Blog - Buying and Selling Ranch and Farm Land - WWW.THERANCHBROKER.COM

12/17/2016

Wildlife conservation and rangeland management expert, Dr. Matt Wagner.

Private Ranch Owners and Hunters Are
the Key to Effective Wildlife Conservation:
Part One of an Exclusive Interview with Dr. Matt Wagner

Privately owned ranches play an important role in ensuring the well-being of wildlife and their habitats. Indeed, a growing number of Texas land buyers are electing to set wildlife and rangeland management as their primary objective.

For other owners, the care of wildlife and the maintenance of their environment is a secondary priority, or from some, merely a regulatory necessity.

Nonetheless, the more that ranchers know and understand about wildlife populations on their lands, the better prepared they will be to reach their goals and meet their obligations.

Dr. Matt Wagner knows more about wildlife conservation, rangeland management, and the laws and policies governing them than just about anyone who I know. He is an adjunct faculty member of the Biology Department at Texas State University, where he teaches Wildlife Law and Policy. He also works under contract as a project administer with the Wildlife Management Institute, which has supported game management, biological diversity, and ecology since its founding in 1911.

12/11/2016

The memorable 1988 television commercial for the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme

Ask Lem: Who Are Today’s Ranch Buyers?

While it’s been more than a dozen years since General Motors stopped manufacturing the Oldsmobile, many of us still remember its iconic 1988 commercial for the Cutlass Supreme:

A sporty-red Cutlass is speeding down a gravel road, coughing up a storm of dust as it weaves around mountainous curves. Quickly, the car merges onto a paved highway, barreling past an 18-wheeler as the driver shifts into high gear. The announcer introduces the all new Cutlass Supreme, featuring 4-wheel disc brakes, a multi-port fuel-injected V-6 engine, 4-wheel independent suspension, and “aerodynamic styling even the wind can’t resist.”

As the Cutlass blows past a 1940’s-era roadside service station, literally blowing the elderly attendant out of his rocking chair, the announcer emotes: “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.”

That slogan and the commercial come to mind every time I’m asked the question, who are today’s ranch buyers.

12/4/2016

Ranch Economist Dr. Charles E. Gilliland - Texas A&M University

Prominent Ranch Economist Forecasts Muted
Texas Rural Land Price Increases in 2017

As Texas personal incomes go, so go Texas ranch sales and rural land prices.

As such, Dr. Charles E. Gilliland, the noted research economist with the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, forecasts that ranch prices should continue to rise in 2017, although not as rapidly as in they did in the robust years of 2014 and 2015.

The outlook for ranch prices is one of several topics that Dr. Gilliland and I discussed during a recent conversation we recorded for RANCHCAST with LEM LEWIS, my new audio podcast designed to showcase the vital contribution that America’s ranchers make to our nation’s economy, and to provide ranchers insights and practical advice available nowhere else.

I have seen Dr. Gilliland speak at a variety of forums over the years and I read his book, Buying Rural Land in Texas. But having the chance to tap directly into his encyclopedia-like reservoir of knowledge on Texas and its economy was a special treat. I asked Dr. Gilliland questions that are on my mind, as well as some I frequently hear from my ranch clients.

While complete results for this year are not yet available, Dr. Gilliland says that “2016 prices look like they’re slowing down,” adding that “2017 will be a continuation of increasing prices but maybe at a slower level of increase than we saw in the 2014 and 2015-time frame.”

11/27/2016

What Should I Expect to Pay for a Quality Ranch?

What you can expect to pay for quality ranch properties is as variable, if not more so, as buying a home.

Just like a residential property, the asking price for your ranch depends on considerations including size, location, improvements, curb appeal, and the strength of the real estate market.

Over many decades, ranch real estate has proven to be a safe harbor from many of the uncertainties and fluctuations found with other common investment vehicles, especially Wall Street.

11/20/2016

Photo: A Lewis Family Thanksgiving at the Ranch. That's me at the far left.

Spending My Thanksgivings on the H.W. Lewis Ranch:
Grandma Always Made the Turkey Dressing

Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday that each year speaks to our love of country, family, the bounty of the earth, gratitude, and tradition.

From sky-high co-ops in Manhattan to log cabins in the Rockies and beach cottages in Hawaii, families and friends gather once a year to eat, toast, laugh, play, and give thanks.

For me, Thanksgiving on the ranch was and remains an unsurpassed experience. If you’ve never had the sublime pleasure, I recommend it wholeheartedly.

11/13/2016

How Does Acquiring a Ranch
Differ from Buying a House?
Making a wise investment in a ranch property needn’t be difficult, but it does entail a different set of skills and poses risks that differ from most people’s experience when buying a home.

Ranching offers a wonderful, healthful, lifestyle. Like a family home, it becomes the cornerstone of your family life, often for multiple generations.

Ranches have consistently proven to be savvy investments when purchased and maintained with a careful eye toward eventual resale value.

11/7/2016

Since You Asked, Here Are My Answers

Many people have questions about buying or selling a ranch. Some people are just curious; others are owners of existing ranch properties, or serious about buying a ranch.

At The Ranch Broker, we have more than three decades of hands-on experience answering questions for both casual inquisitors and those who have “skin in the game.”

While buying or selling a ranch isn’t complicated when you know what you’re doing, it can appear daunting – especially to those who are weighing a ranch transaction for the very first time.

Enter, “Ask Lem,” my series of short, to-the-point videos that answer some of the most common questions I hear – from both buyers and sellers.

9/11/2016

Ranching: An Investment You Can Love

There is simply no other investment that can be simultaneously so financially rewarding and emotionally satisfying as ranching.

Indeed, nothing in the world compares to stepping out under the endless blue sky, inhaling the fresh air, and gazing as far as the eye can see, knowing that this stretch of mother earth, your ranch, is an asset that you can love now and pass on to future generations.

7/7/2016

Buying Your Ranch Dreams

Photo Courtesy of The Noble Foundation

While the thought of owning a little piece of Texas is romantic, for the first time ranch owner, it can be overwhelming, especially if you plan on running cattle.

The Noble Foundation has a very helpful and informative article on things one should consider before purchasing a ranch....

To print the article, please click here...

buying_a_ranch.docx
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6/23/2016

History of Texas Ranching 101

Photo Courtesy of the TSHA

Jersey cows or zebras? Crops or livestock? Coastal plains or the high plains? How did ranching evolve in Texas to the operations that are still going strong today? The Texas State Historical Association has the answer. In their article on ranching you can learn about the evolution of ranching and livestock production on Texas lands. It's also worth mentioning that thier immense online library is free to the public. Find the Texas History you've been looking for today!