Lessons/tips from buying rural land

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Spaceship
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11:09a, 5/25/26
AG
I'm in the beginning stages of looking to buy land. My goal is 40-50 acres within 1.5 hr of DFW. Key to me is access to power, ponds/surface water, mix of trees and prairie and an ag exemption in place. Hunting or fishing isn't important.

My goal is to establish a long term family plot with bardominium down the road.

For those of you who have gone through the land buying process in the past, what surprises, lessons learned or tips would you share that are valuable?

Thanks!
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YellAgs
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In reply to Spaceship • 12:00p, 5/25/26
AG
Spaceship said:
I'm in the beginning stages of looking to buy land. My goal is 40-50 acres within 1.5 hr of DFW. Key to me is access to power, ponds/surface water, mix of trees and prairie and an ag exemption in place. Hunting or fishing isn't important.

My goal is to establish a long term family plot with bardominium down the road.

For those of you who have gone through the land buying process in the past, what surprises, lessons learned or tips would you share that are valuable?

Thanks!
if you're married / have a family, then make sure everyone is on same page on costs. Get ag exemption. Everything is way more expensive and time consuming than you initially plan.
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B-1 83
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12:13p, 5/25/26
AG
Surface water is a good thing, but make sure you have a reliable well or community system if housing is in the plan.
Being in TexAgs jail changes a man……..no, not really
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HTownAg98
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12:33p, 5/25/26
Infrastructure is a big deal. Is power to the property, and if not, how much will it cost to run it there? If it does not have rural water, how much is a well and is there good water there? Will it pass a perc test for septic? Is it in an etj, and if it is, what is shown on a future land use map? If you want to run some cattle, what shape are the fences in?
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GSS
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3:28p, 5/25/26
Any existing leases on the property, mineral, water, even grazing. And who has surface control.
NRA Life
TSRA Life
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CS78
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3:33p, 5/25/26
I'll offer a counter point. If you look hard enough, you can find something wrong with every property out there. I've seen deals fall apart over buyer wanting new fences, and seller refusing out of principal, when the cost wouldn't be 2% of the total deal. Make a list of what you consider deal breakers and try to not get hung up on the things that don't really make a difference in the end.
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Nealthedestroyer
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4:44p, 5/25/26
AG
Land owner here.

Everything will take longer and cost more than you plan for. Throw in dealing with county and state entities for the various permits and regulations…yeah it gets frustrating. Also Mother Nature will **** you when you try to dig your 700ft water line ditch multiple times.
Vae Victis
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S.A. Aggie
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4:59p, 5/25/26
AG
In addition to the above great suggestions, find out about your neighbors. Talk to them. Any known issues with the property? Is there a "dump" on the property and what's in it? It may affect your water well. Any chicken farms upwind? What condition is the fence in? If it needs repairs, is it a 50/50 split or do you own the fence? Be sure YOU get your own survey done. Don't rely on the one provided by the seller or the one the county may have.
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yippee2
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5:42p, 5/25/26
AG
never buy "undivided" land.
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Mas89
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7:12p, 5/25/26
AG
Buy on a state/ FM or RM road instead of a county road if possible. Check the fema flood plain maps and talk to ALL of the neighbors before buying. Buy as much road frontage as possible in case you or your heirs need/ want to divide it someday.
Check with the area city And county about possible city limits, ETJ , and possible Zoning.

Understand the recent memory floods and how/ if they impacted the property. Check for area big truck traffic from sand/ gravel pits, oilfield activity, etc. Lastly, talk to more potential neighbors again.
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Sooper Jeenyus
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7:22p, 5/25/26
AG
I do not own land (yet). I perform real estate due diligence.

Look at all historical aerial photographs available on Google Earth, which is free. You can see all sorts of historical land use/development (oil wells, pits/dumps, etc.).
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JuneBug07
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8:05p, 5/25/26
AG
If you have honey locust on the property, don't bulldoze it. It will spread like wild fire.
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JuneBug07
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In reply to Mas89 • 8:06p, 5/25/26
AG
Amen to purchasing land off of a decent road.
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bmfvet
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9:15p, 5/25/26
AG
I purchased a place about 18 months ago. I would say be patient when looking and try to find something that checks most of your boxes.
There is a lot of work involved in managing land and the ag exemption. Is this something you'd do yourself or hire out? My place has a wildlife exemption, and there are certain requirements that need to be done. I've been doing it all myself right now. Have a vision for what you want the place to become.
As mentioned, costs will be more than you expect. And Mother Nature will throw curve balls at you. I had several 12-20 inch broken limbs to deal with from a storm last week.
My biggest headache/heartache was getting a letter in the mail a few months after closing that a giant transmission line would potentially cross the property and drastically change how the place would look. Fortunately a couple months ago an updated map was made available and we're no longer on the route. So I would say try to see if there are any proposed utilities, pipelines, windmill/solar farms, etc proposed nearby.
‘99
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BrazosDog02
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10:27p, 5/25/26
AG
Completely disagree with buying land on an FM road. I'd highly discourage that if your purpose for this property is peace and country living.

Find a good FM road, and then get a few miles of county road and then another mile or two of a street with a sign that hasn't been updated in 40 years and then go down that until pavement ends and keep going for a few miles…..that's where you want to be.
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Animal Eight 84
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10:38p, 5/25/26
AG
Don't have an HOA mindset if moving to the country. It won't be groomed and pretty ( unless you have a staff of caretakers).

My priorities
1. Elevation & Drainage. If it can possibly flood, it will, probably more than once.

2. Neighbors. Research all of them before buying. You might find out after buying that Nation of Islam has a weekend firearm training center sharing a fence line.

3. Soil quality. If you want to grow horticultural or agronomic crops, you can't fix poor quality soil quickly, cheaply, or easily . If you only have six inches of caliche topsoil, forget about that peach orchard you wanted.
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Oruc Reis
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11:23p, 5/25/26
AG
How do you suggest researching the neighbors?
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montanagriz
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In reply to Oruc Reis • 3:20a, 5/26/26
S
Oruc Reis said:
How do you suggest researching the neighbors?


Onx or any app showing land owners is a start. Stop by and talk to potential neighbors and ask questions
Look up neighbors social media
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Aggie Infantry
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5:18a, 5/26/26
AG
I did this in Limestone County.

The Ag Exemption covered 42 of my 43 acres. The county taxed the house, barn, shop (1ac) at "regular" rate.
When the truth comes out, do not ask me how I knew.
Ask yourself why you did not.
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MouthBQ98
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In reply to montanagriz • 5:26a, 5/26/26
AG
Public county tax records wil list the owner.
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rancher1953
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5:46a, 5/26/26
Try to get the mineral rights. Remember the mineral rights trump the surface rights in Texas. The unexpected can happen.
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Yesterday
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In reply to Spaceship • 6:37a, 5/26/26
AG
Spaceship said:
I'm in the beginning stages of looking to buy land. My goal is 40-50 acres within 1.5 hr of DFW. Key to me is access to power, ponds/surface water, mix of trees and prairie and an ag exemption in place. Hunting or fishing isn't important.

My goal is to establish a long term family plot with bardominium down the road.

For those of you who have gone through the land buying process in the past, what surprises, lessons learned or tips would you share that are valuable?

Thanks!


East of Dallas you'll have water but will fight brush control your entire life. West of Fort Worth you'll struggle for water some years but won't have to fight brush near as much.

Good luck and enjoy it. Many folks never get the opportunity.
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Animal Eight 84
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In reply to Oruc Reis • 7:08a, 5/26/26
AG
Oruc Reis said:
How do you suggest researching the neighbors?

Use County Appraisal District database to look up owners.
Google the owners. Look them up on Facebook, etc.

if you plan to join a local country church, go visit before buying and ask folks in the Sunday School class you visit.
Local residents will know.
if there is a local business that is the local hub such as a feed store, ask them.
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insulator_king
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7:53a, 5/26/26
AG
With that acreage, you WILL pretty much need to buy a utility tractor. Front End loader, heavy duty box blade, and get an enclosed cab. Plan on $30-50k, and could be more.
Oh, and get the extra hydraulic line to the front so you can run a grapple.

Power, water, septic are crucial, , factor that into your cost.
Is it fenced already? Plus if it is.
Frontage to a paved road is very nice. Driving several miles down a dusty/muddy road while being jolted all over the place gets old real quick, especially when driven daily.

And yeah, don't buy in a flood plain. Buy a good large scale [small area] topo map with 5' or 10' contour lines. If you can find an older topo map from 60's or 70's, or even 80's, they will show stuff that once was there and is now gone.
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MyNameIsJeff
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In reply to Oruc Reis • 8:15a, 5/26/26
AG
Oruc Reis said:
How do you suggest researching the neighbors?

What we did before buying our place three years ago was use the county appraisal district's map to look up the surrounding property owners and cross reference through google/facebook.

We found that all the neighbors lived on the properties, most appeared to have been in the families for some time, and several of the immediate neighbors were young families, like us. My biggest fear is a subdivision or solar farm popping up next door, so this made me feel a little more comfortable.

We now know more people in the surrounding properties (10-250acres) than we did in the postage stamp lot neighborhood that we came from.
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oh no
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8:46a, 5/26/26
AG
I bought 1.5 years ago. I was looking for a plot where I can build my last house in about 10 years when I'm closer to being able to quit my day job, thinking not far from BCS would be a good final resting spot, but wanted it close enough to my current home to manage it and enjoy it as recreational property on weekends until then. Found something about 20 minutes from downtown Bryan, with a finished barndo already in there with local co-op water and electricity, and a wildlife mgmt plan already in place. The best piece of advice I can give is to look for a real estate agent who specializes in ranch/land deals in the area you're looking. They often know a lot of people in the area and may know of unlisted properties not out there yet, or landowners they know who are willing to divide parcels that aren't listed.
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austinag1997
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In reply to Animal Eight 84 • 9:08a, 5/26/26
AG
Animal Eight 84 said:
Don't have an HOA mindset if moving to the country. It won't be groomed and pretty ( unless you have a staff of caretakers).

My priorities
1. Elevation & Drainage. If it can possibly flood, it will, probably more than once.

2. Neighbors. Research all of them before buying. You might find out after buying that Nation of Islam has a weekend firearm training center sharing a fence line.

3. Soil quality. If you want to grow horticultural or agronomic crops, you can't fix poor quality soil quickly, cheaply, or easily . If you only have six inches of caliche topsoil, forget about that peach orchard you wanted.


#2 gave me a chuckle. Sage advice.
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AnScAggie
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1:37p
AG
I'd highly recommend expanding your search distance to double the time from DFW. In the beginning because of excitement, plans and commitment you will visit your property often, however, I think you will visit a ranch 2.5-3 hours away from home more than you will a ranch 1.5 hours away the longer you own it. As a land owner I visited my ranch more often when it was 2.5 hours away than I have since I moved a little over an hour away. It sounds crazy, but when your property is farther away you make plans to visit it and usually stick to those plans. When your property is closer instead of planning to visit it, you try to work it in and those visits get less and less until you finally have to force yourself to go. Before at a minimum I either did a whole week a month or two weekends out of every six weekends at the ranch. Now I'm doing good to get there for a week every 2 months.
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aggiej2007
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In reply to rancher1953 • 2:14p
AG
rancher1953 said:
Try to get the mineral rights. Remember the mineral rights trump the surface rights in Texas. The unexpected can happen.

This or find out who has them and if there has been any interest in exploration. It's a real kick in the nads when someone decides to split up and sell off grandad's land then comes knocking on your door to take back the surface for an oil well. 40-50 acres is not enough to hide from an oil rig, gas compressors and constant 18 wheeler traffic.
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