homesteading rights??

kath2003 · #1 04/18/05, 07:19 PM

Can anyone tell me if there is anywhere in the United States that allows homesteading rights anymore?
If so,where,and how does it work. Thanks so much,

Kathy

**Terri** · #2 04/18/05, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kath2003

Can anyone tell me if there is anywhere in the United States that allows homesteading rights anymore?
If so,where,and how does it work. Thanks so much,

Kathy

No.

On the other hand, since you live in WESTERN NY instead of EASTERN NY.......

Bet you can do it without the governments help....

I am serious.

I am also to tired tonight to talk about it much and make any sense, but I will say a little.

I used to live in a studio aparrtment. I had a bedroom and a large room that was living room/ kitchen combined. IF you had acess to logs, I bet you could do something similar. Add a wood burning stove and I bet it would work for you.

And, there might be work available if things turned out more expensive than you thought.

True, there will be the tax man to pay, but every US citizen must do the same. You will need SOME money anyways, and I bet the payments on an isolated spot with a "hunting cabin" and an outhouse would not be too high.

Of course, paychecks would be small, too, *IF* you decided you must work.

Perhaps something you might sell? Even the origional homesteaders all tried to have a cash crop. When you look at an out of the way place, see what markets are out there. IS there an auction house? I bet you could transport a few hogs with a pick up with sides, or a small trailer. If you fed home-raised corn with excess milk and eggs, the profit should be good.

Of course, the labor would ALSO be high, but that is life.

**Terri** · #3 04/18/05, 07:58 PM

This is interesting, though I have no idea where in NY it is.
http://www.unitedcountry.com/ucforms/uconline/uconline/SearchNS/Search_View_Selected_Property.asp?SID=11665399&Lcn t=&Action=Edit&Item=525676&Page=1&Office='31048'

kath2003 · #4 04/19/05, 10:17 AM

I don't want to do it,at a party the other night there was a big discussion about it!I said there is no where in this country where you can just go set up a home on some land and after a few years it becomes yours! This isn't 1802.

Freeholder · #5 04/19/05, 10:47 AM

Actually, the Homesteading Act was in force, and in use, until the mid-1970's. I don't remember the exact year that it was taken out of use, but I think about 1972 or 1974. Just a little bit too soon for me to take up a homestead in Alaska, as my parents did when I was a baby.

Alaska still offers some remote parcels for 'proving up', similar to the Homestead Act, but you do have to pay something for them also. They aren't free land.

And there are some small towns in Kansas that have been offering free land to people who will live on it, but it's only small lots, and there are a lot of strings attached.

Kathleen

LisaInN.Idaho · #6 04/19/05, 11:27 AM

There is an interesting book, "Arctic Homestead" written by Norma Cobb, about her family's experiences as the very last homesteaders in Alaska in the 1970's.

Wolf mom · #7 04/19/05, 01:29 PM

Arizona has what is called homestead laws. Basically, the way I understand it, is if you file papers with the state, you are protected against the first $100,000.00 in liens against your property. That doen not mean everything is free - you still have to pay a mortgage etc. This is only for going bankrupt. By the way, I understand the new bankruptsy (sp?) laws are very harsh on single Mom's. :waa:

BamaSuzy · #8 04/19/05, 01:32 PM

If you mean homesteading where you go and stake out a piece of property and just live on it for a few years and then it's yours, there is no place left in the United States that you can still do that....

Many of us call ourselves "homesteaders" because we try to live as self-sufficiently as possible and do a lot of things the old ways.....but believe me, we pay dearly on our mortgage....getting mortgage free is one of our biggest goals but that means PAYING it off, not getting anything given to us....

Christiaan · #9 04/20/05, 02:37 AM

Homesteading under the Homestead Act never was free. It was enacted during
the civil war to get people living along the railroads that were spreading westward.
The cost after proving up your allotment was generally $5 / acre and up, depending on whether it was possible to actually make a living on the land. Here in Western Washington unfarmable land was homesteaded out and then sold to the lumber companies, usually within six months. It was an early version of the Bush tax break for the filthy rich.