Page 13 – Land & Ranches for Sale in Western & Southeastern United States

When considering land for sale in Georgia, many factors are involved in the revenue-generating potential and the resulting value of the land. Experience is key when valuing different land investment opportunities. Even if recreation and the outdoors is your primary motivating factor, making the best investment is always a big part of the decision. Most of our clients want to maximize both the recreational potential and the return on their investment. It takes years of experience to maximize revenue-generating potential and enjoyment of the land. Here are a few things we consider when valuing a property either for sale as a listing or for one of our clients who is buying.

Let’s take a look at a typical scenario we would encounter with South Georgia or North Florida farms for sale which have differing amounts of wetlands, agricultural land and timberland. How do you evaluate which one is the best investment or which one should have the highest value?

Let’s start with the basics. Timberland and Agricultural farms are two of the most common investments here in North Florida and South Georgia and the golden rule of location, location matters a lot. It matters for several reasons, one is resale, where the property has significantly better upside for resale when it’s in an A location, second is site quality and the better the site quality the better the growth of your trees, animals and crops and the higher the return will be during ownership. Site quality is determined by many factors such as soils, drainage, topography, wildlife populations and many others. For timber, soils are probably the most critical factor. The measure of a site’s quality for timber growing purposes is measured in site index, which is the average height of a tree at 25 years old on a given site. Landowners want to get the best return they can just like any other investor and well-located tracts often provide a substantial boost to the return at the end when the property is being sold. If the dirt has appreciated along with the revenues received from timber harvests and leases during ownership the return will be significantly higher. Many investors try and pick the cheapest of all options to make their returns the best, but paying a little more for a tract in a good location, assuming the returns still work, can often pay off at resale especially if the sale is timed well to coordinate with a peak time in the real estate cycle. Conversely, the best real estate sites don’t always have the best soils and this is a major determining factor in return during ownership. The bottom line is site location is very important and an experienced advisor is a great asset when evaluating location.

The next consideration is upland/wetland ratio. Again the cheapest opportunity may not be the best. The calculation needs to be made to figure out the cost per usable acre in order to truly make an accurate comparison, particularly for the timberland analysis. In other words just because one opportunity is less per acre you won’t know whether it’s truly the best until you know your cost per usable acre. The timber on the property is normally bought/sold at its appraised value so you would first remove its value and then make the calculation on the dirt to see which opportunity really is the best.

For the timberland portion, the age class distribution of the timber stands can be a big determining factor for return. The biggest upside is provided by the graduation in classes of timber. For example, trees typically grow at about 6% per year depending on the seedling type and site, and there will be a time when the majority of a stand graduates from pulpwood to chip-n-saw product type and this will provide you a 47% jump in value per ton in just one year at current prices. Assuming you could buy timber at pulpwood today and sell it as chip-n-saw in a few years the return would be much higher than just the typical 6% growth rate for that stand. In general, a diversified age class distribution will provide the best growth rates and the most sustainable returns over time for timber.

Now let’s consider additional revenue sources other than timber sales, these can often be the difference between an average return and outperforming the norm. Straw production is one of the most common and typically can be undertaken between ages 8 and the first thinning, whenever that occurs. This is a nice supplemental income before the first thinning occurs and typically the straw buyer will perform all or most of the prep work necessary in a timber stand to prepare for harvest. This occurs as early as the second year and if your goal is to harvest straw you should discuss this with the buyer before the stand is even planted ideally. Hunting leases, if you don’t plan to use the property for hunting yourself, can typically bring in another $10-$20 per acre depending on the location and amenities provided. Other income sources include honeybee leases and agricultural leases. Assuming the majority of the land is in timber, the best practice is probably to lease out the agricultural portion which provides a reliable cash flow in years when no timber harvests occur and is not subject to the ups and downs of the commodities markets. This is also a key contributor to quality wildlife habitat. To the extent these fields can be interspersed within the timber stands they will have a greater opportunity to create better wildlife habitat and better resale value in the land itself when compared to one big open field. Combining these sources of revenue with timber sales yields a better return improves wildlife habitat and resale value. If wildlife is one of your primary objectives, the variety of timber age classes and land uses and the management practices that go with each one provide a patchwork of habitat that benefits all kinds of wildlife. No one type of habitat provides all of the wildlife populations needs, so a variety of uses and habitat types is best, critical really.

One last opportunity that deserves significant thought is conservation easements. These easements have become much more popular in the last few years and could warrant their own discussion entirely. Briefly, there are two types of easements a landowner could consider, purchase easements and donation easements. In either case, the easement is perpetual on the land and restricts different activities with the primary objective of maintaining the land in its current natural state and protecting it from development or degrading activities. Easements are typically most valuable when they adjoin other conserved lands, either other private easements or state or federally owned lands. A purchase easement would be purchased from the landowner by a conservation agency and is simply a rebate toward the purchase price paid for the land, paid in cash. These could easily take up to 3 years or more to achieve. A donation easement is very valuable but comes in the form of tax-deductible credit and a landowner would need federal taxable income to derive value from this type of easement. The donation easement is a great way to protect taxable income and can be valued just like depreciation is valued in a business investment. Regardless, most all agricultural and recreational uses are maintained by the landowner in either scenario and there is significant upside for the landowner. The resale of these easement-encumbered lands has also become more common and readily valuable giving them more credibility with landowners. Here, more than anywhere, an expert consultant as well as a tax adviser is key. Live Water Properties has performed several of these types of transactions for our clients over the last several years and can provide guidance on what is best for the landowner based on their desired result.

After evaluating each investment and weeding out the ones that don’t make sense, we like to actually take the estimated future cash flows and put them in a table and then do a discounted cash flow analysis on those cash flows to look at the true rate of return over time and see if it meets our expectations. This will be helpful in predicting what your expected return would be for each investment opportunity. A consulting forester should be able to help you perform this analysis. Because of their experience, most consulting foresters can look for certain simple ratios that will tell them quickly whether the opportunity can make a certain return and they can size up the investment quickly. This is another reason to have an experienced consultant representing you in these decisions. Once you have narrowed down the options to just 1 or 2, the cash flow analysis can be performed to ensure you have a solid and sustainable investment. Knowing the real estate market and its key-value determining factors along with sound analysis of the land’s revenue-generating potential will eliminate a lot of headache and disappointment down the road. Live Water Properties is uniquely positioned to evaluate these types of investments. As both experienced Brokers and Managers of timberland and wildlife habitat, we not only provide experience in the transaction but also the valuation and analysis of the different revenues and costs associated with owning the land. I would advocate that the two disciplines are highly interdependent, and you would typically see both professionals involved in most any sizable transaction in Florida or Georgia where we sell farms and timberland. Call us today to set up a meeting to discuss your upcoming land investment. We share our client’s passion for the outdoors and assist them in achieving their dream of owning and enjoying their land.

Throughout my 15-year real estate career at Live Water Properties, I have worked to foster lasting relationships with regional experts and professionals who I have come to rely on when dealing with western ranch transactions. Recently, I sat down with Roger Warner, Senior Hydrologist and Vice President of Rocky Mountain Environmental to discuss the importance of water right’s review during the ranch transfer process, pond and habitat creation for wildlife enhancement and other common issues.

Roger Warner: I’m Roger Warner, I am a Hydrologist here at Rocky Mountain Environmental. I’ve been here for 11 years. Prior to that I was with the Idaho Department of Water Resources for a period of 5 years. In my career I’ve been a geologist/hydrologist for the better part of 27 years now, almost 30 years.

Tate Jarry: Why should a buyer that’s looking at a western ranch look into the water rights?

Roger Warner: Well, I think they should look into the water rights for a couple of reasons: one to make sure the water has been used on the property and that there are no ongoing disputes with any other neighbor or any other entity. Also to determine the validity of the right itself.

Tate Jarry: Roger, a fair number of our buyer clients share an interest in acquiring investment properties that have water rights. They intend to convert these water rights from consumptive use to beneficial use for the creation of ponds and wildlife habitat on the ranch. Have you been involved in this process?

Roger Warner: We have been very successful in doing that. I’ve got some great staff members that are practiced in it, almost as long as I have been. We know the people involved. We know the engineering calculations necessary to make the conversion. Sometimes there are protests involved and often times, those are people we have worked for or with prior to making those changes. We can often help message that so that it can go forward. Sometimes it even requires a purchase of water rights and we maintain a portfolio of water rights available for purchase.

Tate Jarry: So if there are not enough water rights on a property is it possible for a buyer to acquire them and transfer them to the property?

Roger Warner: It is possible, yes! That’s becoming more so, we have done quite a bit of this kind of work in Teton Valley, especially on the buy and purchase of water rights. If a new buyer is coming forward and purchases the property and lands haven’t been used, irrigated for six to seven years then, they are not going to be able to make changes immediately. They may have to resume the intended water usage.

Tate Jarry: To prove up usage?

Roger Warner: Yes, and that could be a real sticking point, I think for a new buyer. If I was a new buyer anxious to hit the ground running and get going on my (pond) projects I’d be a little perturbed that I had to resume usage on something I had no interest in continuing to do.

To learn more about western water rights, contact Tate Jarry at [mail_to email=”tate@livewaterproperties.com”]tate@livewaterproperties.com[/mail_to]

Dilapidated cabins memorialize a bygone era of the West. They dot the landscape, weathered, battered by the elements, yet still standing, a testament to the care and craftsmanship of the builders more than 100 years ago.

When Mike Halverson, owner of Montana Reclaimed Lumber Co. (MRL), sees those cabins, he sees a living, but disappearing, piece of history.

“Today we live in a world of plastic, glass and concrete. These,” he said of the cabins, “are something hand-crafted.”

Halverson salvages structures built with hand-hewn logs from the late 1800s to the early 1900s, for clients who want a piece of Western history on their property or built into their homes. He is specifically interested in cabins from the Western United States, including Montana and Wyoming, from the late 1860s to 1910, that are hand-hewn. In the early 1900s the style changed to round logs and saw mills alleviated the need to hand cut wood for homes.

“There is this brief period in history during which logs were hewn by hand and used to build hand-hewn cabins and barns,” Halverson said.

Montana Reclaimed Lumber Co. deconstructs the antique cabins, labels the pieces, and provides directions for reconstruction for clients who wish to rebuild the historic structures on their property. Skilled MRL craftsmen might redo the notching or substitute a piece if needed, but the goal is to provide customers with authentic and historical antique hand-hewn log cabin pieces to inspire or fulfill their vision.

“A reclaimed antique cabin could make an ideal guest home on your ranch or residential property,” said Latham Jenkins, a real estate agent with Live Water Jackson Hole. “Once they are repurposed and put back together, it’s like ‘Wow, how could you not want something like that on your property?’” Jenkins said.

Halverson started procuring antique hand-hewn log cabins about 20 years ago. He’d see a cabin while driving, stop to speak to the owner and make an offer.

Thus far, the oldest reclaimed cabin Montana Reclaimed Lumber Co. acquired is from 1872. The buildings Halverson seeks are rare and becoming even more scarce each year. For the lumber to be useful, structures must be salvaged with the roof intact; after the roof caves in the lumber begins to deteriorate and is no longer structurally sound. “If a cabin is not preserved, it ends up rotting into the ground and then its lost forever,” Halverson said. “They are one-of-a-kind. Once they are gone, they are gone and there are just not that many left.”

“They are truly unique, yet fit in perfectly with the aesthetics of the region,” Jenkins said. When they are refurbished with modern windows or a new roof, they transform into a new structure, built with local material and history. They become a conversation starter while also blending seamlessly with the surroundings.

“I like architecture that reflects your environment, and these cabins pay homage to our history, and yet when rebuilt they have all the modern creature comforts,” Jenkins said. “These cabins become one of the greater focal points on the property.”

Halverson often acts as matchmaker with prospective clients who call looking for a specific size, dimension, or even history, they want incorporated into their property. Buying the reclaimed cabins is a commitment; the buildings require maintenance once placed on the property. But for Halverson’s customers, the work is worth it. Customers are drawn to the authentic reclaimed antique log cabins for their history and aesthetics.

“We all drive past these cabins and they beg this interest,” Halverson said. “There’s a lot of romance around these historic buildings—they’re just so cool. The level of craftsmanship and the fact that they are indigenous to the area allows people to buy a part of local history.”

Some customers reassemble the cabins as they last stood on their property or incorporate them as a truly unique room within a larger home. Some use them for out buildings like a generator shed. One of Halverson’s clients bought four cabins and reassembled the logs to create a traditional frame in which he could run electricity.

“I really find joy in seeing the cabins reused and preserved,” Halverson said.

When Jenkins sees the cabins he thinks of those settlers on the frontier that used craftsmanship to build homes to provide shelter and warmth. “To me, it’s very nostalgic,” he said. “Seeing these cabins repurposed on properties keeps us tied to the history of the land and the place. And, if you look at the detail of the design, it’s astounding what the frontiersman were able to create. These cabins have withstood the test of time, and I believe, having these structures on your property is a way to honor our past in an architectural style that blends with the area.”

Guest Blog by Leslie Steen of Jackson Hole Trout Unlimited

On a crisp morning in August, a group of Trout Unlimited staff, board members and supporters gathered in the Home Ranch parking lot in downtown Jackson with an assortment of fishing gear, outdoors attire, and varying expectations of the day ahead. We were headed deep into the Gros Ventre to see the post-project transformation of the Upper Gros Ventre Tributary Ranch Restoration Project, one of the first projects to be completed by Trout Unlimited’s Snake River Headwaters Initiative.

After an adventurous 2-hour jaunt up the pothole-ridden, oilpan-denting road, we are arrived at the ranch. Stepping out to stretch our legs and un-rattle our bones, I pointed out the beautiful expanse of sagebrush, meadows, and river valley ahead. Everything as far as the eye could see was public land, as of this March, thanks to an incredible land deal in which the 990-acre property was first donated to The Trust for Public Land by former US Senator Herb Kohl, then transferred to the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

Now you see it, now you don’t - a large irrigation ditch that used to cut off the tributary streams on the property has been decommissioned and reclaimed and is growing back with native vegetation. — Now you see it, now you don’t – a large irrigation ditch that used to cut off the tributary streams on the property has been decommissioned and reclaimed and is growing back with native vegetation.

Trust for Public Land had invited Trout Unlimited to lead the charge on restoring four tributaries to the Gros Ventre found on the property in various states of impairment, because of an extensive network of irrigation ditches and diversions no longer in use. In fall 2017, after a year and a half of planning and thanks to the effort of many partnering agencies and funders, we were able to reconnect these headwaters streams to the Gros Ventre River for the first time in over 100 years.

Culverts under the USFS road have been upsized to accommodate the streambed and 100 year flood for fish passage.

We started the tour with the restoration work on Jones Creek, at the far end of the property, working our way back to also visit Lafferty, Lloyd, and Unnamed Creeks. Without the “before” photos I had brought, it would have been hard to imagine what the streams looked like beforehand – for the most part they looked like healthy, natural, willow-lined, cobble-bottomed small streams where juvenile fish might like to live. But with the photos to compare and contrast, the difference was clear. A handful of folks on the tour had actually seen the tributary streams last summer (while up “sampling” the mainstem river for fishable trout ) and were especially pleased to hear that after less than a year of reconnection, I had electrofished the streams with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and found juvenile cutthroat trout and other native fish already returned to the area! Of course, more rearing habitat for juvenile trout bodes well for the trout population in the upper Gros Ventre as a whole in the future.

Leslie Steen, TU Snake River Headwaters project manager in front of a new culvert installed on Lloyd Creek.

After the tour, we bounced back down the road to the beautiful Red Rock Ranch, a stunning guest ranch located in the idyllic valley where Crystal Creek, a freestone tributary of the Gros Ventre, meanders through (and holds some especially robust specimens of Snake River cutthroat trout). Alex Maher, Trout Unlimited board of trustees member and Snake River Headwaters advisory board member, joined us for a delicious lunch of classic ranch fare with multiple dessert options hosted by the MacKenzie family. After lunch Joe MacK, the family’s designated “keeper of Crystal Creek,” a 17-year old angling and polo aficionado, guided us on his favorite stretches of Crystal Creek, where the fish seemed to willingly rise to most fly patterns and presentations. The MacKenzie family has lovingly stewarded their land and creek for decades, and the beautiful fine-spotted trout were a wonderful reminder that in the Snake River Headwaters, on public and private land alike, every stretch of water that can be restored or reconnected for this native fish contributes to its future persistence – and “if you (re)build it, they will come”.

Clark Johnson of Wyoming Game & Fish with a juvenile cutthroat trout that returned to Jones Creek after less than a year of being reconnected.

About the Author:

Leslie Steen joined Trout Unlimited as Snake River Headwaters Project Manager in April of 2016, where she works collaboratively with a broad suite of partners on on-the-ground stream restoration and reconnection projects for native trout. She brings to her role at Trout Unlimited a diverse skill set and professional experience in fisheries, nonprofits, partnerships, and outreach and education. Originally from New York City, Leslie has a B.A. in Environmental Biology from Columbia University and an M.S. in Fish and Wildlife Management from Montana State University. She is passionate about trout and trout streams, and before joining TU as a staff member, served on the Jackson Hole Trout Unlimited board as Vice President. Leslie has lived in Jackson Hole since 2007.

As a kid growing up in the farming community of Fairfield, Montana, I was always captivated by ranches. We would go up on friends and family ranches, hunting and fishing in the mountains west of Choteau and Augusta along the Rocky Mountain front. From an early age, it was a dream of mine to own a ranch, and I convinced my wife to buy into the idea also. We now have a shared interest in looking for ranch properties that not only excite us, but that we believe we add value to them based on our past experiences and agricultural background. We are fortunate in having been able to own some of these ranches, and as a ranch broker it helps me better understand the ranch ownership process from both a buyer and seller perspective.

We enjoy properties with creeks and trees. We work together to clean them up. Our original project was an old homestead with wire, old boards and machinery that had to be hauled away. This spring, my wife and I purchased the Tillinghast Creek Ranch and recently listed the Limestone Butte Hunting Ranch, in which we are part owners.

EXPERIENCES BUYING A RANCH

Tillinghast is an intriguing property for an elk hunter and fisherman. Located near Belt, Montana, this ranch had been inherited by the previous owners who varied in age, generation, and financial needs and were struggling with a common vision in selling the ranch. Some of the obstacles in selling the ranch were long term agreements entered into by parents that proved an obstacle to buyers. For my wife and I, with our background and a longer time frame, these are issues that we believe can be worked through with potential results that benefit all that are affected.

After closing on this Montana ranch, we immediately addressed issues that the previous absentee owners were not. Of the 100-acres of crop ground, we prepared the ground and seeded 55 acres into Sanfoin, an excellent feed and hay source for livestock, and a great food source and attractor for elk, deer, bears, and upland birds. We will plant the remaining acres this fall or next spring.

We also implemented a weed control program for noxious and invasive weeds on the ranch. While we will hope to integrate biological controls such as using flea beetles to limit the spread of these plants, our immediate concern was to control their spread with the use of chemical application until the biological controls, which may take years to establish, can become the primary control. We also sat down with our neighbors who were not equipped to manage weeds and developed a strategy to help with their weeds, as weeds don’t stop at a fence line. All of us have already noticed a positive result in teaming up to tackle this issue.

The ranch house was still proudly showing its 1970s roots with loudly colored carpets and curtains when we went to work on updating it. My wife has great vision, incredible energy, and good hammer and painting skills. Her talent, eye for design and hard work transformed this small cabin into a bright and modern farmhouse on the inside. It is a comfortable house now to enjoy and entertain.

EXPERIENCES SELLING A RANCH

Limestone Butte Hunting Ranch was bought jointly with good friends 12 years ago, with whom we have shared our elk and deer hunting passions. Because of our life situations changing, we agreed early this summer to market the ranch.

From the beginning, this has been a fun and successful project for me. Limestone Butte did not have structures when we purchased it, and I was comfortable putting up the building, developing the water and controlling weeds from road construction and use. We immediately constructed a building for us to stay in and keep the “toys” we use on the ranch. The elk and mule deer already were on the ranch in good numbers, so we examined what could we do to further enhance the habitat. We decided to focus on these four points to increase wildlife numbers:

Water development
Fencing
Weed control
Planting livestock and wildlife friendly food sources

Water

In developing the water, we buried 17,000 feet of pipe, installed two cisterns and seven water troughs, and last fall added an additional 2,000 feet of pipe and a storage pond, which is close to being completed. This enables us to distribute cattle in the summer to remove old grass growth. Elk are picky eaters and the removal of old growth enables new shoot growth on grasses that elk look for throughout the fall.

Fencing

To manage the property, we initially installed seven miles of new fence, which has been added to in recent years. This helps define what is ours and allows for cattle grazing management.

Weed Control

Wherever there are new roads, there will be weeds that come in also. We spray 30-50 acres each year for noxious weeds and have been good stewards in limiting the spread of these plants and have reduced weed populations throughout the ranch.

Planting

Our planting program is still a work in process. Our problem is a good one for a hunting ranch. The elk on the ranch have not given our improvement areas a good start before they start grazing the plots with the impact of pulling up plants before they can be established. One project that is successful was to plant creeping alfalfa on the old roads through the property. These are now good food sources for livestock and wildlife and have firmed up roads for vehicles and ATVs.

With each of these ranches, we have learned to look at the land and condition of structures and make a decision to purchase based on if we are willing to take on a project or want a finished product and are willing to pay more for the work completed by previous owners. For us, we have enjoying doing the work and have been patient with the progress. With each of these projects we continue to learn and enjoy the process. The results are exciting to see and fun to share with family and friends.

Brian Hartley has been an exceptional broker and a valued member of our Live Water team for 12 years. Based out of the Greater Denver Area, Brian has been on the forefront for Colorado ranch sales, specializing in fly fishing properties. Brian is recognized as the Colorado ranch broker representing the seller in the highest land value transaction between 2008 and 2014 in Routt County, Colorado. I, Peter Mazzacane, had the chance to speak with Brian personally. He has a reputation for great interactions with buyers and sellers, which comes with great opportunities and lasting relationships.

Brian has had a passion for fly fishing and the outdoors since his early teen years. After studying at the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill, he took a job at an Orvis Fly Shop in Tahoe City, California. After two years, he left Orvis to take a job as an investment associate with commercial real estate company in San Francisco. Even with the success and determination he found in the real estate sector, Brian still had a desire to be outdoors and to utilize his passion for fly fishing. In 2006, Brian Hartley made the life-altering decision to find a way to merge the two biggest aspects of his life, work and play. In April of that year, he found himself making the journey out to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to interview and later accept a job offer at Live Water Properties, a place where his passion for the outdoors joined his love for real estate. Being based in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, his lifestyle coupled with experience makes him invaluable for providing advice to potential buyers and sellers, ranging from market values to one-of-a-kind fishing regions.

With 12 years and more than 40 transactions under his belt, he still finds ways to better improve his job performance. When I asked him what his goals were for the next 18 months, he responded “There is never goal completion, you have to keep the pipeline full and continue to work to the best of your ability.” He emphasized his excitement to get the chance to meet new clients and to explore and work with interesting new properties in the months to come.

With a great desire to find new properties and work ethic to keep progressing, I was curious about his favorite property that he had worked on to date. Without hesitation, he responded, “Yampa Tail Waters Preserve in Steamboat Springs.” Representing the seller in this property, he described it to be his first significant transaction when he relocated from the headquarters in Jackson, WY to Denver to establish Live Water’s presence in Colorado. This Colorado ranch provided unrivaled trout fishing that could only be described in urban legends. He had the opportunity to guide and fish alongside the buyer on the waters of the preserve. The property didn’t only provide great fishing but was nestled in one of the well-known communities of Colorado, Steamboat Springs, which provides numerous off-site activities. Yampa was Brian’s proudest achievement, yet he wants to acknowledge that each deal is a great triumph and a source of deep personal pride. He emphasized this: “These clients entrust us to represent them in influential transactions whether they are buyers or sellers. I take that responsibility very seriously and am sensitive to the impacts it has on their lives, financially and emotionally.”

Brian is part of a special group in today’s society that is able to infuse his life hobby with his life’s work. However, I still wanted to find out who Brian Hartley is outside of the office. I love to watch and analyze movies and try to catch the hidden meanings within the storyline. As an icebreaker, I asked him his favorite line in a movie. “Get busy living or get busy dying,” he easily responded. An infamous line from Andy Dufresne in the 1994 classic Shawshank Redemption, we both agreed that line resonates not only in the movie but in reality as well. You should always make strides to enjoy and fulfill the time you have. Talks of making the most of your time and movies with Morgan Freeman, it led me to another inquiry about Brian Hartley.

I wanted a bucket list item from him. After some thought, it led us to a peninsula in Eastern Russia, specifically the Kamchatka region, home of goliath rainbow trout, some at 30+ inches. Brian wants his shot at catching one of these prize sized fish, which is very much fitting for someone who grew up most of his life fly fishing.

Further talks led me to discover that Brian is a huge family man. His favorite activity to do outside the office is to spend time with his 20-month-old son; Brian’s time with his son are fun-filled and never the same because “Everyday is an adventure with him.” People that know him well enough, know that when the opportunity arises, he likes to see live music, especially when there is a good Rock n’ Roll band in his area. You’ll have a good shot at seeing him in the crowd, tapping his foot and enjoying the beat of the drum and the strum of the guitar. What a lot of people might not know about Brian is, when he travels to salt water fly fish, he likes couple it with a scuba diving expedition. It provides him with a chance to learn more about the landscape of where he is, as well as discover what the world is like below the sea level as well.

I’ve been an intern here at Live Water Properties for four weeks now; I’ve learned so much from being in the office and talking to everyone here, yet still have a lot more to learn. The advice Brian was able to give was talk to as many people as you can at Live Water. Everyone comes from different backgrounds and can provide you with a wealth of knowledge, that not only can be helpful at this job but in life as well. He described working at Live Water as being a family type environment. There isn’t any broker competition on who can close the most listings. “We look out not only for each other but the betterment of the potential buyer as well.” If a buyer originally was looking at ranches for sale in Utah but weren’t happy and seemed to be more interested in Wyoming ranches for sale, the broker wouldn’t continue to pitch Utah. They are happier handing them off to the Wyoming brokers and making sure the buyer is getting exactly what they want. It not only makes business better, but it’s beneficial for everyone involved. Brokers work individually but at the same time, Live Water Properties as a whole works together as one family for each client, buyer or seller.

I’ll be doing articles on as many brokers that I can talk to before my time is up here at Live Water this summer. A personal touch I add to these articles is: give the broker free reign to provide a quote or mantra they kind of live their life by up until this point. Brian Hartley shared a quote that his stepfather strived to live by. Unfortunately, his life was cut short several years ago, which makes this ever more meaningful to and has had tremendous impact on Brian’s life. The source of the quote is unknown.

“I shall pass this way but once; any good that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being; let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

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Evaluating a Land Investment

Water Rights and Ranch Ownership

Restored Hand-Hewn Cabins: A Test of Time

Gros Ventre Field Day with Trout Unlimited

Personal Experiences in Buying and Selling Ranches