Investing In A Ranch Has Its Benefits But Also Risks
Owning your own ranch can come with enormous benefits. According to the New York Times, ranch life caters for Americans’ unquenchable desire for freedom and space, providing them with a patch of land that they can truly call their own.
But if you don’t know the ins-and-outs of what you’re doing when investing in a ranch, you can also put yourself at increased financial risk. Here are some of the things you need to do before committing.
Get To Know The Neighbours
Any real estate investment can be derailed if the neighbors are problematic. As a result, it’s best to get to know them first so that you know there won’t be any trouble if you decide to sell the ranch on in the future. Working with neighbors on a ranch is essential, especially for things like mending broken fences and working out who has rights to which mineral deposits.
Check For Mineral Rights
Investing in the property on top of a ranch is one thing, but some deals don’t give you the right to own the minerals under the ground as well. In fact, your property rights can be so weak that there’s nothing you can do to stop commercial operations from moving onto your land and drilling for oil. It’s a good idea, therefore, to choose a ranch that has rights both above and below the ground. If you’re not sure, check with your lawyer.
Look For Ranches With Recreational Value
Why do people love to live on ranches? Because they provide them with the space they want for outdoor pursuits. However, when it comes to recreational potential, not all ranches are created equal. Some have a plethora of stunning natural features, forests, mountainsides, and lakes, while others are little more than acre after acre of monocropping. It’s a good idea, therefore, to view information at RMA Brokers and other professionals in the industry to see whether the ranch you’re buying has recreational potential. If it does, then it’s more likely to appreciate in value.
Get The Soil Tested
Even if you don’t plan on living on your ranch, it’s still prudent for investors to get the soil tested anyway. Why? The answer is simple: contaminated water dramatically reduces the value of the land itself, affecting the resale value. Contaminated land is also dangerous for human health, and something you want to avoid if you plan on letting the ranch out to holiday makers or permanent residents.
Check Water Rights
Some buyers want to know whether a ranch has water rights, especially if they plan on using it to rear animals. As a result, it’s crucial to make sure that you have what’s called “senior water rights.” If you don’t have these rights, then somebody else further upstream may be able to charge you for using water on the ranch, making it less valuable to buyers in the long run when you come to resell. Buying water for irrigation could make farming on the land economically infeasible, limited buyers to recreational customers only.
