New to Rural Property Ownership / Investment

[Roger Reyes]

Investment Info:

Other buy & hold investment 

Purchase price: $190,000
Cash invested: $60,000

17 Ac (Unimproved Land)

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Average selling price for 3 Ac lot was $99,000. Adding an addition 14 Ac (total 17 ac) for $100K more was a no brainer.
Pan handle type property.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

RE Agent. Offer made with concession to eliminate land improvements (water/elect) to be provided by seller. Installed land utilities ourselves at a cost saving of $20K.

How did you finance this deal?

Yes

How did you add value to the deal?

Adding property utilities ourselves resulted in 2 benefits, a cost savings of $20k for the utilities, and a new appraisal assessment value close to a 35% gain on purchase price.

What was the outcome?

Pending

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Rural property (unimproved) presents unique challenges such installing utilities, land clearing, unclear property boundaries (no fences), etc. Ask lots of questions, do your homework, and talk to the people who live close by as they are a wealth of information on how to get things done! Texas has several 'exemptions' that will dramatically reduce taxes for rural properties if accomplished within taxing guidelines.