ghost town lobo texas for sale

This West Texas ghost town is on sale for $100K, but there's a catch

By dallas morning news • published june 8, 2023 • updated on june 8, 2023 at 10:44 am.

Lobo is a tiny windswept ghost town in West Texas, some 60 miles northwest of art mecca Marfa.

According to a report by our media partners at The Dallas Morning News , little remains of the abandoned desert city: an old grocery store, a vacant motel and a boarded-up gas station. The town is now in the market for a new owner, drawing attention in Texas and beyond.

Alexander Bardorff, one of the owners, said a friend spotted a “town for sale” sign while driving past Lobo in the late 1990s. Lobo became a place for the group to “get away from the busy city life and relax in the country,” he said.

But the German owners have a particular vision for the new owner.

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“We are not just trying to make a profit,” Bardorff told  Texas Monthly . “We would like to find a group of people that want to do something interesting out there. Not necessarily what we did, but some idea.”

Click here to read the full report from our media partners at The Dallas Morning News .

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Texas ghost town Lobo selling for $100,000

You can own this texas ghost town for $100k.

A ghost town in Texas is going up for sale and it is going for less than most houses. The 10-acre town Lobo is being sold for $100K.

Lobo, Texas - A ghost town in West Texas is up for sale for less than most houses.

IRS says it has $1.5 billion in tax refunds waiting to be claimed

The current owner of the 10-acre town of Lobo, in West Texas, purchased the town in 2001 for $20,000 with a few friends. The last residents of Lobo left in 1991, leaving behind an empty swimming pool, a motel, and a few houses.

The owner is now selling Lobo for $100,000. 

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New ideas for the town range from a kangaroo farm to an escape room experience using the entire area. The owner is taking bids on the property until June 24th.

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Lobo is located in Culberson County. The town was founded in the 1880s and was once a thriving community with a population of over 100 people. The town's decline began in the 1950s, when the railroad was abandoned. By the 1990s, the town was deserted.

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The current owner of Lobo has used the town for art events and film festivals. He is now selling the town because he is no longer able to maintain it. He is hoping to find a buyer who will restore the town to its former glory.

The sale of Lobo has generated interest from people all over the world. Some people are interested in buying the town to restore it, while others are interested in buying it for its unique history. 

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The owner is hopeful that he will find a buyer who will appreciate the town's potential.

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Looking to buy a ghost town? There's one for sale in West Texas

By Julia Falcon

June 8, 2023 / 2:06 PM / CBS Texas

LOBO (CBSNewsTexas.com) – Looking for an abandoned ghost town to buy ?

Lobo, Texas is located 130 miles southeast of El Paso and 15 miles east of the Rio Grande. It's been abandoned since 1991.

In 2001, the 10-acre town was purchased by three German friends who began the process of rebuilding Lobo.

"We are too old now to continue our efforts to maintain the buildings and the 10 acres of land and would like to sell Lobo to someone who appreciates the special character of 'our' little Ghost Town," the owners said.

The town served as a railway watering stop for most of the 20th century. The Lobo Valley sits atop a large aquifer that supplies water to the town and surrounding pecan plantation, farmland and cattle ranches.

CBS News Texas reached out to the listing agent about the price of the property but haven't heard back yet.

The listing doesn't provide a price tag, but the owners told  Marfa Public Radio  they're selling for $100,000.

The owners say they spent the last 22 years living, working, vacationing and even hosting art and film festivals in the town.

The town has a motel, restaurant/gas station/saloon, grocery store/post office and a handful of homes – all abandoned, of course.

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A West Texas ghost town is on sale for $100,000. What’s the catch?

The owners of lobo are ready to sell and want to hear your ideas for the town..

By Sarah Bahari

5:01 AM on May 19, 2023 CDT

Lobo is a tiny windswept ghost town in West Texas, some 60 miles northwest of art mecca Marfa .

Little remains of the abandoned desert city: an old grocery store, a vacant motel and a boarded-up gas station. The town is now in the market for a new owner, drawing attention in Texas and beyond .

About two decades ago, a group of friends from Germany purchased Lobo for a vacation spot and to host art events and film festivals. Upkeep has become cumbersome, though, and the friends hope to find a buyer, they told Marfa Public Radio .

Alexander Bardorff, one of the owners, said a friend spotted a “town for sale” sign while driving past Lobo in the late 1990s. Lobo became a place for the group to “get away from the busy city life and relax in the country,” he said.

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In its heydey, Lobo was home to roughly 100 people and several acres of bustling farmland supported by an underground aquifer. The aquifer was eventually pumped dry, and the last of the residents left the town in 1991. However, several original structures still remain, including the run-down grocery store and motel, a now-drained swimming pool and a few uninhabited homes.

Related: Coming to Marfa: the world’s first 3D-printed hotel, futuristic homes

Although the listing does not provide a price tag, Bardorff told Marfa Public Radio the base asking price is $100,000, well below the state’s median home price of roughly $326,000 .

But the German owners have a particular vision for the new owner.

“We are not just trying to make a profit,” Bardorff told Texas Monthly . “We would like to find a group of people that want to do something interesting out there. Not necessarily what we did, but some idea.”

Tourism in West Texas has exploded in recent years, thanks largely to Marfa and Big Bend National Park . Some buyers might want to turn Lobo into a new desert destination spot, Bardorff acknowledged, adding that he and his friends are not so sure it’s the best use for the town.

So far, the owners have received more than 400 emails from prospective buyers with ideas for the land, including a vineyard and wine tasting venue and retirement commune for veterans, according to Marfa Public Radio.

To find the right buyer, Bardorff and his fellow owners will host a casual open house over Memorial Day weekend. Everyone is invited to attend, including bands that would like to perform.

“They can camp for free. They can use the bathhouse,” Bardorff told Texas Monthly . “Just enjoy being out in the desert, enjoy the atmosphere, enjoy the solitude.”

The owners hope to make a decision by the end of June. Interested in Lobo? Email Bardorff at [email protected] .

Related: Texas plans six new state parks, from vast deserts to swaths of ranchland

Sarah Bahari , Staff writer . Sarah Bahari is a trending news reporter. She previously worked as a writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where she covered a bit of everything.

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The Housing Supply Is Tight. How About a Texas Ghost Town for $100,000?

There’s a catch—the buyer has to have a plan. ‘do you respect what i call the soul of lobo’ people are flocking to the outpost to present their ideas.

June 2, 2023 5:35 am ET

LOBO, Texas — For five days Alexander Bardorff sat under the canopy of a deserted gas station and heard from more than 70 people who made the trek to this West Texas ghost town selling for $100,000—each one pitching a vision for the future.

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You Can Own A Texas Ghost Town For Less Than The Price Of A House

The abandoned farm town of Lobo in West Texas is now for sale for the price of $100K.

There’s a new sheriff in town, or at least there could be in Lobo . The small, West Texas town has long been abandoned since 1991 but times are changing, or at least they could be.

For the price of $100k , you could own this Texas town and do with it what you please – we don’t know, we’ve never owned a town before.

Some 20 years ago, Lobo was owned by three German friends, who bought the town as a place to vacation . The group used it to put on performances, festivals, and other events, and in general, to “get away from the busy city life and relax in the country,” said one owner, Alexander Bardorff.

Due to the costs of maintenance costs – not strictly monetary – the group is selling the town for the base price of $100k, which is $226K less than the median price of a Texas home .

“We are too old now to continue our efforts to maintain the buildings and the 10 acres of land and would like to sell Lobo to someone who appreciates the special character of ‘our’ little Ghost Town,” the group writes on the town listing.

The purchase would entitle the buyer to the town’s properties, which include a former motel, grocery store, post office, a functioning well, a former gas station and restaurant, a swimming pool , and other remaining houses and structures.

While we know a certain someone that might be interested in buying the town, the group does prefer a specific type of owner.

“We are not just trying to make a profit,” Bardoff said to Texas Monthly. “We would like to find a group of people that want to do something interesting out there . Not necessarily what we did, but some idea.”

Prospective buyers can contact the owners here .

[Featured image from Shutterstock]

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Buy a Wild West ghost town in Texas for just $100k

A dusty old texas ghost town.

Located 130 miles southeast of El Paso and 57 miles away from the artsy desert city of Marfa, this ghost town in Lobo, Texas just went on the market for less than many houses in the region. The property is buried in the heart of the desert, a remote area which for nearly a century has never housed a population greater than 100 people. The town became fully abandoned in 1991 when the last of its residents headed for greener pastures, and what happened next was truly remarkable…

The Germans arrive

In 2001, having sat abandoned and mouldering for the better part of a decade, the ghost town was bought by a group of artists and friends from Frankfurt, Germany. “One of my friends drove by it in 1999, so we pooled our money and bought the town,” Alexander Bardorff, one of the town’s owners, told  Texas Monthly  of the group’s unusual purchase. Just two years later, the gang had scraped together the necessary funds to set about creating their own bohemia.

Room for friends

When the group bought the 10-acre property, it comprised a few houses and outbuildings, as well as a former motel, a grocery store and post office, a former gas station and a restaurant. The entire layout was ideally suited for the friends to have their own spaces – a private, rustic cottage where they could work on their respective projects – as well as larger spaces that could be adapted for communal purposes.

A lot of renovations

While the Frankfurters refused to disclose how much they initially paid for the town, the property certainly needed a substantial investment to make it habitable again. The group dug new wells, refurbished the remaining buildings with new roofs and windows, and even installed a bathhouse – pictured here with numerous shower stalls and a large communal sink - to accommodate for the lack of facilities in the cottages. 

A bohemian paradise

After some much-needed TLC, Lobo became a bohemian mecca, the perfect place for the group of artists to ‘get away from it all.’ For nearly 20 years, the German friendship group used the patched-up town to host a variety of music and film festivals, inviting artists from all over the world to come and stay. This picture from the property’s heyday shows the gang making the most of the pool, the perfect community watering hole in the West Texas heat.

The artists' enclave

For the group of artistic ex-pats, the remote town was a dream come true – the perfect place to escape the world, enjoy each other’s company and simply create. Many of the commune’s common spaces are still intact, including this rec room with its large pool table, kitchen and bar space, suggesting that the town is just waiting to welcome the next generation of reclusive artists.

Constant upkeep

However, Lobo needed almost constant upkeep, and since nobody lived on the property year-round, the Frankfurters were faced with an uphill battle to keep the town operable. “You come back after a year and things have been destroyed, and then you have to start over again,” Bardorff explained.

A landlord's nightmare

This, coupled with the constant fear of running out of water familiar to all Texans, meant that Lobo was not quite as idyllic in reality as it might appear on paper. As maintenance fees and drought anxieties mounted, the friends’ energy began to flag, and the property that had once been an artist’s dream began to slowly devolve into a landlord’s nightmare.

Cutting ties

With Lobo rapidly nearing its 17th birthday, the German cohort, most of whom have returned home to Frankfurt, have finally decided to cut ties with the town and have placed it back on the market for just $100,000 (£80.2k). The town’s buildings have been stripped to the studs and now sit largely empty and unfurnished in preparation for the sale.

Looking for the next generation

However, while the group may be ready to sell, they aren’t willing to part ways with the beloved property to just anyone. "We’re hoping to find a buyer with lots of energy, endurance, motivation and an interesting vision for Lobo’s future," Bardorff told Narcity .

All about the vision

"We will consider all offers, taking into account not only the sales price but also the buyer’s vision." With so much history and potential, “we don’t want to sell Lobo just to someone for the water rights, or as grazing land,” Bardorff emphasised.

Not looking for profit

Indeed, the dream of the bohemian paradise once created appears to be dying hard with Bardorff in particular, which explains, at least in part, the low list price. “We are not just trying to make a profit,” he told Texas Monthly , an unusual assertion from any real estate owner. “We would like to find a group of people that want to do something interesting out there. Not necessarily what we did, but some idea.”

Come visit Lobo!

In an effort to attract the right kind of buyer, the friend group is hosting one last hurrah at Lobo on Memorial Day Weekend, and have encouraged potential buyers and curious parties alike to come and experience all that the town has to offer. “They can camp for free. They can use the bathhouse. Just enjoy being out in the desert, enjoy the atmosphere, enjoy the solitude,” Bardorff explained.

'Keep the lonely places lonely'

And, while it could definitely use another round of TLC, it's not hard to see through the dust to the property’s tremendous potential. “This place is not for everyone, for sure," the listing reads. "But campfire under the stars, isolation but still within a 20-minute highway drive to a grocery store, gas stations, and a McDonald's, this place is way out there and only for the 'way out there.'"

It could be yours...

So, if you’re in the market for your very own Texas ghost town, a place to retreat from the world or establish an international artists’ colony, look no further than Lobo. Rich with history and packed with potential, this dusty old town is just waiting for someone to breathe new life into its buildings!

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Buy a Texas ghost town for $100,000

Owners of 10-acre Lobo, Texas, looking for right buyer who appreciates its history

More than 70 people descended on Lobo, Texas, recently for the opportunity to own a ghost town for $100,000.

Alexander Bardoff, who bought Lobo with a group of friends for $20,000 in 2001, is seeking a buyer for the ghost town, provided the buyer appreciates its history, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“It’s difficult for me to let go,” Bardorff told the outlet. “To some of the potential buyers, I say, ‘It’s like Lobo is my baby or our baby and we want to find new good parents.’”

Prospective buyers presented a wide range of ideas for Lobo’s future, including a kangaroo farm, a nudist colony, and an escape-room-style attraction where people escape from the town, not just a room.

Bardoff and two other buyers will make the decision of who the winning bidder will be, but Bardoff is the one who met potential buyers in person.

“Do you respect what I call the soul of Lobo?” Bardorff told the WSJ. “You can have a campground anywhere.”

Lobo’s history dates back to the mid-19th century, when it served as a stopover on the mail route from San Antonio to San Diego. Over time, the town grew, but after its last resident departed in 1991, Lobo remained empty until Bardorff and his friends transformed it into an artistic hub, hosting art installations, film festivals, and musical performances.

The town is composed of 10 acres and has an empty swimming pool as well as a motel, grocery store and post office, all of which are defunct, as well as vacant houses. 

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For many potential buyers, Lobo represents a unique opportunity to create an artistic community or some other unconventional venture. 

One musician envisions desert-inspired art and music as the town’s focus, while others contemplate building a super-powerful radio tower or establishing sustainable agriculture and rental properties. Lobo’s serene desert landscape has a transformative effect, prompting visitors to appreciate the slower pace of life and the opportunity to own a piece of history.

“Just being out here it kind of slows down time,” prospective buyer Andrea Alvarez told the outlet.

The deadline to bid on the town is June 24.

It’s not the only ghost town to have hit the market, but it is one of the least expensive.

There’s one in Arizona that comes complete with a refurbished general store that’s on sale for $1.1 million . A cannabis company recently received $2.5 million from an adult circus for its ghost town. 

And, more recently, a secretive company with the nondescript moniker Ecology Mountain Holdings bought a California ghost town for $22.5 million, SFGate reported. 

— Ted Glanzer