That's less than $1500 an acre!
July 21, 2015 2:10 PM Subscribe
FOR SALE: Largest ranch in the U.S. within a single fence. Texas fixer-upper with more than 1,000 oil wells; 6,800 head of cattle; 500 quarter horses; 30,000 acres of cropland; tombstones for legendary cowboys, long-dead dogs, and a horse buried standing up. Favorite of Will Rogers and Teddy Roosevelt. Colorful history of drinking and divorce. Fifteen-minute drive to rib-eyes at the Rusty Spur in Vernon. Ideal for Saudi oil sheiks, billionaire hedge funders, and dot-commers who can tell a cow from a steer. Profitable. Zero debt. Property taxes only $800,000 a year. Price: $725 million.
OMG the yard work
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 2:25 PM on July 21, 2015 [41 favorites]
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 2:25 PM on July 21, 2015 [41 favorites]
At 510,527 acres (207,000 hectares), or 800 square miles (2,072 square kilometers), the Waggoner sprawls over six counties and is bigger than Los Angeles and New York City combined. (map)
Man! The world is much stranger and larger than I generally realize.
posted by Going To Maine at 2:26 PM on July 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
Man! The world is much stranger and larger than I generally realize.
posted by Going To Maine at 2:26 PM on July 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
It seems like a nice little farm, but it's no XIT. I wonder if they have a big barbecue every year.
posted by TedW at 2:27 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by TedW at 2:27 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
guys what if we all went in on this
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:28 PM on July 21, 2015 [85 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 2:28 PM on July 21, 2015 [85 favorites]
Time for a kickstarter. For $50 I'll let you name a cow.
posted by anti social order at 2:29 PM on July 21, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by anti social order at 2:29 PM on July 21, 2015 [10 favorites]
Metafilter Ranch, I like it
posted by Elly Vortex at 2:29 PM on July 21, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Elly Vortex at 2:29 PM on July 21, 2015 [5 favorites]
From now on whenever I have a sentence containing a list of three or more things, I'm going to automatically end it with "and a horse buried standing up."
posted by George_Spiggott at 2:31 PM on July 21, 2015 [26 favorites]
posted by George_Spiggott at 2:31 PM on July 21, 2015 [26 favorites]
I know someone from Vernon! Anyone here ever been?
posted by cell divide at 2:32 PM on July 21, 2015
posted by cell divide at 2:32 PM on July 21, 2015
800 square miles is 3/4 the land area of Rhode Island. That's larger than Maui. It's a craaaazy amount of contiguous land in private hands.
posted by nathan_teske at 2:33 PM on July 21, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by nathan_teske at 2:33 PM on July 21, 2015 [8 favorites]
Metafilter Ranch, I like it
Uh-oh, I foresee a heated discussion over branding, not to mention electric vs. barbed wire fencing.
posted by TedW at 2:33 PM on July 21, 2015 [9 favorites]
Uh-oh, I foresee a heated discussion over branding, not to mention electric vs. barbed wire fencing.
posted by TedW at 2:33 PM on July 21, 2015 [9 favorites]
The Texas rancher and the Vermont dairy farmer are arguing over who owns the bigger spread of land.
The rancher says, "Let me put me it this way, son: if I'm on the eastern edge of my property, and I get into my pickup, and I start driving west, then it will take me two full days to reach the other side."
The farmer nods. "I feel you," he says. "I used to have a pickup truck just like that."
posted by Iridic at 2:34 PM on July 21, 2015 [112 favorites]
The rancher says, "Let me put me it this way, son: if I'm on the eastern edge of my property, and I get into my pickup, and I start driving west, then it will take me two full days to reach the other side."
The farmer nods. "I feel you," he says. "I used to have a pickup truck just like that."
posted by Iridic at 2:34 PM on July 21, 2015 [112 favorites]
Iridic just beat me to that joke.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 2:35 PM on July 21, 2015
posted by RonButNotStupid at 2:35 PM on July 21, 2015
It's not actually larger than Los Angeles and New York City combined.
This ranch: 796 square miles
New York City: 469 square miles
City of Los Angeles (less than 1/3rd of the population of "LA"): 503 square miles
Los Angeles County (the place commonly called LA): 4752 square miles
Any way you slice it, the math doesn't work.
posted by miyabo at 2:37 PM on July 21, 2015
This ranch: 796 square miles
New York City: 469 square miles
City of Los Angeles (less than 1/3rd of the population of "LA"): 503 square miles
Los Angeles County (the place commonly called LA): 4752 square miles
Any way you slice it, the math doesn't work.
posted by miyabo at 2:37 PM on July 21, 2015
That puny ol' thing? There's a ranch in Australia that's twelve times the size -- 6 million acres, 9400 square miles. Anna Creek Station. It's for sale too.
posted by Fnarf at 2:38 PM on July 21, 2015 [9 favorites]
posted by Fnarf at 2:38 PM on July 21, 2015 [9 favorites]
Well if each of Metafilter's 62,000 users gets a piece of it the ranch, we'll all have about 8.2 acres all to ourselves to retreat to when we get all huffy at each other.
posted by Elly Vortex at 2:39 PM on July 21, 2015 [20 favorites]
posted by Elly Vortex at 2:39 PM on July 21, 2015 [20 favorites]
Man, think of all the shitty crackerbox suburban houses you could build on that!
posted by entropicamericana at 2:40 PM on July 21, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 2:40 PM on July 21, 2015 [10 favorites]
In a sane world, the property is nationalized and turned into a State Park.
posted by Beholder at 2:40 PM on July 21, 2015 [20 favorites]
posted by Beholder at 2:40 PM on July 21, 2015 [20 favorites]
[Real estate broker Bernard] Uechtritz (YOO-tridge) . . .
What?? In what possible language? He's Australian, not Welsh.
posted by The Bellman at 2:42 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
What?? In what possible language? He's Australian, not Welsh.
posted by The Bellman at 2:42 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
Hey! Maybe we can start a rumor that the ranch was sold to the Pentagon and is now the control center for Jade Helm's overthrow of Texas! Giggles ensue!
posted by Thorzdad at 2:51 PM on July 21, 2015 [9 favorites]
posted by Thorzdad at 2:51 PM on July 21, 2015 [9 favorites]
In a sane world, the property is nationalized and turned into a State Park.
What? Why? Do you think it has considerable habitat values? It's been developed for oil and farming, and ranched for a century. Let it be a ranch. If people are going to eat beef, (and they are, for the moment at any rate) then it needs to come from somewhere. Better it comes off of grazing land than out of feed lots.
posted by agentofselection at 2:54 PM on July 21, 2015 [32 favorites]
What? Why? Do you think it has considerable habitat values? It's been developed for oil and farming, and ranched for a century. Let it be a ranch. If people are going to eat beef, (and they are, for the moment at any rate) then it needs to come from somewhere. Better it comes off of grazing land than out of feed lots.
posted by agentofselection at 2:54 PM on July 21, 2015 [32 favorites]
With professional white paint jobs
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:59 PM on July 21, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 2:59 PM on July 21, 2015 [6 favorites]
Or maybe just professional whitewall tires
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:01 PM on July 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:01 PM on July 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
It does have several lakes though (one of which is 10 miles across!), easy highway access to Dallas and Oklahoma City, and some houses which apparently have quirky historical value. It seems like this might be nice to open for the public -- if not a park, maybe as a resort.
posted by miyabo at 3:02 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by miyabo at 3:02 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
The city of Toronto allows Canadian citizens who own property in the city to vote in municipal elections, even if they don't live in the city. I'm pretty disgusted that it's possible to buy the vote. But...
If Metafilter bought this ranch and US citizens could vote in local elections, would that turn a little piece of Texas blue? Might be with it.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 3:02 PM on July 21, 2015 [5 favorites]
If Metafilter bought this ranch and US citizens could vote in local elections, would that turn a little piece of Texas blue? Might be with it.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 3:02 PM on July 21, 2015 [5 favorites]
But Wait, There's More
A smattering of the more than 4,000 items listed on the 183-page inventory of things being sold with the Waggoner ranch:
Where do I sign?
posted by [expletive deleted] at 3:16 PM on July 21, 2015 [5 favorites]
A smattering of the more than 4,000 items listed on the 183-page inventory of things being sold with the Waggoner ranch:
- Pink poodle lamp
- Horse head lamp
- Muzak paging system
- IBM Selectric typewriter
Where do I sign?
posted by [expletive deleted] at 3:16 PM on July 21, 2015 [5 favorites]
Wow, that was a really interesting story. I wanted to hear more about why the two sides of the family were opposed on whether the land should be split up. Why did each side feel the way it did?
Also, I wonder what will end up happening to all the people who work on the ranch if the buyer decides to stop running it as a working ranch. They could really get screwed...
posted by aka burlap at 3:17 PM on July 21, 2015
Also, I wonder what will end up happening to all the people who work on the ranch if the buyer decides to stop running it as a working ranch. They could really get screwed...
posted by aka burlap at 3:17 PM on July 21, 2015
Someone get the libertarians on the phone, they'll surely be interested in it.
Then we can build a gigantic wall around it, and never have to worry about them ever again!
posted by slater at 3:18 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
Then we can build a gigantic wall around it, and never have to worry about them ever again!
posted by slater at 3:18 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
and yet less than 1/2 the value the price paid for the
LA Dodgers--- WTF is insane anymore?
posted by shockingbluamp at 3:22 PM on July 21, 2015
LA Dodgers--- WTF is insane anymore?
posted by shockingbluamp at 3:22 PM on July 21, 2015
Uh-oh, I foresee a heated discussion over branding
Here you go.
posted by metaquarry at 3:27 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Here you go.
posted by metaquarry at 3:27 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Man, think of all the shitty crackerbox suburban houses you could build on that!
Vernon, TX is about 3 hours from Dallas. It would be a bit of a commute. It's also surrounded by large tracts of land owned by other people, for farming and ranching.
If Metafilter bought this ranch and US citizens could vote in local elections, would that turn a little piece of Texas blue? Might be with it.
That would be covered under Texas's District 13 for Congress. Which stretches all the way to Amarillo, so no.
In a sane world, the property is nationalized and turned into a State Park.
There's already Lake Arrowhead park, which is pretty close. Texas has a lot of state parks.
posted by zabuni at 3:29 PM on July 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
Vernon, TX is about 3 hours from Dallas. It would be a bit of a commute. It's also surrounded by large tracts of land owned by other people, for farming and ranching.
If Metafilter bought this ranch and US citizens could vote in local elections, would that turn a little piece of Texas blue? Might be with it.
That would be covered under Texas's District 13 for Congress. Which stretches all the way to Amarillo, so no.
In a sane world, the property is nationalized and turned into a State Park.
There's already Lake Arrowhead park, which is pretty close. Texas has a lot of state parks.
posted by zabuni at 3:29 PM on July 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
If Metafilter bought this ranch and US citizens could vote in local elections, would that turn a little piece of Texas blue?
Well, partly. The other parts would be green, purple, and gray.
posted by schmod at 3:29 PM on July 21, 2015 [22 favorites]
Well, partly. The other parts would be green, purple, and gray.
posted by schmod at 3:29 PM on July 21, 2015 [22 favorites]
that's a lot of brush to clear! maybe that's why there are so many GOP candidates this year
posted by thelonius at 3:46 PM on July 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 3:46 PM on July 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
I'm in if I can have part be my giraffe farm. It could be on the edge and be a less expensive alternative to Giraffe Manor.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 3:49 PM on July 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 3:49 PM on July 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
800 square miles is 3/4 the land area of Rhode Island. That's larger than Maui. It's a craaaazy amount of contiguous land in private hands.
Ted Turner owns 3125 square miles of land in the central U.S., albeit not all of it contiguous. Does a pretty good job of managing it too, I'm told.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 3:49 PM on July 21, 2015
Ted Turner owns 3125 square miles of land in the central U.S., albeit not all of it contiguous. Does a pretty good job of managing it too, I'm told.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 3:49 PM on July 21, 2015
Oh man, growing up in Houston as I did, my public school set-ups were always on the experimental side, and one year in Middle School we were broken up into three groups who generally cycled through the same teachers. They were named after famous ranches. I know that King was one of them, and I can't remember the other, but I was damn sure in XIT.
posted by Navelgazer at 4:03 PM on July 21, 2015
posted by Navelgazer at 4:03 PM on July 21, 2015
It seems like this might be nice to open for the public -- if not a park, maybe as a resort.
Ha! A precipitating factor in locating a park (or a resort!) is that it be in a place people would actually want to visit.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:06 PM on July 21, 2015 [5 favorites]
Ha! A precipitating factor in locating a park (or a resort!) is that it be in a place people would actually want to visit.
posted by mudpuppie at 4:06 PM on July 21, 2015 [5 favorites]
OMG the yard work
Just get elected President of the United States and you'll have plenty of time to clear brush.
posted by Knappster at 4:18 PM on July 21, 2015 [8 favorites]
Just get elected President of the United States and you'll have plenty of time to clear brush.
posted by Knappster at 4:18 PM on July 21, 2015 [8 favorites]
MetaFilter: Someone get the libertarians on the phone
MetaFilter: OMG the yard work
MetaFilter: That puny ol' thing?
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:23 PM on July 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
MetaFilter: OMG the yard work
MetaFilter: That puny ol' thing?
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:23 PM on July 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
sorry, this thread is making me a little dizzy.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:24 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:24 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
For our European readers, this ranch is about the size of Luxembourg minus Andorra.
posted by double block and bleed at 4:33 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by double block and bleed at 4:33 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Or Andorra, Malta, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Monaco, and Vatican City all combined together. Times two.
posted by double block and bleed at 4:37 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by double block and bleed at 4:37 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
Uh-oh, I foresee a heated discussion over branding
We all get branded with the MeFi logo but we get to choose our own tagline.
posted by jason_steakums at 4:49 PM on July 21, 2015 [9 favorites]
We all get branded with the MeFi logo but we get to choose our own tagline.
posted by jason_steakums at 4:49 PM on July 21, 2015 [9 favorites]
But how many cats could that land support?
posted by Devonian at 4:51 PM on July 21, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by Devonian at 4:51 PM on July 21, 2015 [11 favorites]
It's near the Texas/Oklahoma border and it's selling for how much?
Something something greater fool theory.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:59 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Something something greater fool theory.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:59 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Something nearly the size of Leicestershire ought to come with a grant of peerage.
posted by notquitemaryann at 5:23 PM on July 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by notquitemaryann at 5:23 PM on July 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
We all get branded with the MeFi logo but we get to choose our own tagline.
Metafilter: Brand it and move on
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:24 PM on July 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
Metafilter: Brand it and move on
posted by Greg_Ace at 5:24 PM on July 21, 2015 [4 favorites]
In a sane world, the property is nationalized and turned into a State Park.
Parks and Rec already showed us how to get this done. Just convince Google and/or Apple to buy the ranch and turn it into a new campus. Then convince them to donate the land to the federal government and build their campus in a run-down urban area instead and help revitalize it.
posted by VTX at 5:26 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
Parks and Rec already showed us how to get this done. Just convince Google and/or Apple to buy the ranch and turn it into a new campus. Then convince them to donate the land to the federal government and build their campus in a run-down urban area instead and help revitalize it.
posted by VTX at 5:26 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
And then get them to build their campus on that floating libitarian-barge thingy.
And then put the scuttle valve on the internet of things.
posted by maxwelton at 5:36 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
And then put the scuttle valve on the internet of things.
posted by maxwelton at 5:36 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
But how many cats could that land support?
Enough.
posted by schmod at 5:54 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
Enough.
posted by schmod at 5:54 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]
Those "parcels not owned by estate" would drive me CRAZY. I'd have to annex them, immediately.
posted by tybstar at 5:54 PM on July 21, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by tybstar at 5:54 PM on July 21, 2015 [10 favorites]
But how many cats could that land support?
Enough.
I would visit Neko Atsume Land.
posted by Going To Maine at 6:51 PM on July 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
Enough.
I would visit Neko Atsume Land.
posted by Going To Maine at 6:51 PM on July 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
Sure, the Metafilter Ranch sounds like a good idea now, but once you're working the fields and addressing Cortex as "Leader", you'll change your tune.
posted by indubitable at 7:00 PM on July 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by indubitable at 7:00 PM on July 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
we'll all have about 8.2 acres all to ourselves
Not handed out proportionally to favorites?
posted by ctmf at 7:16 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Not handed out proportionally to favorites?
posted by ctmf at 7:16 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
There are property taxes in Texas? I am truly surprised.
posted by XhaustedProphet at 7:27 PM on July 21, 2015
posted by XhaustedProphet at 7:27 PM on July 21, 2015
I've been on some big ranches, but nothing on that scale. Even a more modest ranch is a complicated business enterprise and for all that it would be fun to own thousands of acres I am glad I am not responsible for operating one.
posted by Dip Flash at 7:33 PM on July 21, 2015
posted by Dip Flash at 7:33 PM on July 21, 2015
Those "parcels not owned by estate" would drive me CRAZY. I'd have to annex them, immediately.
You know who else liked to annex land they didn't own...
That's right, I'm talking about Texas - there, I said it, thread over.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:49 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
You know who else liked to annex land they didn't own...
That's right, I'm talking about Texas - there, I said it, thread over.
posted by Greg_Ace at 7:49 PM on July 21, 2015 [1 favorite]
Wind farms visible from the ranch testify to another potential source of revenue: energy to supplant coal-fired electricity plants likely to close in Texas.
While I was flying my plane across Texas earlier this summer, I took this photo of oil wells in the foreground (in those patches of light-colored dirt) and wind turbines in the background.
posted by exogenous at 7:54 PM on July 21, 2015 [7 favorites]
While I was flying my plane across Texas earlier this summer, I took this photo of oil wells in the foreground (in those patches of light-colored dirt) and wind turbines in the background.
posted by exogenous at 7:54 PM on July 21, 2015 [7 favorites]
To peer inside, interested parties must come in person, after proving they can raise enough money to buy the Waggoner.
I know The Cabal has probably already been out and toured the property and I just want to say, I'm in for at least a hundred acres. You know from my Pay Pal donations I'm good for it and you know from my posting history I got no problem castrating steers.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:01 PM on July 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
I know The Cabal has probably already been out and toured the property and I just want to say, I'm in for at least a hundred acres. You know from my Pay Pal donations I'm good for it and you know from my posting history I got no problem castrating steers.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:01 PM on July 21, 2015 [3 favorites]
> Iridic just beat me to that joke.
I feel you. I used to have an internet connection like that.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:14 PM on July 21, 2015 [21 favorites]
I feel you. I used to have an internet connection like that.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:14 PM on July 21, 2015 [21 favorites]
This seems almost better than an old missile base for a super rich person doomsdays/disaster hideout. Just have a completely nondescript entrance to an underground base somewhere on there. Hell, have decoy entrances and make sure little to no one knows which ones the real one(like, bringing workers in blindfolded, constructing stuff off site then burying it to minimize on site personnel, etc etc).
That's SO much area to hide out in assuming some kind of serious jericho to mad max type situation, plague, or other total collapse of society.
Super rich people spend this much on yachts, and then spend more to have ridiculous ostentatious solid gold banister type things added or done to them.
What i'm saying, is it wouldn't surprise me if this sold to some mormon billionaire prepper type. Running it as a ranch is a nice cover for what you really want all that land for.
Alternatively, wouldn't this be enough land for a serious private spaceflight company to set up a complete base from manufacturing to launchpad with safety margins?
posted by emptythought at 3:12 AM on July 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
That's SO much area to hide out in assuming some kind of serious jericho to mad max type situation, plague, or other total collapse of society.
Super rich people spend this much on yachts, and then spend more to have ridiculous ostentatious solid gold banister type things added or done to them.
What i'm saying, is it wouldn't surprise me if this sold to some mormon billionaire prepper type. Running it as a ranch is a nice cover for what you really want all that land for.
Alternatively, wouldn't this be enough land for a serious private spaceflight company to set up a complete base from manufacturing to launchpad with safety margins?
posted by emptythought at 3:12 AM on July 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
That is a ridiculous amount of land. I just looked it up, and it's almost exactly the same size as the county of West Sussex, where I live in England. West Sussex contains 800,000 people in several large cities and towns, dozens of train stations, major A-roads, a couple of motorways, and goddamn international airport.
That much land in single private hands is amazing.
posted by generichuman at 6:05 AM on July 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
That much land in single private hands is amazing.
posted by generichuman at 6:05 AM on July 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
I use to fish on Lake Kemp. Been to ranch head quarters for rodeos. Beautiful place.
posted by bjgeiger at 6:42 AM on July 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by bjgeiger at 6:42 AM on July 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
That is a ridiculous amount of land. I just looked it up, and it's almost exactly the same size as the county of West Sussex, where I live in England ... That much land in single private hands is amazing.
You've got the Duke of Buccleuch who owns 277,000 acres which is 430 square miles. And the Duke of Westminster who owns 133,000 acres worth £6 billion.
posted by JackFlash at 8:39 AM on July 22, 2015
You've got the Duke of Buccleuch who owns 277,000 acres which is 430 square miles. And the Duke of Westminster who owns 133,000 acres worth £6 billion.
posted by JackFlash at 8:39 AM on July 22, 2015
I wouldn't be surprised if the area not owned by estate are actually the cemeteries.
My family has a much much smaller ranch with a small cemetery. Half is the family that owned the land before us, and they have rights to visit in perpetuity. Half is ours. I suspect it will be sold in my lifetime, as ranching is increasingly a wealthy person's hobby, and my generation is not.
posted by politikitty at 10:03 AM on July 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
My family has a much much smaller ranch with a small cemetery. Half is the family that owned the land before us, and they have rights to visit in perpetuity. Half is ours. I suspect it will be sold in my lifetime, as ranching is increasingly a wealthy person's hobby, and my generation is not.
posted by politikitty at 10:03 AM on July 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is what happens when we try to convey to Europeans (and others--but let's be real, mostly Europeans) how fucking big the U.S. is. It's really, really big. Texas is admittedly one of the biggest states but yeah: this ranch is a drop in the bucket to Texas and even mighty Texas is a drop in the bucket to the U.S. as a whole.
Also, not only does Texas have property taxes, they're among the highest in the nation. In one of life's little ironies, Texans pay far more property taxes than Californians. It all rights itself when you realize that Texas has no state income tax and that the governor is doing his best to get rid of the property taxes too.
posted by librarylis at 10:03 AM on July 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also, not only does Texas have property taxes, they're among the highest in the nation. In one of life's little ironies, Texans pay far more property taxes than Californians. It all rights itself when you realize that Texas has no state income tax and that the governor is doing his best to get rid of the property taxes too.
posted by librarylis at 10:03 AM on July 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
The weirdest fact about the Texas Property Tax is the way it funds schools.
In most states, that means that the wealthy parents get the richest school districts. Which sucks, but is the normal rich-everyone else divide in America. In Texas (and I imagine other oil rich states like Louisiana and Oklahoma), that means that small populations of oil country get the richest school districts. They literally don't have enough kids.
And the constitution forbids them from redistribution. It's not even the wealthy protecting their own. It's corporations with no kids throwing their taxes away.
It's the stupidest low hanging fruit ever.
posted by politikitty at 10:17 AM on July 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
In most states, that means that the wealthy parents get the richest school districts. Which sucks, but is the normal rich-everyone else divide in America. In Texas (and I imagine other oil rich states like Louisiana and Oklahoma), that means that small populations of oil country get the richest school districts. They literally don't have enough kids.
And the constitution forbids them from redistribution. It's not even the wealthy protecting their own. It's corporations with no kids throwing their taxes away.
It's the stupidest low hanging fruit ever.
posted by politikitty at 10:17 AM on July 22, 2015 [3 favorites]
Also, not only does Texas have property taxes, they're among the highest in the nation.
If the numbers in the article are correct, then the Waggoner ranch is severely undertaxed compared to other Texans. The average property tax rate in Texas is 1.8%. The Waggoner ranch is taxed at 0.1%, a tiny fraction of what others are paying.
According to the article, the Waggoner ranch pays $800,000 in property taxes each year. If it were taxed at the same rate as the average Texan, they should be paying $13 million per year.
posted by JackFlash at 10:57 AM on July 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
If the numbers in the article are correct, then the Waggoner ranch is severely undertaxed compared to other Texans. The average property tax rate in Texas is 1.8%. The Waggoner ranch is taxed at 0.1%, a tiny fraction of what others are paying.
According to the article, the Waggoner ranch pays $800,000 in property taxes each year. If it were taxed at the same rate as the average Texan, they should be paying $13 million per year.
posted by JackFlash at 10:57 AM on July 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
In California you can get pretty sizeable exemptions for land used for agricultural purposes, I'd imagine something similar is going on here.
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:05 AM on July 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by prize bull octorok at 11:05 AM on July 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
They could also be outside of any independent school district. There is no state property tax. The taxes are levied by the school district (and other districts), and their rate determined (more or less, pursuant to limits per year) by them. It's not in a city, and could be too far away from any schools, and the county tax could be much lower.
posted by zabuni at 3:44 PM on July 22, 2015
posted by zabuni at 3:44 PM on July 22, 2015
I recently got Red Dead Redemption for the PS3 second hand for $9.
It seems like pretty much the same thing.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 7:19 PM on July 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
It seems like pretty much the same thing.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 7:19 PM on July 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
For a fascinating but rather lengthy history of the ranch, and the family dramas that led to the business being sold, see this 7,500 word writeup on texasmonthly.com
posted by Jack Karaoke at 2:05 AM on July 23, 2015
posted by Jack Karaoke at 2:05 AM on July 23, 2015
According to the article, the Waggoner ranch pays $800,000 in property taxes each year. If it were taxed at the same rate as the average Texan, they should be paying $13 million per year.
It's possible that, as a commercial property, it's taxed at a lower rate or it might be that you're comparing residential land with houses on it and stuff which is mostly bare land. I don't think the ranch gets a special rate, just that ranches and/or unimproved land in general is taxed at a lower rate.
posted by VTX at 6:30 AM on July 23, 2015
It's possible that, as a commercial property, it's taxed at a lower rate or it might be that you're comparing residential land with houses on it and stuff which is mostly bare land. I don't think the ranch gets a special rate, just that ranches and/or unimproved land in general is taxed at a lower rate.
posted by VTX at 6:30 AM on July 23, 2015
It's a safe bet that ranchers and oil-producing property owners have been well-represented in the Texas legislature pretty much forever, and that the tax code reflects that.
Even here in Commie Oregon it's worth it for a friend of mine to keep a couple of steer on his property for some number of months a year for tax reasons.
posted by George_Spiggott at 12:28 PM on July 23, 2015
Even here in Commie Oregon it's worth it for a friend of mine to keep a couple of steer on his property for some number of months a year for tax reasons.
posted by George_Spiggott at 12:28 PM on July 23, 2015
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Whelp, I didn't really wanna move back to Texas anyway.
posted by Navelgazer at 2:16 PM on July 21, 2015 [2 favorites]