Wanted Land/Acerage lease for cattle/horse grazing (Houston, Katy: for sale, real estate)

[ginder]

I am trying to find 10-100 acres of recreational or agricultural land close to houston.

I moved to Houston from another country and farming and livestock was my main profession back there. I am running my own business here and would love to do something on side as hobby but I am not willing to spend half a million for a decent sized land. Only option that works for me is to lease the land!

I am not sure how things work here, I have done plenty of google search and I cannot find any listings or information on how to lease land. I cannot even find realtors/brokers dealing in land leases. I am assuming that means that only way to do that would be to BUY land but I am confused as to why there is absolutely no market for leasing pasture/grazing or recreational land lease.

Can anyone help me find something that fits my needs? Is it even possible to lease land in Texas or US for that matter? I am not looking for something 100% developed, infact I can just use open land with brush or even wooded area with some open tracts and invest in putting storage and barn for my needs

[DJboutit]

You have to look NW SW or South of Houston like 20 to 30 miles outside the beltway

[ginder]

Originally Posted by DJboutit

You have to look NW SW or South of Houston like 20 to 30 miles outside the beltway

Thanks for your help! I know I have to look outside the city but my problem is WHERE do I look?

I cant find any real estate brokers/agents/realtors dealing with land leases
There is no website with any such ads
There are no such ads in any of the newspapers or classifieds
I dont see any signs for land lease

I am not sure if leasing land is even possible, I can even take hunting lease without the hunting part but again, I am not sure where to look for that!

[DJboutit]

Pick a few zip codes & search Houston Real Estate - Search Houston Homes, Houses For Sale, Houston Realtors

77511
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77469
77494
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77423
77447
77445
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77363
77430
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77488

[TheEconomist]

To purchase land, you need to get a commercial real estate agent and tell him to search for empty tracks of land without deed restrictions that would prevent cattle grazing. You must be very specific when telling people what to do if they have not already done what you are asking. Commercial real estate agents do this kind of thing all the time, just not usually for cattle grazing. Buying land can actually be much cheaper than leasing as long as you are not looking for a property with the intention of turning it into a neighborhood or shopping center. The land with potential for something like that will be uneconomical for your purposes. You may want to try out in Fulshear.

Additionally, with the agricultural exemption for property taxes, purchasing land becomes a much better option than leasing. This is perhaps why there you have not been able to find a market for leasing agents.

[ginder]

Originally Posted by TheEconomist

To purchase land, you need to get a commercial real estate agent and tell him to search for empty tracks of land without deed restrictions that would prevent cattle grazing. You must be very specific when telling people what to do if they have not already done what you are asking. Commercial real estate agents do this kind of thing all the time, just not usually for cattle grazing. Buying land can actually be much cheaper than leasing as long as you are not looking for a property with the intention of turning it into a neighborhood or shopping center. The land with potential for something like that will be uneconomical for your purposes. You may want to try out in Fulshear.

Additionally, with the agricultural exemption for property taxes, purchasing land becomes a much better option than leasing. This is perhaps why there you have not been able to find a market for leasing agents.

Thank you, that was very helpful. Only problem is that buying land is expensive (I understand your reasoning longterm) but I just dont have $100k+ and since I moved here just few months ago, I do not have the kind of credit that will get me real estate financed, especially vacant land.

I guess I'll try calling some commercial real estate agents tomorrow and see what they suggest

[chris_ut]

People do lease land all the time. You need to talk to the local real estate agents in the rural areas, avoid google as it is all links to big aggregation websites and won't be of any help.

[mtgmike]

My Dad purchased 175 acres for a little over 200k in Milam county about a year ago, so deals are out there. I know you cant buy, but that at least tells you if land can be bought that cheap, it can be leased cheap too. Id look for the smallest you might be happy with. Try to find a new owner looking for someone to do what you are doing, so they can get their ag exemption.

Just look up counties you would be ok with the drive to, and google realtors in that county, call agents.

[Houstonkid]

Also look west, land is leased in Katy all of the time for livestock. Head north on Mason from I-10 and you will see cattle before you have traveled 3 miles.
Developers are just sitting on huge tracts out there right now.

Anyone notice that large tract of land that was just cleared on I-10 (southside of freeway) just before you get to Katy Mills?? They cleared the land and did a lot of grading/dirt prep. Well now the whole tract is fenced and has cattle on it.

[TheEconomist]

Those suggestions make sense. The person leasing land can get the ag exemption which will be an incentive to lease at a good rate. Also, you can move your cattle if they ever sell their land or develop it so there is no reason not to get some income on the land while it sits idle for their purposes.