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Post by LauraD on Jul 21, 2015 21:57:06 GMT
My hubby and I are in the middle of looking for land in southern Missouri. We plan to build our own house and eventually have bees, chickens, rabbits, and goats (goats!). Major outbuildings will include a summer kitchen and a workshop for building furniture & cabinets, as well as the necessary animal shelters. We've narrowed it down to 3 possible places, with a fourth as a back-up. We would like some feedback on our choices: pros, cons, and thoughts on each. They are summarized below. North is up in all pictures. Thanks!!! Property 1 19 acres in Polk Texas County for $40,000. Approx 7 cleared, 12 wooded. Easy access on flat road. Electric, phone, and county water along road. Joins federal land along the back. Currently overgrown with lots of blackberries and other brambles. Woods are somewhat thick. Land slopes to the SE, with a pond in that corner. Did I mention it was overgrown? Picked up 11 ticks between the two of us.  Property 2 13 acres in Texas County for $40,000 (we would offer less). Approx 2 acres cleared, 11 wooded. Electric, phone by road. Not too badly overgrown, with a graveled drive that slopes gently up, then back down. Pond is big; would need fish or ducks to avoid mosquitoes. Woods are on the young side, nice and airy, with a small to moderate amount of undergrowth. 1 small trash pile, namely a few tires and tin cans, near the lake. Walked in open area and woods and picked up NO ticks.  Property 3 18 acres in Dallas County for $43,9000. Approx 6 acres cleared, 12 wooded. Drilled well, septic, electricity, and phone already in place. Two ponds in meadow by road. land slopes gently down to a stream, then back up again. Meadow overgrown, but not badly. Thick trees prevent easy access to back part of property. Picked up a grand total of 1 tick in the meadow; did not walk back part of property.  Property 4 20 acres in Dallas County for $29,900. Approx 2 acres cleared, 18 wooded. Pond near the back of property. Electricity and phone at road. Overgrown. Did not walk the property, only looked at it from the road. Tick load unknown. We are considering this as a "reserve" property in case the other three suddenly disappear.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2015 0:54:50 GMT
Just a quick breeze over your descriptions and I'd say go for tillable land with water. Never forget mineral rights!
Your one close to national forest is nice, however you'll have hunters breathing down your neck and trespassers all the time. But it is nice having somewhat of an "extension" of public property to hunt mushrooms, dig roots, take game from etc.
Gotta go with your heart, but moving forward with all that is going on with "water", I'd make sure that is pretty high on the priority list...gotta have that for the farm animals, growing crops, etc...and in a pinch you could always use it around the house if need be to flush toilets and such.
Also look at any "restrictions" that happen to be on the property, and right of ways and easements and stuff like that.
Good luck.
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Post by shellymay on Jul 22, 2015 0:55:29 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2015 13:45:03 GMT
Property #1. Would like to meet the neighbor is right there next to all the open ground. Unless you put in a long drive, you are pretty much going to be in their yard. Bad neighbor could be a deal breaker there.
Property #2 and #4. What will it cost to clear more ground? Do you have the ability to do that?
Property #3. You will have 2 places where the creek would cross a fence line. If that creek does much flooding those flood gaps are hard to maintain in a way that goats will stay in, if you choose to pasture that part of the ground. Where the fence would parallel the creek, could also be hard to maintain of that creek floods much.
I think #1 would be the quickest and easiest to move into. That doesn't necessarily make it the best.
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Post by Ken on Jul 22, 2015 15:07:08 GMT
#1: $2105/acre. If that is a neighbor's house on the east property line, that is FAR too close (for me). Great south(east) facing slope, good for passive solar house. Nice amount of land cleared/wooded. With that slope and some permaculture principles, you could have water/ponds all over. I really like this one (with the exception of the neighbor or barn being right on the property line). Hopefully you can get a better price. #2: $3077/acre. Not much cleared. Nice size pond. Too long and skinny of a rectangle property for me. Good privacy. $3k/acre is much too expensive for wooded land in the Ozarks (from what I'm seeing). #3: $2440/acre. Has utilities!! But where? Don't like the L-shape. If the utilities are in the L-shape, that puts them too close to the neighbor (again, for me). Has a stream! Good price for land with utilities. Would be great if the utilities were back to the wooded part of the property but I suspect they are near the road (and possibly right beside the property next door!) #4: $1495/acre. Not a 'great' price for mostly wooded property (I've found some wooded property for $800/acre!). Will be a lot of work clearing it (but that could be ok). I think all of those counties are free of zoning restrictions (yay!) so you can build what you want (VERIFY!!). I've been looking for the same.  Ranking (for me): 1/4/3/2 or even possibly 4/1/3/2 (if I was willing to get in there and clear the woods). Edit: If you don't buy #1, send me the realty info for it please.  |
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Post by Maura on Jul 22, 2015 15:46:08 GMT
I like property #2, but I like woods. Your goats can clear out the underbrush for you. If you will burn wood you can start clearing right away where you want to build and stacking the wood. As you cut, look to what the woods will look like in twenty years. Trim lower branches and thin the trees logically so the remaining ones have room. This will not only create a parklike area but make it easier to keep track of your goats.
Our winds are from the west. Gosh, I wish I had woods to the west, but the woods are on the north side. Just something to think about.
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Post by LauraD on Jul 22, 2015 22:58:08 GMT
Oldhat: No restrictions on any of them. The driveway entrance for #2 is on the property next door, but there's a deeded easement. No well (unfortunately), but county water is readily available. I would want to drill a well (one less bill and more independence).
Shellymay: I know the neighbor is GREAT, but we really need to build our own. We've owned two houses so far, and have had to do major remodeling to both the get them anywhere near what we wanted. Time to build from scratch. That way if we decide later on that we don't like it, we have no-one to blame but ourselves!
Littlebitfarm: All of them have close neighbors, with only the first and the second allowing for a more "distant" location. If we go with #1, we would put the house toward the northwest corner, thus giving us the highest elevation and some separation from the neighbor to the east. Clearing ground would be a pain for #3 & #4 but easy for #2, as the trees are pretty young and widely spaced.
Ken: We wouldn't offer more than $30,000 for #2 due to the small acreage and lack of utilities. The utilities on #3 are in the front meadow close to the neighbor (the small white dot between the road and the elevation line in the picture is the well house.) If we choose that one, we would put the house in the northwest corner by the tree line. There's a lane on the other side, so we would have some separation from any neighbors to the north. No zoning or building code issues in any of the counties (that's why we chose them!) If we don't go for #1 I'll send you the link.
Maura: Good point on western woods - they would be windbreak and summer evening shade rolled into one. The winds usually come from that direction where we live now, so I suspect it will be the same for all the properties. Thank you also for the advice on clearing the woods out. I like them thin enough that you can see and maneuver easily, and #2 fits that to a T. There's even a small "clearing" close to the meadow that would be a perfect location for the summer kitchen - easily big enough for the building, with lots of shade in all directions.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2015 2:10:26 GMT
Well, she seems to think she is... LOL I think you should go with the one in TX county. Its the closest one to us. Srsly, though, they're better about maintaining the dirt roads in TX county. |
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Post by LauraD on Jul 29, 2015 0:08:17 GMT
I like the second TX county one best, but hubby likes the Polk county first one best. Both are in TX county. Let the war begin... |
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Post by Ken on Aug 11, 2015 17:25:36 GMT
How goes the search?
I've driven over to look at properties several weekends now (mostly 4-5 hr drives, each way!) and haven't come up with any I would put an offer in for. For me, the search continues.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2015 21:35:12 GMT
Iffin it were me, number 3 looks most appealing, minus the neighbor being so close.
That can be a deal breaker, but doesn't have to be. Well placed fences, hedge rows and bristle patches can be helpful if neighbors are less than ideal.
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Post by LauraD on Aug 13, 2015 0:49:28 GMT
The search continues. My hubby has gotten cold feet Since my original post (we've never done anything like this before), so I'm having to wait until he's ready before making an offer. It's frustrating, but will be worth it at the end. He still likes the first property best - he even asked if it was still available today.
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Post by LauraD on Aug 31, 2015 23:36:55 GMT
Just a quick update. We're concentrating on #1 at this point. I'm doing all the background research now - will hopefully be done within a week - and if everything looks good we'll make an offer.
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Post by shellymay on Sept 2, 2015 12:09:36 GMT
Hope all goes well and wishing you Luck from Kentucky |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2015 23:55:16 GMT
When are you going to visit? Let me know, maybe we can set up a face-to-face!
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Post by LauraD on Sept 7, 2015 21:00:02 GMT
Thanks, Shellymay! Better be careful, Pony! Where do you think we're going to live while we build our temporary shelter? On the serious side, we'll most definitely be coming to visit you! I'm almost done with the research; just need to make sure the county doesn't have any plans for the area that would cause problems... |
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Post by LauraD on Sept 10, 2015 22:20:13 GMT
County has no plans, hubby has agreed to an initial offer price, and we're ready to make an offer!  |
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Post by shellymay on Sept 11, 2015 0:08:11 GMT
Praying and fingers crossed, but no matter what girl remember if its meant to be it will, if not it wasn't |
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Post by LauraD on Sept 12, 2015 0:25:46 GMT
Offer submitted, so now we're just waiting...and wondering "what in the world have we just done???"   |
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Post by shellymay on Sept 12, 2015 2:33:08 GMT
You have just made an offer on your dreams.......praying all goes well |
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Post by LauraD on Sept 22, 2015 11:14:18 GMT
The negotiations fell through on the first one, my hubby isn't interested in the second of third, and the fourth is gone. So it's back to the old drawing board. Sigh...
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Post by shellymay on Sept 22, 2015 11:22:14 GMT
Sorry girl,
As I said, if it was meant to be it would of happened, chin up as when one door closes another will open, the
right place will come along and all your dreams answered....
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Post by copperkid3 on Sept 22, 2015 11:55:36 GMT
Just because an offer on a property "appears" to have fallen through, it sometimes has a way of reviving.
I remember on one of my favorite properties, I'd done ALL the research into what the costs might be to get
it; including estimates on bringing the foundation up from having sunk down over a foot on one end into the
coastal gumbo near Houston....something that I'm sure the other bidders hadn't done....and it probably gave
me quite a bit of an edge. Well that, and the fact that I could offer cash upfront on the H.U.D. property.
When the bids were opened, I wasn't the initial winner....not even 2nd in line, but the 3rd and it looked
like ALL the time/trouble to doing the background checks were wasted. A few weeks later however,
I received a phone call from the realtor, asking if I was still interested in that property? Yes of course
I was, but little dreamed that it was still available. It was, but only IF, I had the cash to buy it TODAY!!!
Turns out the others, didn't and couldn't seem to get the fiancing needed to make it happen....
something about their lenders not wanting to lend money on a property with what appeared to have
a "problem" foundation, so that they couldn't come up with the money needed to make the purchase.
I could and did and ended up with one of the best properties that I've ever lived in.....really miss that house,
but ended up making a very nice profit on it over a decade later. My cash offer was substantially
lower than that of the others, but they couldn't come up with the means to make it happen.
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Post by LauraD on Sept 27, 2015 19:58:39 GMT
Wow, Copperkid3, that's quite a story. Definitely something to keep in mind. Hubby & I have been debating on the property since the negotiations fell apart, but weren't sure we wanted to make another offer. Yesterday we went and looked at six new properties. Two of them were really nice, and it quickly became only a question of deciding which one to go for. I've contacted our agent, and we should be putting in an offer today. For the record, we like the new property better than the one we didn't get. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 27, 2015 23:44:57 GMT
Hi LauraD - oh I do so hope things work out on the new property you like. Buying your own piece of this good earth is often a challenge - scary, but also one of the most exciting things I could ever imagine doing.
One thing to keep in mind is that you don't have to have 'instant' everything you want. As long as the basics are there (water, sun, no serious encumbrances like not being able to landscape your land or remove trees, etc), then you can build up the property to the perfect place for you. I often get a chuckle watching those reality property shows where people visit different places for sale and gripe about the most insignificant things. Its like they want to buy everything they want in the one package all at once. Rarely happens. But what you can do given a few months/years is amazing!
Looking forward to hearing how it all goes for you, and wishing you all the very best.
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Post by Rustaholic on Sept 29, 2015 1:01:11 GMT
Yes, I spent a total of four months looking before I found this property. I had a list of requirements and this was the first place that met them all and the land contract deal was perfect. They were asking for $2000 down and a total of $10,000 for the five acres with garage and well. I gave them $3000 down and got the monthly payment down to $75 so it was easy to pay for. I had just paid off an $85 a month car payment. |
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Post by LauraD on Sept 29, 2015 22:39:26 GMT
We've made an offer and are getting closer to a signed contract. I'll be so glad when this process is complete and the land is OURS! But then, of course, the work really begins. Well, septic, house, orchard, garden, fencing, garden shed, workshop, chicken coop, goat shed, rabbit shed, outdoor/summer kitchen, greenhouse...the list just goes on and on. I'll just have to remember to take it one thing at a time. Perhaps in 20 years hubby & I'll finally have everything we want - just in time to realize we're too old for all this work.  Oh well, such is the life we choose... |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2015 10:30:00 GMT
Fantastic news, Laura - hope the offer's accepted and it all goes smoothly from there. Re your list of things to do - it does look a bit intimidating, but the great thing is that you'll be able to build it exactly how you want it.
One thing I'd recommend is that when you get any work done, plan it for the worst case scenario, e.g. make things to a logical and easy to reach plan and try to build so that things are straightforward to maintain and get around. I've found in the nearly 20 years we've been in our place, my ability to cope with maintenance and things like big lawns and bending have significantly reduced. It kind of creeps up on you. :-)
Am really looking forward to reading about your adventures as you build your dream place.
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Post by shellymay on Sept 30, 2015 13:05:33 GMT
 I do hope the deal goes through, glad to hear that the door that closed on the last place, and this new one opened, really glad that this one is better for your needs also, hugs... Building yes build things with the thought in mind your age in 20 years, don't want to dread walking a mile in snow and rain 20 years from now (or tomorrow) because you decided to put the chicken coop way on the back 40's...LOL In my opinion build building close to house and run the pasture fencing going out to the back 40's Gardens are seasonal and no reason to put them right up against the house if the decision comes down to garden spot here or chicken coop or goat shelter....just a thought! Some of it will depend on your predators in the area, but I would rather have my livestock shelter close to house and not worry to much about a rabbit eating my beans in the garden....LOL |
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Post by LauraD on Oct 6, 2015 21:04:45 GMT
Well, the owner of the second property we offered on seems to be just as bad as the first ones... So we may be bidding on our THIRD property in the near future. Another 24-48 hours and we should know for sure. Why is it that the best properties have the worst owners?
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Oh well, such is the life we choose...