The Chronicles Of Grant County
Foreign Land Ownerships
Part Three
This map shows the amounts of acreage owned by foreign entities throughout the United States of America. The legend references the number of total acres of foreign holdings in each state, commonwealth, and district. (The map was provided courtesy of the United States Department of Agriculture, December 31, 2022.)
The Federal government, through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), keeps track of ownership of land by foreign persons and entities in the United States.
Part One of this news series of The Chronicles Of Grant County detailed information about Catron and Hidalgo Counties. Part Two of this news series focused on foreign land holdings in Grant County. Part Three includes information on these types of land holdings in Luna County.
As noted earlier, while summary data was released by the USDA for Year 2022, according to the USDA, "the detailed data underlying the Year 2022 report have not yet been released."
Thus, The Chronicles Of Grant County is not able to report on the foreign land ownership holdings in Luna County for Year 2022.
All information listed in this news column for Luna County is from the Report of Foreign Land Holdings for Year 2021. This is the most recent report with detailed data on this subject from the USDA as of December 31, 2021.
The report from the USDA indicated that there were 34 foreign land holdings in Luna County as of December 31, 2021.
The largest amount of acreage in Luna County owned by a foreign entity, according to the USDA, involved the same situation as in Grant County. The USDA reported that Chino Mines Co. was a Japanese business and owned 16,335 acres of land in Luna County as of December 31, 2021. The land was acquired by the Japanese firm for $558,000 in 1981; the property's estimated value as of December 31, 2021, was listed as $5,090,000, according to the USDA.
As detailed in Part Two of this news series, that information is likely not correct. Chino Mines Co. is owned by Freeport-McMoRan Inc., an American business headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. This company acquired Chino Mines Co. through its acquisition of Phelps Dodge Corporation in 2007.
One corporation from the Netherlands owned 4,935 acres in Luna County as of December 31, 2021. The land was bought for $2,836,000 in 1978; debt attached to this parcel was $1,818,000. The estimated value of the property as of December 31, 2021, was the same amount as the purchase price.
One corporation in Panama owned 237 acres of land in Luna County as of December 31, 2021. The firm purchased the property for $360,000 in 1985. The estimated value as of the last day of Year 2021 was the same amount as the purchase price; debt was listed at $170,000.
As of December 31, 2021, one entity from Canada acquired 1,792 acres in Luna County in 2014; no purchase price was listed. The estimated value of the land as of December 31, 2021, was $519,680.
One corporation from France owned 4 properties in Luna County. This company bought 130 acres for $580,000, 32 acres for $141,000, 80 acres for $357,000, and 335 acres for $1,495,000; all of the properties were purchased in 1989. The estimated values of each of these sites as of December 31, 2021, were listed as the same as the purchase prices for these properties.
One French individual owned 702 acres of land in Luna County as of December 31, 2021. The ground was purchased for $1,571,000 in 1998. The estimated value of the property as of December 31, 2021, was the same amount as the price paid for the land.
As of December 31, 2021, one individual from the United Kingdom owned 81 acres in Luna County. The ground was bought for $700,000 in 1985; the estimated value of the property was the same as of December 31, 2021.
Four entities from the United Kingdom had acquired property in Luna County, according to the USDA, as of December 31, 2021. The type of ownership listed for each of these properties by the USDA was "Other." The definition of "Other" in this report included "long-term leaseholds."
One of these entities from the United Kingdom acquired 50 acres in 2020; the estimated value was listed at $326,650 as of December 31, 2021. A second entity acquired 77.8 acres in 2020; the estimated value as of December 31, 2021, was listed as $508,267.40. A third entity acquired 200.14 acres in Luna County in 2020; as of December 31, 2021, the estimated value of this property was listed as $33,867.62. A fourth entity acquired 99 acres in 2020; the estimated value of this property was listed at $646,767 as of December 31, 2021.
As of December 31, 2021, twenty pieces of property in Luna County were owned by entities or individuals from Switzerland. One Swiss corporation owned 91 acres; the land was purchased for $430,000 in 1985. A second Swiss entity purchased 80 acres for $123,000 in 1984. A third Swiss entity bought 1,760 acres for $896,000 in 1982. A fourth Swiss corporation purchased 85 acres for $447,000 in 1984. The estimated values of these four properties as of December 31, 2021, was the same as the purchase prices for the parcels.
A fifth Swiss company bought 409 acres for $250,000 in Luna County in 1984. A sixth entity from Switzerland purchased 73 acres for $130,000 in 1983; debt attached to this property was $30,000. A seventh Swiss entity bought 160 acres for $112,000 in 1986. An eighth corporation from Switzerland purchased 27 acres for $30,000 in 1986. As of December 31, 2021, these four parcels had estimated values that were the same as the purchase prices.
One Swiss corporation owned 4 pieces of property in Luna County. The properties included 200 acres, 640 acres, 1,230 acres, and 640 acres purchased for, respectively, $600,000 in 1999, $340,000 in 1995, $1,000,000 in 1979, and $320,000 in 1979. The property purchased for $1,000,000 had debt of $500,000 attached to it. As of December 31, 2021, all four of these parcels were listed as having estimated values that were the same as the purchase prices.
Another corporation from Switzerland owned 5 land parcels in Luna County. The properties included 160 acres purchased for $135,000 in 1984 (debt attached was $42,000), 473 acres bought for $650,000 in 1983 (debt attached was $375,000), 76 acres purchased for $101,000 in 1984 (debt attached was $50,000), 120 acres bought for $109,000 in 1984, and 160 acres purchased for $162,000 in 1983. The estimated values for four of these five pieces of property as of December 31, 2021, were the same as the purchase prices; the last parcel listed as being bought for $162,000 was listed as having an estimated value of $139,000 as of December 31, 2021.
An individual from Switzerland purchased 128 acres in Luna County for $139,000 in 1983. A second Swiss individual bought 680 acres for $620,000 in 1998. A third individual from Switzerland purchased 70 acres for $130,000 in 1984. The estimated values as of December 31, 2021, for these three properties were the same as the purchase prices.
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