Buying a small plot of land

[Van-Tramp]

I am looking at buying a few acres of 'recreational land', both to camp on short-term and to call home long-term. Ideally it would include some trees and a stream/lake/river, but I know that is asking a lot for my 5-10k budget. 5+ acres would be nice as well, but I know that too is tough (but possible) on the budget I have. I really have no problems hauling water in, and I can always plant my own trees so my plan is pretty flexible.

I am thinking about the area from I25, I70, I40, I15 (CO, NM, AZ, UT) in the 3000-6000 elevation range to (hopefully) be a year round place.

Anyone have any ideas?

 

[jeanontheroad]

Wishing you the best. Hope you find it. We might be looking for the same thing eventually, but back east in the Smokies, closer to the kids. This trip has spoiled us for Florida. Our budget is a little bigger and we need less land, but it's still not going to be easy.

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Oh, yes, I have an idea. I recently ran across a TV channel that was auctioning land. An acre in FL went for about $5000. A small 3 BR house went for $70,000.

If you start researching exactly where you want to go, what the zoning is and what prices should be, you might get a real deal at auction.

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You can start at: landwatch.com

 

[Hereandthere]

We have 4 undeveloped, mostly chaparral and mesquite acres outside Deming, NM, which we got at a tax auction... well we got 5 1/2 acre parcels that way and then wrote to the owner of the adjacent 3 1/2 acre parcels and bought those from her. Tax auctions are definitely a possibility... The year we bought it, we were in the area and went and looked at quite a few parcels before the auction.

Ebay.com has a lot of cheap land too.

 

[akrvbob]

I bought an acre in Arizona, 30 miles south of the Grand Canyon at 6000 feet for $2500. The hard part is county regulations!! It's rare anymore to find a county where they don't have severe restrictions.
Bob

 

[Van-Tramp]

I remember you mentioning your lot Bob, and I was hoping to pick your brain in Jan about it.

Thanks to the other as well, I am taking notes.

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

I bought AZ property that was deeded and legal. Just couldn't get to it. Goes for anyplace not just AZ, just saying so no one looses their money like I did

 

[wagoneer]

sounds like you need a helicopter for some of this land. I looked in Mid-northern Nevada. I am not quite ready.

 

[DC Fuse]

Van-Tramp, thanks for the thread. It got me looking on CL and i see opportunity. Was planning to move to Arizona years ago. Like you, I want a home base. Water is the issue. Some of that area claims shallow wells at 30'. Other parts of state are 650'.
Red dirt, Pine trees, and rocks would suit me.
Seems that developing a well and it's cost would be the deciding factor for me.
Someone could go all in on a well and the adjoining property would be valuable. Noticed 10 acre minimum for sites on some listings but land was still cheap. Gets me thinking.

 

[jeanontheroad]

In recent weeks, have looked at people's RV'S which were sitting in one place long term, in one case, for 4 years. Unless you are ready to admit to yourself that you will need a big shed and will no longer be a minimalist, don't do it. There's something about having to be able to securely stow everything one owns to go on the road that keeps one's collecting under control. But the minute you spend too much time in one place, you start accumulating stuff. Before you know it, you will either be buried in your clutter or you will need a place to store it all.

 

[highdesertranger]

so very true jean. highdesertranger

 

[66788]

I bought an acre in Arizona, 30 miles south of the Grand Canyon at 6000 feet for $2500. The hard part is county regulations!! It's rare anymore to find a county where they don't have severe restrictions.
Bob

You nailed that one Bob. I was looking at a small rural community called "Bonanza" outside of Klamath Falls, Oregon. 1-6 acres sell for between $3K-12K. The problem there is water. Wells have to be at least 900 feet deep and the water tastes really bad. People would build small homes and cabins and carry water or have it delivered to their locations. Now the county has enacted new ordinances that require a working well with a minimal flow before any construction can proceed. This effectively killed the sale of this land.

Some people still buy it and construct small outbuildings on the land to use as garages or storage and live in their RVs when on the property on weekends, but it's against the law to live in an RV full time.

I would love to find a state where they essentially kept their governmental noses out of my business. If you hear of one, please let me know.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

Unincorporated west virginia. Not even building codes...I've seen people live in shacks with speaker wire running electric and conduit for water pipes. They only make a fuss IF you put in a septic..which is understandable (safe distance from home and neighbor). Even then they won't care unless you have a nosey neighbor or any at all for that matter.

 

[jeanontheroad]

We've thought about near Hohenwald in TN. Thing is, the minute you get a price of land, you start collecting stuff. Stuff that has to be maintained, protected, maybe insured. Stuff that can be lost or damaged or stolen. Stuff that absorbs your thoughts. You are no longer a nimble, free spirit. We are already weighed down enough by having a 32 foot rig.

 

[Wheeldog]

I would love to find a state where they essentially kept their governmental noses out of my business. If you hear of one, please let me know.

Not hard to do that up here in Alaska. I live in an unrestricted subdivision. I just had do have a DEC septic and well. Other than that.....no mandatory building permits or inspections no covenants.

I also have a remote parcel (kinda like a homestead) that I staked back in the 80's. No restrictions there. Both properties are in a Borough and I do have to pay property taxes.

The Glennallen area isn't in a borough......no regulations, no local government no land taxes. I have a friend there. He built a cabin and put in an airstrip on his land.....no permits......no nothing.....he just did it.

The state has deals on remote land. You can check it out........

http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/landsale/

Google "Alaska Remote Land".....you will find all kinds of stuff with no restrictions.