If you are going to homestead, the first thing you need is land. You really don't need a lot of land, but you need to be realistic about what you are you can do with a small plot. Even a small plot of land will grow a very nice garden for vegetables and herbs. A few chickens do not require a lot of room. However, cattle and other grazing animals require much more acreage.
So lets say that you have decided how much land you want and how much you can afford. You are ready to look for land. Do you know what to look for? Do you know if your land will have water? Do you know what an easement is?
This article from Mother Earth News addresses some of the questions you need to be asking when you are looking for land. If you are not careful, your dreams of the perfect homestead can quickly turn into a nightmare.
Advice When Buying Land
Suppose, as you eagerly scan the
classified real estate listings, you suddenly spot an ad that reads:
"Forty acres, year-round creek, part wooded, part cleared, some
marketable timber, south-facing slopes, $26,000, low down, low
monthly payments." In such a case, it'd be quite natural to
assume you'd found the buy of the decade.
So let's say you decide to take a look
at the place profiled in that advertisement . . . and it turns out to
be even better than you'd dreamed. Huge trees tower overhead, like a
great green cathedral. You follow the creek downstream to find that
it opens into a gorgeous meadow. Your heart is taken, and you're
already starting to plan where you'll put the house and barn. This is
the place, and—better yet—the price is right!
At this point, the owner or
agent—seeing that you're sold on the parcel (after all, you've been
just too excited to play "uninterested buyer" games)—asks
you for either earnest money or a down payment. Well, you know the
property is what you want, and you also figure that someone else is
sure to buy it if you don't . . . so you prepare to shell out a big
portion of your savings.
But wait . . . before you put up cash
that you may not be able to recover later, let's examine the pitfalls
possible in buying land—any piece of real estate, especially
undeveloped land.
Do You Have Road Access?
It's impossible to overemphasize how
terribly important access rights are. Be certain beyond the shadow of
a doubt that permanent, legal, transferable access is specified in
the deed. Never buy any piece of property without it.
I recently met a couple who'd bought a
lovely place and built a house on it, acting on a neighbor's
assurances that he had no objections to their using his road to get
to their property. Later, though, they had a minor disagreement with
that fellow, and he promptly blocked the road. At that point, they
started walking in and out across a bordering piece of government
land . . . but were soon informed by the agency in charge that they'd
better cease and desist or they'd be hauled into court on trespassing
charges.
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