mine reclaimed land

[okiemom]

Has anyone bought land that was coal mined and then mostly reclaimed?Gov't is still slated to do finishing work in the future. I understand it can't be built on ( subdivision, tract homes...etc.) for 30 yrs. Soil must have a min. compaction rate. I guess for foundation shifting and cracking. I just want ag. land to run animals.

The price of the land is good. I am just wondering if it would be worth a second look. Land has electric and water . I figure the water in the pit might be higher in sulpher but still drinkable for cows. Road frontage on 2 sides. 30 ac. pond from a pit. Currently being lived on and has cattle on it. it is 900.ac. w/ newer mobile on it. That is a great price as land is $1200+ an ac cattle land can be 2,000+. People are buying it for development potential. The land does need some cosmetic work in places. A large buldozer would work wonders. We want it for a homestead only and not to ever develope. I understand it might keep resale lower. We want a large parcel of land and would not sell if possible. we both want as much ac. as possible for the least amount. Not if it would be a nightmare.

Anything I should ask? I am wondering about heavy meatals and sulfur deposits. What other nasties could be a problem? Soil sam;ples might be a good idea. Water from a drilled well might be unusable but most water in Ok. from well is bad. too many oil wells. water is salty or too high in sulpher.

I am trying to brainstorm before getting my hopes up. I am going to see if there is any more info on the state website. Ideas would be great. Even if it is to say RUN AWAY. Thanks all. Katharine

[Michael W. Smith]

If it is reasonably priced, I would say go for it. Land that was stripped will eventually grow again. From the sounds of it, an added bonus is somebody is already living there. My main concern would be drinking water for yourself. If a well is already there providing good drinking water (or a well drilled that must have the water treated making it ok for drinking) already exists, I don't see anything holding you back.

Once you buy it, you can make your homestead out of it, and plant trees where the cattle won't be running. 50 years from now, people driving by won't even know it was ever stripped.

However, I would certainly stop by and visit. Walk around the land, are there wet spots, places where red water is running, etc? Do not buy without visiting it and walking around to see any problem areas not mentioned.

[Ravenlost]

My Daddy had four acres of his land stripped for coal and you can't tell it now. The acreage is a different shape (of course) but it has trees and grass growing on it and two large ponds full of fish. My brother had his mobile home on it before he moved south and I had a mobile home on the "loading pad". Only problem I had was a lot of coal dust and rocks in my garden...but it produced fine.

You probably need to make sure you get the mineral rights with the property purchase.

[drgnldy71]

My only concern would be mine shafts, that's what we have around here. We've had 2 homes in our county that were unknowingly built over the mine tunnels and the tunnels have either collapsed or are slowly sinking. And home owner's insurance doesn't cover anything like that.

[Ravenlost]

I believe that when the land is stripped for coal there are no mine shafts. Underground mining and coal surface mining (stripping) are two different processes so you would probably want to find out which was used on the property.