Balance Ranch

PROPERTY DESCRIPTION

Balance Ranch offers a broad spectrum of attributes to fulfill a variety of uses. Looking for a home for your performance horses or maybe that ideal hunting property? Do you want a getaway for entertaining family and friends? A place to retire for quiet walks and doing some fishing? A better place from which to telecommute with excellent internet connectivity and close proximity to major airports? Do you want a balance of a well-considered amenities and attributes? Maybe you want all of that and more: Balance Ranch is that unique property that just ‘fits’,

How well balanced is this property? It is ~15 miles to the nearest stop light but only 40 minutes from Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) and 65 minutes from San Antonio International Airport (SAT). Star filled skies without city back-lighting, A well thought out property with attention to detail at every turn. There’s still room, though, to put your thumbprint on the property or leave it as is and enjoy it for years to come.

Water: Two water supply corporation water lines are the main supply for the houses and barn with two metered connections. All feed lines are 1 ½” Schedule 40 PVC. This is complemented by one water windmill and one high-volume 45 gal/min@ >65psi electric agricultural water well. The agricultural well supplies over 3000′ of underground irrigation feed lines (3″ Schedule 40 PVC bedded in sand and gravel). The windmill is the source for a gravity-fed water trough system that keeps the pasture troughs topped off. This system has a back-up feed from the water supply corporation feed lines. Overflow of trough system empties in the west tank (pond) so there is no need to turn the system on or off.  All valve boxes are marked with blue stakes and documented in the Balance Ranch Configuration Plan.  Both houses have sprinkler systems as well. Lastly, the cistern in the main house provides a doomsday prepper’s dream storage for water.

Entertainment: If you own Balance Ranch, you’re going to want to share it with family and friends. A 900 square foot paver patio with shade from Live Oaks and Post Oaks fronts the main house. Audio, if desired, is provided via outdoor stereo speakers. Your guests will congregate around the stone veneered Man-Cave which boasts one of the largest BBQ-Smokers around, The floor has a drain for easy clean-up and a sink to wash the occasional dirty implement. Storage for mesquite wood, charcoal, and such completes the primary entertainment area. The guest house has a large front porch with a commanding view of the ranch and also has outdoor stereo sound, if desired. Sitting on either porch in the evening is one of the best parts of this property. If you visit, make sure you’re there for a sunset I

Hunting/Fishing: Balance Ranch has operated as a Private Hunting Area licensed by Texas Parks & Wildlife since 2005, It has an approved Wildlife Management Plan for property tax purposes as well as wild life enhancement. Dove (Morning, Eurasian and the occasional White-Wing), water fowl (Mallards, Cinnamon Teal, Black Duck, etc.), Rio Grande Turkeys, and White Tail deer are some of the species caught on the various game cameras located around the property, Three tanks (ponds) were started with copper nose blue gill for three years before the introduction of large-mouth bass. Today, there are bass taken that exceed 5 pounds on a regular basis,

Horses: Your horses will feel right at home at Balance Ranch in the 4-stall “Taj Mahal” barn and adjoining pastures. The barn includes: concrete floor with rubber stall mats; configurable stalls, 2″x 10″ interior walls with¾” plywood above 4′; tack room with sink; custom rock faced wash rack with hot water; florescent lighting and soft “up” lighting for use during foaling season, Heavy duty fans and outlets for trimming, etc. A 100′ x 150′ outdoor arena has 4” of sandy loam for practicing whatever your discipline and has multiple gates for moving cattle, etc. The arena was designed to drain well so, even

after a hard rain, it’s back to riding! A raised “Arena Cantina” deck provides a great place to observe, video, or critique those in ‘the pen’. There are three 30-amp RV plug-ups available for your trailer or when friends bring their horses or RVs to visit.

Technology: Balance Ranch is technology-enabled but with not too much complexity for the casual user. The main house has cellular booster amplifier/antenna system to ensure crisp cell calls. Both houses have Dolby 5.1 surround sound with custom entertainment cabinets and flat screen mounts – all with in­ wall wiring and outdoor speakers. The wiring and network configuration is documented in the Balance Ranch Configuration Plan. There are three separate electric meter connections: the main house, guest house and shop/barn.

Fencing and boundaries: Enter your own ‘gated community’ through a 20′ wide, remote-powered, custom gate and pipe fence entry area. Key-pad access for deliveries and guest entry. Entry supports 53′ tractor/trailers entering the property with ease. Cross-fencing is pipe and t-posts using Stay Tuff horse friendly mesh with all pasture having at least 2 entry/exit gates of 16′. All gates are heavy duty hot­ dipped galvanized pipe.

History: Balance Ranch is part of what was the Baker Family ranch, back in the day. To this day, many of the family surround the Balance Ranch and take pride in the how things are done ‘on the hill’. The Chisolm Trial made its way through this part of the country and Lockhart, the county seat, is the BBQ Capital of Texas. The property’s current owners purchased the ranch from Carlos Baker. It had been in that family since the dawn of Texas. The main house was built in 1950 on the foundation and with the materials of the original house. Note the thickness of the walls when you visit- look at the window moldling and you’ll see this is ‘old school’ construction!

The Main House: This 3 bedroom/1 ½ bath home was updated in 2007 with all new wiring, plumbing, windows, doors, septic system, and a refinish of the hardwood floors throughout the home. New kitchen cabinets and silestone counters provide ample area to prepare meals for entertain or for just you. There are window coverings in the bedrooms but the current owner chose not to install window treatments in the most public rooms. When you live out here, you don’t need or want to block the views!  During the remodel, the current owners retained many of the original fixtures: glass doorknobs, light fixtures, wood floors, etc. A living area with fireplace and large dining area have area rugs over hardwood floors throughout the home. A tankless water heater provides limitless hot water and energy conservation.

The Guest House: The guest house was built in 2005. It is about 150′ from the main house and is a 2 bedroom/2 ½ bath with vaulted ceiling, fireplace, and large built-in entertainment center. Poured color concrete floors provide an easy surface to keep clean. A galley style kitchen provides the necessities for cooking. This house has been used as guest quarters and for the current owner’s father. It was designed for ease of use with extra wide doors and no step shower.

Shop: The ranch has a complete wood shop with large scale exterior mounted dust collection.  The wood shop is climate controlled and well insulated. The one side of the building provides storage  for pipe, etc. and is semi-open. The other side of the building is enclosed and provides storage for supplies. It includes large pallet rack and metal shelving. A large garage door makes it so it could function as an auto shop.

The shop area is complemented by a large laydown area of compacted road base. Parking is available for equipment and implements without worrying about grass over growing things.

Pastures and Environment: There are three primary pastures that have been cleared of mesquite that comprise ~45 acres of the property. These pastures have been managed for weeds and mesquite re­ growth. KN-47 Bermuda with over-seeded rye or devine burr medic are the improved pasture grasses. The remainder of the property falls into four types of pasture environments:

• woods- with a mix of oak, hackberry, cedar elm and so forth. This is where you’ll find the deer and turkeys;
• brush – heavy older growth mesquite;
• the bird pasture which is the primary bird hunting area is a checker-board approach with clear areas and brush and large standing brush piles. During hunting season, you’re pretty much guaranteed to get a few dove or duck – and you’ll see them during their entire season(s).
• unimproved pastures – those that still have some mesquite and are being managed to reduce the mesquite and improve the mix of the mix of grasses.

There are three ponds (tanks in Texas parlance) on the property. All of which can be maintained by the agricultural water well by a series of PVC feedlines and valves. The two southern tanks were formed in 2005-6 and never went dry during the drought prior to the well being installed in 2012.

The hidden Texas treasures is ready to handle horses or cattle, to offer hunting and fishing, to entertain family and friends, or allow you a quiet get-away.  The name says it all: Balance Ranch.

Courtesy of American Farm and Ranch member, Jacobs Properties. For all information on this property contact Drew Colvin 512-755-2078 or Mike Bacon 512-990-8800.