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All Animals Included! Buy Your Own Texas Zoo for M

Ask Matt Damon. Or perhaps don’t.

Either way, it takes a distinct soul to buy a zoo. One man in Texas hopes to find that special someone who’s willing to take over his popular, 80-acre zoo south of Houston. The price for this animal attraction? Just $7 million.

Clint Wolston spent 30 years building the Bayou Wildlife Zoo outside Alvin, TX. Today, his zoo employs 10 people, who are in charge of taking care of 500 animals and guiding roughly 90,000 visitors a year on tram tours to see and feed the animals.

For the entrepreneurial-minded, know this: The zoo rakes in about $1 million in annual sales and runs at a more than 30% profit margin, according to listing agent Carolyn Spencer.

Wolston, 80, is selling the zoo so he can retire. Several potential buyers have stepped forward, but all have struggled to put together traditional financing for the property. Wolston says he wants the next buyer to keep the animals safe, and ideally to continue operating the zoo as a public attraction.

Virtually everything on site today is included in the purchase price. A buyer will acquire all 500 animals and a 10,800-square-foot main building, which includes its own apartment.

There’s also a covered picnic area for 400 people, 16 barns, a souvenir shop, sales office, six restrooms, a fleet of Jeeps, and seven trams. To maintain the 80-acre spread, a buyer will also become owner of a bulldozer, grader, backhoe, tractor, trailers, fencing, and other ranch equipment.

The property features two miles of trails, 15 lakes and ponds, native trees, and 3,500 feet of waterfront on Dickinson Bayou. The property is between Houston and Galveston, near Interstate 45, the main highway connecting the two cities.

The zoo is currently home to giraffes (including a newborn!), zebras, a zonkey, a white rhino, ostriches, alligators, kangaroos, and ring-tailed lemurs, among others. If you’re hungering for more, know that feeding the animals costs about $6,000 a month. It’s the price of doing business when you buy a zoo.

• For more photos and details, check out the full listing.
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The post All Animals Included! Buy Your Own Texas Zoo for $7M appeared first on Real Estate News & Advice | realtor.com®.

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