Howie from Virginia asks,
Bill, I have always known based on your articles through the years that you purchased your first property of 13 acres for roughly $12K when you were 32. I’ll be 31 next year and have around $17K saved up in a mutual fund. I have always looked up to you and desire my own humble beginning of rural land. The only debt I carry is my current home mortgage. I will only buy acreage I can 100% cash flow. Am I a moron for wanting to emulate you and buy my first hunting land in the next few years? Thanks for the wisdom!
Bill responds,
Topic: Buying Hunting Land:
It is never a bad idea to invest in things you understand, and as hunters, we naturally understand hunting land. And if you can actually make that investment cash flow, it becomes a no-brainer.
Howie,
First off, thanks for the support. Second, there are a lot of directions I can go with this question, starting with whether you are a moron for ever emulating me.
But, I will leave that for another day and will focus on the land concern. I actually started by purchasing a share in a partnership for $40k, investing our life savings of $12k and financing the rest. Land was much cheaper then so I could actually get something for that price, but it has gotten more difficult since then.
However, you should jump in as soon as you can. I don’t see a downside to buying any land that cash flows. That was always my dream, but I wasn’t able to get it done. True hunting land almost never cash flows unless it is full of good trees for harvest.
So, if you can pull that off, I am all for it. Even if you have to pay in a bit each month you can look at it like a forced savings plan. As long as you can afford it and still live reasonably well, paying in a bit each month is a good plan too.
The key is to own land rather than keep saving. Once you buy it, you peg the price to that point in time and if land goes up in value and you see something you would rather own, you can sell your land (which has also appreciated) and buy the other piece. You just have to get into the game. Again, if you can cash flow, you need to dive in sooner rather than later. Good luck. (12/20/21)
