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Try the Montana magazines (there are several). Your price range would limit your options on property, as land with streams and mountain views in excess of 1000 acres are well over $1,000,000. Property in the western part of the state is really getting expensive. You are about 30 years late for cheap land.
Sorry for the bad news.
Rick
I'd highly recommend you get the current paper copy of Montana Lands Magazine if you are interested in non-urban Montana. The website is at http://montanalandmagazine.com/. Some realtors will send you a copy at no charge or, last time I checked (long ago), you could order a year's subscription (four issues) through the website (for a fee).
Several other really good real estate magazines exist for the state as well, as Rick noted.
One caution with MT Lands--it does cover the entire state. You may find inexpensive land in the east (for example) that is really quite barren ranchland--not ideal if you're looking for gorgeous mountain property. So use it with a state map in-hand. (You can get a free highway map through the state govt. or Dept. of Transportation site, or use mapquest or any of the other online mapping tools.)
Also something for everyone looking at land in MT to be aware of--it is sometimes possible to purchase land that has no legal access, meaning you own land but can never get to it (unless you fly in). So if you find land you're interested in, check two types of access:
1. Seasonal access (not a legal issue, but some properties are impossible to get to in winter except perhaps by snowmobile)
2. Legal access (your property may lie behind private property, a state section, or other land that does not have public roads through it)
With snow capped Mountain Views, live streams, privacy and good year round access. Hangman Creek Ranch is an excellent example of Montana Big Sky country. It is surrounded by large ranch holdings and has a wide variety of wild life and upland bird. Just five miles from Grey Cliff and the interstate. Billings Montana and the Logan International Airport is just an hour away. This 160 acre ranch is located in Sweet Grass County which is fast becoming on of Montana’s most sought after areas. A must see and a great opportunity to become part of “The Best Last Place.” $495,000.00
The pictures on the website made it look as if it were my perfect ranch. The price is also particularly attractive, enough to build a nice home and maybe my Range Rover (well...maybe not). Anybody know anything about Big Timber, MT?
160 acres isn't my ideal size but I'm sure it won't be too small. And with the airport only an hour away, I could come up for a weekend and not spend all my time driving there.
Maybe I'll come up in a few weeks and see it for myself...
Nice to meet you, neighbor. It sounds as if you have a great place up there.
I'm looking for land more than an actual ranch, I'd build my own house (no need for any barns, pens etc). This would be my absolute dream ranch:
1600-2000 acres of pristine, unspoiled, mountainous terrain. Dozens of little lakes, streams, and a couple great fishing ponds. A long driveway that comes to a large (4000 sq ft), wooden, lodge-type home. A huge patio that has an awe-inspiring view of the mountians and lakes. And maybe a Range Rover or Hummer to top it all off.
Now I know it'd be mext to impossible to find a ranch like this at any price. But one can dream...
Big Timber is almost half way between Bozeman and Billings but a little closer to Bozeman. (60 miles to Bozeman and 80 miles to Billings) Billings is a cheaper airport to fly in and out of though. (usually) The closest town would be Livingston. You would have the Yellowstone River nearby and that part of the river has very good fishing. The scenery is beautiful there with the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness at hand. The best Mother's Day caddis hatch in the country!!! (for you fly fishers out there)
One thing you should find out right away is where this land is located exactly. Right now, the highest priority wildfire in the country is located outside Big Timber and has now burned 191,000 acres of land and is only 45% contained. 26 homes have been burned to the ground, so see if you can find out where this land is with regard to where the fire is burning before you do anything else. The fire is called the Derby Mountain Fire and is the biggest fire burning in the US right now...
I believe in Montana it is only called a ranch once it reaches 187 acres or more if I'm not mistaken, but 160 acres would be plenty to get lost in. Good luck! One thing you can do, by the way is type the address into the Google search box and then click on the address and click on satellite to see where it is from the air and what it's close to.
Come now, that was just my fantasy of a dream ranch.
Quote:
One thing you should find out right away is where this land is located exactly. Right now, the highest priority wildfire in the country is located outside Big Timber and has now burned 191,000 acres of land and is only 45% contained. 26 homes have been burned to the ground, so see if you can find out where this land is with regard to where the fire is burning before you do anything else. The fire is called the Derby Mountain Fire and is the biggest fire burning in the US right now...
That doesn't seem very re-assuring but I'll take your suggestion and try to find the exact location of the property and proximety of the fire. It looks like a beautiful location but you know what they say about looks...
On rereading your original post, I'm curious why you think you want thousands of acres to own. Are you aware how much public land exists in MT? Not all is available for public use, but national forests and some others are. Properties adjacent to NFs are becoming rarer and rarer, and one pays a premium often for these properties, but buying adjacent to these lands is a way to have easy access to miles of beautiful natural areas without paying for them. Of course you can't keep others out of the public lands, but if you buy property adjacent to NF (or other) that has difficult or very remote access (vs. the areas where the public uses them a lot), you can pretty much have "free" private land without having to pay taxes on it.
If you don't mind barren land, you might still be able to find a few hundred acres within your $800,000 price range. If you want pretty land, as others have said, you're pretty much a few decades too late. And if you are expecting reasonable living quarters on the property, the $800K is probably unrealistic pretty much anywhere if you want land that has access (both year-round and legal).
By the way, with well situated property in the mountains, you can have complete privacy--seeing and hearing no one and nothing other than wildlife, the wind, and airplanes/helicopters overhead--with only 100 or so acres, even less (such as only 20-30 acres).
Has anyone explained deeded acres to you yet? If so, I missed that. Yes, that's land you own the deed to, as opposed to leased acres that ranchers (real ranchers, i.e., "working" ranchers) lease for grazing and the like. With surface rights (deeded acres), you don't get mineral rights, however, which can be another challenge to people who own land in Montana. And water rights are another issue yet.
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Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ
Hello all,
I would like to get some information on Montana ranches and Montana in general. I don't plan on moving there but I have thought of buying a ranch for a vacation retreat (currently live in a suburb of Phoenix). I really have no idea where to start though.
First: My budget would be up to $800,000. I'd like to spend less but I'd be willing to go that high (maybe a bit higher) for the perfect ranch.
Second: I'd like more than 400-500 acres (maybe in the thousands?). What does an acre run up there?
Third: I don't want a "working ranch". I have no intentions of raising livestock (lived on a farm in Iowa; been there, done that, hated it). I want a ranch with streams, beautiful mountians, and a serene place to relax. I wouldn't want to see neighbors for miles.
What exactly are "deeded acres"? I'm assuming that I own the acres...?
Again thank you for the advice, maybe in the near future I'll have a little slice of the big "sky" !
Big Timber is where the #1 wildfire in the country (top for national resources to fight it) is. If you get serious about this property, check where it is relative to the fire, and also check any other large property you get interested in for burned areas from previous fires. I remember seeing a number of ads when I was looking for my place in MT that had comments such as "a portion burned in the XXX Fire of [year]." Or something like that. Or worse, the burn wasn't mentioned, but I found out by probing the realtor and/or owner. I also remember looking at one property that was 50% swamp--something not mentioned in the listing or by the owner. I discovered it only when I went exploring when I visited it with my realtor.
Also while you said the pictures are nice, the description doesn't say if the property is heavily wooded, mostly open scrub land, or what. Be aware that a camera doesn't give a very good perspective of large properties, even with a number of photos.
Big Timber is not in the mountains though the Crazies aren't terribly far away. I imagine those are the snowcapped mountain views your listing mentions.
You probably should start working with Montana realtors if you're serious about properties. They can vet the properties before you come out. When I spent a week looking, I was able to view one, or at most, two, properties a day (since rural, large properties that fit one's requirements are generally quite a distance apart). If my realtor hadn't previously visited the various properties I thought sounded wonderful, I never could have found my place in that one week visit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ
True but dreams are...well....dreams, it's very unlikely to happen.
I was searching a few websites and found a couple properties that fit my criteria. One really caught my eye though:
With snow capped Mountain Views, live streams, privacy and good year round access. Hangman Creek Ranch is an excellent example of Montana Big Sky country. It is surrounded by large ranch holdings and has a wide variety of wild life and upland bird. Just five miles from Grey Cliff and the interstate. Billings Montana and the Logan International Airport is just an hour away. This 160 acre ranch is located in Sweet Grass County which is fast becoming on of Montana’s most sought after areas. A must see and a great opportunity to become part of “The Best Last Place.” $495,000.00
The pictures on the website made it look as if it were my perfect ranch. The price is also particularly attractive, enough to build a nice home and maybe my Range Rover (well...maybe not). Anybody know anything about Big Timber, MT?
160 acres isn't my ideal size but I'm sure it won't be too small. And with the airport only an hour away, I could come up for a weekend and not spend all my time driving there.
Maybe I'll come up in a few weeks and see it for myself...
On rereading your original post, I'm curious why you think you want thousands of acres to own. Are you aware how much public land exists in MT? Not all is available for public use, but national forests and some others are. Properties adjacent to NFs are becoming rarer and rarer, and one pays a premium often for these properties, but buying adjacent to these lands is a way to have easy access to miles of beautiful natural areas without paying for them. Of course you can't keep others out of the public lands, but if you buy property adjacent to NF (or other) that has difficult or very remote access (vs. the areas where the public uses them a lot), you can pretty much have "free" private land without having to pay taxes on it.
The main reason I want a considerable sum of acres is the privacy issue. I live near Phoenix and a large amount of land here is an acre. I've been contemplating buying a vacation property on and off for 2 years and when I found this site, I decided why not ask about it, I have nothing to lose. I really would like a retreat to get away from everything, I wanted to not see neighbors for miles and just be able to relax.
Quote:
If you don't mind barren land, you might still be able to find a few hundred acres within your $800,000 price range. If you want pretty land, as others have said, you're pretty much a few decades too late. And if you are expecting reasonable living quarters on the property, the $800K is probably unrealistic pretty much anywhere if you want land that has access (both year-round and legal).
I was searching for a scenic property that I didn't have to maintain. I could just sit back and let nature take its' course. Barren land is ok by me, I'd rather build my own home rather than have one on the property already. I said before that I'd be ok with a hundred acres as long as I could have my cake and eat it too.
Quote:
Has anyone explained deeded acres to you yet? If so, I missed that. Yes, that's land you own the deed to, as opposed to leased acres that ranchers (real ranchers, i.e., "working" ranchers) lease for grazing and the like. With surface rights (deeded acres), you don't get mineral rights, however, which can be another challenge to people who own land in Montana. And water rights are another issue yet.
I repeat, you can get extreme privacy with much less than hundreds of acres. I know from personal, direct experience.
I also lived in Phoenix area in earlier years. A very different type of terrain in the urban areas. As one big valley, in Phoenix you do see neighbors for miles and miles if buildings aren't in between. Not at all the case in Montana. You probably should come and visit the mountainous regions before ruling out even 20-30 acre lots. I know of many people with such "small" (for rural Montana) lots that have total privacy.
You'd love my property (much more than the 20-30 acres I referred to above, and in the mountains and forest, but less than the high hundreds or thousands of acres you still seem to feel you need)--absolutely, total privacy, silence, seclusion, beauty, and so on. But I'm not interested in selling. Sorry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpeedyAZ
The main reason I want a considerable sum of acres is the privacy issue. I live near Phoenix and a large amount of land here is an acre. I've been contemplating buying a vacation property on and off for 2 years and when I found this site, I decided why not ask about it, I have nothing to lose. I really would like a retreat to get away from everything, I wanted to not see neighbors for miles and just be able to relax.
I was searching for a scenic property that I didn't have to maintain. I could just sit back and let nature take its' course. Barren land is ok by me, I'd rather build my own home rather than have one on the property already. I said before that I'd be ok with a hundred acres as long as I could have my cake and eat it too.
I read up on the issue.
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. Anybody know anything about Big Timber, MT?
Big Timber
