Larry Foster RF, Land REALTOR
Property ownership comes with a legal bundle of rights, including possession, control, exclusion, enjoyment and disposition. Many rural property owners are motivated by enjoyment of the outdoors. Owning a property creates a blank canvas with the opportunity to improve and shape it according to your objectives. The following ideas are ways to enjoy your property more.
First, maintain internal roads and trails. To enjoy riding or walking through your property you want to avoid fallen logs, tree limbs slapping the vehicle, or getting stuck in a mudhole, having to winch yourself out and getting covered with mud in the process. I admit that some people actually enjoy this! If your roads and trails are in good shape an annual bush hogging may be sufficient. For more neglected situations, a forestry mulcher can quickly eliminate small saplings and overhanging branches. For roads with bad washouts or larger trees a bulldozer is needed. I listed for sale a client property with riverfront access, but the road was bad enough that only walking was possible. We cleared the road with a bulldozer, replaced a washed out culvert and put down gravel. Once this was done the property sold quickly at full price. Sometimes roads can be seeded with grass to protect the surface, at a considerable savings over gravel.
Second, enjoy family recreation. Riding the roads with a UTV, walking a trail, stopping to notice a spider web or the excitement of your grandchildren catching their first fish are all precious memories. For hunters, there is the opportunity to observe wildlife behavior on a game food plot as well as the thrill when a buck steps out.
Third, appreciate aesthetics. Slow down, pay attention and learn about the wild plants. You can even identify plants using an app on your phone. Wildflowers bloom in almost every season and fall foliage will soon be in full display.
Fourth, control invasive plants. I have to admit I wasn’t paying that much attention until a demonstration on a landowner tour clued me in. The next time I was out on our property I noticed kudzu, Chinese privet, Japanese climbing fern and wisteria. Without control these plants would continue to increase. A couple of rounds annually with a 25 gallon sprayer and the right chemicals helps to limit the spread.
Fifth, preserve relics, remove junk and have the wisdom to know the difference. We found moonshine stills and an old hay rake that we preserved as historical artifacts. On the other hand, more than once I have seen on real estate tracts an old school bus serving as a bunkhouse or a shack past the point of providing shelter. When buyers see this, they stop thinking about how they will enjoy the property and start to worry about who they will get to haul it away and how much it will cost.
A rural property keeps your mind active, your body moving and reveals the beauty of creation as you enjoy the outdoors. Attractive return on investment for the seller or your heirs is the frosting on the cake.
