Reddit reviews Finding & Buying Your Place in the Country (Finding and Buying your Place in the Country)
We found 8 Reddit comments about Finding & Buying Your Place in the Country (Finding and Buying your Place in the Country). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
There's really no such thing as a "best state" for homesteading. There's just too many factors involved, some of which work against each other, and there's personal preferences also. What's perfect for one person would suck for another. Personally I think most states east of the Mississippi will work just fine--just avoid places with a whole lot of local laws and codes and regulations that will make your life real hard.
And climate is only one small factor among many that you need to consider. Cost of the land? How much can you afford? How will you make a living? Commute to work? How's the local economy? The local government and regulations and fees?
The viability of homesteading can vary a lot not just within a state but also within a single county, or even between adjacent parcels, due to deed restrictions and local conditions such as one property is on a flood plains and the adjacent one isn't. Stuff like that.
Take your time researching all this. No need to hurry. Laws are going to matter, so will land and living costs, and your ability to generate sufficient income in a given area.
I suggest you start with your library and with amazon, look into books on homesteading and on how to find and buy a place in the country.
Two books I particularly like:
How to Find and Buy Your Place in the Country.
and
Country Property Dirt Cheap
"Place" is extremely thorough and detailed, will help you avoid a lot of pitfalls. I found it an overwhelming and somewhat discouraging read, t hough--but it has important information I found in no other book.
"Dirt Cheap" is my favorite of all the "how to move to the country" books. It's an autobiography of a guy who did it, on not a whole lot of money. Talks a lot about his journey, the things he tried, what worked for him what didn't. Fantastic tips. Lots of adventures and surprises--and it left me feeling very heartened and encouraged. He found his place and loves it. He made me feel I could do it too.
And I did. Finally got out of the city for good just a year ago. I researched it for years before I found and got my little piece of paradise. It feels real good.
I used these two books: Finding & Buying Your Place in the Country and How to Be a Dirt-Smart Buyer of Country Property
The first one was better written and had good information. Both are long and worth reading.
There's a book called "Finding and Buying Your Place in the Country" that has a lot of good tips. Here's an Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Buying-Your-Place-Country/dp/0793141095
You should make sure the land has year round water. You'd want to physically visit the property in the driest parts of the year (typically August/September) to see what the flow is and determine if that flow will meet your needs. Remember, you don't just want water, you want water that will meet your needs.
For other considerations (which there are a metric shit ton of), you should really get this book, Finding & Buying Your Place in the Country
The latest edition is the 5th edition. You'd want this one.
The best place for pricing is probably ebay where there are currently two for $45 with free shipping.
Land in Indiana is dirt cheap and good farmland. You'll want to have a well drilled if there's not one already, and set it up with an old-fashioned windmill pump. Michigan is also very price-depressed, but the winters are harder. Central and northern Indiana is the flat stuff that's easy to farm.
Check out this five-star book and surf around a few websites to get a feel for pricing.
http://www.landandfarm.com/search/Indiana-land-for-sale/
http://www.landandfarm.com/property/87_Acres_in_Warrick_County_Indiana-1334041/
I would really like to reccommed the book linked here: book. I used this book to select my country property and used the sample contracts to make my own contract. We bought our country property and house without a buyers or sellers real estate agent. I actually found our dream place by stopping to ask for directions to a listing. I visited with the 90 year old farmer and he said he was interested in selling his place, but had just never got around to listing it yet. The title company I hired to do the title work was the only expense and they covered the closing for us. I figured I saved thousands in commissions and bought into equity. The farmer said he wanted a family to love the land as he did, and his kids were not interested in country living. He gave me his price, and when the appraisal exceeded his price by 30%, he said he was still happy with his asking price, as we were "the right family" for the land.
This book covered so many things I hadn't considered when looking to country properties (easements, well flow rates, zoning, etc.) it's really a good start to getting your homestead going.
Good luck!
www.amazon.com/Finding-Buying-Your-Place-Country/dp/0793141095 Finding and Buying Your Place in the Country by Les and Carol Scher. Fantastic reference.