What to look for in a homestead?

Absolutely....NJ has turned into hell. Taxes, traffic and the state government screwing with our 2nd ammendment rights has us both fed up. And now our stupid governor has shut down the government because they refuse to raise our sales tax. I cannot wait to get out of here. We're looking to go south, have looked at some stuff in Texas and surrounding states.

Jim..Welcome to the board and you sound like the kind of folks that would be at home in Texas. I think around 40" of annual rainfall helps insure good livestock pasture and crops. I chose a single remaining tract of land surrounded by well established country homes and about two miles from a small, quiet county seat. ET1 SS is right as bad water can spoil an otherwise good homestead. Like you, I wanted to avoid excess local meddling and got good information from the US Census Bureau quick facts for the county I chose. Also a round trip of 50 miles will provide for my big, monthly supply shopping. Remember, even in rolling country, drainage should be examined carefully. Let me know if I can help...Glen

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The more a man travels, acquires wisdom and learns about life, the more likely he is to marry a Country Girl.

A buddy of mine from in the Army was from New Jersey, and he felt the same way. He left the state as soon as he got out of the Army, ending up in North Carolina. He owned a couple of AR15's and as soon as he found out he couldn't bring his AR15's into New Jersey he said he didn't need to live there.

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"I don't want everyone to like me; I should think less of myself if some people did."
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I haven't read all the post but I would agree that the one thing I would look for is plenty of GOOD, clean WATER! Soil can be amended, land/trees can be cut/cleared, barns/buildings/ houses can be built, orchards, vineyards can be planted--But you MUST have good clean water..

Yep, that's the way jersey works. We had to pay $60 and wait almost 3 months in order to get a permit to buy firearms in this state, and that's just rifles and shotguns. For handguns you need to go through another process and get a pistol permit, which is only good for 90 days. And then you can forget about ever carrying it. We have some of the most restrictive laws in the country. Pretty much the only people who can carry guns in this state are off duty cops, armed security guards, and the gang-bangers down in Newark. Heck, we even need a firearms permit to buy a pellet gun in this state.

How much did you plan on spending?

if you have narrowed the choices down to one area, subscribe to the local paper, even if it's only a bi-weekly, and read it all, even the want-ads. this will give you a lot of insight into the kind of community you may be joining, hopefully BEFORE you sign on the dotted line.

pax
t.f.

We haven't really set a budget for the land yet because my fiancee's parents want to sell their house and move down with us. They've said they will buy the land, but we have to pay for our house. The house they will be selling sits on 10 Ac. in northern NJ and was recently appraised at around 600,000 I believe. So far we've been looking around the $200 range as our max.

Okay fine.

You will need to work. Part-time while building a farm, or full-time while doing work on the farm on weekends; for the first few years.

If you dropped it all into an 'income property' [ a diner sitting on 20acres, or quad-plex apartments, or storage units] then you can be working a business while on your homestead.

If you stick to using realtors then consider that the prices on land, houses, and/or businesses will run anywhere from 50% to as much as 100% than the same properties would sale for without realtors.

If you said half invested in mutual funds for building a house later, and half for the land, then you could reasonably start shopping for bare land with 100 acres. [100 acres at $1,000 / acre = $100k]

What I found was that if the land had nothing, like no loose soil, just hard-pan ledge; or it is on the side of a steep incline; or the beaver came in built a lodge and now the property is submerged: then that land will possibly sale for as low as $300/acre. My in-laws bought 105 acres at $350/acre, but a third of it is federal wetland, and at 1/2 mile from the freeway you can hear the trucks rumbling by. So you see it has some major down-sides.

My place on a riverbank cost more.

I feel that you should figure out what area it is that you think that you might like to check out. Then go there, and drive around, talk to the nice folks in the diner. they will know what is for sale. And all the local 'news'. Around here the mill just closed down, so while the locals are upset that the area's big employer is gone, I anticipate that home prices will soon be dropping.

So you see, going to the area and talking to the locals, can help a lot.

Good luck.

Jex, feel your pain, we are stuck in NJ for now, too. I have travelled the country by car once from Calif. to east coast, just a general thought, if you are used to the greenery and ample water supplies of the east coast, you will probably want to stay east of the Mississippi, unless you go to the far northwest. When you get out west, water availability becomes a real issue, also feed and hay can be scarce and/or expensive, if you are going to be having horses.
Good luck, we hope to make our escape in a few more years....

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[COLOR="Blue"]Expect Little - That way you will be seldom disappointed.../COLOR]

The main thing we are looking for with our land is to get away from snooping neighbors. We want to be able to do our own thing without worrying about joe-schmo worrying about our business. Here in NJ, everyone's on top of one another, even whne you own a decent bit of land, you might have a McMansion development right down the road from you. We really want to get away from that. And as RandB was saying, we are looking to stay on the eastern section of the country, maybe the midwest, but we don't want to move to the desert.

Just a bump for more info and ideas. Thanks!

I now own my sixth peice of real estate and here's what I have learned the hard way along the way.

Get to know the neighbors first. My first homestead (80 acres, 4-room house, sauna, privy, granary, pond and stream) was accessed via a section line road (2-track). That was fine with the property owner in front of me. My next neighbor had a horseback riding business. I visited him and said I had no problem with him continuing to trail ride on the established trails through my land to adjoining land. THAT WAS ALL I SAID. Next thing I know the trail rides turned into "cookouts along the trail." Camp fires were not put out properly. Litter was left behind. Anyplace was fine for a toilet. So I told the horseman no more trail rides through my place. So now I was a "BITCH."
Another adjoining neighbor and his friends were avid ATVers who had used my land for riding and partys on the bridge that crossed the stream. I fenced and posted the common line. Next day they took the fence and signs down and drove through, then circled around newly planted red pines until they were tore up. SO, I now fenced with 2x4s attached to 4x4 posts and a row of barbed wire at the top. Thenn came a visit from the sherrif. I was told to take the fence and wire down as "one of those guys could get killed when he came through at night." I refused. Two days later, while I was at work, the fence was dismantled by the horse farmer and the ATVers. The sherrif said there was nothing they could do! NOTE: this neighborhood was also full of "good 'ol boys who had had their way for years and were either related to most of law enforcement or worked there themselves.

Second, Find out if there've been any disputes about your property lines or those adjoining yours. AFTER I bought, I contacted the realtor for the name/address of the neighbor who disputed the line with me. Then he says my place had sold three times previously and the jerk next door had successfuly run off each owner. So now I am paying to have the whole place surveyed again with markers every 100 feet and the corner posts marked with huge steel pipes buried in the ground about 8 feet!!! I'm going to be present at the survey with a team to lay steel fence posts along the line as the survey progresses. This neighbor also trespasses to pick mushrooms and hunt. He has a deer blind built 20 feet from the disputed line that FACES my property. He's from the Detroit area and comes "north" to his "camp" for recreation.

Third, is there a perk test on file? Where I am you must secure a septic permit prior to building. If the ground doesn't perk it will cost more for the septic.

Fourth, check out foreclosures. My second place was bought for $800 in back taxes.

No matter where or what you buy there will be tradeoffs. You need to spend time thinking about what you can live with and without. What's your shhort term/long term plan. A long driveway now may be great but will you want to clear snow or be able to hire it done when you're older? Do you want electric power lines on your land or do you hope the utility company never expands down your way? If it doesn't work out (divorce, loss of job/income, illness, etc.) can you sell the place and recoup your investment?

Just some thoughts to ponder

I may be repeating some stuff here.

My dad always said that land without water isn't worth anything. So, a good well with good water.

Be sure that you own the mineral rights on the property.

Be sure that you see a recent survey and be sure that the survey has been RECORDED, and be sure and get another survey before you close. Do your homework and be sure you know what you are buying.