For sale by owner
Source: maryvilledailyforum.com, by TED HARBIN
February 08, 2007
In three weeks, the Nodaway County Farm will likely have new owners.
"With the plans for the new administration building for the county, we thought this was a good place to invest our dollars," County Commissioner Bob Stiens said this week.
The farm, about 3 1/2 miles west of Maryville on the north side of State Highway 46, has been part of the county's coffers for 135 years. The land, and the area that now houses the Nodaway Nursing Home, was created to help people with financial needs who lived in the county, Stiens said.
"When the county bought this farm in the 1800s, they had indigent people they had living in the home that didn't have a place to live," he said. "The people worked the land. They took care of themselves, and the farm took care of them.
"That's not a need anymore."
The county purchased the land in 1872, according to information on the sale bill through Younger Auction Co., the company that is organizing the auction. The sale will take place at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 27 at Younger Auction Gallery, 312 E. South Hills Dr.
"This looks like a good time to get rid of a piece of real estate we're really not using," Commissioner Bob Westfall said. "Ag prices look high on land, and we could use the money from it to go toward the construction of the new administration building, which is something worth more to us than the farm."
There are two plots of land that won't be part of the sale, the commissioners said.
— The Nodaway Nursing Home is on the southeast portion of the property, and the manor and county are locked into a 50-year agreement.
— The Nodaway County Cemetery is in a portion on the west side of the property.
"All the people at the nursing home were interested in the county keeping was what they mowed, the side of the driveway and some easements," Stiens said.
"They've got a lagoon for their sewage and a sewer line, so the easements will stay with that."
Westfall said there are many areas potential buyers could go with the property. Farmers might want to purchase the land to keep it agriculture, but that's not all.
"It's in the Maryville school district," he said. "With the way people are buying lots around here, it could be subdivided and turned into a residential area. There is some timberland on it, so it could be good for recreational."
Auctioneer Mark Younger said this will be a good time for potential investors to bid on a historical piece of land.
"With the auction method of marketing, it allows everyone to come out that day to bid their judgment on the property," he said Wednesday afternoon. "It's exciting for us to be a part of this because it's the first time it's ever been available for auction, and we're happy to be involved in this."
How much the land will go for, he said, depends on the bidding, which also makes for an exciting event. Recently, land in this area has gone for anywhere from $1,750 per acre to $2,300 per acre. In the last couple of months, he said, some timberland was sold at $3,000 per acre.
"The price will really depend on who wants it and how much they want to spend for it," Younger said.
The price of land has been on an increase the last five years, he said.
"A lot of it has to do with the fact that land is a good investment," he said. "It's real. It's not like the stock market.
"This particular piece of land is quite unique, and it may never be offered again through a public auction."
The status of land sales influenced the commissioners as to the timeliness of selling this plot.
"Had land not been worth what it is, we might not have considered it," Stiens said. "It just seemed like an opportune time to reinvest our dollars."
The potential is there. According to the sale bill, and based on Younger's quotes of recent land sales, the county could benefit richly from the sale.
There are 140 acres of land up for bid.
— If it sells for $1,750 per acre, the total price would be $245,000.
— If it sells for $2,000 an acre, the price would be $280,000.
— If it sells for $2,300 an acre, the price would be $322,000.
"We just hope the residents of the county will see we're being good stewards of their dollars," Stiens said.
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