Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hello,
I'm looking to buy some raw land in the coming months out in my neck of the woods for recreational, and then hopefully, residential use in the near future.
I'm having a hard time finding a land consultant that is not a buyer's broker AND whom will work on finding small tracts of land (20 acres or so). Most of them specialize in large tracts.
I did, however, find a land consultant but he is also a licensed broker and therefore I'm wondering if he will only be shopping his and other broker's listings to me?
I'm hoping the land consultant would actually go out and bird-dog properties for me, and I would pay for that service. He should not be employed to provide brokerage services.
Am I on the right line of thought here? Thanks for any advice anyone can provide.
Land Consultant? In the United States of America, anyone who brokers a land deal and receives payment for it must either be a licensed real estate agent or an attorney.
There is the designation ALC (Accredited Land Consultant) from the National Association of Realtors. Like all of the designations you must first be a real estate agent and a member of Reators. To see more information on requirements and how to find an ALC go to:
Realtors Land Institute - Under All Is The Land! (broken link)
Gnostic is correct, I would seek an ALC. They must pay to maintain the designation and have taken additional training in order to acquire it. After the expense and training, they clearly love land brokerage and should know where to focus your attention fairly quickly. Many times they'll know where the dirt is avail. before someone who doesn't specialize in land sales.
I'm not an ALC (yet), but as a real estate agent with a specialty in horse/rural properties, I help people find smaller tracts of land all the time. MLS, FSBO's, hear about it at the feed store, it's all the same to me!
You do need to find someone, broker or not, who is familiar with buying and selling land, because it is a bit different from your average residential property. But the fact that they're a licensed agent or broker shouldn't stand in your way (buyer's specialty or otherwise) - I'm puzzled as to why that would be a problem for you.
Hi guys!
Thanks for your responses. I am new to this whole thing, so I am sorry if I may have painted brokers in a "negative" light. I did not mean that. I did go to the RLI website and found an ALC for my area, but when I emailed him, he seemed to have sent me properties that his agency has listed. That's fine, but I'm wondering if he's going to be working for the agency, and not me. Know what i mean? Maybe I'm being too cautious since I'm new to all of this.
TexasHorseLady, thanks for your comment. How many acres does one need for a horse or two? Also, is ag-exempt a minimum of 10ac?
Ten acres is a good figure to go with, though it varies by county. Sometimes you can get away with less if the property already has its own ag valuation and has been subdivided off of a larger piece, but you'll need to apply immediately, and I'd highly recommend talking to your county extension agent and the county ag appraiser as each county has leeway to set its own standards. I've known of pieces as small as five acres that had their ag in the above circumstances. The trick is that the land must be used to the intensity common to the area, and in some areas 5 acres wouldn't support all that much.
As for horses, it depends on how you intend to raise them. If you're talking grazing, you're going to want at least a couple of acres of good, grass-supporting land per horse, more in some areas depending on the soil. You're going to want room to rotate the horses from paddock to paddock for grazing.
If you're talking about keeping them stalled most of the time and depending on grain and hay (which I don't recommend, since horses are designed to eat/walk at the same time for about 20 hours a day), I've known someone to get away with 5 or 6 horses on a couple of acres, as long as they got out to be worked regularly.
Then there's everything in between. But how many acres per horse in a grazing situation depends entirely on the land. You'll want to look for something with not a lot of rock, or certain kinds of rocks. Think vet bills when you're looking at the land - it helps determine whether a property is suitable. (You'd be amazed how many people - real estate agents or otherwise - think "acres" equals "horse suitable", regardless of the kind or tilt of the acres. It's one reason I became an agent, because of our experiences in that regard searching for our own horse property.)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
(You'd be amazed how many people - real estate agents or otherwise - think "acres" equals "horse suitable", regardless of the kind or tilt of the acres. It's one reason I became an agent, because of our experiences in that regard searching for our own horse property.)
