Denise and I were sitting around watching some movies I'd rented... American Gangster (excellent!!!! Not a bad performance in the whole thing.), Eastern Promises (excellent!! Love the plot twists and the great ending.), Once (Funny, sweet, Irish indie thing with great music), and Rescue Dawn (A cool Werner Herzog thing), about a pilot shot down in Laos in about '65. Supposedly this guy is the only POW who then managed to escape from a camp and make it back alive.
We watched the first two Friday night and the last two Sunday. About ten minutes from the end of "Once" I got a call from a guy claiming to have gotten my number from one of my neighbors out at the Mountain Creek property.
I have 17 acres of scrub land out there. Basically an undulating slope with lots of live oaks (one huge one) and LOTS of ceder, rolling down to a spring and rain fed creek. I bought it back in about 2001 as an investment. Something to put my money into that might pay off in the end. This guy was offering to chop all the ceder if I'd let him have the posts. I was like, "Uh, sure!" I was totally taken aback.
I have 17 acres of scrub land out there. Basically an undulating slope with lots of live oaks (one huge one) and LOTS of ceder, rolling down to a spring and rain fed creek. I bought it back in about 2001 as an investment. Something to put my money into that might pay off in the end. This guy was offering to chop all the ceder if I'd let him have the posts. I was like, "Uh, sure!" I was totally taken aback.
One of my neighbors out there (he lives out there along the road, a few lots over, but our property meets down by the creek) has been coveting my property for a while. He wants me to clear it and fix the holes in the fencing and put in a tank so he can graze and water his sheep on it for nothing. I'd get an Ag exemption on the property taxes for my trouble. I know, nice deal for him. Thing is, so long as I have no critters out there and don't really go out there much, I have a VERY hard time justifying the money spent to get all that done. The taxes aren't that bad now anyway. Maybe $400 a year.
I've heard of people who would cut the ceder for the posts, but there's no hurry on my part, so I've never called anyone to look into it. Looks like my neighbor is trying to move things along. He wants to retire in a few years from his Ft. Hood contractor job and raise and sell goats for a living. He asked me once if I'd let him graze them on my land and I said "Sure, but you'll have to do something about the fence." He came back after riding his horse over the property saying that he couldn't use my land because the fence was down in several places and there's no water on the property. I was like "Well, that's kinda what I said before."
It was as if he wanted me to go to the expense of getting the water hookups, or the well dug, the fence fixed and the ceder cleared so he could then come in with his goats and do me a favor on the property taxes. The whole thing is hilarious.
Thing is, unknown to him, the other neighbors, the folks right next door, also want my property. They want to keep from being surrounded by goats. This guy has a carpentry shop on his property where he builds custom cabinets for people. Lots of sawing and nail guns going off all day long. One big reason why I'll probably never move out there is the thought of having to listen to that shit all morning or afternoon.
I might. Who knows. I bought it as an investment, betting that Killeen would continue to grow towards the south and that the people who live out there would be able to work a deal with the County Commissioner to get the roads paved.
I might. Who knows. I bought it as an investment, betting that Killeen would continue to grow towards the south and that the people who live out there would be able to work a deal with the County Commissioner to get the roads paved.
Well, the road deal is good to go and the the water company is simultaneously fixing and enlarging the water pipes that stretch along the road in front of my property. Some time in the next four or five years all that will be finished and the value of my two lots (each 8 1/2 acres) should make the investment worth my time.
Maybe then I'll decide to build a house out there, or maybe get these two neighbors in a bidding war. Anyway, this guy can cut and haul away all the ceder he wants. Good for him. I'll go out there some time this week and walk over the property with him and tell him which ones not to cut and then let him loose. I can't wait to see it done. I've always wanted to see what 17 acres looks like without all that crap on it. Hell, maybe I'll plant some pecan trees or something when he's done. That'd be cool.
Maybe then I'll decide to build a house out there, or maybe get these two neighbors in a bidding war. Anyway, this guy can cut and haul away all the ceder he wants. Good for him. I'll go out there some time this week and walk over the property with him and tell him which ones not to cut and then let him loose. I can't wait to see it done. I've always wanted to see what 17 acres looks like without all that crap on it. Hell, maybe I'll plant some pecan trees or something when he's done. That'd be cool.
12 comments:
How is it shaped? Could you build right in the middle and then not have to listen to nail guns or goats?
That's what I was wondering. 17 acres is a fairly huge lot, would you really hear all that much noise from any of your neighbors?
17 acres is a good stretch of land. I had 8 acres in New Hampshire, about 1.5 of it cleared with a small house on it, and mowing that 1.5 with a non-riding mower was a bear! Good luck on all of it.
Yea, I think I could probably do that, but the way the land is covered with scrub now it's hard to get a real picture in my mind of how big it really is. My friend Jim has 5 acres in Ft.Worth and it seems HUGE to me, so I can hardly wait to see how big mine will be.
The property is basically a rectangle stretching from the road down to the creek.
I like carpenters and cabinetry better than smelly critters - especially a bunch of damn goats. Plant the pecan trees and build a private range! :-) "What, nail-guns? No, this is a Winchester M1 Carbine!"
I'd naturally tend to favor "nail-gunner" #2. And as you've stated---no hurry here, land values will only go UP, especially the OPEN areas!
Always somebody wantin' a "freebie", ain't there? Some tend to think that you OWE it to them, because YOU aren't "using" it, at the moment!
The biggest issue I have with these type of folks is MY liability...
You mean you'd sell out to a low down sheep herder!? I just said that 'cause I remember all the range war movies and that came to mind.
Is it good for hunting? If so, I'd leave it alone...the thicker the better.
The nail-gunner will pale in comparison if you live out there 'cause you'll be competing with all those weapons for yours!
An investment now in some pecan trees could be your best bet..six ft tall trees set out now will bear in seven years and in twenty years could well average a couple of hundred pounds of nuts per tree..and you have enough land to plant enough saplings to have one hell of a retirement income..plus get the ag tax break in the meantime.
You know how I feel about acreage - the more the better!
Can you grow walnuts down there? That lumber is another good return if you let it get to any size. Or you can harvest it yourself for your own gun stock supply. Blanks aren't cheap any more.
You might look into an official rental agreement with the goat guy (or anyone else) so that they can't claim your property through their own habitual use and your absence. This happens so beware.
Yeah, it's amazing how sometimes other people have ideas how YOU can do work and spend money so they can profit from your efforts. They need to work for the government, if they want that kind of set-up.
Ted and I absolutely loved Once, maybe because we were so pleasantly surprised by it. We've seen the duo in concert and they were really good (and so is his rock band, The Frames). I also enjoyed American Gangster, though I thought it ran a little too long, but we had difficulties with Eastern Promises. I liked the end, but I had a feeling about it earlier on -- that something wasn't quite right.
Btw, if you havent' seen A History of Violence with Viggo and the same director, I would highly recommend it.
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