Any Horse Farms in foreclosure/auction?

[COinNJ]

Hi all,

I work with ReRun, Inc., an ex-racehorse adoption program with chapters in NJ, NY, and KY. We take in horses from the racetracks (e.g., Monmouth Park) who are no longer wanted as racers, and bring them to our foster farms for rehabilitation and re-training. We then work very hard to find loving, permanent adoptive homes for them.

We are reviewing our prospects for acquiring property so we can take in more of the Thoroughbreds from NJ,PA,NY area tracks and be able to have the publlic visit. Our foster farms are currently privately-owned operations and public accessibility is limited.

I'm not too shy to say we'd love someone to donate a 25+ acre horse farm in NJ to us, but I'm not so naive to think that is likely to happen. So, I would greatly appreciate any information on horse farms that are in, or going into, foreclosure, or will be up for auction.

Thanks everyone!
-Christine

p.s. I'm glad a little bird led me to this forum.

[PennJersey]

Where are you looking for? I don't know of any but I will keep my eyes open. Have you thought about contact the freeholders and maybe getting to use some space at some preserved land or government owned land?

Henry

[Sassygrl]

You may want to look into preserved farms that are going to auction. The price per acre will be much lower than land with development rights. See our link on this subject:

Auctions of Permanently Preserved Farmland NJ State Agriculture Development Committee - PennJersey.info Forums

Susan Craft in the Ag department also runs the State preservation program and is a great resource. She could tell you about properties that they have preserved that meet your needs, but may not be currently listed for sale.

I also suggest that you join the NJ farm bureau if you have not already, and visit public meetings of your county Ag development board. Farmland is not often listed for sale even though farmers may wish to sell. We tend to be a bit apathetic since most of us have been burned in the past while trying to sell our land.

[njriverman]

What County and/or Counties do you work in?

[Pineygirl]

If you're interested in Gloucester County, you could try the Township of Franklin, 856-694-1234 and ask for the zoning and planning department. They have a list of properties that are either township-owned or up for tax sale.

We would love to have more horse farms in Franklin, since it keeps houses away :-)!

[COinNJ]

Thanks, guys, for your input. Ideally, we'd love something in central NJ (Middlesex, Mercer, Monmouth counties), but we realize those are some of the more expensive areas. We'll consider anything that is in NJ (Morris, Burlington, Ocean, and beyond), but the board members are all in central NJ, and they want to be able to get to the property easily enough that its management and operations could be overseen/checked on by them. We also know south NJ is cheaper and has more open space.

Regarding preserved farmland, I looked at the other thread on that and I guess I assumed it is all open space farms. And it may be, but we would need pretty much a turn-key operation. Purchasing property and doing a lot of capital improvements is more than we could take on. We would have to raise funds to purchase the property, of course, but I need to make some in-roads and get the word out now because the number of Thoroughbreds needing our type of service will be skyrocketing soon.

-Christine

[COinNJ]

I should also add that I assume preserved farmland meant no other activities on it, like a bunch of horses and people tromping around on it. Am I wrong?

-Christine

[Sassygrl]

Preserved farmland means land restricted by deed to agricultural uses only. You can do agricultural improvements to the property.

[Cashew]

Hi,

I and a few other women are also looking for several acres to house a sanctuary with a natural habitat for abandoned and abused Parrots and other birds. Perhaps we can work together. If you are interested, let me know.

Cashew

[Pineygirl]

Originally Posted by Cashew

Hi,

I and a few other women are also looking for several acres to house a sanctuary with a natural habitat for abandoned and abused Parrots and other birds. Perhaps we can work together. If you are interested, let me know.

Cashew

Ask around in Franklin Township -- the Community Development Department may have some suggestions.