Looking for advice on Farm Land leasing in California

Looking for advice on Farm Land leasing in California

Investor · Bay Area, CA · Member since 2020 · 72 posts · 43 votes

Getting into the real estate game in California has been tough for me. I recently started a house flipping business in the Bay Area, which is going okay so far, but the market is super competitive. However, I am now looking at more long-term holds and exploring my options in this intense market.

One option I am considering is buying a decent amount of land (around 200 acres) and leasing it out for farming. As a newcomer to land leasing, I am not aware of the hurdles I may face.

I am contemplating leasing part of the land to farmers, solar companies, and other entities to generate some cash flow. I know that leasing land for solar purposes is significantly harder, as you need to be located near a power grid, and the building time can take a very long time. Furthermore, solar companies can back out of the deal if your land ends up not working out for them.

I have researched the average rental price per acre for farmland in California, which is around $430/acre, indicating that it can be pretty lucrative depending on the deal.

Has anyone tried land leasing in California? It almost seems too good to be true, and I don't understand why more people wouldn't do this.

0Reply
38 views

1 Reply

Jump to latestLatest
  • Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    3y

    Check your numbers. I can only tell you about Midwest farmland. But out there 160 acres might cost you $1.2million. And you’d probably get around $30-$40k/yr in rent. So maybe $200/acre per year ($16/mo) that costs you $8,000 to buy. My wife’s family still farms and I’d love to buy some farmland. But the returns are HORRIBLE!

    Can you imagine buying a $1.2million property and renting it out for $2,500 to $3,000/mo? And you're usually looking at a 50% LTV instead of 80%. So you've got $600k tied up instead of $240k.

    California COULD be waaaay different. But I would guess the returns would be worse than the Midwest, not better. 

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.