Or Ducks , that is what's hot up here now. Ducks hunters are crazier than deer hunters, especially those with $.

You got that right. They have deeper pockets than I do

What's goin rate on that?

There's a lot of tax free ways to move through real estate/land. You gonna have to have separate llc and be prepared to borrow money. Depreciation and 1031 tax exchange will allow you to be tax free, but you gonna have to get educated. I know a couple of guys who have negotiated this in the timber market, but you will need some experts around you.

Remember when Trump told Hilary he was the king of debt? He is. He ain't paid a dollar in taxes in years either, but that's cause he is borrowing billions and depreciating it all.

I know you can’t depreciate land or timber. You can still 1031 property. But recent tax changes took away 1031 for basically everything else. I’d be interested to know what they depreciated for tax purposes.

There's small places going for 2-3K and acre , then build a "duck pond" and sell it quickly for double . What some of those folks buying don't understand , this place is getting saturated with duck ponds. There's getting to be more ponds than ducks to go around , this ain't Arkansas . There's 6-8 established places that have most of the ducks , the newer smaller places get the other guys rejects.

If I really wanted land and wildlife I would go into it with wildlife as my objective. That’s what I did and I’m not well off just would rather have the best hunting I can for the family. It won’t go anywhere so who cares if I break even.

As long as you and your Family enjoy it that's what its about...02.... let someone else worry about the value of it.....

I looked for about 2 years before I found any "Good" 60 to 100 year-old hardwood land to buy. Seems here in East Alabama when someone decides to sell a tract that has some GOOD Hardwood on it....they go in there and cut th' Piss out of it THEN put it on the market!!!! Well HELL....who wants a place that looks like the Damn' MOON Surface to Deer/Turkey hunt on??!!!

Best place to hunt in hardwood terra is 2-7 years after a cut. Big ol' mature bucks don't walk around in daylight in mature hardwoods except on TV.

My father and I made some good money in the late 80's and early 90's buying timberland, cutting it then selling. Much harder to do it up here now. Now cedar/ limestone ridges go for $1,000-1,200 an acre , and all they're doing is holding the world together. We bought a lot of tracts for $125 to $250 an acre with mature hardwood timber, many had enough timber to pay for them, those days are long gone.

Not sure, I'm being tutored by some people who have done it. I'll ask the week after next.

Timber is not a great investment. Pulpwood is almost worthless. Sawtimber is decent but you have to grow it 30+ years and avoid droughts, pine beetles, windstorms, etc. and hope it works out.

Pine is not the only tree that grows in Alabama.

I used to own 100 acres in lowndes. Other than about 10 acres of plots and roads, it was all woods. I bought it in 2007 back when a bank would finance land at 5% down and I figured I would make money on it later. We had some great memories on it during the time I owned it. It was a jam up deer spot. My son killed his first gobbler and his first good buck on the place. Janet killed her 1st 2 deer on it. I killed one good deer and had some pics of some studs I never saw while hunting. I probably killed 5 or 6 gobblers on it. Also had quail and was surrounded by big land owners. I cut 30 acres and replanted pine in 2012. Before I bought it, I brought dad up to give me some advice on it. He told me then that there wasn’t much timber value on it but it would be a great place for hunting. It had plenty of trees but not a lot of valuable ones. I was in pretty good shape financially when I bought it then but a divorce and some other things hit and that payment begin eating me up. I sold it in 2015 and after real estate commission, I walked away with a small check and basically broke even. If I calculate the interest I paid over that time, I actually lost money. I miss it but I don’t miss the payment.

My mistake financially was buying purely for recreational purposes. The timber value was not much so when I sold it, it was almost like buying the dirt. I wouldn’t buy again unless a) it was below market value b) I could afford to make improvements such as power, water, septic and c) have timber value. In other words, actually have an place that would appreciate over time.

Having said all that, some of the most enjoyable time I’ve ever spent was in the dirt on my own little piece of the world and I’m so glad I did even if it cost me a little financially. Killing a turkey on my own land is a top 10 outdoor memory of my life! As long as you are making a wise financial decision, you will have a lot of enjoyment on the place and the investment side will take care of itself.

Dr. B

What bamaeyedoc has described should be your expectation. You aren't going to make any kind of real money off a small tract of land.

Think about the economics of it. It is possible in certain senarios but not likely... otherwise everyone would be doing it. If land were a gold mine it wouldn't be for sale everywhere you look.

Hard concept for people to understand.....

I think Docs story above is very much the norm and is less talked about.
Survivorship bias has us talking more about how granpappy bought land at $50 an acre and today it's worth $5,500 an acre 5 years later.

Don't forget the End of the World/Crapper Hits the Fan value of rural land ownership.

When the Zombie Apocolypse/Tribulation/NWO of Babylon comes to the USA I will be in my rural hideout
safe and sound with plenty of food, water, shelter, etc. Gonna be fun picking off One World Government of Antichrist enforcers and Zombie trespassers.......~

Grandaddy used to say they aint making no more of it. as the population increases so does the demand I cant think of any land ever being a bad investment. try to find a parcel today that is still valued at what it was 15 years ago, you cant.

This got me to thinking about someone I know that owns some small acreage that borders up to a county road and a state highway. Dollar General sent them an offer of $140k to buy 2 acres at the corner to build a store. wish I could get that lucky.