Buy Hunting Land

The sun had been up for over an hour. Heavy dew was still dripping from the tin roof of the box blind 8 feet above the ground situated strategically on the higher ground in the corner of the food plot. The shadows had all been erased when G-Daddy nudged Cooper to quietly wake him from his slumber so he could ease up to see the deer feeding just a few dozen yards in front of the stand. G-Daddy was smiling from ear to ear as Cooper eased into place for a shot. This was exactly what G-Daddy had been planning for a very long time, and now it was time.

This story has happened over and over, generation after generation—or it has until lately. A sportsman decides how important it is to him or her to be able to have a place for their next generation to have for the opportunity to share their love of the outdoors, of hunting and fishing. It is a challenge to make something like this happen. Financial choices, time, finding the land, and making the commitment to do it, all without life getting in the way. It is never easy. But is it worth it?

I remember well our first lease for deer hunting. I was 13 and the lease was in Jones County—750 acres the owner of the company my father worked for leased. Members paid $25 per family to join. Sure, that was about 50 years ago, but the memories I have from then are emblazoned in my mind like no others. I can recall almost every time I went with my father to the woods. I would venture anyone reading this can relate if they were lucky enough to have had similar experiences with parents or grandparents.

Back then, buying hunting property for our family was “out of the question.” The expense was way over anything that could fit in a budget that still allowed to keep us fed and clothed. Hunting was not a priority; it was an extravagance. Land, at the time, could have been purchased for $250 to $500 an acre with cutover timber even less expensive. That cutover timber would have matured twice since then! Could we have afforded it if we wanted to? Could we have afforded it if we knew how to make it work for us to pay for itself?

Here we are in 2020, and many sportsmen are looking around at their leases with the same old questions. Will we be able to get through the season before the owner decides to harvest the timber and rearrange the patterns of the deer, again? Will we be able to lease it again next year? Can we do some supplemental food plots? Are we allowed to cut a few trees or limbs for shooting lanes? Will the land be sold to someone who will not allow us to lease it? How much will the lease go up next year? Can we still camp here again next year or are they harvesting where we camp? There are more questions, too.

Prices of leases have gone up from the $25 for 750 acres where my family began hunting to some leases more than $1,000 to $2,000 annually per hunter. A tract leasing for $7 per acre is now pushing $20 or more per acre for good land. Limitations on what you can do on the land is also becoming more common along with costs for roads, fences, and often enough, hunter insurance being mandated.

The ultimate alternative to leasing is owning your recreational property. Is owning really an option? What would be the steps to consider owning versus leasing recreational property? Can I even consider it as a possibility? What does it really cost to buy, hold and maintain your own land? But more importantly, what is the real value of doing so? How do you measure that value?

This is what I hope to explore in this column regarding buying and owning your hunting/fishing or recreational property. I hope you find it informative.

Owning property where improvements can be made and hunting options secured for generations to come is a dream for many sportsmen.

Buying Your Own Land

Glenn brought his tractor over with the seed drill for the food plot. Ed had hired Jody to clear off three or so acres for a new dove field and food plot for the rest of the season. Glenn’s farm is next door, and he has agreed to help with the planting like many good neighbors do. No doubt, Glenn will be welcome this opening day of dove season and get in on the fun.

Owning your own acres, whether a smaller 15 to 20 acres or hundreds of acres, provides you with the autonomy of a landowner. You get to make a lot of decisions that impact your land as you see fit. If you want to plant it, harvest it or burn it, your decisions will be for the betterment of the land and the creatures that call it home.

If you aren’t among the lucky few who have inherited the family farm and are in the position of deciding how you will find a place for recreation, I intend to share some valuable information on the way to go about getting there. The first and biggest step is deciding it is something you want to do, and if you are married, I suggest being sure everyone is on board with the decision! If we have jumped that hurdle, we can begin to go through the whole process.

Buying land is not like buying a new rifle or pickup. Not just the expense of the land, but what you will do with it, where it is located, and what is around it? There are a lot of questions you need to run through before making a commitment to even start the search. Buying a rifle might make a dent in that month’s extra funds or a big hit on your credit card, but buying a nice parcel of land will take a bit more planning.

Using a realtor is a good idea, particularly if you are considering buying in an area where you are not familiar with the rules a county may have or what may be coming into that county. Hiring the right realtor to assist you is a very important decision. You want someone who understands what your needs are, the area you are looking, and anything that may affect the future ownership you plan to enjoy. Sure, you can spend hours looking through online services trying to find something you like. You may get lucky, but you may end up spending time finding something that is next to a future landfill, prison, nuclear waste site—those things your local realtor should be knowledgeable of and can steer you away from. Finding financing, negotiating the deal, getting plats, and lining up surveyors and attorneys are also helpful items a realtor does every day and that you may not be familiar with. One point here, acreage specialized realtors are usually less likely to also be residential home sellers. They may sell some, but acreage—land—that is where they spend their time, and it will show.

Land does not move, normally, so location is very important. Getting a great deal on 50 acres loaded with deer and turkeys located between a river and soybean fields with a powerline through the woods sounds great. But when it is located six hours away and you can hardly get an extra day off twice during hunting season, maybe it is not so perfect. Finding something within a reasonable drive—what I like to say is “far enough from home I feel freed up, close enough I want to go.” Some folks may say this is an hour, others might say three hours or more. Everyone has their opinion, and they are all right.

Then there are the physical wants you have for the land in that location. You might want a powerline through the property. You may want a swamp or great creek or existing pond or lake frontage. You may opt to be close to restaurants or building and farm supply stores when you are there. You may want more hardwoods, more hogs, or flat vs. mountains. Maybe away from subdivisions, industrial parks, noisy interstates. Keep in mind, you are not planning for a season, you are planning for your grandchildren to enjoy when they are your age. It may be cut-over land today, but by the time your son or daughter is your age, they can cut the first thinning of timber to cover the taxes for a while! You may also want to consider, what if this isn’t what I thought it may be—can I sell it and make a profit in a year or two?

Financial considerations are key, as well. Have you saved enough for the down payment or an outright purchase? If you are going to finance it, have you been pre-approved for a loan amount? Will the payments stress anything—I mean anything. You want this to be a joint effort for a place to get some down time. A place for enjoying quiet—or maybe not so quiet but a safe place when you teach your kids how to shoot and firearms safety. You do not want land ownership to be stressful financially. You need to think through how much land you really need, and how much you can really afford. The best sources of financing land I have found in Georgia are the AgGeorgia/AgSouth folks or, when possible, owner financing. Many banks will not loan on raw land above 5 or so acres.

If you go the route of owner financing, anticipate the owner will still hold the title just like a bank does. If you fail to make the payments on time, the owner will still foreclose and take the land back, just like a bank does. What is the value in owner financing? Maybe your credit took a hit, but you have worked hard to get your finances back in order—and now owner financing can work. Maybe you do not like banks. It is a reasonable and often used process, but be sure an attorney still closes the sale and represents you in the purchase, so you aren’t committing to something you do not know about.

Institutional lenders like AgGeorgia/AgSouth have rules they have to follow and limits on what they can do. Interest rates are set not by them but by boards with rules to do so. Much of the time a down payment of 20% may be required and terms may extend to 20 years or more with a purchase. However, there are programs you need to discuss with these companies such as “First time farmer” loans that can include timber programs which may get you in on even lower interest rates and lower down payments. These companies know agribusiness, so if it does involve farming along with your recreational purchase, you may even be able to include tractors and other implements you need for your operation.

Getting started in owning your own piece of land for your pleasure does require some planning. The result can be extremely satisfying.

About the Author: Ed Fickey has been a long-time sportsman, and was executive producer and host of the radio and television series “The Georgia Outdoorsman” in the early 1990s. He has coached youth BB and shotgun teams for more than 20 years. Ed graduated with a degree in Agriculture, ’79 UGA, MBA GSU ’98. Ed is currently an Associate Broker with The Norton Agency licensed in Georgia and other southern states where he is most involved in acreage sales.