geterdun2

hey all. i had a thought just pop in my head. im always trying to think of ways to get my dad to invest in some land, and of course im never successful, b/c he doesnt hunt like i do lol. but i know he loves to make money so im trying to take that approach. this might be a dumb question, so dont pound me too much, lol, but can land decrease in value? im always hearing people say "yea i bought this for 20 grand, and two years later its worth 100 grand" or whatever, and i never heard anyone losing money on it. i mean my buddy bought 65 acres in slainesville, WV, about 5 years ago for like 61 grand, and now its worth like 150 i think or 120, something like that. i doubt my dad would do it either way lol, but just to appease my curioisty, could land decrease in value? thanks a million

sloth

Short answer yes.

Smelting factory goes in next to it. Landfill etc. Or in the case around here, prolong drought has dried up water on the property.

geterdun2

makes sense. so i guess it is a total gamble when you buy land with the hope of making money off it. its too unpredictable i guess. thanks bud

johnst43

Ask Donald Trump. He says reasl estate is the best investment there is. They cant make any more of it thats for sure.

SwampCollie

No it isn't a total gamble at all. If someone puts up a smelting factory next to your block of land, petition the county planning committee to have your land rezoned industrial and sell it to another company looking to build. Companys usually don't just build plants in the middle of no where, unless of course it is some type of chemical plant, pulp mill, or a slaughter house. But factories like that always have other businesses/homes spring up around them. And if all else fails... mini-storage always makes money!

There are more ways to make money on real estate than there is to lose it. You just have to have the credit and the stones to put up some big money on an investment. Over the course of time, you will come out ahead... or at the very worst, break even.

What you have to realize though is this: As an investment, hunting land is a bust. Its quite often like a classic car... the more you use it....the less profitable it becomes. For hunting land, you want it to be fairly desolate. It takes a heck of a lot of work to keep up, and unless you are planning on running an outfitting service (which means you don't really get to hunt, which defeats the purpose of having it in the first place) then you have little or no way to make money off it. You can farm, which is expensive and time consuming, and you can even sell off timber, which is profitable as pulp is at an all time high... but once you cut... hunting with a bow gets pretty dicey.

The money in real estate is in buying and selling, not really buying and using or buying and holding. Sometimes its good to hold a good buy for a while so it can appreciate. Just keep in mind you are paying taxes on it while you are holding it. And taxes on the profits when you sell it, and taxes on it when you buy it.

sloth

I wouldn't say it's a total gamble. Real Estate is a very solid investment, and he would probably make good money on it. I'm just saying it's possible for land prices to go down just like any other investment.

Population is sky rocketing and people need places to live so land is a pretty solid investment.

If you do talk him in to buying some land, when it comes time to sell it. Make sure you having hunting rights is part of the deal.

Bowhunter2001

I bought 135 acres incentralIllinoisthatIjust bow hunt on 5 years ago.I have put 4 food plots on it. I had the state plant 20,000 trees in CRP. It is 95% woods with a creek running through the middle of it. Ithas many hills and many flat spots. It is surrounded on 3 sides by neighbor'sfarm ground in all corn.I just paid my property taxes, a total of $69 per year. The government pays me $3000 per year to do nothing with my trees in CRP for 15 years.

I paid $1250 an acre 5 years ago. The cheapest in the county is selling around$4K per acre. I took two P&Y bucks off it last year which will make it worth more. You do the math! Best part about it is that it is paid for. This should seal the deal! Pics of twodeer. The one is an 11 point 23 1/4"inside spread with a 7" drop tine other is 18" 8 point.

Bob H in NH

Alot depends on where it is. Is it worth the investment? Depends what you want from it. Right now real estate, including land isnt' the best deal running and prices, short term will probably come down. However land is one thing they aren't making any more of and demand will always go up

Long term land probably won't go down, especially in a desireable place. However most hunting land isn't in the "desirable" places short term.

If you are lookign for hunting land it probably isn't a true investment financially, just peace of mine and happiness.

StrutNtom

About the only cases that I can think of that would make land depreciate is popluted soil or water table. Or the land is condimed(sp) by the government for some reason.

nchawkeye

As mentioned, its all about location...If you have property and a factory is built next to it...Open a gas station and a resturant and make money off the employees...

As a young man, I worked for John Deere, got to know the dealers really well...Most were worth several million, this was in the 70s and 80s...They all owned land, stocks, bonds, apartments, rental houses etc...In other words they mixed it up.

As a general statement, land is a good investment, it might decrease in value in say a 3 year period, but it will increase after that...It does need to be looked at as a long term investment, inless of course you plan to develop...

I'll tell you this, my dad, bought 20 lots at Kill Devil Hills, NC (on the Outer Banks) back about 1968....He paid $500 a lot....Today each lot is worth over $200,000...