Blogging Tulsa Real Estate: March 2010

Scenic River Properties on Baron Fork Creek For Sale near Tahlequah, Oklahoma don't come on the market very frequently. 

It is hard to find access to the scenic rivers of Northeast Oklahoma, because the little roads leading down to the Illinois River or Baron Fork Creek have been shut off and barricaded.  You really have to know someone who owns land along the river in order to get permission to cross their land to get to the creeks and streams feeding to the Illinois River or it's tributary, Baron Fork Creek, also known as Barren Fork Creek.

Baron Fork Creek flows out of Arkansas through a little valley near the village of Baron, Oklahoma, hence it's name "Baron" Fork Creek.  However, the roadside sign along Oklahoma Highway 51 indicates that "Barren" Fork Creek is an Oklahoma Scenic River.  Go figure.  The creek is known by both spellings:  Baron or Barren.

To find a unique recreational property with frontage on the river is especially unusual. Scenic river properties on Baron Fork Creek with full access to the creek are very hard to find, but to find one for sale at a reasonable price is especially unusual.

There is currently a unique recreational property for sale with frontage on the river.  That property has approximately 32.64 acres with approximately 865 feet of frontage on Baron Fork Creek.

For the past twenty-five years or so the creek has flowed through an oxbow at the bottom of the bluff below the house, however a couple of years ago the creek changed it's main channel to a point further west, leaving the oxbow with less water. 

Since these pictures were taken in December 2009 the creek has begun to flow back through the oxbow to follow its traditional course.

To find other scenic river properties on Baron Fork Creek for sale near Tahlequah, Oklahoma, you could look for residential properties for sale with a creek in Briggs School District or if you are looking to build a camp or second home, you could search for unplatted building lots or vacant land on a creek in Cherokee County Oklahoma.

 

Eagles soar above Baron Fork Creek at the point where the river flows through the "S" curves of the oxbow about a mile below the Highway 51 Bridge.  If you were to own one of the unique scenic river properties on Baron Fork Creek then you would be able to fish for trophy bass or just sit and sip your coffee while watching the bald eagles soar above Barren Fork Creek as it wends its way toward the Illinois River and the Arkansas River further downstream.

 

The property that is currently for sale happens to have two homes, both built in 1996.  One home is a "stick-built" home with full brick veneer on the front and vinyl siding on the back.  The other home is a double-wide Oakwood mobile home.  There is a total garage capacity for four cars.  There is also a horse barn and several sheds and outbuildings.  The property is completely fenced and very very private.

 

The current owner raises walking horses and enjoys riding the horses across the creek and up to the old railway right-of-way that is on the west side of Baron Fork Creek.  The tracks have been taken up and so you can, with permission from landowners, ride your horses for miles along the railway right-of-way where there are no gates.

 

Thus, you can understand how wonderful and rare these scenic river properties on Baron Fork Creek for sale east of Tahlequah in Cherokee County, Oklahoma are truly unique recreational properties.

 

This is where equestrians and fisherman can truly co-exist on the banks of scenic rivers.

Horse farms for sale with a pond and a barn in Rogers County Oklahoma may be hard to find if you aren't working with the right REALTOR®. 

However, if you call Debbie Solano, you'll discover quickly that it's easy to find horse property in Northeast Oklahoma, because she has already thought about the problem and figured out exactly how to help you find all the horse farms for sale with a pond and a barn you could possibly want, whether you're looking in Rogers County, or in any other county around Tulsa in northeast Oklahoma.

What's so special about finding horse farms for sale with a pond and a barn?  Most realtors sell houses in subdivisions and don't necessarily specialize in farm and ranch properties. A farm and ranch specialist can narrow the search to find exactly what you are looking for

A realtor specializing in horse properties not only knows the inventory, but he or she can show you how to find horse farms for sale with a pond and a barn if they have been properly coded in the Northeast Oklahoma multilist as having a barn, a pond, and are listed as either a farm and ranch property or as a property that has been zoned "Horse Permitted" in some way.

 

Farm and Ranch Properties:

There are currently 7 horse farms for sale with a pond and a barn in Rogers County, Oklahoma.  They range in price from $185,000 to $655,00.  These are all the current farm and ranch listings in Rogers County that have a pond and a barn. 

Now if you were to take away the requirement for a barn, you would find that there are currently 17 farm and ranch properties for sale with a pond (but without a barn) in Rogers County, Oklahoma.  These properties range in price from $115,000 to $1,100,000.

Let's try the other way around and you will find that there are 14 farm and ranch properties for sale with a barn (but without a pond) in Rogers County, Oklahoma.  These properties range in price from $179,500 to $655,000.

As you can see, there are all kinds of permutations that will change your property search. If no pond is available on a property, we can always look for farm and ranch properties for sale in Rogers County that have a creek instead.  (There are currently 8 farm and ranch properties in Rogers County Oklahoma that have a creek).  You can always dig a pond if one is not already available on the property.  Add a barn to the search for farm and ranch properties with a barn and a creek and you will find that there are currently 3 properties available.

Or, if there is no barn, then you can always build one later. 

So you can always add a pond and/or a barn, but a creek or a river is difficult to replace.

Oh, for those perfect horse properties that have all three features:  farm and ranch properties with a barn, a pond, and a creek.  Ooops!  There are now only two farm and ranch properties in Rogers County with a barn, a pond, and a creek and they are not the less expensive properties.

Are you beginning to understand why you need a REALTOR who specializes in farm and ranch properties?

 

Horse Permitted Properties:

"Horse Permitted" addresses a zoning question and has little to do with the description of the property being sold.  Horse farms for sale with a pond and a barn hopefully will be marked as "horse permitted," but when the realtor is filling out the paperwork, there are only a limited number of selections that can be checked on the listing forms.  So if "horse permitted" is missing, the buyer can usually make the assumption that if it is a farm, then it has agricultural zoning -- but not always.

And vice versa.  Perhaps there is a nice house on a lovely piece of land -- perhaps with quite a bit of acreage, that has never been set up as a farm or a ranch. There are many properties in Rogers County that have the potential to become horse farms for sale with a pond and a barn.  These properties may be zoned in such a way that horses are allowed or "permitted" to be there. 

In Rogers County "horse permitted" would mean Agricultural zoning or RS-60 (which is Residential zoning in rural subdivisions with a minimum of 2.5 acres where there is a limit on the number of horses or other livestock).

Currently there are 8 "horse permitted" properties for sale with a pond and a barn in Rogers County Oklahoma.  They may or may not necessarily be horse farms for sale with a pond and a barn; they simply have the correct zoning to be horse farms for sale with a pond and a barn. 

 

A barn does not a farm maketh.

Is the farm registered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture?  Is there a farm number?  Has the owner been filing a Schedule F?  Do the Sellers drive a truck with a Farm tag?  Do the Sellers pay sales tax on their horse feed?  All of these questions are valid, but irrelevant when a realtor is checking Farm and Ranch on the listing documentation.

 

What is a barn?

When you are looking for horse farms for sale with a pond and a barn you will find that your idea of a barn may be quite a bit different from the listing realtor's interpretation of a "barn."  In our Northeast Oklahoma multilist there are a few very nice garden sheds that are coded as barns. 

Then again, is there a distinction between "barn" and "stable?"  Not in our multilist.  A stable with horse stalls of any kind is a barn.  A large hay barn is a barn too. 

Run-in sheds and equipment sheds are usually classified as "sheds," but sometimes are labeled as "barns" by different realtors.

 

What is a pond?

Some farm ponds are small lakes, but in the Northeast Oklahoma multilist they are all ponds.  If they have a name on a map, then they are lakes.  Otherwise they are ponds.

A lagoon is not a pond.  It is a hole in the ground into which sewage is retained when the land does not "percolate" or "perk."  Lagoons have been largely superseded by aerobic septic systems.

 

Look at the pictures

Confused?  Join the club!  Just be sure when you are looking for horse farms for sale with a pond and a barn, that you search for farm and ranch properties separately from "horse permitted" properties.

In other words, do separate searches for both categories.

Then again, skip the searches for farm and ranch properties and "horse permitted" properties altogether, since many listing realtors do not check either box when they are filling out the paperwork on a particular property.

The broadest search would be to search for acres.  Well, scratch that too.  Some realtors don't even list the property size. 

Just look at the pictures and decide for yourself if what you are looking at are indeed horse farms for sale with a pond and a barn.