[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/the-first-steps-to-buying-hunting-property\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/the-first-steps-to-buying-hunting-property\/","headline":"The First Steps to Buying Hunting Property","name":"The First Steps to Buying Hunting Property","description":"It\u2019s the American dream of every hunter \u2013 to own their own slice of deer hunting heaven.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter...","datePublished":"2016-06-29","dateModified":"2018-11-15","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/#Person","name":"Hector Agosto","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Legendary Whitetails","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","url":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","width":522,"height":226}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/OverPlot-e1466792376607.jpg","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/OverPlot-e1466792376607.jpg","height":675,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/the-first-steps-to-buying-hunting-property\/","about":["News"],"wordCount":2709,"keywords":["Land & Habitat","Tips"],"articleBody":"It\u2019s the American dream of every hunter \u2013 to own their own slice of deer hunting heaven.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter how big or small it may be, owning a chunk of land is special and something we all dream about as sportsmen.\u00a0 Unfortunately, not enough of us act on our dreams and sadly, that\u2019s ultimately what they remain . . . just dreams.For me personally, I thought this dream was a long, long, long ways off.\u00a0 I\u2019m sitting here at 28 years old having just gotten married, just bought house\u00a0#2, and recently graduated college.\u00a0 Want to know what those three things all amount to? Debt . . . some serious DEBT!\u00a0 For me, owning land was a dream that was seemingly a long way off, especially with the thought of starting a family in the near future.How was I ever going to own a piece of hunting property?\u00a0 This thought bugged me to no end.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want to be like my parents or others who had always wished they would have bought more land back in the day and are now stuck because prices are too high.\u00a0 This thought motivated me to figure out a way to get ahead of the game despite being young and in debt.Before buying a house, I got really interested in the world of real estate investing – so much so, that I’m now a licensed real estate agent in Wisconsin.\u00a0 I read all sorts of books on how to make money in real estate and finally took the plunge. The first order of business was to buy a house for my wife and I.\u00a0 With fairly limited funds, we bought a fixer-upper that was foreclosed.\u00a0 This was a duplex and we now live for free while our tenants pay our mortgage(s). In fact, the one duplex now cash flows enough to also fund our second fixer-upper, which we recently bought. You may be wondering what the heck a duplex has to do with buying your dream hunting property, but the point is anything is possible if you\u2019re willing to be creative.\u00a0 Ultimately, you should be treating hunting property as an investment that can make you money.How awesome would it be to earn extra income on a property you purchased for hunting?\u00a0 Pretty awesome if you ask me!\u00a0 We cover some of the ways to make a hunting property more affordable in this article: How to Make Hunting Land Pay You, but first, you need to know how to find, evaluate, and buy your dream property.8 SIMPLE STEPS TO GUIDE YOU THROUGH THE LAND BUYING PROCESSStep 1: What\u2019s your number?Before you even begin to search, you have to know what you can comfortably afford.\u00a0 Comfortably, being the operative word.\u00a0 Too many people think that because a bank gave them approval for a loan of $X amount, that they can afford it.\u00a0 This may be true if you aren\u2019t spending any money on food, coffee, clothes, and other disposable items throughout the week, but in order to truly understand what you can afford, you need to do a deep dive into your monthly expenses.\u00a0 Learn where you can cut and save during the course of a month.If you don\u2019t have the money, then you need to start saving or get creative.\u00a0 In order to increase the amount of land one could possibly afford, many people turn to partners, as was the case for me.\u00a0 Partners add income and resources that can be invaluable. \u00a0Not only on the financial front, but also in terms of labor and pure enjoyment of the property.\u00a0 It\u2019s no secret that hunting is an activity enjoyed most\u00a0with others.\u00a0 Joining forces with a TRUSTED partner can be a great way to increase your funds and ultimately the amount of property you can afford.Once you figure out how much you (and your partners) can comfortably afford, you\u2019ll then want to begin the process of finding a lender.Step 2: Find a lenderGetting preapproved prior to writing up an offer on a property will save you a lot of headaches down the road.\u00a0 Not only will it confirm what you can afford, but it also makes the transaction process much smoother, and you won\u2019t have to go through the excitement of getting an accepted offer only to later feel the pain if you find out you can\u2019t get the financing.\u00a0 The preapproval process isn\u2019t set in stone, but as long as you don\u2019t go out and spend a ton of money on something else between the time you got preapproved and submitted the offer, you should be free and clear.You\u2019ll want to start the preapproval process sooner than later because finding a lender for vacant land can be much more challenging than finding one for a house.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Vacant land is much riskier for lenders.\u00a0 It\u2019s pretty unlikely that you\u2019ll be able to get financing from your local bank on a piece of vacant, recreational land.\u00a0 You\u2019ll likely have to work to find a lender who deals specifically with vacant recreational and farm land.\u00a0 Talk to your real estate agent to find out who they would recommend.\u00a0In this Wired to Hunt Podcast, Dan Perez, owner of Whitetail Properties, discusses the best ways to find a lender for hunting land.Once you\u2019re approved, let the shopping begin!Step 3: Find a Real Estate AgentFinding a notable real estate professional to represent you as the buyer can save you thousands in the end and literally costs you nothing.\u00a0 When you\u2019re looking for a real estate agent to represent you, it\u2019s best to find one who knows a little something about hunting and hunting land.\u00a0 In most cases, you\u2019ll likely end up using a different agent than that of which you bought your house, simply because they are probably not experienced in the world of hunting land.Reaching out to someone you know who has experience with hunting land or a land specialist from the likes of a hunting specific real estate company can be extremely beneficial.\u00a0 They\u2019ll help make the process go smoothly and layout many important considerations along the way.Step 4: Start Shopping for Deer Hunting PropertyOnce you have the first three ducks in a row (Budget, Lender, Agent), you can start looking for your dream property.\u00a0 Just like searching for a house, you should lay out key features that are important to you and stick to them.\u00a0 For us, we listed everything we wanted in order of importance to help guide us through the process of finding a property.Roughly 100 acresA 60\/40 split between wooded and ag landIn a \u201cgood\u201d areaHuntabilityGood access to entire propertyAreas for food plotsGood treestand treesOn top of those property features, we hoped to obtain it below market value as a way to add immediate equity to our investment.\u00a0 Lay out your criteria and stick to them.\u00a0 The last thing you want to do is to overpay for a piece of land that isn\u2019t up to your standards simply because you got excited about owning your own property.Step 5: Research and EvaluateThis is a two-stage process.\u00a0 The first stage should begin while you\u2019re looking for a property and happens on more of a county or regional level.\u00a0 Once you figure out where you\u2019d like to own property, start talking to local wildlife biologists and conservation wardens to understand the local populations and other factors that may play into your decision to buy a certain hunting property.\u00a0 This is especially important if you\u2019re looking at land in a new area or a couple hours from home.\u00a0 They will understand local factors much better than you.For instance, during our search, the local biologist had warned us that if we were looking for a good property to practice QDM, to stay away from properties that were surrounded by or in close proximity to Amish farms. No, the Amish aren\u2019t bad, but they do have a far different deer hunting philosophy \u2013 one that would greatly impact our quality deer management goals.\u00a0 Let\u2019s just say owning a small QDM property surrounded by farms with a \u201cif it\u2019s brown, it\u2019s down\u201d mentality, won\u2019t yield great results.This was an extremely valuable bit of information that we would not have considered since we don\u2019t live in an area with many Amish folks.\u00a0 This is the same principle at play when you here many of the professionals talk about buying in a good neighborhood.\u00a0 Do your research, it will save you a lot of headaches and money.Google Earth is your best friend when you’re trying to understand a deer hunting property from afar.Once you\u2019ve got a target county or area you\u2019d like to purchase land in, the next bit of research and evaluation comes when you are supremely interested in a property.\u00a0 This property should match the criteria you\u2019ve outlined earlier fairly closely.\u00a0 If it doesn\u2019t, you\u2019re probably settling for something less than ideal, simply because you want to own hunting property so badly.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be a settler.The first thing you should do when you find a property of interest is to pull it up on Google Earth and begin to understand the layout and the surrounding areas.\u00a0 Google Earth allows you to view the landscape at all levels which is key to understanding deer movement.\u00a0 It\u2019s important to look at the entire neighborhood, not just the listed property.\u00a0 On average, the home range of any given deer is usually between 300 \u2013 600 acres. . . that\u2019s practically one square mile.I\u2019d say that\u2019s one of the biggest errors landowners and prospective buyers make \u2013 they only look between their property boundaries.\u00a0 Just because you\u2019re stuck between legal boundaries doesn\u2019t mean your hunting strategy should be.\u00a0 Follow the chunks of cover, find out how most deer will be travelling. Look for any surrounding ag fields that might serve as destination feeding fields.\u00a0 Travel corridors, food, drainages, terrain, and funnels are just a few things you should be looking at when you start to dissect the deer hunting potential on your property.\u00a0 Think outside the boundaries.Another important aspect to look into at this time is if the property is enrolled in any special government programs that may impact your decision to buy or do certain habitat improvements like CRP Lands or Managed Forests Lands.Once you\u2019re comfortable with how things setup in the local area, start dissecting the property you hope to own.\u00a0 Fall back on your criteria: Is there good access? Good spots for food plots? Quality soil? Favorable terrain? etc.\u00a0 Pay more attention to the things you can\u2019t change like the location, terrain, and accessibility; the other stuff you can gradually improve yourself like clearing areas for food plots or adding more trails.Step 6: Boots on the GroundIf you like what you saw while scouting from afar, it\u2019s now time to physically walk the property.\u00a0 All the research you\u2019ve done is pointing to this property being the one of your dreams, now get out there and confirm it.\u00a0 If you can, walk the property with the current owner or somebody that may have experience hunting the property.\u00a0 Ask a lot of questions!\u00a0 How\u2019s the deer hunting? How are the neighbors? Are there trespassing issues? Poaching issues? These are all important questions to be asking.\u00a0 Not only will you be gaining extremely helpful insight, but you\u2019ll also be building a good relationship with the current owner\/seller.Spend a lot of time scouting the property you’re interested in buying with a map in hand to help you understand the layout.Aside from asking questions, your main objective is to scout the property during your visit.\u00a0 Is there a lot of deer sign? Quality food, cover, and water? What might need improvement? How much will the improvements cost?\u00a0 Are there good trees to hang stands in? Etc. etc.Creating a list of these types of questions before hand will help you dissect the property as you walk around. Make a list and check them off once you\u2019ve confirmed whatever question it was you were asking.\u00a0 Be sure to write down any questions along the way.\u00a0 It\u2019s way too easy to forget questions that may have arose during the tour as a result of you getting googly eyed over the thought of owning such a property.If you like what you see, it\u2019s probably time to make an offer.Step 7: Make an OfferThis is a BIG step!\u00a0 So far it\u2019s been all talk and no walk.\u00a0 The talk is cheap, but the offer is expensive!\u00a0 If you\u2019ve confirmed your criteria, like what you see, and have adequate funds, you shouldn\u2019t have too much to be worried about.\u00a0 One word of caution is to not let the excitement cloud reality.\u00a0 This is a big purchase and far too often, buyers end up convincing themselves that some problems may be minor, when in reality they are major all because they fell in love with the property.\u00a0 Even though you\u2019ve got to jump on a great deal while you can, take some time to make sure it is, indeed, a great deal.\u00a0 Allow time for your emotions to settle, so that you can properly evaluate.\u00a0 Don\u2019t make an impulse buy.\u00a0 Show it to an unbiased hunting buddy and see what they think.Congratulations, if you\u2019ve made it this far and still like the property, it\u2019s time to sign and submit your offer.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be afraid to throw in a reasonably low\u00a0offer, especially if it\u2019s been sitting for a while.\u00a0 If the seller counters, you\u2019ll know they are willing to come down.\u00a0 If they don\u2019t, you\u2019re likely not in their wheelhouse and they are unwilling to play games.\u00a0 Negotiation is an art, you\u2019ve got to stick to your guns and call their bluff, all while hoping you don\u2019t offend the seller or allow someone else to come sweeping in with a more attractive offer.Step 8: Enjoy It!There\u2019s nothing more exhilarating than getting a call from your realtor saying they accepted the offer. Once you make it through closing you can officially let the good times roll!\u00a0 Congratulations on achieving what was once just a dream.RELATED:\u00a0HOW TO MAKE MONEY OFF YOUR HUNTING LAND"},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Legendary Whitetail's Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/the-first-steps-to-buying-hunting-property\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"The First Steps to Buying Hunting Property"}}]}]