How do I buy a woodlot?

[Zodiac45]

You will also want to find out what the taxes will be after you buy the property. My Dad and brother bought another 80 acers two years ago with no acess to the property the taxes were $480 a year. Now they are a little over $2000. Even though there is nothing on it its now called residential.

Billy

+1 Billy, Be very careful of these grandfathered tax deals. First off $6000 an acre is very steep unless it's premo property. My Sister and BIL bought 25 acres and 50 acres in two separate areas but within 15 min of each other. Beautiful land in both places with some first growth trees, streams, etc.. When buying it they inquired as too the taxes and were given an approximate figure. They bought the land and then were hammered by the town. They complained and were told that the people living there for 15 yrs or more had grandfather tax rates (the 25 plot came from a break up of an old 200 acre farm. To make a long story short, the taxes for their 25 acres was more then the previous guy was paying for the whole 200! So beware, and caveat emptor.

 

[HUSKYMAN]

Thats the way taxes work here too, property taxes are capped UNTIL the lot is sold, then they shoot up to current market value at the time of sale, then they are capped at inflation again. I got hammered pretty good with my new house, I have higher taxes than anyone within a couple miles of my house:censored: :censored:

 

[eric_271]

Hello to all,
First post... This is a great site! I just re-entered the world of burning wood for heat and have enjoyed all the great info I have gleaned from these forums. So now I am going to get some opinions/help for myself, too! I'm kicking around the Idea of investing in some local wooded land to hunt, cut firewood, ride ATVs , and teach my children about the outdoors like I was lucky enough to have in my fathers woods as a child. I guess my question is How do you go about getting some financing for such a purpose(As I do NOT plan to build on the property), what type property taxes am I looking at, and what size is too small to be sustainable for firewood use. I am currently talking with someone about too different properties. One is 5 acres and the other is 14. I'm curious if 5 acres is too small to sustain. Any thoughts or words of wisdom? I'm just starting to research this and haven't talked to the bank yet, but I will be for financing info. Thanks for all your help!

Why buy land for fire wood? Buying land for fire wood is kinda like paying for fire wood. Do some foot work and you should be able to find all the free fire wood you want. A lot of farmers will let you cut for free to keep trees from over taking their farm ground. Make sure you clean up your mess and burn the brush or he may prefer to do that. That's how I have done it the last 17 years. I would like to keep the trees I have on my property.

 

[Husky137]

$6000 an acre will buy a lot of firewood. Even at $300 a cord, that's 20 cords an acre before you break even. That doesn't even take property taxes and your labor and harvesting costs into consideration. Doesn't seem like a sound financial decision unless you can really get a lot of other uses out of it which is unlikely on a small parcel.

 

[boostnut]

Anadabooks, where did you buy? Sounds like a reasonable price for this area.

 

[aandabooks]

Just south of Henry, Illinois. About 25 miles north of Peoria on Rt. 29. It is a split piece with 8.5 in tillable and 8 in timber.

 

[Zodiac45]

Thats the way taxes work here too, property taxes are capped UNTIL the lot is sold, then they shoot up to current market value at the time of sale, then they are capped at inflation again. I got hammered pretty good with my new house, I have higher taxes than anyone within a couple miles of my house:censored: :censored:

Yeah that sucks Husky. How about a scenerio like this. My Pops has a nice piece of property and wants to will it me or even just sign it over. Would I get hit with the higher tax rate in a deal like that? Wonder if there's a way around it?

 

[aandabooks]

In Illinois you would be out of luck. The Homesteader's exemption only applies to the owner and it has to be the primary residence for more than 15 years here. The house I bought was under this and the first year my taxes were about $500 and the next year they were near to $1000 because of the loss of the homesteader's exemption.

 

[Hugenpoet]

I am only familar with real property in Massachusetts and New Jersey, but both of these States have provisions that permit the local taxing authorities to tax certain parcels as agricultural land instead of residential or commercial. Generally there is the requirement that a use restriction be recorded on the deed-which can be removed at a latter date if the parcel is to sold for development. Removal of the use restriction requires the payment of what is called roll back taxes, which is essentially the difference between the tax that was paid and what would have been paid if the land was classified as residential or commercial.

 

[logbutcher]

Couple of things to be aware of John.
1. As a old fart, I'd never buy land "on time". A home , yes, not land.
2. Get some expert advice, hire a Consulting Forester to evaluate the timber.
3. Be sure you know how the land is taxed: exactly.
4. If you do buy raw land for timber, put the lot into Tree Growth, and under a Conservation Easement that runs with the deed such as being undividable for house lots. Those classifications drop the value for sale and lower the tax assessment.
5. Get a reliable Real Estate attorney to handle the sale AND who will do a complete Title search.

There are better ways to access firewood than buying a woodlot, especially smaller than 20a.
Good hunting.