Newby? Is there government homesteading land out there?

OneWheelBiting · #1 11/01/05, 07:08 AM

Me and my wife have been running this question around for months. We got 150 acres we want to leave in timber and get a new place. Low purchase costs would be nice or no purchase price. Are there any plans, programs out there? Going Solar for power should we move out of our city home....sort of why our current property wont work to well....north side of the hill. Any ideas email, post, whatever...let us know.

Thanks,
Newby

stanb999 · #2 11/01/05, 07:31 AM

Sorry, The last large size "free land" Ended in the 80's. That was in AK.
You can still get free land in AK. But it's a hunting camp not a real homestead. Also you must be a resident of Alaska for 2 years before you can apply.

Also their is the Desert Reclaim ACT.....But this can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to meet the development requirements. But the land is tecnically free.

If you look by the areas noted above you could probably buy land cheaper and with less hassel than getting it "free" for the government.

If your up for emigrating to Canada...Hard to quilify and you need lots of cash. You can get 200 glorious Acres of Canadian Wilderness for free if you clear the land and start farming. But this costs money and their are time limits involved. But once again the land is "free".

rambler · #3 11/01/05, 07:33 AM

There is no free lunch.

There are old homesteading & mining claim & so forth reminants of laws that are in the grey area out there. But if you chase them down for years, you will discover that you spent more in time & money on the fees, qualifications, permits, and hoop-jumping than if you had just bought a property you want & started the life you wanted. Plus those 'free' lands are certainly not prime land, they will have some major flaws that make them undesirable or impossible to live on.

Put your energy into getting the property that suits you. You have a 100 acre nestegg, use that as a downpayment on what will better suit your needs.

--->Paul

OneWheelBiting · #4 11/01/05, 07:43 AM

ok maybe free is the wrong idea/statement. How about abanded land? Under 500 a acre? ROW type property. Something a realtor wouldn't list due to the lack of easy to sale or small buyers market on said property?

Dylan · #5 11/01/05, 07:49 AM

My experience comes from realty and not homesteading per se, but when you are looking for land a realtor didn't list, it didn't list for a reason... and realtors don't go around turning down listings! Get yourself a realtor (it doesn't cost you if you are the buyer), and find a listing that looks OK but with high "days on market" or multiple relistings. Go in the middle of August or November (low periods, generally), and drop a lowball on them. If they counter-offer, see what you are working with. If they poo-poo, LOTS of other fish in the sea... trust me!

Love,

Dylan

OneWheelBiting · #6 11/01/05, 07:56 AM

Dylan,

Not my first rodeo...but finding these properties I know are out there has been beyond a chore. We log full time and I cut timber off land found cheap by other people thru the good old boy network in eastern KY. As luck would have it my membership expired when I moved out to Frankfort to set up a office/log yard. By the time I hear of a property that would have worked i am in the middle of signing the contract to log it and the owners seem to let out the pruchase price or how the deal came about. The MLS for the area I am looking in is lbar.com and the fee is so high there that realtor sometimes keep fixed rate listing to their offices and these might be in tiny towns I know nothing of or that the town paper never comes out my way often enough to catch the deals.

Thanks,
Keith

Dylan · #7 11/01/05, 08:17 AM

As the Chinese here in Hong Kong say, "aiyaa!" I see where you are coming from. No fun there...

Love,

Dylan

**Ross** · #8 11/01/05, 10:30 AM

Rose I think Stan is thinking of the Peace River area of Alberta, and I think (though it's worth checking into) that program has ended. I'll bet the land could be had very very cheap up there though.

kitaye · #9 11/01/05, 10:33 AM

I'd like more info on the free Canada land if you have a link. When I immigrated here I was told that program went out in the 70's. All the big lots are owned by cattle ranchers. The crown owns alot of wetlands/ woodlots but those aren't available except for "management" uses only..i.e. you can manage their woods for them but it is still Crown Land.

Quote:

Originally Posted by stanb999

Sorry, The last large size "free land" Ended in the 80's. That was in AK.
You can still get free land in AK. But it's a hunting camp not a real homestead. Also you must be a resident of Alaska for 2 years before you can apply.

Also their is the Desert Reclaim ACT.....But this can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to meet the development requirements. But the land is tecnically free.

If you look by the areas noted above you could probably buy land cheaper and with less hassel than getting it "free" for the government.

If your up for emigrating to Canada...Hard to quilify and you need lots of cash. You can get 200 glorious Acres of Canadian Wilderness for free if you clear the land and start farming. But this costs money and their are time limits involved. But once again the land is "free".

rambler · #10 11/01/05, 11:21 AM

As an investment ROW land can be something.

But, often there are very bitter feelings towards the way a ROW was handled, & it can make for fridgid neighbors who feel the land should have been returned to them, etc. I'd kinda scope things out beofre looking at cheap ROW land for living on.

--->Paul

tmeek1976 · #11 11/04/05, 07:55 AM

Not sure if this is quite what the original poster is looking for, but thought it could be of interest to someone out there.

http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/nsf/FAQ/freeland.html