Mike Browning

Tag: Ag Exempt Land

  • Deport Yourself

    Deport Yourself

    (Let me explain.)

    Deport is a town.

    It’s in Lamar County, southeast of Paris, a couple of hours northeast of Dallas if the traffic cooperates… which, headed that direction, it usually does. Farm ground every way you look, a highway through the middle, a few streets on either side of it. I’ve never been. Yet.

    There’s a tract out there that came through my screen, the one I run looking for land priced under its area.

    Around 35 acres with good road frontage, in the $200K range. It’s been sitting a while, and reduced this week. So maybe there’s some motivation.

    There’s a difference between land that’s cheap and land that’s priced wrong. Most cheap land is cheap for a reason. Too much flood, no frontage, an easement straight through the middle, and finding the reason is a lot of what I do in a given week. On this one I haven’t found it yet.

    But it’s also about two hours from most of you.

    I’m not going to dress it up as something it isn’t. It’s not a development deal. Given the size and the frontage, it’d split into three. Above 10 acres you don’t have to plat, and it’s large enough to qualify for an ag exemption. Smaller acreage sells for more per acre than larger, so there’s a faster way out of it if you want one.

    But it’s probably just a quiet buy and hold. Somewhere you park some money with low holding costs.

    I think it’s a good deal, just not an exciting one.

    If you want more specifics email me at mike@browningre.com and we can make that happen.

    It’s been sitting a while. It’ll probably sit a while longer.

    That’s usually how these go, right up until they don’t.

    P.S. I run these screens several times a week and almost nothing survives them. Too much flood, no frontage, an easement through the middle, a solar farm going in next door. When something does make it through, I send a short email to a small list of people who asked to see them.

    No spam, no newsletter, nothing on a schedule. Just a note when there’s actually something worth looking at.

    Check it out here

  • Waiting Isn’t Wrong. But Wishing Won’t Work.

    Waiting Isn’t Wrong. But Wishing Won’t Work.

    If your land’s not costing you anything, you don’t have to sell. But you also don’t get to make the market up.

    If you’ve got land that’s ag-exempt, not costing much to hold, and you’re not living under any kind of pressure it’s fine to wait.

    No rush. No urgency.
    You’re not doing anything wrong.

    But just because you don’t have to sell… doesn’t mean the market owes you more than it’s offering.

    I talk to a lot of landowners who are in that same position. The taxes are low. The property’s been in the family a while. It’s not hurting anything to hang on. So they’re not in a hurry.

    Makes sense.

    Where things start to drift off course is when they decide, since they can wait, they’ll only sell if the number is one they make up.

    Not one tied to real comps.
    Not one based on what similar tracts are actually closing for.
    Just a number that sounds good. Or that someone once mentioned. Or that they “saw something sell for” ten miles away.

    That’s not a strategy. That’s a stall.

    And stalls usually end in one of two ways:

    • Nothing ever happens. Years go by. Conditions change. The opportunity they could’ve taken passes.
    • Or a real offer comes in, they say no, and six months later they regret it because it turns out the offer was more than fair.

    If you don’t need to sell, you’re in a position of strength. That’s good.

    But strength doesn’t mean ignoring reality.

    It means understanding where things actually stand, so when the right moment comes, you’re ready.

    PS – If you want a clear, no-nonsense opinion of what your land is worth today, I offer a free valuation on any non-residential tract. It includes real comps, utility and access info, and market-specific insight based on actual experience — not just a price-per-foot guess.

    You don’t have to be ready to sell.
    But knowing where you stand gives you options when it counts.

    You can request yours here

  • New Grayson County Acreage Near US-82

    New Grayson County Acreage Near US-82

    (If You Know, You Know)

    I just listed two tracts in Grayson County that are worth paying attention to if you’ve been watching what’s happening north of Sherman.

    They’re just north of US-82, west of Preston Road, and very close to the future Tollway corridor.

    The key word there is future.

    The exact route isn’t set in stone yet. What exists today is a line on a map. I’ve seen multiple versions—one shows the tollway just east of these tracts, another shows it cutting through one of them.

    So no, I’m not going to tell anyone this has “tollway frontage.” That would be premature.

    What I will say is that when it happens, it’s likely going to be close.
    When it happens is a separate question.

    Same ownership. Same general area. Different sizes and frontage.

    They can be sold separately. Some buyers may want one. Some may want both.

    The same family also owns additional land adjacent to both tracts. That acreage isn’t being actively marketed, but it could matter to the right buyer. Worth knowing it’s there.

    One tract is about 30 acres on Wright Road with long road frontage, an ag exemption in place, fencing, and a small pond. It’s currently being grazed, so carrying costs are low.

    The other is about 14 acres on Keyes Road. Smaller, ag-exempt as well, and easy to understand as a homesite, a hold, or part of a larger position if someone wants to control more ground in the area.

    Both sit in the same general growth corridor that’s seeing increased attention due to major industrial investment nearby. Whether that matters to you now or later depends on how you think about land.

    I’m not trying to sell anyone on a story here. If you’re familiar with the area, you already know the story.

    These are simply solid tracts in a great location.

    The map is below so you can see where everything sits.

    If you want more information, including a short brochure, aerials, and photos, just click below and I’ll send them over.

    No pitch. Just details so you can decide if it’s worth digging into further.

    Get More Info