Beware the Bargains    When buying raw land beware of so-called bargains advertised in national magazines, newspapers, on TV or on the internet.  If the deal seems too good to be true, it most likely isn't all true.  I know that real estate agents cost money, one way or the other, but they can be good partners when the time comes to buy raw land.  If you choose not to hire a real estate agent, then you will need to do more of the research on your own.  And you'll need to know what kinds of questions to ask the agent selling the land, if there is one.

For example, if there’s no water on the land, or if the water under the land is too deep to drill for (or below too much rock), and if you can’t afford to pipe it in or haul it, what will you do for water?  I, for one, wouldn’t even consider trying to live on property where water must be hauled in.  And if I’m trying to get away from over-populated areas, then even the idea of buying piped water doesn’t appeal to me.  No, my idea of good land is a land with a good abundant water supply — not only for me, but for any livestock and garden or crops I may have.  It’s also nice to have at least a small green lawn.

The same goes for mineral rights.  I don’t want to pay for property that I don’t really own.  If anyone’s going to discover gold or oil or whatever under my back yard, I want to be the one doing the discovering, and the profiting.  Not that I would go around digging up the place.  I just want to be sure no one is going to go around digging up the place — or using one of those horizontal rigs to pull oil out from under me.  The same goes for mine shafts.  Why pay good money for land that someone else can ruin because they have the mineral rights?

And don’t forget about the right of way.  Access to your own property cannot be dependent on someone else’s good will.  Never buy land that has no real access to a public road without crossing another person’s private property.  I’ve such situations end up in court, and hung up in legal battles that go on for years.  In such cases, common sense and courtesy go right out the window.  Do not depend on the goodwill or the decency of others.  Make sure of what you own and what you have the right to.

Make sure you know the land itself.  Does it flood?  Is it prone to drought?  Meet the neighbors.  Ask questions.  Always make sure to check the legality of the sale (lien-free ownership, legal description of the parcel, back taxes due, etc.) and the deeds at the county courthouse.  While in town, visit the county extension office, contact the agricultural department of the state university, and other agencies where you can learn about the region, the weather, and the exact portion of land you plan to buy.  Make sure the water is good, find out if it needs to be treated in any way. 

Know what you’re getting for the money you must pay.  For some of us, the idea of living up in the mountains is the ultimate dream.  For others, living at the ocean’s edge is the highest goal.  And believe it or not, some folks actually want to live on or near the desert.  Whatever your dream, make sure that the land you choose is workable.  That is, that you can make it work for you.  Think of winter access (are state and county roads plowed all the way to your drive?), steep climbs, hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, dust storms — all the conditions that are a part of the region you’ve chosen to settle in.  Are you prepared to live and function in such times?  Is the parcel of land you’ve picked out going to be accessible and tolerable in such times?  For example, is the mountain just south of you going to block the life-giving warmth of the sun all winter long?  Or is the rocky ledge you plan to build on likely to slip off into the waves soon after your house is finished?

If at all possible, spend some time on the property.  Why not take a few days (or weeks) of vacation and camp out there?  Feel the heat of sun, listen to the wind in the trees, walk the land and see how it will work for the plans you’re making.  Get a realistic feel for the property you’re about to spend all that money on.

Money, Money, Money   It always seems to boil down to money, doesn’t it?  We live in a land, and in a world, where most things in life revolve, in some way or another, around money.  It’s a fact of life.  Money cannot buy real love or real friends, that’s true.  But it does buy real estate, and without the flowing and exchanging of money, you won’t get to keep your land.

What I mean is this: be careful about hanging yourself.  It doesn’t take much rope to hang a man, and it takes very little money down to enter into an agreement you simply can’t keep.  Before you give up your life savings to buy into the “perfect place” make sure you’ll be able to make all the rest of the payments.  Who do you think pays for all those expensive ads for mortgage companies?  Fools do, that’s who.

First of all, make sure you’re not overpaying.  Take the time to investigate what the property is really worth on the local market.  More than likely, the asking price is higher than the market value.  These days, cars and land are often placed on the market at a higher price so that there’ll be some room for negotiation.  No one really expects a buyer to simply pay out what is originally asked.   Just about everyone expects a counter offer to be made.  So whatever you do, don’t simply hand the guy a check.  Make a fair offer that’s based on what the land is really worth — as it sits.

Stop and ask yourself: How will I be able to pay for this property, even if none of my plans for the place come through?  Now, I know I’m going against the grain on this kind of reasoning.  After all, America wasn’t built by cowards. 

Big dreams require some faith, and a willingness to take risks, if they’re to become reality.  But common sense is a better counselor than faith alone.  The Bible says that faith without works is dead.  And in daily life, faith without foundation in sound reasoning is also a good way to kill your dreams.  By all means, dream your dreams and take some risks to see them fulfilled.  But make sure you have a Plan B in case Plan A is unable to see you through.

If you plan, for example, to pay for your land by raising some crops or livestock or both, make sure your plan is based in reality.  Do you know anything about raising livestock?  Do you know anything about crops?  Are you familiar with the soil, the pests, the irrigation needs, the market itself, in the area you’ve chosen?  If not, then you may need alternate ways to make an income until your land begins to actually pay for itself.

The same is true if you plan to build homes, make furniture, weave baskets, process cheese, sell eggs, design and create pottery — or any of the other wonderful things people sometimes do to make a living.  Are you already able to produce a row of houses, a truckload of tables, a pile of pottery, baskets or cheeses?  And even if you can produce these things, is there a healthy market for them where you plan to live?  Do you already sell such things?  Do you already have a way to promote your products?  Do you already have a good name for yourself or a system in place for marketing your goods?

If not, then you will still need to make payments, even while you set up your new career and livelihood.  There’s no reason to scrap your plans or to throw away your dreams.  Just be ready to make a living while you work on making those dreams come true. 

And that means making sure that you have ready employment close enough to where you want to live.  It can be a little inconvenient to make the drive or whatever, but it needs to be possible for you to keep your head above water, money-wise.  Don’t set yourself adrift without a way to survive. 

Make sure there are real jobs close enough to your land so that you can get by until your plans begin to come together.  And make sure that the kinds of jobs available will pay the mortgage or whatever.   If you can work from home, by way of computer and internet and faxes or phone calls, that’s even better.  But make sure the opportunity is real, and not simply imagined.  Don’t lose your dreams — and your land — because you failed to understand that some things take longer to happen than we first thought they would. 

It’s All About Know-How & Preparation   The more you know, the more you can accomplish.  Take the time to develop a good plan, and then work the plan.  For example, if you can save up the money now to pay for a property with cash, you will save yourself a lot of stress and heartache later.  You will then be looking at taxes and living expenses — without the dread of mortgage payments.  You will actually own the land.

Of course, you can still hang yourself.  If your turn around and use the property as collateral to borrow money for building and developing, you can still lose everything if things don’t work out as planned.  So when planning and saving, prepare yourself for the building and other development of the raw land.   Investigate ways to provide good semi-permanent shelter without breaking the bank.  Take the time to contact agencies and organizations that can help prepare you for settling and developing your land.

The more time you spend learning about the land itself, and the work you will need to put into to it in order to make it a home, the better off you will be.  Practice doing the things that you will have to do when you find your property.  Take courses now that will help to prepare you any special skills.  If you plan to build a house, and you’ve never held a hammer, you might be in trouble.  Why not hire yourself out to local carpenters and get a feel for bringing a house together? 

Plan to build a log house or other specialized shelter?  Try to find a way to practice the steps and procedures now, while you’re getting ready.  For example, why not build a smaller version, say a shed in your yard or garage, just to go through some of the steps, and to get started on that that learning curve? 

Plan to make your own furniture?  If you’ve never made furniture before, now is a good time to build a few pieces and get some practice.  The same is true if you plan to raise livestock, have a garden, or whatever.  Buying expensive books can prove helpful.  You can buy excellent books on raising livestock, planting crops, building houses, barns and sheds.  You can also find lots of great books on these and other related subjects at the local library (or have them ordered in from other libraries – usually a free service). But you still need to get some hands-on experience.  You can’t learn too much, and you cannot learn without actually doing.  Only as we go through the steps do we get a feel for what’s really required of us.

A Few Words About Those Dreams   No dream ever came true while we lay half asleep on the couch watching some guy on TV — someone else — follow their heart.  A dream worth having is a dream worthy of our sweat, and our tears, and our bruises, and scrapes.  It’s worthy of our action, even in the face of heartbreaking setbacks.  The more we actually work — this very day — on our dream, the more we give it physical and lasting substance in the real universe. 

Maybe we can’t move the whole mountain this afternoon, but we can practice right now on moving some rocks.  We can begin to clear a little path, and then we can make some space for all the labor that’ll be required in moving that mountain tomorrow, or the next day.  Right now we can reach down and feel the stone and the dirt with our own hands.  We can earn some very real blisters just moving some of the boulders out of the way.  And we can work up a sweat laboring today for the dream that beckons to us, sings to us, calling us night and day. 

Every dream worth having is a dream worth preparing for.  So until we can make the whole thing come true, let’s get some foundation going, some necessary clearing of the way, some tools and materials gathered.  Let’s get our boots and gloves ready, and some muscles built up for the big day just over the horizon.  Why wait for the dream to come to you?  Take as many steps toward it today as you can squeeze in.  And then do the same tomorrow and every day after that, until you get there.

Next: Income from the Land