Finding land

[ABURLEIGH]

What would be a starting point for finding land to start a homestead on.

[fadedpolaris]

What I've been doing is picking the state(s) I want to live it, and check realestate websites/property sales websites for that area. There's usually some kind of search option, and I look for properties with acreage, agricultural properties, undeveloped land, etc.
Some websites even let you search for the specific amount of acreage you want.

[Batt]

You don't say where you're at or where you want to be..so that is where you start. Where do you want to end up at...state, region, and what other criteria? Job, family, taxes, civil authority...Lot of questions, get them all down, then start looking.

[Darren]

As Batt said until you know which factors are important and which ones don't matter to you, you're not ready to search. Searching can be very simple or involve using several means of evaluation and selection depending on your factors.

Because the fifty states are very different in many ways it's important to understand your expectations. Someone going from urban to rural with little previous rural experience can be in for lots of cultural shock.

As an example of gotchas, people have bought rural property, moved here and then found out that they couldn't stay because of drugs or in one case the fact they couldn't afford the fire insurance on a mortgaged house.

The quick and dirty answer is look at the websites that specialize in rural property, farms and ranches. That's an easy google search.

[Mike in Ohio]

Apart from what the others have said I would recommend going to auctions in the area you are interested in. Over time - if you are paying attention - you will start to get a feel for prices and what features are valued at.

Mike

[Wolf mom]

You need to answer many questions before you begin looking.

Family - schools may be a large factor
Do you need to work outside the home?
Is this to be a forever home,a second home?
Is being near family important?
Is being near a good hospital necessary?
How about a town?

After you answer these and many more like it, then go on the property:

Do you want to have a large, sustenance garden? Soil would be important.
Want your own well?
Are you capable of doing what's necessary & have the patience to buy raw land or would one already set up be better for you?
Like snow?
DO you want to make income from the property?

You get my drift - Good luck.

[MichaelK!]

Our search for land started at the public library.

We found a large full-color atlas of our state and wrote down the 4 most important attributes;

1) forested land,
2)low population density,
3)abundant rainfall,
4)less than 1/2 a tank of gas from our home.

We used the demographic maps in the atlas to pinpoint areas of interest meeting our criteria, then shotgunned out cover letters to realtors in those areas. Found our land from a realtor that was referral of a referral of a referral to someone we talked to over the phone.

[big rockpile]

I went with isolated in an area I knew. Thing is many wouldn't do it because it was just plain hard which is why after 17 years we moved got too hard to do.

big rockpile

[farmerted]

if you have a chunk of change look into tax sales. we got 3 acres with a home for 17k. it was a disaster with a bunch of problems, but 8 months later I sit mortgage free.

[Vulpes_vulpes]

The first step for me was to look at my finances and figure out how much land I could afford in my area--at first it wasn't looking like much, so I decided to look for land in the next county over where prices were more attractive. Then I looked at my weekly schedule and determined how much time I had to put into homesteading--this helped determine how much land I needed/could reasonably maintain. I also think it's a good idea to look for something with other agricultural operations around it because it's helpful to have knowledgeable people in proximity, tools you might share, and the possibility of leasing other land if you want to expand.

Good luck!

[big rockpile]

Originally Posted by farmerted

if you have a chunk of change look into tax sales. we got 3 acres with a home for 17k. it was a disaster with a bunch of problems, but 8 months later I sit mortgage free.

Yea but you still have to get Quiet Deed which cost. In Missouri if you don't do this they can come back up to 25 years. All they have to pay is Back Taxes and 10%, don't have to pay for improvements.

Went through this on two places even the place we are living at now.No problem getting the Deed just cost a lot.

big rockpile

[bigjon]

land?people-or lack of?climate?flat land or mountain?make a list and start shopping-LUCK!

[topofmountain]

I started mine by looking at Jim Rawles website Survivalblog.com. Then went to the State I wanted & found something that interested me & made contact. Craigslist is also a source.

[homstdr74]

Originally Posted by ABURLEIGH

What would be a starting point for finding land to start a homestead on.

You've been given a lot of great ideas in the above posts. As was stated, making a list of what you want out of your homesteading experience is important.

As for me, not only would those things be important, but I like to think about the basics, and what is the most basic item of all? Water. To that extent, I'd look at the rainfall in any given area. You need an average rainfall over or around thirty inches a year. Areas that don't have that usually don't get enough rain to recharge a well, so they use ancient groundwater, and a lot of the old aquifers are drying up.

[Terri]

Originally Posted by ABURLEIGH

What would be a starting point for finding land to start a homestead on.

Start on line to price various areas.

Remember that the cheaper land is further from the jobs. And, never buy land you have not seen in person! I have never had a realtor lie to me but what they left out has been impressive! And, those realtors were honest: not everybody is. It is your job to see the land before you buy it!

[farmerDale]

It depends on so many things. IMO: expecting good answers when we have no idea what you mean by homesteading, where you are, where you want to be, what your method of making a living plans are, etc. etc., is asking a lot.

Some want near total seclusion, some want a couple acres with neighbors, some want to grow plants, some wish more to grow animals, or both. I simply find it hard to come up with an answer for such an obscure question.

I guess google in the area you are interested in. We dunno what it is you are really after; different areas need different approaches...

[Waiting Falcon]

Where is your knowledge best.....do you know at all what you want to do? Do you like to garden, work with wood, do you know(or want to know) anything about animals/poultry?
Do you just want to change from living in the city to being away from it all? Are you alone and and want to be more alone? Can you handle being away from conveniences?
Are you willing to learn?

First you need to know what you want to do / can do then start research on what you want and what it will require in work , money, buildings , fences, land type etc.

[simi-steading]

Everyone has different needs and ways..

For my wife and I, we spent about 5 years making weekend trips to different states and different rural areas... We love small towns and checking out new places.. We'd look for small town festivals to go do...

We found an area we liked and then started looking at listings on the internet... We found a place somewhat in the area and state we liked and went and looked.. we liked it, so we bought it..

We didn't have kids to worry about, and we know we can find jobs if we try, and we knew taxes were cheap along with the purchase price...

You're mileage probably will be a lot different.. We were able to be really flexible.. just sharing how we did it..

[farmerted]

Originally Posted by big rockpile

Yea but you still have to get Quiet Deed which cost. In Missouri if you don't do this they can come back up to 25 years. All they have to pay is Back Taxes and 10%, don't have to pay for improvements.

Went through this on two places even the place we are living at now.No problem getting the Deed just cost a lot.

big rockpile

I'm not sure that is how it works here in St Louis county, I have talked to several real estate lawyers about it. Pretty sure it is a county thing not a state thing.

I bet in the Ozarks the taxes are even cheaper than St Louis county.

[ET1 SS]

Our search began by listing our criteria. These will be different for each family.

We wanted to avoid any drought-prone region.
Rural.
Low land prices.
Low taxes.
Low COL.
Radius to university [at the time we had children at home].