A house sale is mostly about the structure, the neighborhood and the sales down the street. A ranch or hunting property adds water rights, grazing leases, access, carrying capacity, minerals, easements and hunting value. Any one of those can change what the land is worth or what you can do with it.
What I look at on a property
- Water right abstracts, priority dates and well logs
- Grazing lease status and whether it transfers
- Fence, corrals, pivots and other working improvements
- Hunting district, habitat, and how animals use the ground
- Legal access, roads and easements
- Agricultural tax classification and how a sale may affect it
When something is missing from the records, I say so and go get it.
Knowing who to call
A good land agent doesn't pretend to be the expert on everything. On Alpenglow Ranch, my buyer needed to know whether the pivot would grow enough hay to winter their cows. I arranged a professional pivot inspection, and that answer came from someone qualified to give it. The same goes for well drillers, surveyors, title companies, water rights specialists and appraisers.
It also means knowing other land agents. My buyer's purchase of Sarpy Creek Ranch in Treasure County never hit the open market. I found it through my relationship with another land agent.
Getting a place in front of the right buyers
Hunting and ranch buyers don't all look in the same place. When I listed End of the Road Ranch in the Bull Mountains near Roundup, I marketed it on the Trophy Ranches website, Land.com, Montana Land Source, Facebook groups and Montana Farm & Ranch magazine, and directly to other agents. It went under contract in two days.
The deal doesn't end at closing
A lot of ranch ownership starts after the sale. I grew up on my family's ranch near Ashland and still help there with branding, shipping and doctoring. I've shown up to help clients brand, ship calves and fix fence after closing, because I care whether the place works for them.
What to ask any agent before you hire them
- Can they read a water right abstract and explain the priority date?
- Do they know how the property will hunt, and what the hunting district means?
- Do they understand how a working ranch runs: grass, water, hay and facilities?
- Who do they bring in for pivots, wells, surveys, title and water rights?
- Which similar properties have they helped buyers or sellers close, and what did they do on them?
- Will they still pick up the phone after closing?
This article is general information, not legal, tax, water-rights or appraisal advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements with the agency or a qualified professional for your property.