Oh give me land, lots of land....

(How we found rural property)

For those of us that are stuck in the “big city” harboring dreams of moving to a rural area, finding the right piece of property can be overwhelming.  We started as most of you have done by vigilantly watching the web sites of real estate agents in our chosen area.  Oh, we had done our homework (or so we thought) by getting maps, and more maps, and even more maps!  Topographical, geographical and of course road maps were piled high on the desk.  Brochures from every real estate agent, tourist trap, and city hall were the next dust collectors to gain space in our ever growing research pile. Every vacation was an adventure into the backwoods.  No pavement for us!  We talked to the locals, shared dreams with other tourists, and dreaded when each trip ended.

Our first purchase seemed like a dream come true.  On-line, a company will sell you a parcel of land, no questions asked, all paperwork via email and post.  And the best part is if you don’t like the land when you do finally see it, they will gladly exchange it for any other piece of land that they have available.  How could you go wrong?  Well…… here are our thoughts on why the majority of the time this does not work out.  Now, don’t get us wrong, if it hadn’t been for that first purchase, we would have never found the land that we now own.  We learned from this transaction, and knowledge is valuable.  But we are getting ahead of ourselves.

We bought the property on a contract basis.  Made the monthly payments and felt like we were the luckiest people on earth.  A few months after the purchase, we promptly gathered our luggage, hopped into the car and with nervous stomachs, set off for our first view of the land.  We were not disappointed, we were ecstatic!  We now had our very own piece of the Ozarks.  Eat your heart out city folks!  We were doing it, completing the first step to getting out of the rat race.  We reveled in the fallen leaves, splashed playfully in the trickling stream, climbed over rocks and glades, drank in the star filled sky at night, and gazed in awe at the hills and valleys.  HEAVEN

Oh, there were a few items that were not quite right.  When faced with the true topography of the land it was apparent that one parcel was not going to work.  Thank goodness we had purchased adjoining parcels.  But wait…. easements?  You mean we can’t build across the line?  Problem numero ono!  Restrictions or more often called covens placed restrictions on the foundation type, size of building and how long you had to complete the building.  How would we ever get done in time living long distance? 

About now you should be saying to yourself, didn’t they know all this when they signed the contract?  Yep, we sure did!  But blinded by the wonder of instant ownership we conveniently brushed these things off.  However, we happily returned back to the city to start working on phase 2 of our plan.  Did I forget to mention that the ticks that we transported home were sent humanely back via UPS?

However, a few months later we began to realize that maybe we hadn’t been quite so smart.  Our land was costing us two or three times the price per acre that other parcels were advertised for.  Put that together with the building restrictions and we started having second thoughts.  We began to watch the company's site more often.  We watched the other parcels.  Over and over the same properties would come back on the market and then be resold.  Remember, if at any time you are not happy with your purchase, you can always exchange the property for another.  But in our opinion, we had grabbed up the best of the bunch.  How would any other property compare?  None of the other properties that were available for exchange were to our liking.  So like many others our only option was to make arrangements and cancel the contract.  Lesson learned!  In case you were having some ill feeling about the company, DON'T.  On the contrary, we wish we had thought of the idea first!  There is a market for land purchase in this manner.  It is right for some, but not for all.  If you are looking for a no mortgage hassle, no closing cost, no title issues purchase, this is the way to go.  You can quickly, simply, and immediately satisfy that impulse to own land.

We were not to be deterred from our goal.  Again we began hours and hours of research on the internet.  We eventually turned up the most beautiful piece of property anyone could hope for.  We were very fortunate that this property had just been placed for sale.  No one else had gotten word yet.  Not even the adjoining neighbors.  Into the car we jumped for another nervous ride to the country.  But what we found took our breath away.  It was three times the acreage, bordered the take line, reliable access, and to our welcome surprise neighbors that were as friendly as anyone could hope for.  We contacted the realtor immediately and gobbled it up before the dust settled! 

Now of course nothing is perfect.  And as you will see, a few minor areas need to be cleaned up.  A small site on this land had been, in years past, used by the locals to discard unwanted items.  But not all trash is garbage!  Our favorite site on the property is the discarded ’56 Chevy.  It is the home of our favorite “critter”, Mr. Chevy Dillo.  If he is not so elusive in the future we will proudly display his picture for all to enjoy!  Photos of our property are located on our photo album page.  We will update these as new ones arrive.

Ozarkguysgal

 

Two books that have been highly recommended by

other homesteaders and rural property owners:

(click on the picture)