Real Estate Question about Lake LBJ Area. (Austin, Horseshoe Bay: lawyers, house)

[C24L]

Hello everybody, I live in Midessa and I am looking to possibly buy a lake house at Lake LBJ in a few years.Is there anywhere where i could find a house with a few acres on the lake waterfront so I could get the ag exemption?I dont think Horseshoe Bay would have the ag exemption but maybe Granite Shoals....i just dont know.I dont like the thought of paying lots of property taxes.Thanks yall.

[Jimmyp25]

Originally Posted by C24L

Hello everybody, I live in Midessa and I am looking to possibly buy a lake house at Lake LBJ in a few years.Is there anywhere where i could find a house with a few acres on the lake waterfront so I could get the ag exemption?I dont think Horseshoe Bay would have the ag exemption but maybe Granite Shoals....i just dont know.I dont like the thought of paying lots of property taxes.Thanks yall.

You just missed out. They just sold ninety plots (acres) of land on Horseshoe Bay . The land was starting at 30k per plot with no time frame to develop. They sold all of them in one day.

I was suppose to go but my appointment was at 9am the same exact day the Hurricane was hitting us . Apparently they sold out that day. I wasnt really going to risk my life in flood country to buy some land but I guess some other people did.

[Trainwreck20]

A few points:
-If you own a house with waterfront on LBJ, you WILL be paying a lot of property taxes, regardless of any exemptions;
-The county really has the final say on AE, but I doubt that you are going to be allowed to claim that for waterfront, that is just too lucrative. Even if you appear to meet some requirements, the county will find reasons to deny it;
-Even if you could qualify, the minimum acreage will be at least 5, if not 10, acres and then 5 years waiting before you get the benefits of the exemption.

[C24L]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

A few points:
-If you own a house with waterfront on LBJ, you WILL be paying a lot of property taxes, regardless of any exemptions;
-The county really has the final say on AE, but I doubt that you are going to be allowed to claim that for waterfront, that is just too lucrative. Even if you appear to meet some requirements, the county will find reasons to deny it;
-Even if you could qualify, the minimum acreage will be at least 5, if not 10, acres and then 5 years waiting before you get the benefits of the exemption.

Okay Thanks very much Trainwreck for those very informative points.I think i could prolly afford 5 to 10 acres.However, I may buy some land closer into Austin and try to get the AE on it instead .I will just have to consult with realtor as the time gets closer.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by C24L

Okay Thanks very much Trainwreck for those very informative points.I think i could prolly afford 5 to 10 acres.However, I may buy some land closer into Austin and try to get the AE on it instead .I will just have to consult with realtor as the time gets closer.

The main goal is to buy land that is already AE so you can avoid the 5 years; however, the sellers know this and will up-price the land accordingly.

After you are in AE, then you can possibly transfer into a wildlife exemption, which tends to have less impact on the land. Not sure on the details.

Finally, for big pieces of land you can get an 'ecolab' exemption. The statesman doesn't like it, but it is available and makes an end-run around the five year waiting period.
Ecolab exemption for Texas property taxes needs examination

[C24L]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

The main goal is to buy land that is already AE so you can avoid the 5 years; however, the sellers know this and will up-price the land accordingly.

After you are in AE, then you can possibly transfer into a wildlife exemption, which tends to have less impact on the land. Not sure on the details.

Finally, for big pieces of land you can get an 'ecolab' exemption. The statesman doesn't like it, but it is available and makes an end-run around the five year waiting period.
Ecolab exemption for Texas property taxes needs examination

Thanks for the tip Trainwreck....I had not heard of the Ecolab thing so i could see how it could help.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by C24L

Thanks for the tip Trainwreck....I had not heard of the Ecolab thing so i could see how it could help.

I did an ecolab last year but am not renewing it this year. If you get it to work without expensive fees to lawyers let me know.

It cost about 6K for the researchers and 10K for the lawyers.

The plus side of ecolab is that it is immediately available, while ag/wildlife has to be in place for 5 years before you can get the exemption.

There was a bill this past session to get rid of ecolab

[C24L]

Originally Posted by Austin97

I did an ecolab last year but am not renewing it this year. If you get it to work without expensive fees to lawyers let me know.

It cost about 6K for the researchers and 10K for the lawyers.

The plus side of ecolab is that it is immediately available, while ag/wildlife has to be in place for 5 years before you can get the exemption.

There was a bill this past session to get rid of ecolab

okay thanks Austin....i will keep that in mind when i purchase my ranch.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by C24L

Okay Thanks very much Trainwreck for those very informative points.I think i could prolly afford 5 to 10 acres.However, I may buy some land closer into Austin and try to get the AE on it instead .I will just have to consult with realtor as the time gets closer.

ag exemption wont save you on the house itself or the property immediately around it. Dont think you are getting an ag exemption on the whole thing.

[DashRiprock]

My understanding is that even if the land has an ag or wildlife exemption, if you have a house on it they will carve out at least one acre to be taxed at the normal valuation.