Hunting Cabin/Land Question - Keep or Sell?

[timberlinehunter]

So since my fellow Roksliders have been so awesome at giving feedback and ideas of all my other questions I figured I'd throw this one out there too. I have a cabin and land that I use for hunting mainly. Recently I have been considering selling it since I am only averaging 1 or 2 visits up there a year. I love the cabin and property but it is a 5 hour drive from my house one way. I bought the place back when I was single but now being married and with 3 kids I find any free time to get away in very short supply. Lol. So the question is do I sell it and invest the money from the sale (or buy a place closer to home) or keep it and hope to use it more when my kids get older and my wife and I have more free time. My family loves to go to the cabin but time really is the issue. Plus for what I am paying in taxes yearly I could do a few more out of state hunts each year. What's every thoughts/Has anyone been in a similar situation owning land a long way away?

 

[BRTreedogs]

Uhh once u sell it you'll never get it back.
And I've driven 5 hrs each way to hunt for the day.
I think your being soft thinking a 5 hr drive is far.

Id use it more.

 

[MallardSX2]

Sell it and use the interest earned from the money to treat yourself to a guided hunt once a year for the rest of your life.

 

[DAOutfitters208]

Keep it. We have a family place 4.5 hours away and use it a few times a year. With how popular camping has become these past few years in this part of the country, I'd rather drive 5 hrs knowing I have a spot to sleep, rather than hoping there is a spot to park the trailer. You will regret selling it.

 

[307]

at I use for hunting mainly. Recently I have been considering selling it since I am only averaging 1 or 2 visits up there a year. I love the cabin and property but it is a 5 hour drive from my house one way. I bought the place back when I was single but now being married and with 3 kids I find any free time to get away in very short supply. Lol. So the question is do I sell it and invest the money from the sale (or buy a place closer to home) or keep it and hope to use it more when my kids get older and my wife and I have more free time. My family loves to go to the cabin but time really is the issue. Plus for what I am paying in taxes yearly I could do a few more out of state hunts each year. What's every thoughts/Has anyone been in a similar situation owning land a long way away?

It doesn't sound like there's any emotional attachment to the place like there would be with family/inherited property. In addition to the expense, do you spend time working/maintaining the place? Some places require a lot more work than others.

How old are the kids? Is it somewhere they're interested in being? Would it be a property to hand down to them in the future, or is it simply a utility/functional property?

I wouldn't like having a property so far away that I used infrequently. Everybody's life circumstances are different, but that's not something that would appeal to me so I'd sell it. There are other probably other properties, and other opportunities that you may get more benefit from owning.

How is the hunting? Quality of experience may justify the distance and expense, but it's likely have to be really damn good for me to justify the downside.

 

[wind gypsy]

Without knowing the full financial situation and what might be available closer to home, it's hard to give good advice. Doesn't seem that rural land is going down in value anytime soon but I've been wrong before. Land/Real Estate is nice to have in the portfolio rather than being all in stocks or other investments IMO. But if you don't use it and don't have substantial other investments it may be a good opportunity to cash in.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Are you in a state/county where you can sign up for a conservation use assessment? This is basically a 10 year agreement that says you won't subdivide or develop the property in any meaningful way. You can still harvest timber, etc. If so, it will make your taxes a fraction of what they are

I also own land and a cabin, a 6 hour drive from my house, so 1 hour farther than yours. I don't get up there as often as I'd like, but my wife knows it is precious to me........she goes up there about 50% of the time with me, and likes making changes to certain things up there to spiff them up. The only scenario I would ever sell it would be if we get surrounded by development and the experience is ruined. In that case I would do a 1031 exchange and then roll it into another property, likely somewhere out west.

Your kids will be off to college before you know it, and that property will be worth exponentially more than it is now.

There are millions of people all across the country who would love to have some huntable acreage and a cabin/house on it if they could afford it. You got it now.......don't give it up...ever, unless you can immediately buy another one through a 1031 exchange.

DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Maverick1]

So since my fellow Roksliders have been so awesome at giving feedback and ideas of all my other questions I figured I'd throw this one out there too. I have a cabin and land that I use for hunting mainly. Recently I have been considering selling it since I am only averaging 1 or 2 visits up there a year. I love the cabin and property but it is a 5 hour drive from my house one way. I bought the place back when I was single but now being married and with 3 kids I find any free time to get away in very short supply. Lol. So the question is do I sell it and invest the money from the sale (or buy a place closer to home) or keep it and hope to use it more when my kids get older and my wife and I have more free time. My family loves to go to the cabin but time really is the issue. Plus for what I am paying in taxes yearly I could do a few more out of state hunts each year. What's every thoughts/Has anyone been in a similar situation owning land a long way away?

There’s a lot to think about here, as you probably realize. (How many acres, how much $ could you sell it for, do you owe money on it now, what are the monthly payments, what’s your financial situation, etc.). The 5 hour drive part is problematic, and with three kids that won’t change. I’ve read than anything more than an hour becomes a burden, and that’s my experience as well.

I’ll add this thought, since I haven’t seen it mentioned yet.

I’d lease it out. The lease cost will cover your annual taxes and give you options down the road. Most people that lease land are likely to be good tenants since good leases are hard to find, too!

In 5-10 (?) years your kids are maybe going to want to come with.

I wouldn’t sell it. Nice places are hard to find and they won’t be cheaper later on down the road.

Good luck!

 

[Mosby]

I sold my hunting land last year in PA(I kept the mineral rights). I bought it years ago, moved away and seldom got to hunt it. I rolled the proceeds into a rental property at the beach(1031 exchange) and increased my income. Wife never stepped foot on the hunting land but loves the beach property and I replaced a piece of land with negative cash flow with a piece of property that provides positive cash flow and monthly income.

 

[wapitibob]

airbnb
No way in hell I'd sell a cabin. One day, one of those kids is gonna use the crap out of it.

edit; unless you can trade it for a cabin at the beach.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

They aren't making more dirt.......

 

[DCT1983]

I wouldn't sell it unless you could get something better closer to home.

 

[Billy Goat]

airbnb
No way in hell I'd sell a cabin. One day, one of those kids is gonna use the crap out of it.

edit; unless you can trade it for a cabin at the beach.

This is what I was going to say.

It might not be feasible, but you should be able to hire a company or 2 in the area to do the cleaning and maintenance. Around here fixing up old fallen down hunt camps is getting pretty popular as vacation rentals. Fix it up a little if need be, make it a 3-4 day get away for people. Get about 1200 a weekend from it.

 

[timberlinehunter]

I knew my fellow Sliders wouldn't let me down. Thanks. Lots of good info/tips. It is 100 acres with a cabin that I own free and clear. So my only expenses are taxes and minimal upkeep/maintenance. The more I think about it the more I think I will keep it. I can see it as a great place for my family to use as the kids get older.

 

[505Wapiti]

My personal opinion obviously, but no way I would sell it if I owned it free and clear unless I could immediately buy more and better. There will come a day when you will most likely find yourself spending a lot more time there.

 

[ODB]

Keep it.

You are forgetting your kids will grow older, eventually leave the house, you and the wife will enjoy the long weekends, and then the kids will enjoy coming back when they are older for a break from the madness.

If it’s in Idaho/Oregon, I know a guy who can use it in between your visits…solid dude…

Well-known Rokslider…

Goes by screen name ODB…


Just sayin…

 

[Rich M]

I was 15 when my folks bought some land 250-miles and 5 hrs away. For the next 11 years I averaged about 20-25 weekends a year up there - hunting, fishing, snow mobiles, just for fun, leaves, snow, etc.

It is now about 28 hrs away and I haven't been in 25 years but my sister keeps an eye on the place and our folks when they are up there, I get em when they are down this way.

Anyway you can make it into a way of life? That's what we did.

Keep it. 100 acres is real nice!

 

[dreamingbig]

I knew my fellow Sliders wouldn't let me down. Thanks. Lots of good info/tips. It is 100 acres with a cabin that I own free and clear. So my only expenses are taxes and minimal upkeep/maintenance. The more I think about it the more I think I will keep it. I can see it as a great place for my family to use as the kids get older.

Don’t sell it… throw the realtors number away!

Cheap expense that will provide a ton of value as you and the kids age.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[timberland]

I went through the same issue and decided to keep it. Now both my kids are young adults starting a career, and it looks like the cabin may be an ideal short term residence for one or both my kids until the housing market comes back into alignment.

 

[DooleyVT]

I sold a camp last fall for double what I paid for it about 15 years ago. I didn't use it often because I ended up buying a full time house about 15 miles away. It was close to home and needed work but it was paid for and figured I could reinvest the money I made somewhere else. Now I'm desperately searching for another camp and can't find anything decent especially with some land for under 200K. Keep it.