Looking at buying land

[mantis]

After visiting a quite a few people that grow bamboo locally I have come down with a case of land envy.

My current lot is 1/5 acre... 1/3 of that front yard, 1/3 house, 1/3 back yard. So in reality I have 1/15th of an acre to grow bamboo.

I found a lot for sale just down the road (10 miles) that is 2.5 acres. Anything closer and prices skyrocket. Anything bigger and prices skyrocket.

Is 2.5 acres enough? Ideally I'd like about 5 acres, but that puts me out of budget or too far away from my current house to make it convenient.

For the time being it would just be a place to grow my boo or whatever else I want to put in the ground. Eventually I'll probably build a house on the land, but I don't have any type of commercial plans in mind.

I guess I'd like to hear from people who have a few acres to know what they think.

Thanks.

[ghmerrill]

Well, my first thought, is "whats the water like there..." city water, already plumbed, well, ??? maybe down there you guys dont have to water constantly all summer like we do here. we have 11.4 acres, but the well is not all that great. between sprinklers running for the aviarys during the day, the boos get runoff water that I catch in large trash cans, and then I have 3 zones on a timer for drip irrigation, which takes care of alot of the clumpers, smaller plants. The bulk of my planting has been in an area of about 2 acres, and i have quite a bit packed in there, if you look at my plants list, you can see whats what. I would love to start working farther back on the property, but with the combo of the wildlife- deer to take out the tops, and gophers to take out the bottoms, and having to haul water to the plants, I have not planted anything anywhere else.

so, to summarize... water and wildlife... and I guess if the place is away from you house- people raiding your boo...... if you can get all that under controll, go for it. you really cant go wrong with putting some money into buying land anyway, especially not with the interest rates the way they are!

[mantis]

I would have to drill a well... well have one drilled. Water table is pretty shallow though, so it wouldn't be that big of a job.

Not sure what the critter situation is like. I'm assuming rabbits, deer, wild boar, armadillo.

The boo raids would probably be the worst fear, but the good thing is there are some people living in the area, so I could probably make friends with them... give them boo to keep an eye out for me.

My wife is all for it. We are going to drive down on Sunday to take a look at the property in person.

[svendrix]

Mantis,

Assuming the price is not going to be a problem, I would say 2.5 acres would be a VERY nice chunk of land for you. My folks have a 2.2 acre parcel that I would LOVE to populate with bamboo, but no water out there (and there is a moratorium on new water hookups by the city due to water shortages).

Myself? I have a third of an acre or so (different area), and by building all the way back on the upper portion, I still have a minimum size build-able lot left below, but will actually be putting in a Zen Garden instead for now, and it's plenty of space for my bamboo needs (80 feet by 80 feet or so maybe?).

Does it have access to the lot by road? Electric power hookups, or easy to bring in? Access to sewer, or would you build a septic tank? Back to bamboo, how is the soil? Hard clay which is gonna take a LOT of work to amend, or something much loamier? Are you going to set aside a corner for me and my tent? Gonna sell your house and live in tents on the lot for a year or so with your wife and kids? Just things to think about, heh =D

---Sven

[mantis]

# Utilities present: Cable available, Electric service available, Septic Tank, Well

# Parcel Access: Driveway gate

All land here is clay.

Current plan would be to buy land and somewhere down the road build a house on the lot. Once house is built we'd sell our current place. That's years away though.

[svendrix]

Cool, sounds like if it's somewhere you all would LIKE to live someday, and it is financially doable, I'd go for it, especially since it gives you something to do the next couple years (ie make the soil better, get some trees/bamboo planted, etc.) as well! =D

You can play with figuring out how the sun hits your new lot in various phases of the year, see how rainwater drains/runs off, get some privacy built up, plant some green manure crops (assuming you get enough rainfall in the fall/winter?) to help amend the clay soil, etc.

Those are all things I wish I would have had years to do on my own property, but it didn't work out that way. Luckily I think it will still be pretty cool in the long run... =D

---Sven

[bambooweb]

Does the lot currently have trees for windbreak/shade while the bamboo is getting started?

2.5 acres is a nice size to keep control of. I have 10 acres but I only have water available on about 2 acres of it including house and greenhouse.

Bill

[Iowaboo]

I couldn't even imagine having that small of piece, but I guess it is all about the quality rather than quantity of land. You've really done alot with your little piece, so it'll be pretty cool to see what you can manage to do with an acreage.

[mantis]

This is the only pic that I have of the property.



We'll be heading over on Sunday to see what it's like.

I think this is the property on an aerial map: http://tinyurl.com/5zz52q

There are 3 plots that are 2.5 acres listed at that same address, so I'm not exactly sure how they are divided.

edit: microsoft live maps are cool... http://maps.live.com Birds eye view is really neat.



I think that the plots available are the ones behind the houses on the road.

[mike best]

It looks like a beautiful place right now! What a view!

Does that sign I see in the background say Super Wall-mart coming soon? Perhaps the Horton Home Builders Incorporated that are putting in another cheap development will make them have a 100 foot buffer between all house properties!

[dudley]

i have 4 1/2 acres but counting the area not completely shaded by trees,...maybe 1/2 an acre. even so my well/pump can hardly keep up with the demand for water between my boos and fruit trees. (5 zones)
I think 2 1/2 acres is more than enough to keep you busy. especially with it being 10 miles away. I'm envious, of all that full sun! good luck!
Big well big pump good!

[marcat]

Get power, dig well then make plan on how you want to landscape. Two 1/5 is plenty to make a nice Boo collection garden. Heck you can even plant your Clone-X. Check on possible flooding. Rattle beans (senia bean) are a dead give away on flooding from heavy rain.What was the land used for before? Range land good, Farm land better but in both cases make sure it wasn't where they kept the machienery. I have seen places where that was done that should be Super Fund sites now. You can usually spot those sites they look sick. Oh Early on make sure you have a good drive way, major expense but vittal.
If I think of more mistake I made will send them to you.
MarCat

[Mike McG]

Check on possible flooding.

Mantis,

Looks like a great place to grow bamboo but if you are thinking of building in the future as you indicate, Marcat has some good advice. It appears to me that there was a dammed lake/pond there at one time. Plus the elevation looks very flat. See the topo and aerial views at http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T ... 29.3405529 Good luck in your search.

Mike McG near Brenham TX

[Iowaboo]

cool pic, did they drain the lake, so they can sell all those expensive lots?

[marcat]

The ponds look like foundation fill dirt sources. Common practice around here. Not nessesarialy a bad thing. Raises your house foundation and gives you a pond on the place at the same time.
MarCat