Real talk from real landowners. Ask questions, share stories, learn from people who've been there.
When I bought my twelve acres, I was so fixated on soil texture and sun exposure that I completely ignored the road maintenance agreement covering the half-mile caliche easement leading to my property...
I used to evaluate land purchases almost entirely on total acreage and price per acre. Made complete sense to me until I helped a friend walk a 180-acre parcel in the Missouri River hills that looked ...
When I finally had a chance to buy a half-acre plot near my current rental, I was so focused on price per acre and proximity to my markets that I barely looked at what had been grown there for the pas...
I used to assume that if a farm sold with 'water rights included,' the paperwork was clean. Dead wrong. When I helped my nephew evaluate a 120-acre irrigated parcel near Delta, the listing showed seni...
I made this exact mistake on a 320-acre purchase back in the early 1990s. Paid fair market value, shook hands, felt good about it. Found out six months later that mineral rights had been severed three...
I used to think a water right was a water right. Decreed, on paper, attached to the ground — good enough. Then I watched a neighbor lose three consecutive hay cuts because his 1987 priority date kept ...
Most buyers eyeball the trees, maybe ask what species are present, and call it due diligence. I used to think a general walk-through was enough too — until I bought a 160-acre parcel in the early 2000...
I bought 40 acres in Letcher County thinking the hardwood mix I walked during due diligence meant the understory was healthy and stable. What I didn't check was the logging history going back 30 years...
Everyone fixates on topsoil depth when buying dryland ground, and I get it — that's what shows up in the productivity ratings. But I'd argue the bigger silent killer on Kansas and Oklahoma dryland par...
I walked away from what looked like a solid 480-acre purchase in Prowers County because I finally learned to read irrigation infrastructure the hard way. The listing showed decreed surface rights, rea...
I used to focus almost entirely on well depth and yield when buying land with groundwater. Biggest blind spot I ever had. What actually determines your long-term water security isn't what's under your...
I used to think a handshake with the neighboring landowner was good enough to cross their property to reach a landlocked parcel. Watched my uncle buy 40 acres in Cocke County that way back in the nine...