Bates Sanders Swan Land Company now moves into its 42nd year of providing unparalleled personal service and remarkable performance in closing transactions. In combination, five associates bring over 80 years of successful experience to the table for their valued clients and fellow real estate professionals – a rare pool of knowledge and integrity to draw upon for those seeking only the Best in the West.
C. PATRICK BATES has specialized in marketing and acquiring premier properties for select clients throughout the Rocky Mountain West for over four decades. Since 1970 his practice has been based entirely on referral and repeat business.
In 1974 he sold the Deseret Livestock Ranch – the largest block of contiguous land in the Rocky Mountains containing 202,000 deeded acres to an investor from Hong Kong – and it has been non-stop ever since.
Speaking of repeat business, Pat sold the Deseret Livestock Ranch again in 1983.
He has earned a reputation for unquestioned personal and professional integrity, providing genuine personal concern for clients, seeking always to understand their singular goals and motives. Attorneys, accountants and other brokers appreciate his attention to detail and comprehensive knowledge of land and water values throughout the Mountain States. He is a Licensed Broker in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Nebraska and Saskatchewan, Canada.
Pat played college baseball as a catcher at Brigham Young University and spent three seasons in the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league organization before settling into the real estate business in 1967. While fly-fishing is a passion, he mostly enjoys creating the most informative and attractive property offering brochures in the West and serving clients who become treasured friends.
In January 2010, Bates Sanders Swan Land Company was chosen by the Lane Family from Chicago to market the iconic Bell Ranch in Northeastern New Mexico. By August, Pat closed the sale of this historic 290,000-acre contiguous and all-deeded ranching empire.
SAM R. SANDERS joined Patrick Bates in 1990 after several successful years brokering high-end residential properties in the Salt Lake Valley. His attention to detail and personal interest in his clients are unsurpassed in the real estate business.
He is a graduate of the University of Colorado with a degree in business. His family operated beautiful, successful ranches in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and Oregon for almost 30 years.
Sam possesses great ability to focus on reality and one of the most pleasant personalities in the ranch brokerage fraternity. His knowledge of how to make transactions work for his clients is truly uncanny. Sam is an Associate Broker with the Company and is licensed in Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.
MICHAEL S. SWAN was raised on his family’s cattle ranch located on the Jefferson River north of Twin Bridges, Montana. He was on the track team during his undergraduate years at Montana State University and then obtained a master’s degree in sports administration at Idaho State University.
This led Mike into many successful years, from 1990 through 2001, as Assistant Athletic Director at the Air Force Academy, then as Director of Athletics at Montana State University-Billings and finally as Director of Athletics at Humboldt State University. Their passion for the mountains and family pulled Mike and his wife, Nancy, back to Montana.
In December 2001, after years of looking for the right individual, Patrick Bates invited this remarkable young man to join his company in opening the Bozeman Office. Mike’s strong ranching background, marketing and sales experience, and tireless work ethic proved to be an ideal fit for the endeavor. His extraordinary desire to first serve and then befriend sellers and buyers of high quality ranch, farm and recreational properties combined with impeccable integrity have provided him a great career handling premier properties and complex transactions.
He has become one of the most trusted and capable land brokers in the Rocky Mountain real estate arena. As a Partner of Bates Sanders Swan Land Company, Mike manages the Bozeman Office and is licensed as a Broker in Montana and Nebraska. Mike and Nancy and their two children live outside of Bozeman.
DAVID A. PACKER was raised working on his grandfather’s ranch in McKinnon, Wyoming. Those years of clearing sagebrush, calving, branding, irrigating and haying made a lasting imprint.
He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electronics from Brigham Young University and spent 22 years as an engineer and senior manager in the aerospace industry. This was followed by four years as president of a medical technology company.
He has served on numerous city, county and state boards, including a city council and two irrigation company boards. Dave has years of experience serving in trusted fiduciary positions and enjoys a reputation for impeccable integrity. He has never strayed far from his roots and lives on a small farm in Kaysville, Utah.
Through the years he has purchased, developed and sold real estate. Well-seasoned, Dave joined the Company in 2006, bringing a unique blend of experience in ranching, real estate, property development, government, finance and technology. His attention to detail, coupled with an inherent love of land and natural resources, position Dave Packer to serve his clients – both buyers and sellers – most successfully in future years. He is a Licensed Associate Broker in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming.
LEO J. LANE comes from a fourth generation Gallatin Valley ranching family based near Three Forks, Montana. After a successful interscholastic football career, he attended North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton playing college football and beginning his studies in AgBusiness.
Drawn back to the mountains and the family ranch, Leo enrolled at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana continuing studies in AgBusiness before joining his father, Leo Lane, Sr., in the cattle-trading business. Leo has performed as a well-respected and successful cattle buyer across Montana for the past 25 years and will continue to do so.
His roots in ranching and the cattle business, unwavering integrity, breadth of knowledge in land and natural resource issues, and charismatic personality will serve clients well as he begins to handle quality ranches, farms and recreational properties throughout the Big Sky State. Leo operates out of the Bozeman Office and is a Licensed Agent in Montana.
DAVID A. LOWRY has operated and owned working and recreational ranches in Colorado, Montana and Canada. As an avid hunter and angler, for the past 30 years he has guided and operated a successful outfitting service providing elk and deer hunting trips. He has managed equestrian programs as well as owned a guest lodge/ranch, providing quality recreational opportunities for clients.
David began his real estate career in 1999 selling high-end resort properties in Colorado. He then transitioned into representing buyers and sellers of farms, ranches and recreational properties. He has been active in the Montana ranch and recreational real estate market representing both buyers and sellers since 2004.
His focus on serving clients and his extensive background in working ranches and recreational properties contributes significantly to Bates Sanders Swan Land Company’s continuing strong presence and sterling reputation in land brokerage. David is in the Bozeman Office and is a Licensed Agent in Montana and Colorado.
