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“ Understanding" Buying Western Ranches by Dan Murphy - M4 Ranch Group, Broker/Owner
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any of us dream of owning a western ranch, fishing on our own trout streams or chasing elk across our own backyards. But in today’s world, most of those who are able to invest in ranch property have done so through hard work within a nonranching industry. As with any lucrative investment, the ability to recognize the potential in any asset and also conceive and execute a plan for transforming that potential into a valuable investment is the key to success. Similar to standard-fare housing, “ fixer-upper” ranches can provide significant opportunity as investment vehicles, and understanding a few key components of personal aspirations and ranchland valuation can help kick-start a rewarding, ranchland restoration journey. IDENTIFY YOUR GOALS AND VALUES Before beginning your search for a ranch, clearly identify your motivation for wanting to purchase a ranch property. What does success mean to you, your family and your investment in becoming a ranch owner?
SET YOUR PRIORITIES
Is it finding a long-term, secure investment, building a family legacy or getting back to life’s more simple and tangible moments? For many people, owning a western ranch means privately and exclusively relaxing on a covered deck enjoying peak views or fly-fishing for huge rainbow trout just off the back porch or hearing elk bugle in your own hay meadow. Or do your ranch ownership priorities lean toward productivity such as hay production, controlling senior water rights, producing an exceptional herd of cattle? Perhaps a ranch could serve as a business need for entertaining clients or as a recreational escape from the break-neck pace of the city? Similar to considerations when purchasing a home or a business, note your wants and needs for location and amenities. Rather than considering the strength of a particular school district or criminal activity within a particular area, a ranch purchase requires consideration of surrounding land elevations, seasonal temperature ranges, property access issues, and access to air travel/FBO’s, travel times for accessing shops, restaurants, medical care and community events. Would you prefer to own a ranch with high peaks or foothill terrain that overlooks rivers or streams? Establishing and noting this type of criteria will help you to pinpoint the geographic parts of the country that best fit your goals. Once you have a handle on your ranch goals, regional preferences and the surrounding property attributes that you value, you are ready to begin your search.
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Know, or work with someone who knows, how to optimize ranchland fundamentals.
RANCH WITH FISHERIES If your ideal ranch property must have the potential to support a strong trout stream with a healthy trout population, focus your search on properties that provide as many raw attributes as possible. • Live Water - How much existing live water does the ranch control? Is the stream exclusively private or does it have public sections? • Water Quality - What is the “bug life”? Does the stream have healthy water to support fish? Will it grow big fish? • Instream Flows - How strong are stream flows during dry years? If you buy this ranch with fishing recreation as a priority, will that low flow support a strong healthy trout population during dry years? • Late Season Water Temperatures - Has the ranch historically seen high, late summer stream temperatures on dry years that could ultimately jeopardize your trout and your investment? • Upstream Users - Understand your water; how many times has the water in your stream come on and off irrigated ground above your fishery. Investigate whether or not the area’s water rights are truly first-come/first-serve. • Senior Water Rights - What is meant by “wet”? Many ranches have water rights on paper, but understanding the priority of the water right and timeframe-of-use relative to
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(970) 944–4444 | R ANCHES@M4R ANCHGROUP.COM
