Buying land is intimidating.
Prior to our move to the country, neither my husband or I had ever made that kind of purchase before. We asked all sorts of questions: How does one get water and electricity? Do we really need a fence? How do we know if the price is right?
After months of looking, and a deal falling through, we finally found our land — and learned lots along the way! So if you’re interested in buying land for your homestead, too, here are 10 important things we wish we had known before we got started.
#1 — Size
Our realtor initially encouraged us to take a look at differently sized acreages — the first being 5 acres. Perhaps he thought we’d be overwhelmed by the large size, and decide to think smaller.
If that was his plan, it backfired! 😉
We were surprised at how small 5 acres actually felt to us. So, in the end, we bought 10 acres instead.
On the one hand, 10 acres is a lot of land. We’ve barely touched half of what we own. At times, the upkeep feels overwhelming.
On the other hand, we do have visible neighbors on either side of us. It’s nothing compared to a city home with a tiny backyard, but with a flat property and no trees, we don’t feel as secluded as we thought we would.
My point? If you want to feel way out in the middle of nowhere, you will need either a large acreage, or trees, or hills to create a buffer between you and your neighbors.
#2 — Distance From Amenities
Any rural area is situated at some distance from basic amenities. For most of us, that’s the whole point.
However, keep convenience in mind. For our first year on our homestead, we commuted for everything. Our small town didn’t even have a grocery store. And while the 13 to 40 miles between us and the 2 nearest towns didn’t seem like much originally, it really was once we settled in.
That distance radically changed our lifestyle. With every trip into town, we had to figure out what we needed for the next several weeks. Gone were the days of impromptu trips to the store for forgotten ingredients. We learned to stock up — or do without.
#3 — Fencing
Fortunately, we bought our property already fenced in on 3 sides. Many properties, however, are not. And fencing — even just t-posts and barbed wire — can be expensive. You can do it yourself to cut some costs, but there is a certain amount of skill and know-how involved in stretching fencing.
If you plan on having any livestock, you will probably need some sort of fencing eventually. Consider cost, time, and materials.
#4 — Internet & Cell Phones
Admittedly, I took an internet connection for granted. We had it in the city. Why wouldn’t we have it in the country?
But no, our service provider in the city doesn’t have cable all the way out in the country… In fact, no one does.
So, for now, we are limited to a slow and expensive satellite connection. No more Netflix while folding laundry or listening to Pandora by the hour!
We’ve learned to live with these limitations, although they are a challenge. Even cloudy days, rain, or snowstorms interrupt our internet connection from time to time.
#5 — Restrictions
Are there any easements on the property you’re considering? You need to find out! In fact, you need to find out all of the restrictions up front.
We almost learned this lesson the hard way. We were within days of closing on an acreage when we learned that it had so many government easements there was no space to build a home. Fortunately, we were released from our contract without penalty.
Had we closed on the deal, the land would have been useless to us.
Additionally, the seller stipulated that no mobile homes or temporary housing was allowed. Although this wasn’t a problem for us, I know of many homesteaders who opt to live in stop gap housing before building a permanent home.
Better to find out any restrictions in advance!
#6 — Water & Mineral Rights
Once you sign on the dotted line, who will own the water and mineral rights to the land? You? Or someone else?
We looked at a property for sale with an oil well belonging to the government. We were told to expect regular visits from whomever came to monitor the well. The government maintained the access road, which might have been a perk to some, but for us, the lack of privacy was a deal-breaker.
#7 — Terrain
How much of the land is useable? Does it have a pond? If so, do you really want one? Consider water safety if you have small children.
If it does not have a pond, will you need one if you decide to keep livestock (like cattle)? How much will it cost to have one dug? What will you do with the dirt dug out to create the pond?
Which way does the land slope? Does it have trees? Hay? Rocky soil?
In the end, we purchased a treeless lot — and the wind surprised us! We ended up planting seedlings as a wind-breaker so we could actually garden and landscape.
Another challenge? Our heavy clay soil. We barely passed a perc test in order to have our septic installed, and even then, needed many more feet of lateral lines than we’d anticipated. This drove up the cost of labor and materials.
So, analyze your property’s challenges, and figure out what is needed to overcome them. Can you afford improvements? If not, can you make do without?
#8 — Roads, Electricity, Water, Etc.
How accessible is your property? Do you have access to it by a paved road? If not, could bad weather (rain, ice, snow) prevent you from leaving?
How far back from the road will you place your home? How much will it cost to have water and electricity run to your building site? Is a water tap included in the cost of your property or will you need to install one?
Electricity was one big wrinkle in our building plans. The builder didn’t want to pour a foundation without it, and the electric company wouldn’t provide it unless we had a foundation with the plumbing stubbed out. It took a few weeks of diplomatically dancing between the 2 parties until we got it figured out!
#9 — Neighbors
Who will feed your chickens if you need to leave town for a week or two? Is there someone nearby you can count on in an emergency?
Get to know those living around you. There may be a time when you need help. We even found that our community of neighbors embraces similar desires and values to ours.
#10 — Cost & Property Taxes
Land can be expensive. Distance from amenities can drive the cost down, but you may pay more in other ways because of living so far out.
Make sure you consider property taxes, as well. Any improvements or machinery may be taken into account on an annual basis, and may drive up your taxes.
Are you interested in buying land for your homestead? Or do you already live on an acreage? What advice do you have?
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Jenny, knowing this post was coming, it took all my self control not to read it before it was live! 😉 We are in this spot right now, and we are considering many of the things you suggested. Yes, we want our space to feel rural so we can have privacy and potentially lower taxes, but we also want a neighbor or two to count on. Having a good internet connection is an absolute must-have, as is a road that is accessible in all weather conditions. We were hoping to find land with a pre-existing house, but we have been so disappointed with the options available to us in our price range — which I didn’t think was THAT limited. Now, we are looking for land to build on. It has to be already cleared (we live in the Piney Woods of East TX), with electric and water already available. I feel like we are searching for a needle in a haystack! GREAT POST!
Lindsey I hope you find something that is perfect, or at least can be made perfect that will suit you. Land shopping was fun, but so, soooo overwhelming. Then you build. 😀 And that is also a challenge.
We have been blessed. We found a great piece of property with good neighbors on both sides.
If and when you do settle, see if there is a local FB group for your town. I stumbled onto one accidentally but it really helped me get to know people, learn how things were done in our small town, and helped me network with other likeminded folk. It really helped me feel settled and connected. They are also a great place to find local contractors if you end up needing them and want a good recommendation.
Good luck with your purchase and the building of your home! I’ll be anxious to hear about how it goes for you all.
Country smells from surrounding farm properties may be a surprise if you’re not used to being around farms. The first time a neighbor slurries a field may just about kill you.
That is not something we’ve had to deal with. There is a lot of cow pasture around so we do smell manure if the wind blows a certain way but I do have a friend who had to deal with that. Awful. 🙁
We don’t have a large acreage (1.25 acres), but it’s a lot more than we had in the city! That being said, there are a few things I wish we would have taken into account before we bought it. We live in a heavily farmed area, and I didn’t think about how close those fields are to us, and how much it would bother me when they are crop dusting, or how my allergies would go crazy when they are harvesting. We also didn’t think about all that standing water from irrigating the fields, and the fact that we have a bird refuge only a mile south of us. The mosquitoes here are insane! It’s hard to go outside in the summer, even in the middle of the day. With both of those things in mind, I don’t know if I would have bought the property we have. Hindsight is 20/20. 🙂
That is true Bethany! There are so many things one doesn’t think about until you settle in….and then you start to wish they could have been different or you would have known beforehand.
We learned the hard way that you should pay to have the land surveyed before purchasing it. When we bought our land, there was an old survey on file stating the acreage of the land we purchased was 25 acres and we paid a price accordingly. Once we bought it we had to pay to have a new survey done before we could build on it, only to discover that the original survey was incorrect and the land we owned was only about ten acres. The missing 15 acres were important to us not because we needed such a large property, but they were a heavily forested buffer between us and a piece of forested land owned by the local pulp and paper mill, which could be clearcut at any time. We also discovered in the first year after purchasing that the locals regularly used the property for hunting, snowmobiling, and camping…so much for our private homestead in the wilderness! Add to that a swampy forest that made it almost impossible to be outside in the summer without a bug jacket and you can say we did a lot of learning that first year! We eventually made the difficult decision to sell the property (not a series of events I would wish on anyone else!)
Oh Andrea what a nightmare! How upsetting to discover you had fifteen acres less than what you purchased. I hope when you sold it you were able to find something else that worked out much better.
Just a couple of thoughts after reading your “10” list. Placing the dirt from digging a pond is not difficult. Use the dirt for the perimeter. Want a six foot pond, only need to dig down three feet. Acreage, here in North Carolina, to be assessed as a farm, with appropriate tax savings and benefits, the property must be 10 acres + an acre for the homesite. A ten acre lot will not qualify for farm use benefits.
Fencing. A good hot wire fence will keep most livestock fenced in. We have a “brush burner’ hot box. It is good for 20 miles of fencing and we have less than a mile fenced. Solar varieties are available. Besides a generator, a firearm, the next priority is a good dog, an outside dog. Our Texas Heeler stays outside, knows the property line, and is the best doorbell available. Thanks for reading. Vincent in Pilot Mtn. NC
Thanks so much for your input. I wish I had known that about the pond before we had ours worked on. We had never done one before and I was just relying on the guy who came out and looked at it. We had an existing pond that had turned into a large oversize puddle. We wanted it smaller and deeper. I didn’t know about building up the sides, so he just dug it out and left the dirt to sit on the edge. We got rid of most of it, but a large pile is still there. :/ Great advice! We do hope to get a farm dog someday.
Properly done, the dirt is compacted on the downhill side of the pond, so the rainwater drains into the pond and the berm helps hold it there, one end of the damn should be angled so over-flow will bypass without destroying the bank/berm/dam. Ponds will gradually silt up, but can be dredged over again– the silt is sometimes good spread over the growing areas.
If you raise the ground on the uphill side of the pond water will go around rather than into the pond. Ponds dug along natural drainage can help you can neighbors by helping to control the flooding, but make sure you live where a pond is permitted. Some states the rainwater is not yours to keep in a pond!!
Also, if you’re planning to have any livestock, you should look for property with year round running water. That was the factor that tipped our property in our favor. It’s no fun to have to haul water daily or have wells and hoses available near the animals. Also, if the property has creeks, find out how much they swell during heavy rains. We literally live by the old saying, “We’ll be there, Lord willing and the creeks don’t rise”!
BTW, heelers (Australian cattle dogs) are AWESOME!
Good to know Heidi! Thanks. I’ll keep them in mind. 🙂
Great article. While we were looking, we would pack a lunch/dinner and go to the property and hang out for an hour or two. We went at different times of the day, also on week days and weekends. That’s how we learned if the nearby gun club was something we wanted to hear! We’ve been happy on our 3 acres for almost 10 years but now I think it’s time to move further out and size up. I’m green with envy! Thanks!
That’s great advice Linda. I hope you find something larger in a perfect location soon!
We bought our property (25 acres) 2 years ago. We were very careful to find out about restrictions on the property, local zoning laws, local building codes and anything else that would impact our ability to do what we want on the land. We also checked out nearby industry (looking for polluted properties) and possible hazards, like the naval base 20 miles from us. We also did some digging to find out what the land had been used for previously to ensure everyone & every thing would be healthy.
We have a very long (1/2 mile?) and steep driveway. It was beautiful when we purchased the property. As soon as we had our septic installed, it started eroding very quickly. We’ve had to invest $2,000 to have it rebuilt and many hours to maintain it. We’ll be digging some additional ditches and doing more landscaping this summer to help stabilize it even more.
If you plan to add a mobile or prefab home of any kind, figure out before buying how large a truck you can get into/onto your property. We had to downsize what we bought because anything larger than 54 feet long & they could not make the turn into our drive. The ditches, culverts and poles narrowed the turn considerably.
We had thought that we did everything necessary to prevent surprises, however, the first summer 2 large acreages about 2 miles down the road began to be cleared. We worried what they were going to be building but no one seemed to know. Turned out that a farmer just decided to expand his corn fields. We let out a huge sigh of relief because we’d envisioned all kinds of less desirable things, like housing developments, apartments and business parks.
We ultimately ended up trusting our feelings. So far, so good. We’ll see how we feel in 10 years.
I think trusting your feelings is the best way to go! I went largely by how I felt when I saw our spot.
This sounds similiar to what we want but my biggest fear are cornfields.We are in Indiana and its hard to find property without cornfields next door…I fear the spraying.
I wonder how people who intend on growing organic produce and keeping animals choose and protect their property from surrounding conventional farms…both livestock and crops??
That is a good question Stephanie. I’m not sure. I know for us, we just grow for ourselves and neither of our neighbors garden so any sort of chemical drift hasn’t been a problem. Also, we’re not looking to become certified growers in which case I think location of surrounding farms and their practices would definitely play a role.
Our rural property is frequently effected by the awful stench of feedlots that are located miles away from us.
Neighboring fields also sometimes contribute to miserable air quality when rented out to pasture cattle or horses.
Just because your neighbor doesn’t own stock of their own, or your place is beyond eye sight of a nuisance doesn’t necessarily assure you won’t be adversely effected by some unforeseen intrusion.
This is true Candia. Another thing that I didn’t realize is how sound would carry in an open field. We have a neighbor who loves to listen to the radio quite loud. 🙁 You can and should do all you can to find out what potentially could be a problem, but like you said, there will always be something you didn’t anticipate. So sorry you have to deal with the feedlots.
Thanks for the insightful information (and comments)! I’ve pinned your article for future reference. 🙂
I too am wondering how to find property where the adjacent properties will not be sprayed with chemicals, pesticides, etc as I am a stickler about all organic.
Having been raised in a farming community (in the middle of Monsanto-country), I am also concerned about neighbors (even distant neighbors) putting up bird barns. Oh. My. Goodness. I’ll take pig farms any day over bird barns. Awful stench that you can smell for miles!!
I wonder if there are any places where the county has zoning restrictions on large-scale animal barns and/or places that are known to be organic sanctuaries because of restrictions on chemicals, insecticides, herbicides, etc. If anyone knows of any places like this, I would LOVE to know about any of them! Thank you so much in advance! 🙂
I am so glad I saw this. We are looking for 15 plus acres (we want to harvest our own wood and need enough land to allow for growth between cuttings, were thinking half or .75 acres cut n replanted per year on a 10 year cycle.) But, we may have to settle for less to start cuz I have land fever and I an dying to have dairy goats again.
Any advice from btdt always helps. Thanks!!
Hope you find an acreage that works for you Liz!
This is so helpful! We have been looking for over a year for our little homestead. The options are rather dismal in our area (super expensive) but your list (and those in the comments) have encouraged me to not settle but to do as much research as possible up front! Thanks!!
Found your post about chickens on pinterest so I was reading more. 🙂 My family recently relocated from Connecticut to NE Oklahoma. We are renting currently but will be looking for land in a few months. I’m raising chickens and heritage hogs so what we buy will need to have enough land to expand. I appreciate your approach to farm life! Thanks. 🙂
Jessica, Welcome to Oklahoma! I was born and raised here but I can imagine what an adjustment this must be for you coming from Connecticut. We are a warm and friendly state and I hope that you find that to be true. Best wishes on your chickens and hogs! And best wishes on your homesteading ventures.
I enjoyed your article very much. Have wanted land for a long time. Found out some of your points the hard way. Learned one that you didn’t mention. We bought 2 pieces of 13 acres side by side early in the sales of the development. We expected to have chickens at least on that much land, but the codes, covenants and restrictions-which we read and agreed to thinking they would change when the developers turned it over to the landowners-did not allow for any farm animals at all! The CC&Rs did not change. Land with no animals-still can’t understand that. We sold both pieces asap. Now I still dream of being in the country-maybe someday.
Please explain what you mean in the last paragraph regarding taxes on machinery.
Debbie, The first year we lived here, our annual property taxes increased after we purchased a riding lawn mower. :/ That may just be something that is unique to our county but that is what was meant by that.
Thank you for sharing your experiences! I hope that you will be able to find another place in the country some day soon.
Look around at neighboring properties and prevailing winds. We’ve suspended our search for a rural property in our area because we cannot find one without commercial cattle or hog confinements close by in the direction of prevailing winds. The last property we looked at had 7 hog buildings in various directions, with a neighbor to the south planning to put up 5 more. If you want to be able to sit outdoors or open windows on summer evenings without smelling the reek of thousands of animals, that’s a deal-breaker. I’m not against livestock production at all– in fact, we’d have horses, cattle, and possibly a few hogs on our property if we do find one, but there is a big difference between 20 hogs and 25,000.
We are blessed with a 60 acre farm that is fenced and cross-fenced with a good well and pond. 4 Bed home with porch, garage, and a small 3 sided barn. We purchased it and payed it off during the past many years for our retirement. We have lived there some times and lived away depending upon my husbands jobs. Now that my dh is retired, my concern is when we sell this city home and move back there to the farm, how will we be able to take care of all that land as we age? I think this is something that each of us needs to consider before purchasing a farm or land.
Thanks so much for this article, it is something I dream of from time to time. Currently a city dweller, I’m contenting myself with container gardening this year … but you bring up valid points I wouldn’t have considered. I’ll keep them in mind.
These are some great considerations. When I meet someone looking for property, one additional question that I recommend asking is: What have you buried on the property? In preparing for planting blueberries and putting up a perimeter fence, we found probably the entire concrete floor from the old barn. It was a lot of work to do the clean-up involved… and expensive to get rid of the mess! There are all sorts of ways that farmers have treated unused portions of their properties as makeshift landfills. It never hurts to ask, and it’s important to find out if there is something not immediately visible that could be contaminating the land, e.g. old vehicles or containers of chemicals
We’re considering purchasing 1 – 10+ acres with home under an hour from a major city in Missouri. Can anyone advise on particulars to consider for this neck of the woods?
Thank you for your blog – an excellent resource!
Another thing to check is if the property has an Agricultural Exemption, which lowers the Taxes and what you must do to MAINTAIN that exemption!
You may discover that you are buying a piece too small to keep the Agricultural Exemption and the property taxes could go up really suddenly without any improvements at all.
Also, if you are wanting to keep an Agricultural Exemption going, do look into what the minimum acreage is and ask yourself that if the road widened and they took a slice of your property, would you still qualify?
Every state is different, but if they have Agricultural Exemptions or something similar where you are buying, you really need to look into those laws and how they will effect your taxes.