6 Mistakes to AVOID when Buying Raw Land {for a HOMESTEAD}

Buying raw land for a homestead is RISKY! Don't make these top mistakes!
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Better Together Life means that our family is better when we are all together. Which is a good thing because we have a lot of kids. But it is our mission to create entertaining and inspiring stories for people like us who want to do what we do.

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[BetterTogetherLife]

**How Much Did Our Shed to House Cost?**

**Build Your Own Shed Design for FREE:**

[psor]

My tip for buying land is find something that already has utilities on it! I bought 12 acres with well, septic, electric AND an asphalt driveway already there. The house was abandoned and falling down so I got a really good deal. Saves you a lot of time and money. It literally has everything that I was looking for. End of a dead end road, no visible neighbors, surrounded by a creek, huge trees, easy access and 15 minutes from walmart and chinese takeout lol. I like the idea of waiting a couple years before putting a permanent house this way you can really see where you want your house and how you want to use the land. For now I'll fix up an old mobile home and have no mortgage! Good luck to everyone else out there trying to live their dream!!!

[Noisy_Cricket]

As a city planner, I can definitely tell you-- you are right about trees. That's why so many cities are trying to add them back in. Trees also raise your property values (in the city and the country). People REALLY underestimate the value of trees.

[TheNonMakeupGuru]

The biggest tip I can suggest when building on actual land is to spend a few years living on the property before building your long term home. Experience a couple seasons and get familiar with how the land sits and settles

[fradee]

the thing about buying a property with trees, is that you know there’s enough moisture in the ground to support tree growth.

[bryanjaeck]

1. Make sure you have road access to your land, sometimes there is no road access, or an good easement. 2. Get mineral rights to your land. 3. Avoid old industrial sites with bad hazards left in the soil. 4. Make sure you are not going to be too close to the busy road or future road expansion. .

[farocean]

I can’t agree you more! HOA said I’m not allowed to plant flowers on my balcony because everyone’s balcony must look identical. That’s insane!

[TheWilliamHoganExperience]

Excellent point about regulations. I'm a licensed architect, and I always tell my clients that the FIRST thing I do before designing ANYTHING is to find out what's LEAGL to do on their property. This isn't as easy as people think, and as you pointed out, the more urban the property, the more complexly regulated it's likely to be. Jurisdictions often overlap, and it can be difficult to determine who's calling the shots and what's permissible. Even land out in the boonies can be freighted with onerous restrictions. There are parts of the West where it's illegal to capture RAINWATER from your own property because it feeds streams and rivers claimed by downstream property owners or municipalities. Drilling wells, diverting streams, cutting down trees, grading land, and especially building structures, installing sewage or septic systems, electrical systems and a host of other things necessary to form a safe, self sufficient and comfortable homestead require thorough research and careful planning to avoid trouble with authorities. And it's not government bureaucrats driving around looking for illegal construction you need to worry about. It's your neighbors reporting you because of a feud of some sort, or just because they are jerks. You can and will be forced to remove illegal construction if caught, and can face high legal fees, heavy fines, and eviction, seizure, and even prison if you fail to comply with the law. Yes, it sucks to be told what you can and can't do on your own property, but just wait until your neighbor decides to build a hog slaughtering and meat rendering factory 100 yards upwind of your homestead, and you'll understand why there are such laws. Use them to your advantage, and the world's your oyster. Ignore them, and your gonna get screwed.

[robins]

Another tip, consider the lay of the land and what you want to do with it. Nice young eager family bought the 10 acres next to our farm. They immediately got 8 dogs, 3 horses, a llama, chickens, ducks, goats, a donkey, 3 beef cows and 6 pigs. The chickens constantly get out and into our garden, we understand and just put up a fence. However when they put the pigs along our fence line and allowed their waste to run down the hill into our pond we had to act. The pond is part of a larger drain system so affects all the neighbors downstream. The county health department got involved.

[hoofandpeck]

I had another one. Make sure to get quotes for well, septic and electrical BEFORE purchasing the land. There may be issues you aren’t aware of that prevent you from installing the systems. It may even cost way more than you thought!!

[arieaxel]

Glad you addressed the hospital in the comments. Was up in Colorado with an ex-bf who was really into cycling and ultra runner. Loved to train in high altitudes. He tossed his heart rate monitor because he believed it to be broken as he was tracking his training on a trainer road application. Long story short we were living in an off grid cabin, no cell coverage, no internet, no hard lines (phones) and the nearest neighbor was easily four miles away. He was 6’3 and slightly built to my 5’00 115 lbs. One day he starts to display signs and symptoms of either hypoglycemia or cardiac condition. He was alert and conscious but rapidly losing mental capacity to think clearly. Became agitated and confused. Refused to go to a hospital. I finally talked him into taking a ride down the mountain and he agreed. I drove him straight to the hospital, ran into the ER for a wheelchair and yelled at the ER staff that I was brining him in. I got him into the wheelchair and into the ER where they discovered he had developed a lethal arrhythmia. Requiring sedation and conversion (shocking him into a normal rhythm) took 230 joules the first shock and 360 joules for the second. NOT pretty. Later we learned that he was tracking this arrhythmia and super high heart rate on that monitor that he threw away instead of investigating further and seeking care. Having a hospital or ability to provide emergency first aid has got to be KEY in these homesteading advice videos. My ex was a super healthy, fit guy and this came at us like a Mack truck. We are no longer together but the lessons I learned from this relationship will last me a lifetime. I became an ER RN after this and now looking to buy my own homestead. Thanks for your video!

[garrettharper]

The fringe idea is KEY!
Proximity is a big deal for shopping etc.

The problem I’m having out here in Phoenix, AZ is that if you build on the “fringe” within 5-10 years the city swallows you up. It’s growing so quick 😅

[adammuschler]

My parents have planted like 50 trees on our five acres 😂 my dad wants to block out neighbors and you cant beat having your own forrest

[HUFORIC]

if you're single, Boonies is easy if you pick a fertile spot, I'm in an abandoned logging town, seen zero people in almost 3 months, large creek nearby, my dogs, chickens and I getting fat off wild hog meat, fish and deer meat! lol... btw, I have solar powered RV, food stash which I've not had to tap into yet and satellite internet, zero bills, free food... chickens bring in the wild hogs looking to eat them and end up on the campfire rotisserie and partially fed to the chickens!

[jjvid]

"Hippy Tree Hugger" is a complement - embrace the true meaning: it's exactly how you describe you feel about the value of trees. The negative connotation of "Hippy Tree Hugger" came from the establishment and agenda to marginalize respectful, ordinary people.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!
Appreciate your willingness, hard work, and kindness helping us play catch-up!

[yeswing]

When I lived in Georgia, there was a Rendering Plant hidden in the back roads. Depending on which way the wind was blowing, it was intolerable and smelled awful! You could not have your windows open. Check out what businesses are in your area! What they produce.

[mrman]

I wouldn't say getting unrestricted land is important, I'd say it's more important to understand and be comfortable with the restrictions on that land.
If you buy land with a river running through it, not being able to just dump sewerage into it is a restriction that seems pretty good to me as it means the person upstream can't do it either.

[richardmang]

Trees. The right kind of trees is also a good thing. My place in Southern California is in the wildfire hazard zone. So the eucalyptus and pine (which were planted by the previous owners) which thrive here I am having to remove since they catch fire so easily. Replacing them with olives, carob and macadamia which are all wildfire resistant, evergreen, drought resistant and food bearing. It has taken a few years for them to grow tall enough but I can finally enjoy their shade! I am also planting a few mulberry, pomegranate and Catalina Cherry trees which are all super drought resistant.

[jennabell]

omg I so feel you about HOAs - why would anyone ever choose to live somewhere with an HOA????

[quotidiankomorebi]

Thank you so much for this video! I’m 25, and beginning the process to start saving and planning for a homestead. I can see how easily someone could get overwhelmed undertaking this, but I’m so glad that I found your channel!