40 MLS PHOTOS
117 acres of cross-fenced pasture, five spring-fed ponds, an oil well that pays for itself, and a one-hour drive to Austin. A weekend retreat, a working ranch, and a hedge against the world — on a single deed.
An hour from downtown Austin. Pull off Hwy 290, drop the gate code, and you're sitting on a deck overlooking a pond by sunset. Modest 4-bed main house, room to build something nicer if we want. STR-friendly when we're not using it.
Already cross-fenced with five ponds and well backup. Coastal Bermuda + jiggs hayfields. Currently under cattle lease that holds the ag exemption — we can keep the lessee, swap them out, or run our own herd of 15–20 head.
Off-grid capable: well water, septic, propane. Two miles from the nearest highway, surrounded by working ag land. Stocked ponds, hay ground, the existing herd, and arable acreage if we ever needed it. Private, defensible, self-sustaining.
Two professionally surveyed tracts, contiguous and combined into a single ranch. Five ponds, all linked to the two water wells with float controls so they refill in dry years. Pastures planted in coastal Bermuda and jiggs.
Estimated allocation. The listing agent suggests the highest-elevation building site is across from the larger pond on the west side.
Bastrop County's Post Oak Savannah, on improved coastal Bermuda pasture, supports roughly 1 animal unit per 2.5–4 acres — double the carrying capacity of native range. With ~80 acres of working grass and the cross-fencing already in place, three scenarios fit the property:
| Approach | Head | Land Use | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 10–12 | ~60 ac grazed, 25 ac hay | Low labor. Drought-resilient. Underutilizes the land. |
| Recommended | 15–20 | ~75–80 ac grazed, 15–20 ac hay | Real beef supply for two households. Surplus hay to sell. Redundant breeding stock. Manageable absentee. |
| Aggressive | 25–28 | All available pasture | Maximum yield. Buy hay in bad years. Needs full-time eyes. |
For the recommended scenario: 8–10 breeding cows, one bull (own, share, or AI), 2–3 steers on feed for beef, and 3–5 replacement heifers rotating in. Two finished steers per year is roughly a year's beef for two families.
Cattle on the property holds the Bastrop CAD agricultural valuation, which keeps property tax dramatically lower than market rate. The seller has a current cattle lease in place that we can either inherit or replace — either way, the exemption needs to be continuous to avoid a five-year rollback.
The infrastructure most ranches need years and six figures to build is already here. We could close on Friday and run cattle on Monday.
4 bed / 2 bath, 2,248 sqft, built 2004. Modest but well-maintained — "great weekend place or great guest house once we build something nicer," per the listing agent.
Concrete slab, partially converted toward guest house use by current owner. Septic and water tanks roughed in; electrical to be confirmed.
Barn/stable with one horse stall, separate shed with two horse stalls, equipment storage with tack room, two run-in sheds, two well houses.
Fully perimeter fenced AND cross-fenced. 5-strand barbed wire with reinforced steel corners. Cattle-ready, rotational-grazing-ready.
Both wells linked to the five ponds via float switches — pumps kick on automatically when pond levels drop. Critical for drought years.
Stocked with bass, catfish, and bream. Backed up by the well system. Suitable for fishing, swimming, irrigation, livestock water.
Installed 2004 by Larni's Septic with sprinkler distribution. On the back half of typical service life — budget for service / eventual replacement.
~$3,000/year in mineral income. Seller conveys 50% mineral interest. Surface tank battery on the back of the property.
Pastures and hayfields planted in established improved grasses. Multiple cuttings per year possible. Sandy loam soil — excellent for both cattle and horses.
The sellers paid $2.8M four years ago. The husband passed away last year. After a winter off the market, the widow agreed to come down to the level the market is actually telling her.
Cash equity per partner at the asking price, before closing costs and reserves. Excludes financing, which would lower the per-partner cash needed substantially.
Numbers shown for orientation only. Actual structure (LLC, financing, capital calls for improvements, usage rights, exit terms) to be discussed.
Bastrop County, between Smithville and Winchester — bordering Lee and Fayette counties. The address says Giddings but the parcel sits in Bastrop, which is the right side of that line for tax purposes and for proximity to Austin.
Smithville is the closest town for a grocery run (HEB-adjacent options). Giddings has fuel, feed store, and the Bastrop County extension office. La Grange is the nearest hospital.
Going in with eyes open. Here are the items still to confirm before this becomes a real conversation about contract.
Need to see the lease and any surface use agreement — what areas are restricted, easement locations, plug & abandonment liability.
Confirm 1-d-1 status, length of continuous qualification, and what happens to the cattle lease at closing to keep the exemption alive.
Get the actual document. Number of head, lessee identity, term, renewal, who maintains fences/water/minerals, payment, removal terms.
Was the barn-to-guest-house conversion permitted? Separate septic? Electrical service? Bastrop County code path to make it a legal dwelling.
Pull both well logs (depth, GPM, casing, drilled date). Check Lost Pines GCD permit status. Recent water quality test on file.
Cumulative DOM across both listing cycles. Any prior offers? Any inspection reports from buyers who fell out of contract?
Internet (Starlink? Bluebonnet fiber? DSL?) and cell coverage on AT&T and Verizon. Real underwriting question if we want STR income.
Cedar furniture & western accessories per listing. Tractors, brush hog, hay equipment, ATVs, cattle working pens, chute, head gate.
Husband's estate fully passed through probate? Seller (Julie Salem) sole title holder? Any heirs or curative title work needed?
Bastrop County STR rules / permits. Comparable rural ranch rentals in this radius for ADR and occupancy assumptions if we want partial offset.