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I am an outdoorsman and for over 30 yrs have wanted some wooded rural land.
My kids are grown and I'm not getting any younger. I've found a small parcel of about 40 Ac of wooded land that has a road system and small creeks. Adjacent are larger tracts previously used for mining Kaolin but now just 'resting'. Across the paved roadway is a private 500 Ac hunting club.
No residences within 1/2 mile of the property. The area is mostly agricultural but within 30 minutes from a city.
Two Q's come to mind:
1) Is it foolish for someone at age 60 to buy land for recreation use?
2) Does being across the road from a hunting club adveresly affect it's value?
Recreation to do what with? Camp? Build a cabin? I think it sounds like a great thing for someone of 60 to do!
The hunting club can be a good thing or a bad thing.
What do they hunt there? And when?
Large open space neighbor is a good thing. Is it a healthy well funded club or might it be sold soon for something else? Development? How would that affect you?
If they have a range where there is more than occasional gun fire... like active shooting practice and competitions, that's probably a problem for resale.... it's not everyone who lives next to a gun club. But a hunting club might not mean that... it just depends.
We live nearly adjacent to a wildlife area that is quiet most of the year, but for two months in the early winter, they release pheasant on it, and there's a lot of gunfire from 8-10 am on Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday mornings. Sporadic other times. We live with it... no big deal, but you'd want to know how your neighbor land is used.
I am an outdoorsman and for over 30 yrs have wanted some wooded rural land.
My kids are grown and I'm not getting any younger. I've found a small parcel of about 40 Ac of wooded land that has a road system and small creeks. Adjacent are larger tracts previously used for mining Kaolin but now just 'resting'. Across the paved roadway is a private 500 Ac hunting club.
No residences within 1/2 mile of the property. The area is mostly agricultural but within 30 minutes from a city.
Two Q's come to mind:
1) Is it foolish for someone at age 60 to buy land for recreation use?
2) Does being across the road from a hunting club adveresly affect it's value?
Heavily depends on the area, and how rural it truly is.
The more rural the location, the less effect a hunting club will have on it, unless of course the hunting club is full of a bunch of members who do not respect other peoples private property, which I have seen many times. The farther from a MAJOR city, the less likely that is to be a case. Most rural folks have a deep respect for private property.
Hunting is extremely common in rural areas, so just the fact that its a hunting club will not have an effect.
As to the Kaolin mining, its hard to tell....do they create lakes out of these mines when they are done? I don't know....you may need to get a local professional to give you that answer...if a large Kaolin mine will eventually be a lake, you may be buying lakefront property and not even being paying a premium.
I know several people in their 60's and older who have bought land for recreational use. Having a hunting club shouldn't adversely effect its value if it's actually rural. As marksmu says, a lot depends on what kind of hunting club and how respectful they are of boundaries. You might be able to find that out by talking to neighbors or, better yet, find the closest feed store and go get the skinny on everything in the area.
Retirement is the perfect time to buy recreational land. You will have time to use it.
Go talk to the people running the hunting club. If there is a gun rznge, you might find it too noisy. But if it really is land for hunting, there probably won't be gun fire except for actual hunting. Noise will depend upon what they are hunting.
If they release pheasants for canned hunts, you might be lucky to get to harvest the ones that move onto your property. There isn't too much that is more delicious than a young roasted pheasant.
We live in the country about 5 miles from a hunting club. They have shooting nights, competitions, and stuff like that. I don't necessarily enjoy the sound of gunfire, but that distance is enough buffer for me. I wouldn't want to be across the street from it, but that's just me.
I speak from experience when I say that "resting" land can quickly turn into a neighborhood county subdivision. Might be something else to investigate, although the extent of the mining may play a role into it.
I'm in the camp that you should do what makes you happy, regardless of age. We are never guaranteed another birthday.
No, it's not foolish at all to buy land at 60. You can't take the money with you, so you might as well buy something that you'll enjoy (and which hopefully will retain its value, if not increase). As others have pointed out, check out what activities take place at the hunting club. If it's a typical hunting club sans shooting range, it should be a good neighbor. My bigger concern would be them potentially subdividing the land selling it.
Same with the mining area. What does "resting" entail? Are they going to resume operations (which may or may not be a nuisance)...or is the property likely to be left alone or sold and subdivided? Around here, a great many former sand and gravel mines are now becoming housing subdivisions--usually around the lakes created in the mining process. I'd rather own next to a hunting club or an undeveloped former mine than own land next to a subdivision any day.
Heck, if you have the money age 60 is a great time to buy recreational land. You are young enough to really enjoy it and when you retire you can spend even more time on your property.
I am an outdoorsman and for over 30 yrs have wanted some wooded rural land.
My kids are grown and I'm not getting any younger. I've found a small parcel of about 40 Ac of wooded land that has a road system and small creeks. Adjacent are larger tracts previously used for mining Kaolin but now just 'resting'. Across the paved roadway is a private 500 Ac hunting club.
No residences within 1/2 mile of the property. The area is mostly agricultural but within 30 minutes from a city.
Two Q's come to mind:
1) Is it foolish for someone at age 60 to buy land for recreation use?
2) Does being across the road from a hunting club adversely affect its value?
There's always the danger of getting hit by stray bullets or shotgun pellets. I'm guessing that this is a marshy area for hunting birds, so shotgun pellets would be used. I'd never go outside on a hunting day, unless I was wearing wraparound shooting goggles to protect my eyes. I use Remington goggles when I take a camera near hunting areas, as they are lightweight and effective.
Then there's the noise of the guns, which might scare any wildlife away from your property. You might look around some more and find a comparable place that doesn't have a hunting club nearby.
But I know a guy who bought a quarter-section of wooded land out in the bush at about that age, who loves the option to go out there and just relax in the middle of it. Often, a 'roo or some birds will come by and it's very entertaining for a Nature lover. its value will increase with time, so it's not money wasted.
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