Any vacant acreage land owners out there?

Andy G

Andy G

Adventurist
Went up north into the Manistee National Forest this past weekend to check out some vacant land for potential purpose...looking for recreational use (i.e. my own camp, build cabin down in a few years, etc) to "get away from things".

Anyone else own any property? How much ya got, and what do you use it for?

My mind says "they don't make land anymore"...so as long as it's high and dry and not a swamp, it's something to be considered.
 
I have 50 acre farm I live on. I have 276 acres (mostly wooded) that buts up to a river with a small hunting cabin in the next county east of me. Took me 2 yrs to build the cabin. I done most of the work with the exception of the plumbing, electrical, well drilled, septic installed & power ran to the cabin. Everything else I done.
I can launch my 14ft boat & run fishing lines (jug fishing, limb lines, & yo-yo's). I've taking lots of deer & turkey from this property. I run my trap lines on this property too for bobcat, fox, coyote & coon. This cabin is 18 yrs old now & will go to my son in a few more years for his family to carry on.
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Theres quite a lot of online resources for finding land. I dont know if the main suspects like zillow, trulia and realtor.com do national or regional searches, but for a given area can come up with some stuff. You can set a price range you want to work with.
 
We live on 85 acres in central North Carolina. We are bordered primarily by one family's land and some land owned by the Boy Scouts. We had planned to move to a much more remote area when we retired, but when the Joe came along 8 years ago, we drew a 40 mile circle around my work site and started looking. We started with a secluded 20 acres with the house and barn already on it, then piece by piece added as it became available. I like to say we are finished buying property, but there is one adjoining 20 acres that if it comes up, we will buy it.
Be wary of the taxes. FWIW we have kept each parcel separate since some of it then is still considered landlocked by our county gov't so it assessed at a much lower value. The other thing to think about is how will you use it. We hunt our property, harvest wood (we heat and cook with wood), have 15 acres or so in hay (that field you see in my avatar) and I am rambling around the woods at least a couple times per week...
Every time I think or worry about the funds we have invested in buying this, I take a quick walk in the woods and that puts all that to rest. :) Best part of this to me is the privacy and the relative amount of freedom we have. We hunt outside our backdoor, shoot when we want, sometimes blow shit up, cut wood, grow food, keep livestock, etc...
Our plan is to stay here when I retire and leave it all to the kids when we kick the bucket. Just few pics to show a bit of our lifestyle.

John

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Been a city dweller for much of my life. As I’ve reached midlife crisis territory, I am really attracted to a simpler and quieter existence. Something cabin-like with a good sized undeveloped buffer all around sounds perfect. Doubt I can sell it to the Mrs. but the dream is strong and vivid. Until then... a weekend warrior.
 
Wish I could be looking at more than 10 acres of land, but it's not in the cards...I found two nice 6 and 8.5 parcel lots. The 6 borders National Forest land and the 8.5 borders 525 acres of State land. Going to check out the 8.5 parcel this weekend with the boys. Time to get the Trooper muddy. :)
 
I too would love a chunk of woods in the middle if no where. Nothing around me is in my budget at the monet though. There is one lot that sold a few years back that I kick myself for not buying. It's in an area that we frequent a lot and there is nothing else for sale around.... Oh well. Some day I'll have something.

Have you looked at financing? When I looked it was quite a bit different if it was vacant with no structure.
 
java230 said:
Have you looked at financing? When I looked it was quite a bit different if it was vacant with no structure.
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Now that is interesting. I had not thought that there would be any differences or nuances. I am buying mine to build my retirement home and farm on. I am looking in eastern Tennessee. We do not want the mountains. We want the valley that looks at the mountains.
 
toneout said:
Now that is interesting. I had not thought that there would be any differences or nuances. I am buying mine to build my retirement home and farm on. I am looking in eastern Tennessee. We do not want the mountains. We want the valley that looks at the mountains.
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I don't remember exactly, but IIRC it was 20% (maybe more?) down if there was no buildings.
 
We're actually looking at a land contract, because of the location of the land and the difficulty in getting "regular" financing. Many sellers around here offer it for the smaller sized (less than 20 acre) parcels.
 
I have a bit of a different view point on this subject. When I was 21, I bought 7 acres of ground and built a house on it. I planned to be there forever. When I was 26, I found 24 acres on a small lake, and started the process all over again. It was a beautiful place, but before it was over It owned me. Almost all my spare time went to maintaining it, and once the boys started working and had their own lives I was on my own doing it. I also had a 1 hour commute each way to work. I've learned it's much better and cheaper to use and enjoy public lands that I neither have to own nor maintain. I can drive 3 hours east to Arkansas, or SE OK, and be as remote as I want. My wife and I now live in a 650 sq' apartment, where we can do a top to bottom clean in 1 1/2 hours. A quickie clean in 25 min. This freeing up of time and resources allows us to spend much more time living and enjoying the outdoors. We keep our kit packed and can head out within 30 min after getting home from work. I'm not saying to not buy any land, just really think about why you want it, what you will be doing with it, and exactly what time and money resources it will consume. Remember, you will never actually own it. Try not paying the taxes on it for 3 years, and you will quickly find out who does.
 
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Brushogger said:
I have a bit of a different view point on this subject. When I was 21, I bought 7 acres of ground and built a house on it. I planned to be there forever. When I was 26, I found 24 acres on a small lake, and started the process all over again. It was a beautiful place, but before it was over It owned me. Almost all my spare time went to maintaining it, and once the boys started working and had their own lives I was on my own doing it. I also had a 1 hour commute each way to work. I've learned it's much better and cheaper to use and enjoy public lands that I neither have to own nor maintain. I can drive 3 hours east to Arkansas, or SE OK, and be as remote as I want. My wife and I now live in a 650 sq' apartment, where we can do a top to bottom clean in 1 1/2 hours. A quickie clean in 25 min. This freeing up of time and resources allows us to spend much more time living and enjoying the outdoors. We keep our kit packed and can head out within 30 min after getting home from work. I'm not saying to not buy any land, Just to really think about why you want it, what you will be doing with it, and exactly what time and money resources it will consume. Remember, you will never actually own it. Try not paying the taxes on it for 3 years, and you will quickly find out who does.
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Your reply is spot freaking on to what my wife and I were just discussing. Is $150-300 a month worth it for something I'm not gonna live on and use XX number of times per year? Just to call it "my own"?

Or could that money be better spent (or saved) and go towards something better down the line...? My Trooper ain't gonna last forever...:brokedown

Thanks for that timely input!
 
Mine isnt to get away to every once in a while. Mine will be our retirement home and farm. Walmart is about an hour away but we have telephone, water and power at the front of the property. Old Blue aint getting any younger either. I look forward to the daily chores on the farm. Beats my job any day.
 
Brushogger said:
I have a bit of a different view point on this subject. When I was 21, I bought 7 acres of ground and built a house on it. I planned to be there forever. When I was 26, I found 24 acres on a small lake, and started the process all over again. It was a beautiful place, but before it was over It owned me. Almost all my spare time went to maintaining it, and once the boys started working and had their own lives I was on my own doing it. I also had a 1 hour commute each way to work. I've learned it's much better and cheaper to use and enjoy public lands that I neither have to own nor maintain. I can drive 3 hours east to Arkansas, or SE OK, and be as remote as I want. My wife and I now live in a 650 sq' apartment, where we can do a top to bottom clean in 1 1/2 hours. A quickie clean in 25 min. This freeing up of time and resources allows us to spend much more time living and enjoying the outdoors. We keep our kit packed and can head out within 30 min after getting home from work. I'm not saying to not buy any land, just really think about why you want it, what you will be doing with it, and exactly what time and money resources it will consume. Remember, you will never actually own it. Try not paying the taxes on it for 3 years, and you will quickly find out who does.
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I think this is an excellent comment. To enjoy the land, you really have to enjoy the land... working on it, improving it, etc... cutting trails, cutting splitting and storing firewood, maintaining the road, taking care of the livestock and gardens, hunting and processing meat...and for us, that means passing on other opportunities. While I know this forum is designated for vehicle based travel, Ann and I pass all the time on opportunities to road trip to distant places (recently told a buddy Moab was not in our cards...)... because, well, we have invested what we have in our slice of this land. Do I live vicariously through you travelers... you know... real overlanders... sometimes? Sure. Then I take that walk in the woods and I am good with our decisions.
Point being, I agree with you @Brushogger. If you want to pursue a truly overland lifestyle, owning and maintaining the land ain't for you. Got to choose your passions I suppose.
 
to choice what the purpose of the land is used for will vary from one individual to another. I bought this land as a get a way to hunt, fish, trap & do conservation. My farm I hunt a lot on mostly, being mostly wooded land. Both places I do conservation for wildlife as well as cut firewood & plant food plots for wildlife.
My eye doctor owns 668 acres across the hwy from me & only uses the land to camp on just about every week-end. They spend the entire week-end maintain it keeping all the dead wood out & burned off the woods every 2 yrs to keep fresh under growth. This family doesn't hunt, but like the conservation.
 
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