodi area has become very sought after by many folks in Madison. They can move to the "country" and still be close to Madison. Close to Lake WI, the WI River, and some other decent little lakes too. I'd guess wooded acreage is going for close to twice the $5K he offered :eek:

You're correct. He told me $10k-$12k and the sprawl from Madison was a big reason why.
 
^ As discussed above.....part of the price of land here in MN is its proximity to other outdoor recreation. (cabins and fishing and resort areas) The rec property nearer to the good fishing lakes is going for about a 50% premium IMO.

To me its worth the premium to be able hang out at the lake and then do my plotting within a 20 minute drive. Change that drive to an hour and a half......and it would be a game changer for me. Hence the price differences.

Also, some of that land in the low price counties won't support tree growth without lots of soil amendments. You can see the variations in land as you head west of a line between Baxter and Pine River. Then after a stretch....the land has better trees again........but now you are out of "the loop"......IMO.

Then......go further north toward Sandbur's place and the Wolves can become an issue. There are a few counties that hold good deer, are not overly effected by wolves, and still reasonably priced. Once the Potlatch timber sales end, in a few more years....I believe the price of land will go somewhat higher.
 
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