Wild Horse Ranch- Any info??? (Laramie, Sheridan: for sale, homes, buying)

[d9mmiller]

I've been looking at properties within Wild Horse Ranch (about 30 min west of Laramie). It is being heavily advertised and I'm just looking to get some info some of the Wyoming (Laramie) folks may have about this "development".

What should I beware of when purchasing land in Wyoming? Ive heard about water issues, but it seems the few people who have drilled there have found water. Is there more to it than this? Seems the land is pretty cheap, at least from what I'm used to. Starts at about 2K/ acre.

Any info would be appreciated.

[Kristynwy]

I am not aware of that subdivision... but there are some people here from Laramie that may be able to help you out...

We are trying to aquire land outside of Buffalo.

One thing I would suggest checking is the water like you mentioned...
Have you personally been to it and visited the land for sale? or can you in the future. When we went an looked at the land for sale, there was a lady that owned 36 acres right next to it, very sweet lady, invited us in her home and let us ask questions about her parcel.

I have been in touch with Culligan Water in Sheridan, and they have been very helpful. I am not sure if Culligan is down in Laramie, but if you buy a water softner/system from their company they do water tests for free. I would highly recommend that. They also told me, if there is a near by neighbor you could test theirs, the only thing is it could be coming from a different flow underground depending on where their water pump and well is...

I would also suggest getting a buyer's agent to help you out with checking out the land....

I hope that helps some... sorry that I am not more familiar with the area.... I have not been to Southern Wyoming yet...

[Kristynwy]

oh.... I just found it online... It is from B.B. Brooks company...
I know there are some people on here that have either bought or know more about them... they sell 40 acre parcels in several places in Wyoming...

I would suggest as much research as possible with a buyers agent like I mentioned...

I have heard good and bad things about them... but never had any personal experience either...

Best of luck to you

[d9mmiller]

Thanks for the response. I contacted a realtor in the Laramie area who is providing some helpful info on some of the other ranch properties for sale in the area. She advised that the further west you go from Laramie, the water seems to be more scarce. There is another ranch which is about 7 miles south of Laramie and sits over an aquifer, thus has more plentiful water. I think I will look into this before deciding.

I agree that somebody needs to visit property before purchasing. I visited Wild Horse Ranch a couple of weeks ago. I plan on returning in a couple weeks to look at it again as well as some other properties nearby.

[ElkHunter]

If you could be a little more specific, I could probably help you a little more with info. I've been all through that country and know all the roads and such, but just never heard that name before so I can't pinpoint exactly where it is.

[mrpontiac80]

Well here is what I found out about it in a summed up form.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/wyomi...elocation.html

[liz.barton]

I have heard of that subdivision and it is in a beautiful area. An excellent resource would be the local conservation district- Laramie Rivers Conservation District. They perform all the subdivision reviews, monitor water quality, perform soil surveys, and assist with rangeland management. I am the secretary for the district, and know we can give you an unbiased opinion. Also, I would be happy to mail you some information on what to be aware of when buying land in Wyoming, and other helpful stuff. Let me know.
Liz Barton
Laramie Rivers Conservation District

[wikit2006]

I live in Vermont and my Aunt just heard about the Wild Horse Ranch just outside of Laramie Wyoming, and I was wondering if I could get someone to give me some information. You know the stuff the company doesn't tell you when they are trying to get you to buy. I have found alot of conflicting information and I would really like to find the truth.
Thanks alot,
Bren

[d9mmiller]

Well, I decided NOT to buy here. Partly because the water situation is unknown. I tried researching and there were only about 12 well permits for the whole property (which is supposedly over 50% sold). All of the permits had no info as to water depth, quality, or for that matter if there was any water reached at all. Also, the covenants there are not enforced well. The covenants are to protect values, however, when I went for the ranch tour, there was a tee pee set up on one of the lots. Another lot, next to the one I was looking at, had a "stick-built" home on it (kit home). I asked how they could do this when the covenants prohibit it. I was told, well it will be the person's garage eventually...for now he was given permission to use it as a residence. If they are making exceptions now, I'd hate to see what exceptions will be made for other lots.

I contacted some realtors in the area and was told about 2 other ranch properties in the Laramie area. One of them is Harney Creek and the other is Timber Canyon. Harney Creek is supposedly over a large aquifer so the ground water is great. Both had better covenants than Wild Horse Ranch, restricting people from building those crazy "dome homes" or other strange dwellings. I'd hate to build a beautiful half-million dollar home and have the neighbor build some ridiculous looking dome home or other abnormal structure. Other than that, the covenants still are not too restrictive as to take away the ranch owner's freedoms but they seem like they will protect values better.

Most of all, the salesmans tactics were what disuaded me the most from Wild Horse Ranch. Typical used-car type salesmanship. He played a bunch of games with us in trying to pressure us to buy. The most common tactic was stating he or other sales people's family members were going to buy certain parcels. In an attempt to get your confidence "well if he was going to buy this parcel, it must be good!" Also, when I mentioned a couple of the other ranches in the area, he said there is a nuke plant near one and an mine near the other. Both claims proved to be untrue, and if they were true, then WHR would also be near the same things! Another thing I noticed by looking at the website was if somebody called and said they were interested in the lot, they get you to put $1000 down to hold the lot for 2 weeks or 30 days, etc. As soon as you do this, they mark the lot as a pending sale! I had no trouble getting my deposit back, so at least that was not a hassel, but they leave the lots "pending" to appear as though they are flying off the ranch as fast as they can list them. Every time my sales person called me, he was telling me how he "just sold another!"

I would just be careful buying in that developement. They are advertising heavily on TV, so a lot of unknowledgable folks are getting sucked in. Also, I visited in March. It was brown as can be and snowing sideways there. Not the lovely green pastures they show in the ads (which are for about 4 months at best). And if you think you will subdivide your lot, check into the Albany County website. It is quite a bit more complicated than they make it seem.

My advice is to contact local realtors and get some 2nd opinions of this ranch and the other ones in the area. I learned a lot doing this.

Originally Posted by wikit2006

I live in Vermont and my Aunt just heard about the Wild Horse Ranch just outside of Laramie Wyoming, and I was wondering if I could get someone to give me some information. You know the stuff the company doesn't tell you when they are trying to get you to buy. I have found alot of conflicting information and I would really like to find the truth.
Thanks alot,
Bren

[imbobbbb]

well this is why these type properties are marketed to out of state buyers,if they were a 'screaming deal' many locals would be snapping them up.i know a lot of these subdivisions sell over 90% of their lots to people from out of state