Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

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The saying goes, “Good fences make good neighbors.” Unfortunately, as many rural landowners know, fence issues also can create extremely strained relationships among neighbors.

If a cow gets onto a roadway and is hit by a motorist, can the livestock owner be liable? What should you do if there are stray livestock on your property? If a boundary fence falls into disrepair, who is responsible for footing the bill to do the needed repairs? What can you do about frustrating tree limbs from the neighbor’s tree that are hanging over your property? These are just a few of the issues that commonly plague landowners, and their lawyers, when it comes to fence law.  READ ARTICLE

Tiffany Dowell Lashmet is an agricultural law specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and co-author of “Five Strands: A Landowner’s Guide to Fence Law in Texas.”

 

 

CLB and CLA Make Land Report Best List

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September 5, 2017 – Amarillo, Texas

The Land Report magazine recently announced their 2017 America’s Best Land Brokerage Firms in their Summer 2017 issue, and for the sixth year in a row, Clift Land Brokers made the list. According to the magazine, each year the editors of the magazine select the Country’s leading real estate firms specializing in Land.

Clift Land Brokers’ 21 agricultural land sales associates exceeded the $50M mark in land sales in 2016, primarily in the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles and New Mexico. In the same report, Clift Land Auctions was named one of the 2016 Top Auction Houses. Clift Land Auctions works closely with Clift Land Brokers to offer landowners a full range of marketing options for their farms and ranches. “In 2016, Clift Land Auctions, broke into the Online Auction scene, and it has been a great success for our auction business as well as for our clients,” said George Clift. “In October, we are blending the two auction methods together by offering online bidding and live streaming at our live auction in Kiowa County, OK.,” George added.

Greater Sage Grouse

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Tuesday morning, at 9am, Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell made the announcement that the Greater Sage Grouse will not be listed on the endangered species list. “This is truly a historic day in the history of the American West cattle business,” said Oregon Cattlemen’s Executive Director Jerome Rosa. “Through collaborative efforts by ranchers, energy companies and conservationist reducing the decline of the sage grouse habitat in 11 Western states, the need for a listing was not needed.”  See entire article at AgWeb.com.

Thoughts on Interest Rates and Land Sales

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by Stephen Donnell, SR VP Lending, Plains Land Bank, Amarillo, TX

Plains Land Bank logoInterest rates have been about as volatile as the commodity markets in recent months. Our long term interest rates have moved up and down over three-tenths of a percent since March. Some months, it appears the Fed’s increase in short term rates is pushing long term rates higher, only to see those rates fall back the next month. Very hard to predict. We have had a number of customers recently locking in some long term money to hedge against rising interest rates. That appears to be a sound strategy, especially if you can catch a dip in rates.

As to land sales, land prices and buyer interest, it just flat depends on where you are. Areas of the Panhandle have seen some softening of land values and there are farms for sale.  In other areas, the values have not backed off much, and there are very few farms listed for sale.  The “crash” in land values that some feared a couple of years ago has yet to materialize, and loan demand here at Plains Land Bank is running ahead of last year.   

 

Never Buy Land Without an ALC

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Never Buy Land Without an ALC…. 4 reasons from an article on Land.com written by Luke Worrell, ALC

This article outlines 4 of the reasons you should never buy land without an ALC (Accredited Land Consultant)…..Trust….Skill….Knowledge…Connections.

“When it comes to selling land, I am absolutely convinced that ALCs are the best in the business.  For starters, you can only become a designated ALC after you have proven yourself in the field.”

Read the entire article here.

New Logo…New Location

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New Logo…New Location

They call us “movers and shakers” in the Land Business. Now we really are moving.

Clift Land Brokers and Clift Land Auctions are moving to our new location in the Wells Fargo Bank Building at 905 S. Fillmore St., Suite 102 in downtown Amarillo.

We are excited about relocating to this great location in the heart of Amarillo’s business and economic activity.  We are also sporting a new logo for Clift Land Brokers.

The address and logo are all that are changing.  Our focus remains the same.  We still specialize in farm and ranch real estate, and are still dedicated to providing a complete package of real estate services and top-notch customer service to our clients.

Come by our new office anytime for a visit. We appreciate your business and friendship.

George Clift, ALCClift Land Brokers 2017 Logo header.jpg

Double-Digit Jumps in Farmland Sales

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June 6, 2017, Ag Web

Selling Opportunity for Landowners

For non-operating landowners, today’s prices offer an opportunity to sell and capture some of the land appreciation of the past few years, Dickhut says.

“So far, few farm operators are selling land, and investors continue to be in the market looking for opportunities to add acres to their holdings,” he says. “The slow decline in the land market is part of the reason some are selling.”

On the flip side, the current land market conditions also offer good buying opportunities.

See entire article on AgWeb.com

Developments in 2016 Texas Land Markets

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Clift Land Brokers was well represented at the 27th Annual Outlook for Texas Land Markets in San Antonio in April. As usual, a lot of great information came out of this conference. One highlight was the presentation by Dr. Charles E. Gilliland,  PhD, Research Economist for Texas A & M University Real Estate Center on Texas Land Values. Click here for a copy of that presentation. 

While 2017 1st quarter land values were up statewide 1.8% over 2016 4th quarter, and while other regions showed an increase, Region 1 – TX Panhandle and South Plains Region was down 3.4% over the end of last year. There was too much good information to cover on this forum, so be sure to download Dr. Gilliland’s presentation.

Texas Land Value Trends 2016

Clift Receives Graduate of Distinction Award from OSU

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AmarilGraduate of Distinction Award 4-1-17lo, TX – On Saturday evening, April 1, 2017, George Clift, owner of Clift Land Brokers and Clift Land Auctions here in Amarillo, received the Graduate of Distinction Award from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK. “This award, presented annually since 1949, recognizes graduates with a B.S. degree in Animal Science at OSU who have compiled outstanding records of achievement and service.” (okstate.edu).

George has been involved in Agriculture for over 40 years. After graduating from Oklahoma State University in 1979 with Animal Science and Agribusiness degrees, he went to work for the Ralston Purina Company, where he spent 18 years working in the livestock feeding industry. In 1997, George began his real estate brokerage business in Amarillo, specializing in farm and ranch real estate and land auctions. George is a licensed Real Estate Broker in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Colorado. In 2005, he earned the Advanced Accredited Land Consultant (ALC) designation from the REALTORS® Land Institute. In 2015, George received the Institute’s most prestigious honor, the 2015 Land Realtor of America Award. Of the OSU award George said, “It is truly an honor to be recognized by my alma mater in this way. I have dedicated my career to helping farmers and ranchers across our region achieve their business goals.”