THE NUMBER ONE MISTAKE LAND BUYERS MAKE! | BILL WINKE

Making mistakes is inevitable, but with a removed perspective, avoiding these mistakes can benefit you tremendously. Follow along with Bill and Matt as they share their expertise on how to properly avoid common land buying mistakes.

[@royguidry1311]

Valid points. I would add when it comes to rec land that you keep your budget or price point in mind at all times. If you only have 75 k to spend, don’t even look at a 125 k property. Chances are you will find things you like and get yourself in a jam. I think you would be better off finding a 60 k property and having 15 k to spend on immediate improvements or equipment. I wouldn’t get all hung up on an exact amount of acreage. If a property has the neighbors, features you are looking for and is only 30 acres and you had your mind set that you wanted to own 50, you could buy a place less suitable to success and just own more of it. I have had a 13 acre property sandwiched between 200 acre properties that was a travel corridor for the bigger properties and I saw every deer that the neighbors had on camera every year. I killed the deer they fed all year. It was a bargain and I was able to buy another piece of property in another state with the money I originally was willing to spend. I sell cars and I see this happen all the time. People have a budget and that goes right out the window when they see the next great thing. Having a big property and struggling to pay taxes and not having money to make improvements would be a big regret.

[@grdelawter4266]

Yep, I wish I had bought that farm when I had the chance to. Now I’m very happy I bought this farm 10 years ago! Step up to the plate, swing for the fence and dream big!

[@davidvvv501]

I agree with exactly what Bill said.. I always tell guys to look at the worst case scenarios that can happen next to a potential farm.. For instance, If you have a trailer with people living there assume they will be shooting guns, trespassing and creating noise. If you have an old, closed county road that runs by the farm assume it may be reopened., etc.. I could go on and on, but I always look at what's the worst possible things that could potentially happen after you buy. I've made mistakes thinking I had to buy a farm and then realized I should have looked at worst case scenarios closer. Good neighbors may be the single most important factor when buying a parcel.. I have also found that the more serious neighbors are about managing for mature bucks, the better neighbors they are.

[@wasidanatsali6374]

Sometimes a fault in a property can be used to your advantage especially when it comes to price. I bought a piece of land knowing it had an abandoned forest service road up one side. It was a fantastic piece of land with over a mile border with a federal wilderness but it had been sitting on the market because that FS road was allowing people to access it. It was getting poached to hell and back. People were 4 wheeling all over it, pot was being grown on it and trash was being illegally dumped on it. So I gated the road off with a big ole FS type gate a buddy made for me. I concreted that bastard in and piled riprap all around it so they couldn’t breech it on the sides. The locals went wild! Then a group of citizens brought a lawsuit against me. It wasn’t cheap but I won the case because the land the old FS road went to had been re-designated from USFS to federal wilderness. No motorized vehicles are allowed in federal wilderness therefore my lawyers argued and the judge agreed that the FS road access was now moot. The citizens group could’ve tried for a foot access but for whatever reason they didn’t. Probably because they just wanted to drive in there and shoot deer from their trucks and not actually access the federal land. My gate took some hard hits but it stood and I had some backlash mischief on the property but that died down after a couple years. The deer population on the place exploded after the road closure. However, I bought that land for a cheap price knowing full well what I was getting into and how I was going to deal with it. When all was said and done, the hunting potential on the land today was totally worth the aggravation.

[@dougwallace2210]

This has been a good series; I think the biggest mistake is NOT ACTING at all, go find yourself a lender, get pre-qualified, and get in the game somewhere, somehow, - Don't steal from the family dinner table to make it happen - Past that realize it might well take some sacrifices of other "WANTS" in life to make it a reality. For years while my wife and I made our farm payments, things like going out to eat, baseball games, football games, nights out drinking with friends, etc were put on hold, as those funds used for all those activities went a long way towards our farm payment. Which can be really hard when you see all your friends traveling and living it up. But I can assure you it'll be worth it in the end - Now our farm is paid for and most of my friends still don't have a farm of their own, and I hear it all the time from them, that they wished they could afford to buy one, well they could have, they just weren't willing to sacrifice for it like my wife and I did for all those years. - Sit down, make a budget for all your NEEDS - then take a look at what you can cut out, I promise you'll be amazed at how much we all blow away and have nothing to show for it - Now I'm not saying don't do anything extra at all - but you might have to prioritize things, if you truly want your own land.

[@GetLandWrecked]

So true. Ideally you need to be familiar with the general neighborhood before something even hits the market, for buying houses or land both. Otherwise you’ll often get beat out on any *decent* deals.

[@marijuonko7092]

It's mind blowing to me you guys can trust your game wardens. I smoke cannabis. Whatever. Two different times I been busted by game wardens smoking weed alone in the woods by myself. Minding my own business. And both times they told me a amount of money that would make it go away. The first guys said 400 bucks. Second time a totally different game warden said six. I didn't have cash on me. Both times my fine was 400 bucks and arrived in the mail. Them corrupt bastards dude. Wonder how many lthwr crooked ones we have in my area. Cuz i only ment two and both of them were trying to take bribes from me. This is southwest Pennsylvania. I can tell u the exact area if someone wants to do something about it. Idk wtf to do. It's disgusting. I wanted to be a game warden as a kid. Now I can't even see one without getting nernervous.

[@jerryfischer3988]

Another great discussion 👍 👏

[@tristancleer9697]

The only thing I disagree with is the episode where he wouldn’t buy with invasives. I have honeysuckle and a bit of Russian olive, and I control it and kill big bucks. I’m glad I wouldn’t have listened to that advice when I bought mine.