Land in the country provides sounds and silence

Well, February’s finally gone.

Those of us who live where glaciers once roamed and have a selfish interest in a little global warming are in better spirits.

This is a quiet time in the country.

Everything is brown, about 377 muted shades.

The cattle pastures are gummy and sour from being dumped on all winter. Trees stand bare and dark against the white slope of Devil’s Backbone. The dirt is wet. Mud rears its ugly head, hungry to swallow an unbuckled galosh.

The average temperature has risen a little since January. This morning is warm. Melissa’s two Tennessee Walkers are flaked out flat on the ground, sun bathing. They look dead, but usually aren’t.

Sugar maples pump their sap without fanfare. It’s nice that we can make syrup without harming them. Robbery normally involves a victim and strong language spoken loudly. Read more »

Land buyers need to know their dirt

Country property means dirt, or, if you prefer, soils.

Most buyers visiting a rural property for the first time look at the view, setting and house—more or less in that order.

Next time, start with the dirt. 

Soil qualities will largely determine what an owner can and cannot do with the property, from which crops and trees will grow best where, to the suitability of particular soils for septic-system drain fields and the ability of soil in a particular spot to support house construction. Read more »

Buying land on impulse puts buyers at risk

Buying property is one of life’s big decisions, almost as important as choosing a spouse and a little less important than a cell phone.

Some people decide with their heart or their gut, depending on gender. Love-at-first-sight matches can work out just fine. But many snap decisions are emotional and financial disasters—in both mates and real estate.

Don’t get me wrong. You should fall in love with a country place. I’m as dopey about this romance as anybody.

It’s just that the thunderbolt kind of love — that mysterious mix of emotions, hormones and other stuff — is a bad basis on which to invest money. Read more »

Buyers need to screen and scope country property

Research is the key to finding and making good property deals.

Most research on a target property should take place before you submit a written offer that includes your offer price.

Why research before making an offer when you can put a 30-day, results-acceptable-to-the-buyer study contingency in your contract?

If you don’t research before submitting your offer, how will you know the value of the seller’s assets, the right money to propose and what defects the property might contain?

Sellers are always more likely to accept a contingency-free offer than one that gives a buyer a free look.

Begin your search for country property by working up a written list of objectives that will guide your effort. Read more »

Conservation easements on land need to be thought through

About 10.6 million privately owned acres — an area about twice the size of Connecticut — now carry conservation easements.  This land base is growing by more than one million acres annually.

Almost 30 million more acres have been conserved through sale, acquisition by government agencies and other means, according to Russell Shay, Director of Public Policy at the Land Trust Alliance in Washington, D.C.

Conservation easements enable landowners — individuals and corporations –  to donate one or more rights in environmentally important land to a government agency or tax-exempt, charitable organization like a land trust. In return, landowners preserve the look or current uses of their properties and enjoy substantial local, state and federal tax benefits. Read more »