40 Acres and A Mule?

Hobby Farming Trend: Green Acres

Did you read your US History about Reconstruction after the Civil War? 40 acres was considered a livable farm for newly freed slaves who were willing to work for themselves. These days, a corporate farm is usually several thousand acres as small farms are being gobbled up. However, if raising a few herbs, lavenders or horses is your thing, you might do with much less. The trick for buying agriculturally zoned land for your gentle person's farm is to buy land that is not currently being farmed. Farming is a business--so land in production may be harder to finance up front.

Hint: If the land you love has an old farm house worth renovating, check out buying it with additional funds to renovate the homestead. A Renovation Loan gives you 6 months to renovate and is similar to a Custom Perm Loan in how it's managed. Specialist Construction Lenders handle this best. If a log home, modular or glide house is your dream, there are lenders who that specliaze in so-branded Green building methods including panelized, advance framing, and associated verdancy. Appraisers are the key here and Realtors who actually LIST these green home features are making green improvements much easier to value.

OH--and forget buying nice land with a mobile home unless it's post 1978 and a double wide home with a decent foundation. Older manufactured housing or a single wide home won't be fundable except at nosebleed rates.

Yes, there are Rural Loans and local banks who specialize in this area so that's a good start if what you really want is producing farmland. Residential lenders tend to balk anything over 50 acres or so unless it's typical for the area. Of course you WILL build that dream home they will be happy to have in their portfolio...so plan your investing accordingly. If you do need a second building for utility needs it you may be able to fund the second structure in your construction loan up front to save costs financing several projects.

Having grown up in rural farmland, I know farmers will do anything to keep their land and naturally banks count on this motivation. What that may mean is that farm houses sometimes fall into disrepair as a result of this over focus on land production. After all, you spend most of your time in the milking shed or on your tractor if that's your livelihood. Agriculturally zoned land is also harder to foreclose upon due to the land being your source of income so many banks won't touch rural land in production. 'Highest and best use' is the main determinant for land value. Banks like your house to be worth more than your land on a residential loan. That would suggest buying fallow land or land with pulp trees and then clearing it for your hobby farm. Do watch that little trap; land clearing is NOT cheap or easy. Not to mention wetlands mitigation (another very long subject). Just be sure to investigate permitted uses and build-ability. In this area we seem to have a new rash of flood mapping being handed down by FEMA much to the surprise of existing land owners. If you decide to buy a large parcel with plans to subdivide it later that will certainly increase the land value. Just be sure the lot sizes are allowed and timing is on your side as many areas have long term plans regarding subdivision.

In some farming areas, old apple orchards or dairy farms are being turned under for housing developments creating a political dilemma. Family farm groups may often protest this trend. Yet the need to pay for infrastructure for things as roads and schools depends on people paying taxes. It's a catch 22 for many rural areas. The conservation trend recently has been to preserve farmland in favor of cities and towns growing up rather than out. Sustainability means making choices that next serve the next generations so planners are struggling to catch up in areas where population is over-stressing their 50 year plan that became outdated in 10.

Many people will pay royally for their patch of green with a bucolic view. If you buy a nice home in a development next to a pig farm and the wind blows your way, it will be hard to complain to the pre-existing farmer. There are many cases on the books of just such disputes, so be sure you like the smell of ripe silage if you are moving near a dairy farm! Fortunately, the sanitary handling of animal wastes require farmers to take extra precautions to keep contaminants out of waterways., etc. but smells are harder to legislate! This tension between farmers and developments is a classic struggle. As cities move out, farms get squeezed. You may have noticed a increased urbanization going on in your town. Inner development helps to eliminate sprawl, reduce carbon waste of vehicles and convert brown fields and redeveloped lands to housing rather than put good farmland under houses forever.

Whatever you choice, if you do want to raise a crop or tend livestock, you'll find the effort of good dirt really worth it in the long term. Call your local County or State farm agency or check out their websites for local resources Their soils maps are quite a resource. Rural land and soil consultants abound to help you decide just what do to with your fine spread. Of course if you want to buy land and build your dream home/farmlette...call me...I love this stuff!

Happy growing! Loannetter