Is migrant wealth replacing local work in the countryside?

Most of America’s land today is still rural. And 200 years ago, most Americans were family farmers on family farmland—but no more.

The number of farms — generously defined as any outfit from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were sold or would normally be sold — is down to fewer than 2.1 million, from about 6.8 million in 1935.  The number of farm acres is declining as well, down to about 933 million acres in 2005 from 987 million in 1990.

The majority of the farms America has now are small; they might be called, “sort of funny farms.” About 40 percent (834,000) are classified as residential/lifestyle farms, and 14 percent (291,000) are retirement places.  Another 20 percent are “limited-resource” operations with less than $100,000 in annual gross sales and total household income of less than $20,000. Read more »

High fossil-fuel prices will impact country real estate

What would you do if the price of gasoline—now at more than $3 per gallon—were to rise to $10? Or more? Gripe, that’s for sure. Blame somebody.

Some of us would march to Washington—on foot, of course–demanding lower prices, threatening legislators with bone-dry dipsticks as we clutch dead sparkplugs in our cold hands.

And a few of us would start running our cars on old French-fry oil or the collected fumes of Willie Nelson’s organic cigars.

Whether it’s $5 or $10, gasoline prices will rise over time.

Petroleum reserves are finite, and the world may be at or near the point of peak production. We will pump less oil in the future, and new supplies are more expensive to extract. Global output grew by less than one half of one percent in 2006.

While supply is weakening, global demand continues to rise. The risks and question marks about oil-producing countries are now tacking on more than $30 to every barrel of $100 oil. Read more »

How to buy a country retirement place

Most Americans stay where they are in retirement. Of the 420,000 relocators who cross state lines each year, most look to small towns, small cities, milder climates and a lower cost of living.

The younger you are when you start planning retirement, the better. But those of the 77 million Baby Boomers who have not saved enough may not be out of luck.

If relocating to a small town or rural area might be in your plans, here are ways to approach it:

Buy your retirement place as soon as you can. This is often hard to do, because it requires that you start a long-term investment when you’re young and many considerations are unknowable or subject to change.

Some make decision easier by starting it as a second home that can become their retirement place.

About nine percent of America’s 111 million householders (owners plus renters) — roughly 10 million — own a second home, the rate being highest among those in their 50s, according to Professor Rachel Drew, coauthor of a November, 2007 study by Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, “Projecting the Underlying Demand for New Housing Units: Inferences from the Past, Assumptions about the Future.” Read more »

Trespass may be easier to forgive than forget

One right that every owner holds in real estate is the expectation of privacy.

You can generally keep others from entering and using your property–but not always.

In rural areas, trespass is usually someone either taking a shortcut over someone else or using another’s property for recreation, like hunting or ATVing. 

Country-property owners normally find one of three types of trespassers: those who feel they have a right to be on your land even though they know they don’t; those who know better but trespass anyway; and those who actually do have a legal right to be there.

Each state defines trespass. (State codes are at http://law.justia.com/; case law interprets these statutes.) It’s generally understood to mean entering on or using land without the owner’s consent. Read more »

In a recession, does land offer refuge?

If a recession is coming, is rural land a good place to have your money?

The answer does not depend on what your definition of “is” is.

But there’s no one-size-fits-all answer, because much depends on the severity, length and characteristics of any economic pullback.

And everything else depends on the land you’ve bought–its price, financing terms (if any), location, uses and affordability in light of your income, among other factors.

Land bought with an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) will benefit from a recession’s lower interest rates.

But if you’re laid off during a recession, you may either lose the land or have to sell it a low price to get free of its debt.

Land bought at a too-high price will lose value.

Easy credit, ARMs and speculation hyper-inflate prices in good times; when times sour, they can boil you. Read more »

Stormy weather brings buyers and sellers together

As I write this column, it’s a sleety, slushy, miserable wintry day on my Virginia farm. It’s bone-chilly and depressing.

The Inuits, I’ve read, have several dozen words to describe different types of Artic snows. Their word for this type translates as, “Really yucky.”

Our two Yellow Labs are asleep on their mats in the living room next to the  woodstove. Lucy is chasing the same shifty rabbit that always torments her dreams. Sophie pursues average intelligence, which has eluded her since birth.

It’s warm in my office. I’m dry.

Every normal person I know—admittedly a small group—would say: “This is the perfect day to stay inside.”

I say: “This is the day to look at country real estate.”

Here’s why.

Weather applies stress.  The more extreme the weather, the more is revealed about the ability of land and buildings to cope with cold, heat, wind and water. Read more »

Seven reasons to buy country property in 2008

January is America’s month of endless football cliches.

“Coach, how are you going to win the Super Bowl?”

“Well, first, our front four has to beat theirs in the trenches. Then we have to throw the ball and run it too. Our special teams have to do a few things. And we have to make some plays. Finally, we have to hope that their safeties get penalized for taunting after interfering with our too-wide receivers, none of whom can do 40 yards in less than three or four minutes.”

Those of us who have been watching pro football since the days of Jim Brown know that there is only one way to win every football game: score more points than the other team.

Making a sensible real-estate investment is often summarized in this equally simple rule: buy low, sell high. Read more »