Still hunting for a piece of dirt. I’ve found a piece that looks pretty close to what I want…maps show it has water, there isn’t a road cutting it in half, it butts up against a big chunk of non-private land, and it isn’t that far from here. But…altitude. I really didnt want to get anything that was way up in the hills. But…it’s a nice looking piece, the price is right, etc.
Sent off an email to the realtor asking if there were any other roads, public or private, going through the piece….are there any markers, pins, or other border markings….can a person go unaccompanied and look at it…that sort of thing. We’ll see what I hear back.
Did some investigation into the listed property owners and I get the impression it’s a buncha outtastaters who inherited it. Perhaps they’d be amenable to taking a price cut in exchange for cash and a quick closing.
Before I put the cart before the horse, I need to get boots and eyes on the ground and check the place out in person. I need to check out the access, the roads, etc, etc. And I need to visually confirm if there actually is water on the place.
So, we’ll see what happens.
Would depend on where they are. Anywhere in CA and price will not change. Other places are less stuck in the mindset. Good luck. The property I rent from the government has one feature I really like. I own it.
Sellers location should not affect price. If it is overpriced it will either sell or not sell or price will drop. That’s how free markets work. We will see if that changes as Prez Pedo turns towards a more Chinese style govt. Ten percent stake in Intel. If Marxist Bernie approves then you know its a good idea 🙂
Good Luck CZ! I know once we got our farm, although not perfect, it was a relief,,, Then I started buying my neighbors out…
You know, I figured just for fun I’d examine the ownership of surrounding properties just in case the opportunity presented itself. All the surrounding properties are owned by people either here in town or out of state….which makes me think that perhaps with the right number they may be perfectly willing to sell that piece of land grandpa left them fifteen years ago that theyve never visited and have been paying property taxes on.
Granted this was 20+ years ago for the first parcel, to about 10 years ago for the last parcel. The first one was the old guy who owned the original homestead, had 13 acres, wanted to liquidate land and give cash to the grand-kids, so that was easy. The next was a son of a neighbor 3 houses down, 40 acres, with an easement that ran way to close to my house, so I sought him out and paid top dollar, what ever he asked for that one. Pretty much happy at that point, years later our friends and baby sitter of our kids moved, & gave us first chance at 55 acres, at a decent price, so we bought that. Last a 160 acre farm came up, old folks, moved to town, kids did not want, you know the drill. The agent had it listed crazy high, so I figured, I would wait til it did not sell, than see what we could do… I went in and checked just before the listing expired, and he says ‘yeah I sold 3/4 of the farm and they are subdividing it and building houses on it- you want the last 1/4? (44 acres), so paid for that one to keep ‘the locusts’ at bay… My advice, keep flexible and eyes open for the neighbors land.
“. . . outastaters . . .” that’s how my kids scored their little 6 acres farm. Owner died and his spawn didn’t even come down to look at the place; just sold it after probate. Sad thing was that the owner had planted several rows of exotic citrus trees but they had all died off from lack of care by time the property was sod.
Seems a lot of Californians are (once again) making an exodus from the places they infested.
Being “way up there” is very doable in our AO. Just gotta adjust the gardening appropriately😃
CZ,
Check out Mike Shelby’s “The Area Intelligence Handbook”.
Might save your bacon…
We are “up in the hills,” off the beaten track, 1,000 feet higher than the closet village and about 2,300 feet above the nearest small city/big town. We have found some good and bad things about that.
First, all local weather forecasts are wrong. We are colder, snowier and even have a shorter growing season.
Second, our vehicles work harder, have less towing capacity, and their brakes and tires wear out faster than we are used to.
Third, we like having no one above us. It means no traffic, lots of game, and fresh, clear spring water.
Fourth, because it takes effort to get up here, random people rarely wander by. We like that, except we can’t get anything delivered by truck. If you plan to build and need cement trucks or want to have propane, that can be an issue.
In short, living up in the hills at an altitude above average for the area is inconvenient, but as long as you go into it recognizing that, I expect you’ll like it.
I hope this property works out for you!
A year too soon is better than a minute too late.
Make sure land perks, nothing matters if you cannot install septic,would be just a camp site without permanent waste disposal. Remember the smaller the system the more often it will have to be pumped out- plan for truck access,not a DIY job.
Commander:
I know you have been looking for years so I wish you all the luck in the world and that this IS the “Piece o’ Heaven” you have been working for!
Next year in Jerusalem…
What side of hill is property on ? South exposure for more sunlight (longer growing time) and protection from north wind. Does slope make road covered in snow impassible at times ? Are property lines fenced ? And water – oh yeah, that sweet stuff that all Life needs. Some thoughts and more are probably already asked or in your list of ‘finding out’.
Good luck – I hope CZ Kingdom has been found.
As to getting boots on the ground, air reconnaissance is always helpful. If you have a buddy that has a drone, ask to borrow it or buy a cheap one off Amazon (or Costco in Missoula had one the other month when I was there). They really are helpful to check out parcels. Even heavy forested ones.
I have a friend who is looking into getting into doing drone recon…this might be the opportunity theyve been waiting for.
Being in close proximity and always looking for a bigger hideout I enjoy your scouting reports on our immediate area .
Immediate to me means within an hour of the zoo.
Be interesting to hear what the water situation is as it seems sometimes as you get higher it’s harder to find .
That said we just did a water system 18 miles up a gravel road and 99 miles from a town . It’s in an area in se Washington that is extremely remote . The place checks all the boxes if one didn’t need to be part of civilization .
You could see 20 mikes in any direction yet it was mostly meadow and it was against national forest with wilderness behind it .
The well made 35gpm.
Caveat: after following the guy in the air filter I had just changed was junk . The road sucked but man it was remote and beaitiful.
I may wind up contacting you and asking you a buncha questions if this goes through.