Inherited a Ranch in Bells TX - Greyson County (Dallas: real estate, rental)

[ERPTexan]

Hello friends ,

I just inherited a small 90 acre ranch with a small 3 bed room home from my grand father in Bells Tx. I currently live in kansas city, KS.
where do you see Bells TX in the next 10 years?. I am 23 years with MX Spanish background

Is it a good idea to keep it for the next 10 years?. Do you think the price will go up? or should I find a way to sell it and invest some where?.

[supfromthesite]

GTFO of Yankee land and come home

[ERPTexan]

He he he. I will soon after I am done with my Law degree.....

Is it a good idea to keep that land in Bells Tx?

[Watchful]

If you are gonna sell it and blow the money I would say keep it...but if you have a way to wisely invest it, I would sell.

One way to think of it - if you had XXX dollars would you use it to buy land in Bells TX. If you say NO WAY then maybe just sell.

One exception...if there is family attachment to this land that you wish to preserve!

(I don’t know anything about that area so this “advice” is general in nature.)

[ChristieP]

Is the ranch currently being used as a ranch, or is it just vacant land? The reason I ask is to see if the property is agriculture exempt. Grayson County is known for high property taxes, so if it's not, you're going to be hit with a whopper of a tax bill. 90 acres is a good size piece of property, but it's not enough to make your living on, especially with cattle or hay.

I will say there is very little need for lawyers in Grayson County. The county seat is Sherman, which is a pretty small town. It's one county away from the current northern expansion of DFW, and you'd have a lengthy commute to get to work in Collin County.

Honestly, I'd sell the property and walk away with the money.

[ERPTexan]

Thank you very much for your replies.

@Watchful,@ChristieP, Since I received this property as an inheritance ( not by hard working ), I am confused on what to do. There is a nice house on the property where my grand pa lived for about 45+ years. Hence I dont want to lose all those memories. I checked the property taxes which is like 800USD/month.

Texas is growing. I was thinking Bells also will grow in the next 15 to 20 years from now and hoping to get a good return on this.

Do you think I will have a good return in 10 to 15 years by holding it?. I will continue to purse my career in my legal domain. I wont be depending on this property.

[turf3]

Well, $9600 a year sounds like the place is not ag-exempt. You will need to find out who's nearby. If you can find a local rancher who wants to lease the land for pasture and/or haying, then you can start the process of getting all but one acre (that surrounds the house) declared agricultural, which will make a big dent in taxes. Contact the Grayson Co. tax office and start there. (Do not, however, fantasize that you will be able to secure the ag exemption without the land honestly being used for agricultural purposes. The tax offices have been on to that trick for decades now.)


I would hang on to it, personally. Right now, the northern expansion of the Dallas suburbs hasn't proceeded far enough for rural land in that area to be selling at a premium, yet. If you wait 10 or 20 years, I predict developers will be trying to buy the last remaining large tracts of land. Since your basis will be the value of the land as it is now (upon the date of your inheritance), your capital gains tax would actually be a little less than someone who bought the land outright 20 years ago.


The really really savvy investors have bought big tracts of developable land along US75, twenty, thirty, or forty years ago, and they're still waiting. You're further from 75, but you don't have any purchase price to hope to regain.


I have seen this going on all through my life, and experienced it close up in the early 1990s when trying to find a buildable lot in Lucas (just east of Allen, not as far out as your land). You could go through the tax records and clearly see that one after another of the big tracts of (at the time) undeveloped pasture land were owned by "ABC Real Estate Investment Co." Now, all of that land is full of subdivisions.

[Watchful]

Originally Posted by ERPTexan

Thank you very much for your replies.

@Watchful,@ChristieP, Since I received this property as an inheritance ( not by hard working ), I am confused on what to do. There is a nice house on the property where my grand pa lived for about 45+ years. Hence I dont want to lose all those memories. I checked the property taxes which is like 800USD/month.

Texas is growing. I was thinking Bells also will grow in the next 15 to 20 years from now and hoping to get a good return on this.

Do you think I will have a good return in 10 to 15 years by holding it?. I will continue to purse my career in my legal domain. I wont be depending on this property.

If your inheritance were a large check would you use it to purchase investment property?

The "I don't want to lose all those memories" could be a great reason to hang on to it - however, I doubt that you would use $$$ to purchase real estate as an investment - you'd probably go to an investment advisor.

Good luck - it can be a tough decision. The good news is that you don't have to decide immediately I guess!

[ChristieP]

Remember, too, that your grandpa probably had an over 65 property tax exemption, which you will obviously not have, so the taxes could possibly be even higher. An $800+ monthly drain on your finances while you're trying to get your career started will be tough to overcome.

No, it's not likely that Bells will become the next outer ring suburb. The drive to job centers in McKinney and Plano is just too far away, and there is a lot of more desirable land in between. Sure, people who want to live in rural areas make that drive, but most people will balk. And adding $10,000+ annually in carrying costs, it's hard to say if you'll make money, or just break even, by holding onto it.

Simply letting the house sit vacant isn't a good long-term strategy. Vacant houses become big problems, especially in rural areas. Even when a house is lived in, there are constant issues with mice and bugs. When a house is vacant, these problems become worse, and in an older home, even more so. If you intend to keep the house, you will need to get a tenant in there to simply keep it up.

[ERPTexan]

Thank you very much for your time in replying @turf3,@watchful,@Christiep.

Much appreciated.

Looks like the options I have now are

1. Hold it for few years to see through what needs to be done in stead of selling it this now.
2. Continue to operate this as AG exempt
3. Hire a care taker and try to generate some rental income to offset the running/tax expenses
4. Start thinking on how to monetize this ( like trying to come up with ideas such as Plant nurseries, exotic fruits build eCommerce site to sell online like a hobby )

I want to hold it for the next 20 years or I will pass on this to my children down the line after I am settled in life/career. I am sure I will get unexpected "NEW' friends or relatives if they find out I got the cash money if I sell this..

One thing my grand pa used to tell me is to trust in Land . Probably I will stick to this.