TheLandJournal.com

United States Population
July 1, 1900 76,094,000
July 1, 1950 152,271,417
July 1, 2006 298,444,215

United States Acreage
July 1, 1900 2.3 billion acres
July 1, 1950 2.3 billion acres
July 1, 2006 2.3 billion acres

After diving into this topic I found it amazing how much land there really is available in the United States alone. We hear about the United States population rising drastically and new people moving to the United States all the time. The first thought is “how much land do we have left?” Amazingly enough there is still plenty of land for us all. As you can see from the statistics below there are still quite a few acres left to settle.

United States Land Statistics
Developed: 66 million acres
Rural residential: 73 million acres
Crop land: 349 million acres
Range and Pasture land: 788 million acres
Forestland: 747 million
—USDA Economic Research Service

A great example of what many perceive to be a state running out of land is Florida. So many condos, townhouses and high rises have been developed that we immediately figure there is no more open country. The amount of acres that have been developed is close to ten million now which makes me think, “well that state is out of country land,” but in reality there are 34,558,261 acres in Florida so there is still plenty of room for another development or two. Out of this acreage it’s nice to see some of the horse farms, riverfront properties and other Florida land for sale that is still pristine and untouched. They might not be making more of it but there is still plenty of untouched land to buy and enjoy.

Question: How much rural land is left?
Answer: Plenty

Why would you buy land when you can get it for free?

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Anderson, a little town in Alaska’s interior, has no gas station, no grocery store and no traffic lights, but it does have plenty of woodsy land — and it’s free to anyone willing to put down roots in the often-frozen ground.

In a modern twist on the homesteading movement that populated the Plains in the 1800s, the community of 300 people is offering 26 large lots on spruce-covered land in a part of Alaska that has spectacular views of the Northern lights and Mount McKinley, North America’s highest peak.

And what’s an occasional day of 60-below cold in a town removed from big-city ills?

“It’s Mayberry,” said Anderson high-school teacher Daryl Frisbie, whose social studies class explored ways to boost the town’s dwindling population. Students developed a Web site and Power Point presentation, then persuaded the City Council to give it a go.

“Are you tired of the hustle and bustle of the Lower 48, crime, poor schools, and the high cost of living?” the Web site asks. “Make your new home in the Last Frontier!”

The 1.3-acre lots will be awarded to the first people who apply for them and submit $500 refundable deposits beginning at 9 a.m. Monday. Each winning applicant must build a house measuring at least 1,000 square feet within two years. Power and phone hookups are already available.

City Clerk Nancy Hollis said people who apply in person or have someone stand in for them will have the best shot, since the post office doesn’t open until noon and deliveries are even later from the regional hub of Fairbanks, 75 miles away.

People seeking more information are calling from such places as California, Texas, Idaho and Florida.

Locals eyeing the sites include 15-year-old newcomer Brittney Warner, a student who worked on the project. The 10th-grader, her parents and three siblings moved to Anderson two months ago from Boise, Idaho, when her father got a job at nearby Clear Air Force Station.

Warner calls her new community “very nice, small, very outdoorsy” — a place that would be even better if it brought in some new businesses. Residents now have to drive at least 20 miles for gasoline or groceries.

Her family is now living in a rental home and planning to apply for one of the lots.

“We already have a house design,” she said.

Cory Furrow, a 26-year-old electrician, said he will be in line, too. Anderson has everything he enjoys — good terrain for snowshoeing and skiing, fishing, and hunting for moose and grizzly bears.

“I’ve lived here my whole life, so when free land comes up in my hometown, I can’t pass that up,” said Furrow, who lives in his family home.

Folks in Anderson say there are some job opportunities within driving distance, including a coal mine, a utility, major hotels and the air station, a ballistic missile early-warning site. Locals also would like to see entrepreneurs among the newcomers.

In addition, they are hoping for families. The high school basketball team had to go coed this year because there weren’t enough boys.

Among the other advantages of Anderson: no property taxes, state income taxes or sales tax, virtually no crime, and no traffic. There are magnificent summers with temperatures as high as 90 degrees and plenty of wide-open space.

“One of the resources that we have is land,” said Mayor Mike Pearson, a mechanic at the air station. “If this works out well, the city’s got lots more property.”

Do you think this is going to bring many people to live in Anderson, Alaska?

Most people know that it is possible to exchange one form of real estate for another, but few people realize how very useful Internal Revenue Code Section 1031 can be. Like-kind exchanges are such a valuable way to maximize the value of your investment in real estate that anyone buying or selling rural land should keep this option foremost in mind. Section 1031 is an amazingly useful tool in so many situations:

• Are you planning to retire from your rural land and switch to owning rental units?

• Or would you like to get out of rental property and into a special piece of land?

• Do you own land now, but have you found a piece of land that you like better?

• And is it perhaps in a far-distant state?

• Or would you like to trade some investment property for a second home or a retirement home?

• Or perhaps do you just want to harvest the value of your real estate and go to cash, but you wish that you could do it over more than one year?
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Real estate can be a great investment. It was mostly thanks to appreciation in houses bought for just a few thousand dollars and later sold for hundreds of thousands that the Greatest Generation could afford their great retirements; and some of the world’s biggest fortunes have been built on owning real estate.

This can be true in spades for rural land. We have already told the story of one family who enjoyed their rural land for twenty-five years and then sold it off for millions of dollars; and their happy story is repeated daily.

But not all rural land will appreciate. Some may even decline in value, so if you hope to invest in rural land, you can’t settle for just any old parcel because you love the trees and views. Beyond checking out its access and zoning and making sure that it is free from pollution, you’ve got to be a savvy strategic investor. Here are some thoughts to be applied when you find a rural parcel that seems ripe for investment:

• Think investment! Don’t rely on future luck to make you money, but instead always begin with the end in mind.

• Buy in advance of likely future growth. Land just outside the developing ring of a growing city is your best investment, while land in the boonies of a state that people are fleeing for happier climes might see no appreciation at all.

• Look at road patterns. The best land investments are those so close to present or future major roads that the land can be easily reached, but still far enough away that they suffer little in the way of freeway noise. A visit to the planning office of a town or city where you hope to buy your land can yield a wealth of information about future changes in roads and infrastructure.
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A gated community within 1200 acres of forests and fields southwest of Knoxville is subject to a first come, first served situation with property selling so fast. Newly built Club Grande of Grande Vista Bay it’s known as and for many a dream come true.

Carol Rothchild
February 28, 2007
Press Release: Club Grande, Grande Vista Bay

CLUB GRANDE AT GRANDE VISTA BAY ROLLS OUT THE RED CARPET
Posh New Club at Watts Bar Lake, Tennessee, all the Rage

Watts Bar Lake, TN, Feb. 13/PRNewswire/–Stunning lakefront community, Grande Vista Bay, at Watts Bar Lake, has opened the doors of its newest attraction: Club Grande. This regal building, perched on rolling green terrain, aesthetically mixes rugged stone, iron and wood to create down-to-earth splendor. Guests are immediately jolted by state-of-the-art, upscale banquet services and amenities. Club Grande, Tennessee’s first-rate banquet facility, glows like a castle on champion waterfront property.

Grande Vista Bay properties are selling quickly. “In my opinion, the best waterfront development property in Tennessee,” reports Dan McKenzie, licensed Tennessee Surveyor. Located southwest of Knoxville, on 1200 acres of forests and fields, residents of this gated community have all the modern conveniences: paved roads, underground electric, natural gas, central water, cable TV, HDTV broadcast signal, high speed Internet and sewer service. Filter in seven miles of shoreline with islands, coves, and peninsulas, and residents are embraced with a quality of life that celebrates pristine nature.

A stellar clubhouse in this impeccable development is key. Club Grande offers a remarkable presence for relaxed meetings, parties or black-tie affairs, whether groups assemble by the handful or in hundreds. Celebrations are highlighted on property surrounded by the King of the Southern Great Lakes while rare birds fly overhead; each celebration is a great event.

Club Grande highlights this successful community, and the Home Owners Association welcomes Grande Vista Bay homeowners as well as surrounding townspeople. Impressive banquet services for weddings, pool parties and company retreats are diverse and customized within a competitive budget. Club Grande specialists work closely with hosts to ensure that all visions and needs are met. Creativity coupled with top-of-the-line amenities means an unmatched affair. With colossal kitchen, large screen TV, stone patio, grills, decks, pool and bathhouse, each event has the potential to be a one-of-a-kind celebration amidst the gracious constant of pristine architecture and a core of startling visual delight.

Contact Club Grande for a personal tour. They welcome guests, questions and philosophies. Their goal is to make everyone feel like royalty. The red carpet awaits all who seek a party ideal.
For More Information Contact:
http://www.tnlake.net?keycode=gvb-pr-feb07
phone: 1-866-525-3748 • email: gvbclub@tnlake.net

Their property listings can be found on LandsofTennesee.com under Tennessee Waterfront Property

Finding that perfect rural parcel can be such an exciting event that it almost feels like falling in love. The trees! The terrain! Perhaps it has a lake or a view; perhaps it’s full of deer or it has a vineyard slope; but whatever it has, it is all that you’d hoped for. And the price is even right!

Before you fall too completely in love, though, make sure that you know everything that there is to know about your great rural parcel. Is the zoning perfect? Power in? Great road access? No problem building the house of your dreams? So far, so good! But before you sign the purchase and sale agreement – or at least before you go to the closing – there is one more thing that you’ve got to do: the all-important pollution inspection. You will want to test surface and subsurface water, and if at all possible you should walk the land yourself.

Most rural land has had some use, and some of it has been so badly abused that it is literally poisonous; and if you buy such land, not only will you be out most of what you paid for it, but you may even be required by law to clean up whatever mess you find. Prior use may not be obvious! Amazingly quickly, materials break down and vegetation grows, so unless you are looking for specific signs, on a casual walk you might not see a thing. So before you sign on the dotted line, spend a day or two really walking your land almost literally yard-by-yard, just to make sure there won’t be future surprises. Here is what to look for:

• Old foundations. Finding an old fallen-in stone cottage can be a lovely land-buyer’s moment. Look around for a garden now grown up and wild, and see if you can find a woodshed or privy. But if you should find a newer-looking cement foundation that seems to be bigger than house-size, then you have found a warning that something industrial or military likely happened there at some point.
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“Cheap land, cheap survey,” we used to say… but a lot of rural land ain’t so cheap any more! This means that if you have owned a cherished piece of rural land for years, you have a responsibility now to deal with it as carefully as you would deal with any other big asset… and as wisely as you would deal with your most difficult child.

First, let’s answer some important questions. Do you intend to retire on this land? Do you hope to spend all your remaining days there, or do you expect to sell at some point? Will you need to sell it to fund your retirement, or is it important to keep the land in the family? How will you protect it from nursing home costs? Which child do you hope will get the land, or will you break it up, or will you leave it to all of them? … And that’s just for starters! Ignoring these and other big questions is not going to make them go away, but instead it will likely lead you and your family to risk suffering some avoidable tragedies.

Everyone’s situation is so unique that we can’t cover every possible issue here, but we can give you a starter checklist. Once you and your family have made your decisions, then you can start to go down this list; you will need the help of lawyers and other professionals, but they can’t help you unless you have thought it through enough to be able to tell them what you want:

• If you will need to sell the land to fund your retirement lifestyle, or if it is simply becoming too much to care for, then here are the steps that you should take:
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Not many things are more annoying than waking up to gunshots on your land when you know there is nobody you gave access to hunt. What is the first thing you should do? Don’t give in to any urges you may have to grab your shotgun and head out to confront the perpetrator! After all, he is armed as well, and when one armed person goes after another armed person there is a good chance things will turn out badly. Should you just find their vehicle so you can slash their tires and break their windows? Not unless you want to end up in jail yourself.

So you just suck it up, and you call in to report it. Many states have programs whereby information that you submit can lead to an arrest, and it may even get you a reward besides the obvious benefit of getting these people off your land. This link has a list of numbers that you can call, depending on where you live:

Report Poachers

Or instead, you can try to save yourself the trouble of dealing with poachers in the first place by making it very clear to hunters that the land they are looking at is not open to them. After all, their coming onto your land may have been an accident: if your land borders more forest, and there is no clear demarcation of the property line, they may think that your land is a continuation of land where they are hunting with permission. So it is very important that you post signs on fence posts all around your property that clearly say “No Hunting and No Trespassing.” If your land borders woods, make it very clear where your land starts and your neighbor’s land ends! Your signs should be no more than 100 yards apart – fifty yards is even better – and make sure that anyone standing anywhere between your signs has a clear view of at least one of them.
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We’re seeing it all over. Timber companies are selling their land, often so it can be developed. Every year, as demand for rural land rises in many hot spots, these timberland companies cash in and try to turn their profits back into purchasing land elsewhere, which means that any cheap farmland or hunting land that is available for sale may soon be put into the cycle of producing lumber.

Plum Creek Timber Co. reports that 30-35% of their cash flow is from real estate sales. It is important to note that the stage of timber growth directly affects the value of the land to these timber companies: if an area has 25+ years of timber growth, then it’s as ripe as it gets and is ready to be harvested; but if its growth is much under 25 years, then while it can still be used for smaller-dimension lumber or for the pulpwood used in making paper, harvesting it is not nearly as profitable.

Can a timberland company operate without looking like the bad guy? Not likely. Just as people throw away trash and pretend that it just “goes away” and it isn’t buried next door to someone else, so many people are in just as much denial about the damage that they are doing when they buy wood, paper, and other products that are harvested from timberland. The best that these companies can do is to set aside conservation and recreational land under their own control. Keep in mind, though, that to be considered “conservation land,” timberland can still be worked by the timber company; it just has to be preserved from development.
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Finding rural land may be easier for you than actually making use of it. Whether you are planning to build a first or second home, a retirement retreat, or even a clubhouse for your secret “Trees Smile When We Hug Them Society” (or TSWWHTS), once you have found the land of your dreams and before you actually cement your deal, you will have a little homework to do!

“We’ll just worry about this or that when the time comes” is a dangerous attitude to take. Big mistakes can lead to big disappointments and even to utter financial disaster, so don’t let yourself get sucked in by the view before you have looked into all the details.

First of all, learn how your chosen parcel is zoned and what you will be allowed to build on it. Laws vary widely from state to state, and even among counties within each state; depending on where you are and how much land you are buying, you may find that you really can’t build quite the homestead of your dreams on that special hillside parcel. And instead of drastically altering your plans, it may make more sense for you to move on and consider other, more hospitable properties where those extra bedrooms and bathrooms, the earth-dug stable, and the winery with panoramic views can be built without regulatory hassles.
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