Buying Rural Land in Texas

Index

index Note: Page numbers in italics indicate photographs and illustrations. Abilene, Texas, 38 access to lands: assessment of properties , 51–52; on-site inspections, 68; risk analysis, 11; value-enhancing practices , 112; Agricultural & Food Policy Center, 74 agricultural lands: assessment of properties , 52–53; Austin-Waco-Hill Country region, 38; conservation easements, 101; environmental incentives, 106–9; Far West Texas region, 35; Gulf CoastBrazos Bottom region, 36; historical uses, 6–8; motivations for land purchases , 3; Northeast Texas region, 36; organic practices, 106–9; PanhandleSouth Plains region, 34; regional infrastructure , 31; regulatory issues, 13; risk management, 10–11; searching for property, 30–31; soil analysis, 57–60; South Texas region, 37; tax-reduction strategies, 98–99, 100; West Texas region , 35. See also dryland croplands; irrigation and irrigated lands; orchard lands; Agricultural Water Enhancement Program (AWEP), 106 AgriLife Extension Service, 100 air quality, 105–6 the Alamo, 7 American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers (ASFMRA), 47–48 Anglo settlers, 7 appearance of land, 54 Appraisal Institute, 48 appraisal of land: appraisal districts, 49, 78; conservation easements, 102, 103–4; division of land among heirs, 21; existing leases, 80; professional appraisers, 47–48 aquifers, 87–90 asbestos, 52 assessment of properties. See risk associated with land ownership attorneys, 48 Austin, Stephen F., 7 Austin, Texas, 7, 38 Austin-Waco-Hill Country region: counties comprising, 33; proportion of land types in, 38, 38; proportion of statewide rural lands, 32; size of land parcels, 39, 41; volume of sale in, 34, 34 barren wastelands: Austin-Waco-Hill Country region, 38; Far West Texas region , 35; Gulf Coast-Brazos Bottom region, 36; Northeast Texas region, 36; Panhandle-South Plains region, 34; proportion of statewide rural lands, 31; South Texas region, 37; West Texas region, 35 Beaumont, Texas, 37 Beaumont/Port Arthur, 37 Beige Book (Federal Reserve), 72 “beneficial use” doctrine, 89 bequests, 22 best-case scenarios, 16–17 Big Bend National Park, 61, 62, 63, 64 blackland prairies, 53 Boerne, Texas, 7 Bosque River, 13 boundaries of properties: closing deals, 120 | inDex 96–97; fences, 113; on-site inspections , 69; Brazos River drainage, 31 bridges, 51 brokers, 47 Bryan, Texas, 15, 37 buildings on properties: appraisals, 49, 78; conservation easements, 23; locating suitable properties, 52–53; mapping services, 58–59, 60; property inspections, 67, 69; soil types, 53, 60 Caddo Lake, 52 Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute , 115 capital appreciation/gains, 8: price trends, 27, 29–30; risk analysis, 17; risk management, 10–11; tax-deferred exchanges, 23; tax-reduction strategies , 98 capital market risk, 12–13 Cathey, James, 100 cattle guards, 51 Central Texas, 38 certificates of convenience and necessity (CCNs), 90–91 charitable gifts/deductions, 22, 101–5 Clean Water Act, 13 closing deals, 96–109 clustering of properties, 30–31 College Station, Texas, 37 Colorado, 104 Comfort, Texas, 1 common ownership of land, 9 communities in proximity to land, 45 competing uses for land, 8. See also opportunity cost of land ownership competition for properties, 34, 38–42 Concepción, Texas, 7 conservation easements, 21–23, 101–5 Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG), 106 Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), 105–6 consultants, 21 contracts, 96 conversion costs, 20 corporations, 22, 44 cost-benefit analyses, 113 costs of land ownership, 19–20, 97 county clerks, 78 credit, 12–13 croplands: conversion costs, 20; the environmental incentives, 105–6; investment value of lands, 20; proportion of statewide rural lands, 32; risks of land ownership, 9, 10–11, 12; searching for properties, 3, 31. See also dryland croplands; irrigation and irrigated lands crops, 3 Czech immigrants, 7 Dallas, Texas, 7 Department of the Interior, 81 development of land: conservation easements , 21–23, 101–5; division of land among heirs, 22; exit strategies, 19; size of land parcels, 39–41; water resources, 90–91 division of land among heirs, 21 Doane’s Agricultural Services, 74 downside risk, 10 drainage, 68, 81 dryland croplands: Austin-Waco-Hill Country region, 38; Far West Texas region, 35; Gulf Coast-Brazos Bottom region, 36; Northeast Texas region, 36; Panhandle-South Plains region, 34, 34; proportion of rural lands, 32; proportion of statewide rural lands, 31; South Texas region, 37, 37; West Texas region, 35, 35 inDex | 121 easements: closing deals, 97; conservation easements, 21–23, 101–5; mineral leases, 80–81; for oil and gas operations, 92–94; risk-assessment, 45 East Texas, 43, 58. See also Northeast Texas region economic conditions: capital market risk, 12–13; checklist...