Free land!
Rayburn Country offering plots of land for nothing...well,almost
By SHARON KERR

Free land ... lots for the asking ... sounds too good to be true? As with most things, there are strings attached. The wary buyer, however, can still land quite a bargain in East Texas.

It isn't a land rush (yet), but there are wooded lots and acreage available minutes from Jasper for a minimal outlay of cash.

They are the orphans lots of Rayburn Country, a development ahead of its time when it began in 1965, years before The Woodlands (a multi-billion dollar development near Houston) was a glimmer in George Mitchell's eye.

Rayburn Country today has about 400 homes, but there are more than 4,000 lots scattered across 4,500 hilly wooded acres tucked up against the shores of Lake Sam Rayburn.

About half of the lot owners are in arrears on their Rayburn Country Association dues, according to office manager Kim Schroer. Delinquent owners have been put on notice, and some have asked the association to help them dispose of their land.

RCA has a list of owners who, for whatever reason, would like to divest themselves of their property and the annual expenses that go with it: $216 association dues plus taxes. In hopes of attracting people who will actually build and thereby increase the association's revenue, RCA has agreed to waive all but $576 to anyone who assumes one of these orphans, according to Schroer.

The "give away" list available at the RCA office on Wingate shows property owners from Florida to Pennsylvania to California who are thousands of dollars in arrears. At $216 per year, they may never have paid dues, according Schroer.

The RayburnResort.com website FAQs says, "RCA is not in the real estate business." While they provide a "give away" list with section and lot numbers and the owner's name, phone number and address, it is up to the potential buyer to exercise due diligence.

In many cases, the owner of record is listed as "estate of...." The heirs may live a thousand miles away and may never have seen the property. They are not likely to have accurate information on current conditions.

Schroer emphasized that it is a "buyer beware" situation. "Even though the RCA will work with you and waive all but $576 in dues, the taxing entities won't."

Foreclosures

According to Sam Job, who represents the Jasper County appraisal district in selling foreclosed lots, depending on lot size, property taxes are around $50 per year plus $100 per year for the MUD (municipal utility district); total annual cost to own a lot (including RCA dues) is probably under $400.

When the county forecloses on property for back taxes, Job says, "Taxes and dues are usually wiped clean. It is in their (RCA's) best interest to get someone paying dues, and in the county's best interest to get things moving and get these properties back on the tax rolls."

Foreclosed properties are posted for three weeks in local papers and sold at auction on the courthouse steps at least twice a year.

If they don't sell there, they go on the tax resale property list available at Job's Rayburn Realty office on FM 255. Many lots have been on the list more than 10

years. Lots start at $500 and seldom go higher than $6,000.

Most are interior lots averaging about a quarter acre. The few water view or golf course lots go quickly, and while a few waterfront lots are available, there are currently insurmountable obstacles to building on them.

The Dream

When RCA began, the developers tried to appeal to everyone. Thus, Rayburn is divided into 44 sections, each with its own rules and restrictions.

The smallest restrictions require a minimum of 720 square feet (a 12 x 60 mobile home) and some of the most desirable sections require a minimum of 2,000 square feet per home.

There is a section near the golf course for patio homes with minimal lots, and another at the far north of the development with acreage lots suitable for 4-H animals and very few restrictions.

One common thread in all sections is that a single family dwelling must be built first, not outbuildings. Schroer said, "The developer didn't want this to be a place where people just built a place to store their recreation vehicle or boat."

Storage buildings are also supposed to match the primary building, brick if the house is brick, shingle roof if the house has a shingle roof, and so forth.

Deed restrictions are enforced by the environmental control committee that approves all new plans, but the committee has been lenient on things like hard surface driveways.

The Nightmare

Riding around Rayburn trying to find lots on either the RCA list or among the foreclosures, it immediately becomes apparent where the wheels fell off the cart, almost literally.

A large map of the sections and lots is located in the visitor's center on Wingate Boulevard, at the RCA office or at Rayburn Realty on U.S. Highway 255. The maps show all the roads the developer ever planned.

Some roads that lead to large waterfront homes are well paved and well travelled. Others roads to interior lots far from the water give new meaning to the word "pothole." When does it stop being a pothole and become impassable to all but 4-wheel drive vehicles?

Other roads just quit. Sunset Ridge is paved to Shoreline Drive, then it becomes a rough track westward. Wallis Road, leading south, is a barely discernible clearing in the trees, rapidly returning to nature.

Halfway down the faint Wallis trail, trees downed by Hurricane Rita block any further vehicle access. A short hike beyond that are several swampy waterfront lots on the foreclosure list, but there is no way to utilize them in the foreseeable future.

Job said, "There are no plans by the association to finish those roads and those lots have have no utilities, no water, no sewer."

Precinct 1 Commissioner Charles Shofner confirmed that the county also has no current plans or funds to build roads in the unfinished sections of RCA.

Shofner explained that in any new subdivision, it is the developer's responsibility to put in the roads initially, and then at some point the county assumes responsibility for maintaining them.

"The developer (in RCA's case) went bankrupt about 15 years ago," Job said.

RCA property owners assumed control. They elect a board of directors and employ a general manager who oversees daily operations of Sections 7-44, E2-E5, MH1 and The Point. The sun will come out

tomorrow, tomorrow

Why would anyone want to invest in an orphan lot? Many of the lots on the list do have good road access, underground utilities, water and sewer, according to Job.

Buying raw land in the county would cost a home builder the expense of a well (about $4,500), an aerobic septic system (about $5,500) and the cost of bringing utilities to the construction site (hundreds of dollars).

In other words, it's possible to pay $1,000 for a Rayburn lot and be ready to start construction, versus $10,000 in improvements before beginning a home elsewhere, plus the cost of the land.

Job says that many buildon your-lot builders will take a deed of property as a down payment, so people who haven't saved 10 or 20 percent of the cost of home can begin a new home for minimal cash outlay.

Job and Schroer agree on two things: 1. buy a lot only if you plan to build, not as a resale investment. 2. Do your homework.

Some of the questions a buyer should investigate, according to Job, are whether there are outstanding property taxes or liens against the property. Find out from the RCA what the building restrictions are, whether there are utilities, what are conditions of the road (or lack thereof).

"Some people blindly buy on the internet, sight unseen," Schroer said. "They need to know they are responsible for it as long as they are a lot owner."

There are two county offices where a prospective buyer with a specific lot and section number can begin researching: * The Jasper County Tax Appraisal District, 384-2544, 137 N. Main. * The Jasper County Tax Assessor office, 384-6896, 271 E. Lamar.

Cindy Stevenson is the local representative for Linebarger, Goggan, Blair and Sampson, LLP, a national firm specializing in property tax sales. They are the delinquent tax attorneys for the county, and Stevenson has been working in the Jasper real estate market for about 15 years. Their office is at 162 E. Lamar, phone 381- 8634.

Stevenson said, "There are a lot of decent lots out there. We get calls every week ... we used to close on two or three a month, but now it's up to 10 or so a month."

Stevenson said one thing she thinks would boost sales would be if owners of multiple lots could combine them. Adjacent lots are often available, but the owner pays dues and MUD taxes on each lot.

You can combine lots, according to Job, when you get ready to build by applying for an "abandonment of easement." That allows you to pay only one set of dues and MUD taxes.

It's complicated by different rules for each section, but generally you can combine up to three lots, but only when you are ready to begin building, and only if the structure touches all three lots. Stevenson says that explains the rambling ranch styles with a covered walkway to a detached garage.

Whether buying from the foreclosed list or bidding at tax auctions, a bidder must sign an agreement that the property is without warranty, express or implied.

In other words, buyer beware, according to Job. If you have intentions of building, you will eventually need a survey and title policy.

The agreement states, "All bidders should satisfy themselves concerning the location of the property and any

other matter related to the property prior to submitting a bid."

Come what may

As the leading edge of the baby boomers approach retirement age, Rayburn Country may be poised on the edge of a land rush.

In crowded urban areas like the San Francisco bay area, a small 1950's bungalow on a postage-stamp size lot goes for more than $600,000. A Social Security check won't pay the taxes, let alone other expenses.

Texasforestcountry.com is the 12-county promotional group pitching "towering trees, scenic rivers, and large-as-life lakes" to retirees across the nation.

Job said every time someone commits to building, "It brings some much needed funds back into the system."

Currently the RCA dues are only enough to maintain the amenities-the swimming pool, tennis courts, sports core and daily operations.

The golf course, which is open to the public, is discounted for property owners, as is joining the country club.

If the association achieves critical mass (enough revenue from dues), they can resume building roads and installing utilities, water and sewer. That will in turn increase revenue, perhaps in a self-sustaining cycle that could turn currently unadoptable orphans into coveted retirement communities.

Shofner said, "If they would ever get enough ahead to pave half a mile at a time..." Each half mile of road and utilities opens up 20 lots or more for building.

For information on the "give away" lots at Rayburn, contact Schroer at rcainfo@jas.net or 409 698- 2168. Information and photos can be seen online at www.rayburnresort.com