There are two major styles of septic systems, aerobic and conventional. If the home is located in a rocky area with little topsoil, an aerobic system is required. Areas with more topsoil and/or clay can typically have a conventional septic. As a property owner, it is important you know the type of septic, when it was last pumped, and how to maintain it. Conventional septic can cost $10,000-$15,000 for most homes, while aerobic septic range from $15,000-$20,000. To pump a septic tank, you can expect to pay between $300-500, depending on the amount of sewage pumped. Aerobic septic require yearly maintenance agreements with the county with reports provided four times a year to ensure the septic pump, drain lines, and sprinkler heads are in good working order, costing $200-$250 a year for a maintenance contract.

The more rural you go, the less likely you’ll have a water system or water company serving your property. So...how do you get water to your home? Is the land you are thinking of buying located over an Aquifer? this might be something to consider if you want remote land, this will aid you if you are considering water by drilling a water well or adding a rainwater collection system. Costs for water wells can vary depending on the depth of the water table and terrain, the production of the well. A low production well may need a storage tank and almost all wells need a filtration system. If you choose to go with rainwater collection, it is important to identify the number of gallons needed and whether or not this should be used in conjunction with a well.

Many people move to the country to have chickens, goats, horses, cows, or other livestock. However, just because you’re in the country does not mean your property will allow the animals you want or the fencing required to keep them in. Many acreage lots still have impervious coverage restrictions that can prevent you from adding your guest house, pool, or sport court. It is important to have an agent that not only knows how to pull restrictions, but also knows how to interpret them to ensure you reach your property goals.

Did you know that in some counties, you can have wildlife exemption status on 6 or more acres if you maintain a beehive? Most agents don’t. It’s also possible to have a wildlife exemption by maintaining a 10+ acre property for migratory birds, or an agricultural exemption by running cattle, goats, cutting hay or other livestock. Check with the county you want to move to to get the current qualifying Ag exceptions. If you’re anticipating tax exemptions for your land because of how you plan to use it, it’s important to know that those exemptions are not guaranteed. Agricultural and homestead exemptions may be available. We recommend you contact the county appraisal district to determine what exemptions are in place prior to purchase. It can take as long as five years to re-establish an agricultural exemption.  

Texas law states you have to have 10+ acres to hunt, which means if you have a homestead, you really need 11+ acres. Different restrictions ban hunting, allow bow hunting, or allow hunting with a rifle if you own enough acreage.

Let's talk fencing, it is the animal owners that is responsible for keeping your critters/livestock out of your neighbors property. Sometime the property owners will split the cost of fencing if there is livestock on both properties. Estimated cost of fencing this can change based on the area you are fencing and terrain. 5 Strand Barbed Wire Fencing can cost $4.00-$6.00 per ft (cattle) 5 Strand Smooth Wire Fencing $3.50-$4.50 per ft (Horses),Pipe Fencing cost $18.00-$35.00 per ft. varies based on pipe and cross pipe, style and diameter.

Who is Responsible for Building the Road. Even if the land is accessible from a county road, accessibility on the land itself is up to the property owner. You can hire bulldozers to clear the path and gravelers to cover it and protect it from erosion. 

A property survey shows the boundaries of the property indicating the acreage amount, and includes a written description of the property. It also should show any structures that would transfer with it. The lender or Title Company may deem an existing survey adequate for review if nothing has changed and it not over a few years old. However, purchasing a new survey is usually recommended. Survey Cost vary based on size and topography on the land. Consult your Land Agent for and idea on cost of a survey or call a local surveyor in the ares for more information. In our Current Market the demand for survey are high, so this process can take 2 to 6 weeks based on work load and size of job. 

A lien is an interest in land held by a person other than the owner as security for a sum of money owed to that person (such as a loan or a judgment). When a property that is subject to a lien is sold, the lien must be discharged (by payment of the money owed, for example). Otherwise, if the lien is not discharged, the lien will stay attached to the property, even after the sale, and can be foreclosed to enforce the obligation(s) it secures. To find out if there are any liens against the property that need to be paid before the title is conveyed to you, check the title commitment.

Knowing whether or not the property you want to purchase lies within a flood zone will impact lending as well as insurance. If you’re working with a lender to finance property that includes existing or proposed improvements, your lender may order a flood zone determination from a third party specializing in flood determinations. Flood insurance rate maps (FIRM) will help identify if your property is located in any special flood hazard areas. Maps are also provided online by FEMA atmsc.fema.gov/ portal.

As you consider buying rural land, keep in mind that utility services may or may not be available in that particular location yet. Just because you see a water line or a well on the property doesn’t mean there is water running. It’s best to contact the local utility providers (for water, electricity, internet, etc.) to verify which services are available and which are running to that particular section of land. If the piece of land you want to buy needs utility service, it’s possible to include the cost of securing those services in a land loan. Find out from the local service provider what the cost will be. 

Deed restrictions, zoning, and flood plains can restrict your use of the property so it’s important to be aware of their existence. The specifications should be included in the title commitment or referenced in the survey. For instance, there could be access issues, or restrictions on subdividing the land. Things like permits and zoning vary from county to county. Check before purchasing the property to confirm that you will be able to dig a well or put in a septic system, or build your Shop and have horses or chickens…

Geology.com explains mineral rights in this way: They “entitle a person or organization to explore and produce the rocks, minerals, oil and gas found at or below the surface of a tract of land.” In other words, the minerals from a piece of land you own belong to you… except when they don’t. Minerals can be a lot of things although commonly considered to refer to oil and gas. The lesson here is to ask about the mineral estate of the land you wish to purchase and to know the rights and risks associated with that area. You might want to ask neighboring property owners about any drilling they’ve seen or trucks they’ve observed in the area. Land ownership in the state of Texas is divided into two separate estates–mineral estates and surface estates. 

Understanding who owns the mineral rights is significant in that Texas law holds the mineral estate in a superior position. This means the owner of the mineral estate has the right to explore and develop the production of oil and gas without obtaining permission from the surface owner, unless the mineral estate owner has waived the right to use the surface estate to access the minerals. Typically, such a waiver is in writing, recorded in the real property records of the county in which the land is located. Simply speaking, that means that you could buy a plot of land without owning the mineral rights to that land. As a result, the person or organization who owns the mineral rights could potentially use the surface area of your land to access their minerals. 

Originally, all mineral and surface rights would have been owned by the same person but over time as owners sold property they reserved the minerals in areas where oil and gas production were occurring. While a title company can conduct a title search that should show what mineral reservations and mineral deeds have been filed of record, in order to determine the current ownership of a mineral estate that has been severed from the surface estate, you may need to obtain a title opinion or abstract from an attorney. If no prior mineral reservations or conveyances exist, and the seller isn’t reserving any minerals themselves, then the mineral ownership should transfer with the sale.

The best way to find out if there are existing mineral on a property is to hire an Land Man / Oil and Gas Attorney who specializes in Mineral. The cost for investigation the mineral search varied on the time and how far back the mineral were severed form the property. This is typically a price per hour charge. The the farther they go back the more hours and the higher the price.  

What are rollback taxes?

 If an owner changes the use of property and loses eligibility for a special appraisal method(AG EXEMPTION), rollback taxes may be incurred. For a special appraisal based on agricultural use, a change in use or the sale of the property may trigger rollback taxes covering the previous three years.

Secondly, when can rollback taxes be assessed? The building of a new home, the moving in of a new mobile home, or the subdividing of an agricultural tract of land for residential purposes could cause these taxes to be assessed. How are rollback taxes calculated? Rollback taxes go back a maximum of 5 years from the year a change in property use has occurred. This is very important when you buy or sell a property to check the current use and exemption. Do your homework, and make sure you complete the applications to keep the property in the same or similar use to continue the exemption in the county's time frame this is crucial to keeping the current exemption in place, if you don’t you could fall in to rollback taxes.