09/21/2007 : Have Your Cake and Eat It Too When Buying Land

            An age-old quest most of us strive for is trying to figure out how to set aside something valuable for the future while enjoying its benefits in the here and now. Investing in rural real estate could solve this sometimes perplexing problem.

            Let’s say you decide to invest in a parcel of land today, a piece of real estate that is currently home to a variety of wildlife species. It becomes fairly obvious that reaping the benefits of your purchase is immediate; you can hunt on your own little piece of heaven today.

            What if this parcel has mature timber ready for harvest? Not only do you get to enjoy the bounty of wildlife on your own property, selling some of the timber will enable you to immediately recover some of your investment.

            After harvesting your timber, let’s assume you replant a new forest on the land. Not only are you able to pocket the proceeds from the timber sale, you now have a new forest growing that will one day provide even more income from your investment.

            An immediate question is likely to enter your mind as you consider that growing trees is not like growing corn. While corn reaches maturity in a matter of months, it takes trees at least a couple of decades before they’re ready for the market.

            This is where another concept comes into the picture. As our hair turns to silver, our steps become slower and wrinkles crease our faces, reality hits us that we may not be around when the tree seedlings we planted today are ready for harvest. Here is where you decide to think beyond yourself and do something for your children and grandchildren. You may not be around to see the next harvest but you’ll be leaving them something special and precious to enjoy.

            We like to think of this concept as “leaving a legacy”. Can you visualize a picture as satisfying as realizing that your grandson, yet unborn, might one day bag an impressive buck or boss gobbler on the land you left him to enjoy?  Can you not also see that the timber harvest from those tiny seedlings you planted years before could pay for the college education for that same youngster?

            This gives you what could be the most important reason to consider investing in rural real estate. Do it for yourself. Do it for them.

Call the number at the bottom of this page or log onto the website to see how Mossy Oak Properties can help you find that special slice of heaven on earth that will pay dividends now and into the future. You’ll be content in knowing you can have your cake and eat it too.

Glynn Harris is a free-lance writer for many state, regional and national publications including BassMaster, Field and Stream, Outdoorlife and Woods & Waters.  He also is the outdoor columnist for ten regional newspapers and the author of "Talkin' Outdoors."