It always amazes me how life works out when you get out of your own way, and trust that things are working out the way they should.
Tim Gangl is a classic example of letting life work out as it should. He has always had an interest in land sales. Earlier in life while between carriers, he took courses in property appraisal to get a feel for real estate, but life had other plans.
Tim had an interest in cars from a very young age but started out as a heavy truck mechanic, then he drove semi-truck, then managed and ultimately owned a small trucking company. After he sold his trucking business, with the support of his wife Patti, Tim began selling hot rod parts at car shows to people who were building hot rods. He became a distributor for several manufacturers of these parts and attended shows around the Midwest where car enthusiasts would look for and buy custom parts for their classic cars. After attending about 20 shows a year, Tim and Patti eventually built a building in West Concord, and this is where Hot Rod Hardware is located today.
In the mid-2000’s Tim began building hot rods for other people, but with a limited number of technicians available to do that type of work, he decided to stick to the parts business and move to the auto collision business in his shop. Around that time while visiting with a friend who also happened to be a hot rod parts customer, his friend asked if he wanted to “Day Cab” (cut off the sleeper) some semi-trucks he had. Tim and his technicians got trained and started day cabbing trucks for customers all across the country as they still do today. West Concord Collision is located in the same building as Hot Rod Hardware in West Concord.
As his two sons got older, they began working with Tim, learning the business from the ground up. Jonathon manages parts and sales at Hot Rod Hardware, and Joel is lead man at West Concord Collision. Together as a team, they still attend 2 car shows a year but most of their parts sales are from of their website at hotrodhardware.com. Tim is still the first one at the shop every morning, but as the boys have become more adept at running the shop, Tim thought maybe he should give his boys some room to grow in the business and it was time to pursue his long-time desire to become a land REALTOR®.
After getting further educated and licensed in real estate, Tim met with Kirk Swenson, owner and President of 1 Stop Realty, and Wendy Forthun the company’s Vice President. 1 Stop Realty specializes in farmland listings, buildable acreages, farm building sites, and recreational land as well as farmland management. 1 Stop Realty celebrates it’s 50th year this year, managing farmland and completing farmland transactions. Kirk’s father Warren Swenson had started 1 Stop Realty in 1973, and Wendy Forthun ALC (Accredited Land Consultant), has been with the company 20 years. After meeting with Tim, they felt he was a good fit to add as a land agent, so Tim joined the team in early 2020.
I asked Tim what it was about land sales that intrigued him. He and Patti own an 80-acre farm just north of Mantorville, they have been renting out their farmland to a local farmer. Owning that farmland heightened his interest in farmland and land real estate.
As a farmland manager, Tim develops agreements between farmland owners and farmers and then goes on to manage the farmland, ensuring that it is properly cared for, and the landowner receives current market rents. He determines a fair price by considering soil quality, drain tile, topography, tillable acres, location, and demand. Tim then tracks chemicals and fertilizers the farmer uses, as well as crop yields and makes sure the soils are tested at regular intervals. This is to be certain that the nutrients in the soils on the farm are not used up over time and the landowner’s farm maintains its value.
But that's not all he does! He handles many sales transactions of land all over southeast Minnesota for landowners, farmers, and investors. It might be a rural site ready for a new owner to build their country home, a 250-acre farm ready to be sold to someone in the next generation, or a site ready for commercial development outside of a small town. 1 Stop Realty uses many methods to sell land from a traditional listing to auctions or sealed bids. They use their years of expertise to recommend the right method to the landowner and work together with them to come up with the way that best fits their needs.
Tim chose 1 Stop Realty because they are a trustworthy firm with the most land experience in the area. They have been in business for 50 years this year and have sold more farmland in Dodge County than any other brokerage firm through both listings and auctions!
Congratulations to them for their endeavors!
Are you looking for a farmland manager? Are you ready to sell some land you own? Do you want someone to represent and work for you in a land purchase? Do you need a Broker’s Price Opinion (BPO) to find out what your land is worth? Tim is your man! Give him a call at (507) 254-1976, or email him at tim@farmlandsales.com. Let him help you to make the next step in your journey. You'll be glad you did!
