Ep162: What is the most important feature to look for when buying land?

In this video we discuss the importance of assessing access to water on any land you may be considering to purchase. Water issues can cost thousands of dollars to resolve and can ruin what could be an ideal piece of land for homesteading. I list 6 options for accessing water on land.

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[psjasker]

This channel strikes a great balance between practical and intellectual! I think that’s the attraction of homesteading/farming - the need to be a “jack-of-all-trades”.

[Jonzuber]

I used your suggestions and was able to buy a 9 acre wooded lot in a gated community from a developer that was trying to avoid bankruptcy! Thank you very much!

[lillsportyshorty]

Availability of water is #1,
2 is water rights,
3 is mineral rights.
If you don't own those two.. you may as well not own the land.

[jeffpitzer]

We are building our homestead on 10 acres west of Ft Worth Tx. We have two water tables from which to draw. The shallow one is reported to dropping at an alarming rate due to rural development...too many wells. The deeper water table would cost 15-20k to drill. We are opting for a rain harvesting system. It will be by far the least expensive option for our situation. Initially we will use our 5000 sq ft shop roof (metal) then later add a smaller metal house roof and probably a barn as well as the roof of our above ground tank storage structure. Just the shop should produce 3000 gallons per 1" of rain. We are planning initially on 7500 gallons of storage capacity with 3 poly tanks with room to add another 1or 2 tanks if necessary. Our tank structure has a 10 ×10 room to house a pump, pressure tank and filtration and UV sterilization systems all that we would have to have with a well anyway. There will be a first flush system and gutter screens to get rid of debris and bugs between rainfalls. We get hardly any freezing weather but will have valves and drains to protect plumbing and heat in the pump house. Time will tell if 7500 gallons is enough in a time of drought but we usually have abundant rainfall in the spring and fall. Hope this helps anyone considering rain harvesting.. theres tons of info online and different techniques for different parts of the country.

[ciphercode]

I water our kitchen garden with a small submersible pump that resides in a stream behind our house. I pump it about 100ft and it does a fantastic job so my plants have consistent water everyday.

[robertbuckley]

If you go looking for springs, learn your water plants and which ones grow over what depth of ground over water. There are certain plants that grow only over areas that have water year around and they can tell you even how deep that water is. That is the best way to locate springs!

[joshblanton]

One thing before buying large acreage is having a survey performed before buying. The old deeds without angles and distances are literally guesses. I've seen 70 and 80 acre deeds coming out to about half of what it calls for

[bootmender]

I have lived all over the Country and the greatest mistake people make is water sources. This video should be 101 before you do any shopping for land. As a child in New Mexico we had a well with windmill and a cistern at the house. Dad was always working on. Here in Arkansas we are very similar to you there in West Virginia. At my house I have a well of about 90’. But I have a 60 acres lake and more than 10 stock ponds mainly for cattle and deer. My first priority is water then location. 👍😊

[bslturtle]

A bubblier (like from a fish tank) will precipitate out the iron. So run the water into a small tank so that your use does not cause a hugh flow throw it, put in a bubblier in it, no iron. You will need to syphine the precipitated iron out of the bottom regularly.

[MaddogVld]

Love videos like this. As an aspiring homesteader, info like this is key to not overlook. Videos on other features to look for would be awesome.

[lee-ebcn]

Plus chlorine in water plus maybe more, and usually in a home owners association. Never get in one of these. Hassles galore.

[trentnelsen]

We just bought our land and a manufactured home as a package through the manufactured home company and the well we just drilled is 597 ft deep and is producing 10.5 gallons a minute.

[NadyaPena-]

This is the kind of vital information we need. Thank you.

[BibleBeliever-hvdu]

This is the man I have been looking for.

[vpkopfb]

My retirement plan is homesteading. Thank you so much for your great information regarding homesteading water needs.

[HSTRYWriter]

I really enjoy your practical advice. While some is not necessarily applicable to all of us, your depth of info & willingness to share it is both enlightening & appreciated. Thank you.

[civilwarbuff]

Troy, your subjects are almost always interesting, informative and useful. Thanks for all the time and effort you put into your videos. Your last comments about the difficulty of some you know in accessing water reminded me of someone: Thomas Jefferson. His plans for Monticello made him largely self-sufficient in most things except water. He relied heavily on rain filled cisterns but still had to haul water up the mountain.

[greatamculture]

The states that deem rain water retention illegal need go back to the Constitution. The government does not have the authority to impose such illegal so called laws upon the people.

[BC-yvew]

Regarding rain water catchment, I've been watching Joe on his Homesteadenomics channel. He lives in southern Arizona and it wasn't practical to drill a well where he lives, so he does rain water collection for his homestead's water needs. Sounds like it's pretty common in that part of the country. He's got lots of videos on the topic, including a pretty good FAQs. Not meaning to plug another channel on yours, but it's worth checking out for anyone interested.

[etherealvalkyrie]

Thanks for making these videos. Great for someone just starting out on their search for land for a homestead.