I looked on Zillow: I searched for at least two acres, at least 3 bedrooms, and under $50K. And we found it, too! 3 bed, 2 bath, 5 acres, 3 wells, a barn and a 50'x60' metal building for $50K (they wanted 75 but it had been on the market for many years). I have built a chicken coop and now have chickens (I butchered 8 of them last week), I am putting in raised beds as soon as I clear the 2 decades of weeds and brush from the property - I have two acres cleared so far, and we are a year in. The house needs work, but we are living in it just fine. We work remote, and we have the rest of our lives to get our homestead where it needs to be.
Wow, this sounds amazing!! Good for you! What state are you in? I’ve recently started looking for places I can move to so I can have some land. I’m worried about finding a job too and remote work would be great.
@@Jeremya74 I'm in Arkansas.I looked for property less than 75K and then offered 50K and got it. I also had three places in Tennessee that I looked at, one in Illinois, and two in Missouri. There were some in Ohio, but I can't recommend living in Ohio to anyone - their taxes are weird, every time you turn around there is another tax that you didn't know you had to pay.
I lived on a 3 acre homestead, when I met my (now) hubby who wanted to move closer to his ailing grandfather. We bought a modular home and had it set up in a small field on his grandfather's 55 acre farm. 2 years in grandfather's health had taken a dramatic turn for the worse and he needed around the clock care. We closed up our house and moved into grandfather's house and spent 6 years caring for him until he passed. He left the farm to my hubby. We live and farm/homestead here full time. It is No Where close to the perfect homestead. It's on the side of a mountain with almost No flat land, the soil is clay so I have to amend anytime I want to plant, erosion is a constant battle, we grow more rocks than anything else and the house (which I am remodeling) is in constant need of repair. But it's paid for and has excellent water, so here we are.
this will sound psychotic to any family driven person - destroy your current home and build it out of cob (monolithic adobe) and stone. It consolidates most utility costs and requires very little effort or knowledge to build.
@@mouthfulacoque3580 Ours is a berm house. When you walk in the front door you are on ground level and when you walk in the back door (which is upstairs) you are on ground level as well. When they built the house, they built the stairs smack dab in the middle of the house. When I first saw it I thought it was a bad idea. Now that I live here I understand why. It the ceiling, at the top of the stairs, is a HUGE (attic) fan. When we flip that on, it sucks all the cool air from the lower level into the upper level. Keep in mind the back half of the lower lever is built into the red clay mountain. The lower level stays at around 50 degrees even in the heat of summer. It works for us, for now. If we ever start over I'm thinking we will build a log and stone cabin.
Sounds like my acre in Baja California, Mexico. All hill, clay soil. But! We have 2 sheep and 2 horses fertilizing. We have chickens laying eggs. Its alot for me though, I'm single and need a nap many days😂.
Honest realtors can absolutely be worth the money paid for them in terms of their fiduciary duty. Mine steered me away from several pricier houses because she knew they had foundation problems or something about the listing made her worried for other fundamental problems. What she found me was a diamond in the rough and got me a good price for it. Additionally, she made sure that everything was legal and I got every document I needed, even ones I didn’t know to ask for.
This is exactly what we did! We asked 😊 We found a home with 3 acres and the neighboring property of 90 acres had 3 of those parceled acres adjoining with our land. We have horses…and it turns out the land owners were an older couple who also had horses. I brought them an apple pie and we talked horses for 2 hours. We all got along great and they were happy to sell to us.
On Dec 25th, 2022 my husband, my mother and myself found 6.25acs in the Ozark mountains of Missouri . Raw land, nothing there. In one year we've put on a cabin shed that we are finishing the on inside. We put in a small but very sufficient solar system. We have a decent graveled driveway, set up a 2000gal. rain catchment system and a flock of 20 chickens, with roosters. We will be putting in raised beds and a couple high tunnels because the Ozarks are really good at growing rocks, and we sre completely off-grid. Oh, by the way, we are all over 65 yrs of age, and doung it on our Social Security, thats the only income. It can be done.
Hello from Arkansas! We aren’t far from Mo. I have been growing stuff here for going on 30 years now. Just wanted to say the rocks don’t hurt as much as you’d think. The compaction does. I break the ground up and then layer manure and some kind of mulch, leaves, wood chips (check your local saw mill) and in 2-3 years the ground really improves so much. I just toss the larger rocks that I unearth but I don’t worry about the rest. Congratulations on your place 😊
With cows, pigs and chickens, you can start creating top soil immediately. It will be a few years before you see super rich soil…but it happens fast when using animals to restore the soil. Their hooves make nice divets that hold water and nutrients. The hay they eat can add back seed. And you can throw clover and beets and buckwheat after they move to the next cycle area. We also used goats to remove what wasn’t wanted. Our cycle was goats, then pigs (American Guinea Hogs) and chickens, ducks and turkeys (when possible). In three years our pastures looked good. We don’t run cows. Enjoy your beautiful project!
Cover crops 3 years in row in spot builds soil . Thicker softer then easier to establish native grasses or anything. Just spread seed and cows last graze plant the seeds ..
We got here at 57. It is difficult. Maybe we bit off more than we shouldve. The friends we had helped and could expect help from over the years had also gotten older or passed away. Luckily we found a couple guys to do some of the big jobs, and we have plenty of big jobs. My advice would be to modify your dream to accomodate 70 year old you.
I agree I'm a 47 year old widow and I didn't make it to this dream with a partner. It feels unfair to force my 20 something's and their families to join me.
I feel like I've been in the dream state for years! I think we are finally coming into a season of change; selling our business, paying off our home, starting with livestock. Saving for land and renting our home!! We still have a year or two, but we're getting there, debt free. We're ready for hard work, been doing that our whole lives, with less fruitfulness. Thanks for the inspiration.
I'm 73, so will probably start with a window sill "garden"..... herbs lol...and I'm still disabled from a stroke, don't think I will ever be able to deal with chickens, which I've always loved and wanted......and cows, oh my! My love since I was 3.So I'll do herbs for now
Just closed on our diamond in the rough a week ago! We looked for two years. What we bought wasn’t perfect, but it was what we could afford and something we can make shape and mold into our diamond . Can’t wait to build our homestead and follow your journey.
We lived off grid for 14 months. We went to bed early in late fall and winter. I enjoyed my oil lamps. We invested in solar outdoor lights. It was a very precious time.
It is interesting to make your daily routine fit natural lighting Moved to a amish farm property. No electricity for a whole. Run the generator for just 3 hours a day. If people think there going to run a generator 24/7. There in for a surprise.
I recently got raw land in northern Ontario Canada….blessed to have found a property that is remote, in an unincorporated township (no building codes or permits needed), with land rights, tree rights, and mining rights. My boyfriend and I are starting our cabin build this year, and going off grid. The process will be a huge undertaking, and take time, but we’re really excited about building a generational homestead. I’ve been binging your homestead content. It’s unbelievably inspiring. Thank you for sharing your experience. And you’re right, putting in a well is INSANELY expensive lol
We ended up with our property in 2018 with 10 acres and a good sized house because my dad was doing some work on the property for the owner. It had been abandoned for years. We got it for less than market value. The land is in two 5 acre parcels so it was even cheaper than it would have been since the 2nd 5 acres was just tossed in for the minimum $1 processing fee. Fast forward we have chickens. Getting bees this April and adding goats 😂, meat chickens, and meat rabbits next spring. Totally random but it worked out perfectly for us.
Awesome podcast! I did something similar after purchasing 5 acres of remote property in Alaska. I reached out to neighbors introducing myself, and ended up purchasing another acre with a log cabin on it from an older remote cabin owner who couldn’t make the journey to their cabin anymore. Story and being genuine is everything!
Very good info. I built on 20 acres in MN that allows no builiding on wetlands. My marriage/ homesteading lasted 10 years without children! Kudos to you both. The numbers on divorce with couples going into homesteading/building is very interesting. Make sure both parties have options if one of the parties taps out (or leaves you for a sailor). It will save you from further lawyer fees that neither one of you can afford.
I bought an Acer property, it's actually 2 properties, two 1/2 acer lots. Ones zoned commercial other is residential. Has a 3 bedroom 2 bath fixer upper. I bought it without a realtor, it was for sale by owner, I paid $14,000 for it in Jan of 2021! In Southampton county VA it's the poorest county in Virginia, and land here is cheaper then dirt! Litterly! Now since inflation has happened, prices are a little higher, but still extremely low here. There's a one acre lot down the street from us for 5 grand! Branchville VA! Just a lot. With water and sewer, and driveway and a falling down house. The firehall will remove the house for free. But yeah 5 grand! I'm looking at a cleared Acer for a market garden for 7 grand right in NC. Right down the street! Great area with nothing here! Waiting for the boom to come!! Lol buying cheap land as much as I can in the meantime! Soon people will find out about this area!!!
Nice. I found my property from a realtor who found it from a person he knew that the house wasn’t even for sale. Talk to your realtors. The good ones will hunt for you.
I hate to say it, but your husband is correct. We have been looking for houses that are way overpriced for one thing, and every realtor we have talked with has told us to put in an offer for a bit more than what they're asking if we even want to be considered. We had one that we called to go and see and were told by the realtor that the owners would be going through the offers that night. They already had 5 offers and we would need to put in an extremely strong bid to even have our offer looked at. That was a couple of months ago and the property is still sitting on the market. So, yes, the realtors do tell you to put in an offer for more than asking price no matter how far overpriced they are and work that needs to be done.
I can't make this stuff up... while listening to you two talk about what kind of property to look for and what aspects to keep in mind I was looking at property listings and right when I clicked on this one property to see the details you guys mentioned the diamond in the rough and the listing literally called this property a diamond in the rough! too funny
Aust and K: I have been dreaming of homesteading for well over 20 years. I have been looking for property online for many, many of those years, always disheartened that I can't seem to figure out how to make my dream come true. I watch and listen to lots of homesteading vlogs, podcasts, etc., and I have to tell you that this is absolutely the most inspiring video I have ever seen on the topic. I am so happy to be a new subscriber to your channel, and I am incredibly eager to watch your journey unfold. Thank you SO much for sharing your life with us, and for these amazing tips!
He's 100% right Realtors do that all the time. Some people are just too naive and/or ignorant of the workings business transactions, selling theories and methods/strategies.
We do say you need to bid more, when we know you likely won’t get the house without bidding more. I can’t speak for all agents BUT for me, my clients wallet comes before mine. 10k in price is a few bucks to my pocket but its a still 10k to my client! If I think we can get away with bidding less I absolutely advocate for that! I love making a shark deal for my people!
All you need ( if forested ) is a milling machine ( harbor freight ) - building materials solved - rainwater harvesting - creek for hydro power - gardening - livestock - thats keepin it cheap and all you need
I just want to say again, I am really enjoying your new journey. I am kinda reminiscing of the past couple of years when we did what you are doing. At this time we went back to a small farm to accommodate our grandchildren and our aging parents. I believe we will go back to the dream to build a cabin on rural tucked away property. Blessings and prayers to you and for your journey!
Thick tall shelter belts of trees are a great cure for roads and sticky noses. You want a double or triple row of trees that grow very tall very quickly, and several more rows of shorter bushier trees to fill in the gaps - and all evergreens, of course, so they serve their purpose all year around.
Don't forget about USDA loans if you are in the US. You can even get 1 time close construction to mortgage loans. Lots of cheap land in Appalachia. Turn it into silvopasture with sheep.
@K and Aust! If you do Sunny mountain, make sure you put the pain on the top of the hill Mark Shepherd goes above and beyond to put ponds at the top anywhere you can. It's pretty incredible how little space it takes to capture rainfall, to fill a pretty sizable pond. I've been to five or six of his properties that he's done this, and it's epic. Nobody ever thinks to put ponds on top of, but they're the most reasonable place to.
I think I found my property this week! It’s a PRO-JECT! But a manageable one over time! And the math is WONDERFUL once the main project is done! Wish me luck! Hoping to have it locked down by the end of the week! I just posted a video of the initial walking of the property and I would love your input!!!
the last property we bought(a temp. solution out of necessity), it was suggested that we offer more than asking.. we did and its the only way we could have gotten in. the housing market has been insane!! 8 months later, we saw an old farm house with a 2 acre pasture- it was neglected to say the least! we got the house under asking and used the profit from the first property (after a bidding war, we made 30% profit) to update the electric and plumbing so that we could get into our ugly farmhouse. 2 yrs later, we have replaced windows, planted an orchard, gotten chickens, built lots of planter boxes and a shed,,, and a free shelter we acquired will soon be a home for some feeder sheep. we have much more to do and patience is key. i dont know if you guys have heard about the "unicorn" property but, i havent found it yet. hard work, imagination and thinking outside the box seems to be how to get the dream homestead these days. thanks your inspiring videos and sharing your journey. I am excited to see how your next adventure turns out!!
Thank as a young family looking to go this path in life. We appreciate you guys talking openly about this. Give us the facts. :). Hoping our spring 2025 we have purchased land.
In our area, yes, Realtors DO tell you to bid above asking price. Bidding wars also happen, and home cost ends up above; sometimes WAY above asking price. price
Lotions that incorporate water have preservatives since water will support growth of microorganisms. Kind of similar to storing water for emergencies, it has to be treated to stop or delay growth. Lotion bars don't incorporate water. Thus no need for preservatives. Thing is oils and butters can go rancid given enough time, but preservatives don't impact that.
I know Danbury!!! I’m from Wilton!! Now I’m in San Francisco, I was just back visiting 😊😊 why not just homestead with a garden😊💜 That’s what I want to do! Eating animals is expensive, and you need more expensive health care when you eat meat 😊😊
Look up GSI map or gis map. I don't remember which. But it tells you the owners information including their addresses, tells you what other properties they own, tells you the value of the undeveloped land, and value of buildings on the property, also tells you the value of properties around said property, also tells you the tax amount for the land, it's an awesome map! Best map I've used for researching properties and I've used alot of them!!
Thank you guys so much! I’m also in Pennsylvania like your family, and me and the wife been trying so hard to find land but it’s been ridiculously expensive. Thank you for helping and I’ll be doing more research!
I wish our family was willing...my Grandpa went home to be with the Lord 2 years ago. He had the dream and worked hard to make it happen. He bought 40 acres, dug 2 ponds himself and kept them stocked with fish, built the barn and house himself. Unfortunately, my family has no desire to keep it in the family. They just want as much money as they can get for it. There is no way my husband and I can afford what they are asking. It's a sad process to watch. I am just so thankful for all the sweet childhood memories God provided from catching my first fish to everyone walking the property until we found the perfect Christmas tree💕.
Oh man. This is so sad and sweet at the same time. I wish you could take it over. Make it your goal to be the Grammie and grandpa that pass the family farm on to the grandkid with farm dreams and it will happen, just maybe at a different family farm!
One thing to remember about properties with decrepit buildings or a bunch of junk all around- it'll take a lot of work, but you can find some beautiful wood for shelving and furniture for your future home, and often in the junk you can find some really cool items that can be used in new ways. Get creative!
I've been following you guys since before you moved the last time. We have finally decided to look for the property that will grow into our homestead. Great advice and content, as always!
I bought raw land, 22 acres on a small mountain in PA. The land was 55k. Septic, 22k. Electrical service, 15k. Well, 12k. Excavation, 15k. Gravel Driveway, 60k. Thats before any building. If you are moving dirt and the EPA/DEP find out about it, get ready to pay tens of thousands of dollars for storm water management. The driveway actually cost 20k but the permits and storm water management required by the DEP was 40k.
Most counties have a GIS system that you can access through their county site and that's a free way to see property lines, ownership, taxes, deeds, tons of data. Not every county posts all of the information, but they should have a lot of it.
Im in mortgages, realtors want the deal to close with as little back and forth as possible, so they often try to get you to spend more rather than less. More about a quick close than the better commission but always under bit regardless of what a realtor says
Speaking as an Aussie, that bald-top mountain would scare me. Bushfires travel fast and hot going uphill, and whichever side the fire comes from it's going to roar up that hill and incinerate whatever's up the top.
You could also ask among family members to see if they need someone to keep an eye on their place for them, especially as they aren’t living there anymore but aren’t interested in selling or are unable to sell because of how a parent or grandparent set things up in their will. I have cousins who live elsewhere and not in the family home which is some distance from the nearest town, they do visit often and maintain the property with general upkeep, but that is all… It’s just sitting there empty most of the time, only used for family gatherings and other things. If you have family like that, then you can see if they will let you live on the back if they property in a yurt or something that won’t damage the property….this way someone will be there to keep an eye on things and they don’t have to worry about intruders or wildlife doing damage to the buildings… Your talk about remote and hard to access land made me chuckle, I have a close friend who has a cabin on a 100 acres roughly that she loves and I love as well. It’s not exactly remote as the driveway connects to a highway, the hard to access part is what made me chuckle as her property is mostly made up of beaver ponds and dams and almost constant flooding whenever the ‘neighbours’ are making improvements to their dam. The cabin is on a hump of an island off to one side of the pond with only footbridge access to it. Parts of the driveway get washed out by the beavers and winter thaw, so it needs almost constant repair… She only visits the place to spend a day or stay overnight for a few days, but doesn’t live there permanently. When I go with her, I am automatically filled with ideas and plans for the place. I don’t mind the beavers as they aren’t doing anyone harm… I can easily live there full time and tell her all the time, but she doesn’t believe me. I spent roughly 11 -12 years living in an ‘off-grid’ house build on the back end of my grandmothers property, any electricity we had came from Nana’s place, we used an outhouse for a bathroom, hauled water over from Nana’s house and took our baths in her bathroom…. I loved it (to a point) and miss that lifestyle, so am partially prepared to do it again on my own…
I love your new adventure, this is exactly what we want so I cant wait to watch your family go through it! We have been looking for land for a long time too! My husband still has 3yrs left in the Navy before retiring so that has put our plans on the backburner, sadly we missed some great deals before the pandemic, so its great to hear your methods for finding affordable properties. I love raw properties and can see the potential, and I love that you picked sunny mountain! Our last military move is coming up in a few months and I'm hoping we can buy a house with a couple acres so we can get started. Definitely a large garden and some chickens and then maybe a cow and horse, since they need a friend. I've been planning and researching for years so I'm 100% ready to jump in, plus I just turned 40 so its time already!
I honestly really like the sunny mountain. It’s gorgeous! I would be concerned about snow removal and mud slides but if you don’t mind then I think it’s great!
Yes in a competitive market like we have been in, realtors will let you know to offer more than listing price. You have to get a place, it’s crazy. We offered $20,000 over listing on a property and got out bidded. After 3 years of looking and putting in offers we finally moved from our little city corner lot to our 7 acre homestead 2 years ago. Way better then we could have imagined, so worth the wait!
Not opposed to green energy at all. But Anthracite Coal for home heating in cold areas is ubeatable. My stove burns for twelve hours at a time. It's great! Especially in the face of all the cost increases. Off grid I'd be looking at a stove or boiler that could run on wood or coal. Love watching/listening to your podcast. Good Luck with everything and God Bless!
Finding a good property is what is keeping me in our subdivision. We want to stay close to family, so it needs to be in TN, VA or NE. I think I would like a property with next to nothing on it instead of one with structures that need lots of work or might need lots of "junk" removal.
Don't forget you will still have to build some sort of shelter. New construction is the most expensive. The only way you are going to find cheap property is by going farther away from towns. The further you have to travel to get to a store, the cheaper it's going to be. It's also important to make sure you have access to get on your property, that the seller has title to the land, etc. etc. Water access is paramount. Building ponds only works if you get enough rain, and they are expensive to dig. Due diligence is VERY important to avoid a serious mistake.
@@robinlillian9471 I'm 69 and family is the important issue. We have started from nothing already two times, so I'm pretty sure I have a good idea about we need and the cost.
I thought you were crazy when you picked Crawdad creek. You liked it for the feel. When you cut things down enough to get the cows in it might have the same feel. Also with a busy road you would be gambling that a neighbor didn't sell their land and a mess of condos would be planted there.
We've been living offgrid for 2 years. The first thing we bought..and it was prior to moving..was a small complux shower. Ill do without alot. But a hot shower isn't on that list.
I am on starlink RV (a lower power version) right now, at it worse it about the same has DSL but when it is working well it better then cable. if the area you in has full avliablity you can get full starlink that is faster more stable and cheaper.
Here in NC the legal is pretty easy with regards to mineral, water etc rights. In NC you own your property 100%. Up to infinity and down to infinity, legally speaking. Easements and all that other jazz are a different issue.
I live in the city right now. But I have enough yard to start container gardening. But my husband and I are starting to look for land here in the next two years to move our Mobil home on. We are wanting to homestead. We broth grew up on a farm or off grid and we’re sick of living in the city and want to get back out there. City life isn’t the way we want to raise our children.
So....lol. I'm going to say it is crazy that a realtor will say to offer more. It has happened to us both ways! The house we're in now, our "temp" realtor (because our realtor was having a baby of course.) - said we should offer $30,000 more than asking (they did put it on the market to "sell it") due to the market and that there was another person bidding on it! Then the other person backed out due to not being able to put up a fence in part of the land due to wetlands. This new realtor said we should keep our bid. I said no...but we did end up offering $10K over because that was the going price they could have put it up for and I wanted the barn. No other barn in the area for sale. LOL
I just got over 10 acres with house and barn for $83,000 in ohio. Ohio land is generally very expensive so i gave a down payment right away after seeing the property.
Can you do another podcast episode on more of what to do if you have land that you cant live on yet? Also what you can do to make money on that property as far as homesteading/animals/food production goes.
Lol 3 mins in n im dying lol i hear myself when u talk. I dont even know ur names yet but i found ur video when i started looking at How to find my land n obtain it. Hoping ur video helps
Let's see if it's still so cheap AFTER you add up the cost of all these improvements and IF your pond system works to supply all your livestock and you with clean water. There's a reason good land costs money.
I looked on Zillow: I searched for at least two acres, at least 3 bedrooms, and under $50K. And we found it, too! 3 bed, 2 bath, 5 acres, 3 wells, a barn and a 50'x60' metal building for $50K (they wanted 75 but it had been on the market for many years). I have built a chicken coop and now have chickens (I butchered 8 of them last week), I am putting in raised beds as soon as I clear the 2 decades of weeds and brush from the property - I have two acres cleared so far, and we are a year in. The house needs work, but we are living in it just fine. We work remote, and we have the rest of our lives to get our homestead where it needs to be.
Wow, this sounds amazing!! Good for you!
What state are you in? I’ve recently started looking for places I can move to so I can have some land. I’m worried about finding a job too and remote work would be great.
What state did you find this in???
@@Jeremya74 I'm in Arkansas.I looked for property less than 75K and then offered 50K and got it. I also had three places in Tennessee that I looked at, one in Illinois, and two in Missouri. There were some in Ohio, but I can't recommend living in Ohio to anyone - their taxes are weird, every time you turn around there is another tax that you didn't know you had to pay.
Raising animals to kill them? No
Congratulations! That’s awesome!!!
I lived on a 3 acre homestead, when I met my (now) hubby who wanted to move closer to his ailing grandfather. We bought a modular home and had it set up in a small field on his grandfather's 55 acre farm. 2 years in grandfather's health had taken a dramatic turn for the worse and he needed around the clock care. We closed up our house and moved into grandfather's house and spent 6 years caring for him until he passed. He left the farm to my hubby. We live and farm/homestead here full time. It is No Where close to the perfect homestead. It's on the side of a mountain with almost No flat land, the soil is clay so I have to amend anytime I want to plant, erosion is a constant battle, we grow more rocks than anything else and the house (which I am remodeling) is in constant need of repair. But it's paid for and has excellent water, so here we are.
this will sound psychotic to any family driven person - destroy your current home and build it out of cob (monolithic adobe) and stone. It consolidates most utility costs and requires very little effort or knowledge to build.
@@mouthfulacoque3580 Ours is a berm house. When you walk in the front door you are on ground level and when you walk in the back door (which is upstairs) you are on ground level as well. When they built the house, they built the stairs smack dab in the middle of the house. When I first saw it I thought it was a bad idea. Now that I live here I understand why. It the ceiling, at the top of the stairs, is a HUGE (attic) fan. When we flip that on, it sucks all the cool air from the lower level into the upper level. Keep in mind the back half of the lower lever is built into the red clay mountain. The lower level stays at around 50 degrees even in the heat of summer. It works for us, for now. If we ever start over I'm thinking we will build a log and stone cabin.
@@krickette5569your "earthship" home is probably much more energy efficient than most.
I built one like that and I often wish I hadn't sold it.
Sounds like my acre in Baja California, Mexico. All hill, clay soil. But! We have 2 sheep and 2 horses fertilizing. We have chickens laying eggs. Its alot for me though, I'm single and need a nap many days😂.
Honest realtors can absolutely be worth the money paid for them in terms of their fiduciary duty. Mine steered me away from several pricier houses because she knew they had foundation problems or something about the listing made her worried for other fundamental problems. What she found me was a diamond in the rough and got me a good price for it.
Additionally, she made sure that everything was legal and I got every document I needed, even ones I didn’t know to ask for.
This is exactly what we did! We asked 😊 We found a home with 3 acres and the neighboring property of 90 acres had 3 of those parceled acres adjoining with our land. We have horses…and it turns out the land owners were an older couple who also had horses. I brought them an apple pie and we talked horses for 2 hours. We all got along great and they were happy to sell to us.
On Dec 25th, 2022 my husband, my mother and myself found 6.25acs in the Ozark mountains of Missouri . Raw land, nothing there. In one year we've put on a cabin shed that we are finishing the on inside. We put in a small but very sufficient solar system. We have a decent graveled driveway, set up a 2000gal. rain catchment system and a flock of 20 chickens, with roosters. We will be putting in raised beds and a couple high tunnels because the Ozarks are really good at growing rocks, and we sre completely off-grid. Oh, by the way, we are all over 65 yrs of age, and doung it on our Social Security, thats the only income. It can be done.
Where did you get your cabin?
Hello from Arkansas! We aren’t far from Mo. I have been growing stuff here for going on 30 years now. Just wanted to say the rocks don’t hurt as much as you’d think. The compaction does. I break the ground up and then layer manure and some kind of mulch, leaves, wood chips (check your local saw mill) and in 2-3 years the ground really improves so much. I just toss the larger rocks that I unearth but I don’t worry about the rest. Congratulations on your place 😊
Ya'll are rad!
Prepare for the crash though...ss may hit a sink hole soon.
With cows, pigs and chickens, you can start creating top soil immediately. It will be a few years before you see super rich soil…but it happens fast when using animals to restore the soil. Their hooves make nice divets that hold water and nutrients. The hay they eat can add back seed. And you can throw clover and beets and buckwheat after they move to the next cycle area. We also used goats to remove what wasn’t wanted. Our cycle was goats, then pigs (American Guinea Hogs) and chickens, ducks and turkeys (when possible). In three years our pastures looked good. We don’t run cows. Enjoy your beautiful project!
Yes! This is our plan!
M
Cover crops 3 years in row in spot builds soil . Thicker softer then easier to establish native grasses or anything. Just spread seed and cows last graze plant the seeds ..
Cheap grain drill on soft soil makes no till drill for cheap. Things I gonna try . Lol.
As a woman in my 60s, trying to figure this out for retirement is so stressful. Thank you for making this.❤
Starting Homestead in your 60's is ballsy
We got here at 57. It is difficult. Maybe we bit off more than we shouldve. The friends we had helped and could expect help from over the years had also gotten older or passed away. Luckily we found a couple guys to do some of the big jobs, and we have plenty of big jobs. My advice would be to modify your dream to accomodate 70 year old you.
I agree I'm 68 I'm still moving. I want to homestead I would like to find seniors in my situation to do the same thing together.
I'm doing it in Mexico. I really want help in the form of a like-minded acre-mate with a child who my son can pal around with.
I agree I'm a 47 year old widow and I didn't make it to this dream with a partner. It feels unfair to force my 20 something's and their families to join me.
I feel like I've been in the dream state for years! I think we are finally coming into a season of change; selling our business, paying off our home, starting with livestock. Saving for land and renting our home!! We still have a year or two, but we're getting there, debt free. We're ready for hard work, been doing that our whole lives, with less fruitfulness. Thanks for the inspiration.
I'm 73, so will probably start with a window sill "garden"..... herbs lol...and I'm still disabled from a stroke, don't think I will ever be able to deal with chickens, which I've always loved and wanted......and cows, oh my! My love since I was 3.So I'll do herbs for now
Just closed on our diamond in the rough a week ago! We looked for two years. What we bought wasn’t perfect, but it was what we could afford and something we can make shape and mold into our diamond . Can’t wait to build our homestead and follow your journey.
Very huge congrats!
We lived off grid for 14 months. We went to bed early in late fall and winter. I enjoyed my oil lamps. We invested in solar outdoor lights. It was a very precious time.
I think I’m gonna love that oil lamp mood
@@Homesteadyshow yes I think you will too.
It is interesting to make your daily routine fit natural lighting
Moved to a amish farm property. No electricity for a whole.
Run the generator for just 3 hours a day.
If people think there going to run a generator 24/7. There in for a surprise.
We had no lights for 6 months. Used candle-light. Now we have some solar. We need more to run things like a saw or a blender. ❤
I recently got raw land in northern Ontario Canada….blessed to have found a property that is remote, in an unincorporated township (no building codes or permits needed), with land rights, tree rights, and mining rights. My boyfriend and I are starting our cabin build this year, and going off grid. The process will be a huge undertaking, and take time, but we’re really excited about building a generational homestead.
I’ve been binging your homestead content. It’s unbelievably inspiring. Thank you for sharing your experience. And you’re right, putting in a well is INSANELY expensive lol
Been living off grid since 1992, you will love it. Add Starlink and you are set
We ended up with our property in 2018 with 10 acres and a good sized house because my dad was doing some work on the property for the owner. It had been abandoned for years. We got it for less than market value. The land is in two 5 acre parcels so it was even cheaper than it would have been since the 2nd 5 acres was just tossed in for the minimum $1 processing fee. Fast forward we have chickens. Getting bees this April and adding goats 😂, meat chickens, and meat rabbits next spring. Totally random but it worked out perfectly for us.
Awesome podcast! I did something similar after purchasing 5 acres of remote property in Alaska. I reached out to neighbors introducing myself, and ended up purchasing another acre with a log cabin on it from an older remote cabin owner who couldn’t make the journey to their cabin anymore. Story and being genuine is everything!
Very good info. I built on 20 acres in MN that allows no builiding on wetlands. My marriage/ homesteading lasted 10 years without children! Kudos to you both. The numbers on divorce with couples going into homesteading/building is very interesting. Make sure both parties have options if one of the parties taps out (or leaves you for a sailor). It will save you from further lawyer fees that neither one of you can afford.
Sorry Kay... He's correct about bidding more. Not so much now but a couple months ago everything went over list.
In all fairness, his mustache is AMAZING!!! Love your relationship, so cute and wholesome, I was chuckling and smiling at times bc of it.
I bought an Acer property, it's actually 2 properties, two 1/2 acer lots. Ones zoned commercial other is residential. Has a 3 bedroom 2 bath fixer upper. I bought it without a realtor, it was for sale by owner, I paid $14,000 for it in Jan of 2021! In Southampton county VA it's the poorest county in Virginia, and land here is cheaper then dirt! Litterly! Now since inflation has happened, prices are a little higher, but still extremely low here. There's a one acre lot down the street from us for 5 grand! Branchville VA! Just a lot. With water and sewer, and driveway and a falling down house. The firehall will remove the house for free. But yeah 5 grand! I'm looking at a cleared Acer for a market garden for 7 grand right in NC. Right down the street! Great area with nothing here! Waiting for the boom to come!! Lol buying cheap land as much as I can in the meantime! Soon people will find out about this area!!!
Nice. I found my property from a realtor who found it from a person he knew that the house wasn’t even for sale. Talk to your realtors. The good ones will hunt for you.
I hate to say it, but your husband is correct. We have been looking for houses that are way overpriced for one thing, and every realtor we have talked with has told us to put in an offer for a bit more than what they're asking if we even want to be considered. We had one that we called to go and see and were told by the realtor that the owners would be going through the offers that night. They already had 5 offers and we would need to put in an extremely strong bid to even have our offer looked at. That was a couple of months ago and the property is still sitting on the market. So, yes, the realtors do tell you to put in an offer for more than asking price no matter how far overpriced they are and work that needs to be done.
Ohhh this is going to be good!!❤ We already have our land…but I’m still watching/listening!
I can't make this stuff up... while listening to you two talk about what kind of property to look for and what aspects to keep in mind I was looking at property listings and right when I clicked on this one property to see the details you guys mentioned the diamond in the rough and the listing literally called this property a diamond in the rough! too funny
The bald mountain property has a good view, you’re not buried in the trees but see trees. I like it.
Just bought some Laurel Mountain soap. They'll be gifts for several people. Never done this before, made a purchase from a TH-cam recommendation!
Aust and K: I have been dreaming of homesteading for well over 20 years. I have been looking for property online for many, many of those years, always disheartened that I can't seem to figure out how to make my dream come true. I watch and listen to lots of homesteading vlogs, podcasts, etc., and I have to tell you that this is absolutely the most inspiring video I have ever seen on the topic. I am so happy to be a new subscriber to your channel, and I am incredibly eager to watch your journey unfold. Thank you SO much for sharing your life with us, and for these amazing tips!
So glad to hear it Ashley! I hope it helps you find a place! Keep us posted 😁
He's 100% right Realtors do that all the time. Some people are just too naive and/or ignorant of the workings business transactions, selling theories and methods/strategies.
We do say you need to bid more, when we know you likely won’t get the house without bidding more. I can’t speak for all agents BUT for me, my clients wallet comes before mine. 10k in price is a few bucks to my pocket but its a still 10k to my client! If I think we can get away with bidding less I absolutely advocate for that! I love making a shark deal for my people!
Good realtor 😁
@@Homesteadyshow Dang skippy
I bought 300 Acres in Clay West Virginia for $45,000 in 1996. Bought an acre in southern Indiana in 2019 that I live on now for $1,500
All you need ( if forested ) is a milling machine ( harbor freight ) - building materials solved - rainwater harvesting - creek for hydro power - gardening - livestock - thats keepin it cheap and all you need
I just want to say again, I am really enjoying your new journey. I am kinda reminiscing of the past couple of years when we did what you are doing. At this time we went back to a small farm to accommodate our grandchildren and our aging parents. I believe we will go back to the dream to build a cabin on rural tucked away property. Blessings and prayers to you and for your journey!
Thick tall shelter belts of trees are a great cure for roads and sticky noses. You want a double or triple row of trees that grow very tall very quickly, and several more rows of shorter bushier trees to fill in the gaps - and all evergreens, of course, so they serve their purpose all year around.
Don't forget about USDA loans if you are in the US. You can even get 1 time close construction to mortgage loans. Lots of cheap land in Appalachia. Turn it into silvopasture with sheep.
@K and Aust! If you do Sunny mountain, make sure you put the pain on the top of the hill Mark Shepherd goes above and beyond to put ponds at the top anywhere you can. It's pretty incredible how little space it takes to capture rainfall, to fill a pretty sizable pond. I've been to five or six of his properties that he's done this, and it's epic. Nobody ever thinks to put ponds on top of, but they're the most reasonable place to.
Lol the Sandpaper hands in callus from typing really made the start of the video feel more wholesome 😄
I think I found my property this week! It’s a PRO-JECT! But a manageable one over time! And the math is WONDERFUL once the main project is done! Wish me luck! Hoping to have it locked down by the end of the week! I just posted a video of the initial walking of the property and I would love your input!!!
Woop! Yeah! Congrats on finding a fun PROJECT!
the last property we bought(a temp. solution out of necessity), it was suggested that we offer more than asking.. we did and its the only way we could have gotten in. the housing market has been insane!! 8 months later, we saw an old farm house with a 2 acre pasture- it was neglected to say the least! we got the house under asking and used the profit from the first property (after a bidding war, we made 30% profit) to update the electric and plumbing so that we could get into our ugly farmhouse. 2 yrs later, we have replaced windows, planted an orchard, gotten chickens, built lots of planter boxes and a shed,,, and a free shelter we acquired will soon be a home for some feeder sheep. we have much more to do and patience is key. i dont know if you guys have heard about the "unicorn" property but, i havent found it yet. hard work, imagination and thinking outside the box seems to be how to get the dream homestead these days. thanks your inspiring videos and sharing your journey. I am excited to see how your next adventure turns out!!
Thanks for all the helpful tips and best of luck with this new property!!
You two are such an adorable couple. I love your videos. Great discussion and good info.
Gridlessness is my Absolute Favorite (completely off the grid) you tube channel!
Thank as a young family looking to go this path in life. We appreciate you guys talking openly about this. Give us the facts. :). Hoping our spring 2025 we have purchased land.
In our area, yes, Realtors DO tell you to bid above asking price. Bidding wars also happen, and home cost ends up above; sometimes WAY above asking price. price
Lotions that incorporate water have preservatives since water will support growth of microorganisms. Kind of similar to storing water for emergencies, it has to be treated to stop or delay growth. Lotion bars don't incorporate water. Thus no need for preservatives. Thing is oils and butters can go rancid given enough time, but preservatives don't impact that.
We hand milk, and use lanolin as our milking lubricant. It keeps teats and hands soft and supple!
I know Danbury!!! I’m from Wilton!! Now I’m in San Francisco, I was just back visiting 😊😊 why not just homestead with a garden😊💜 That’s what I want to do! Eating animals is expensive, and you need more expensive health care when you eat meat 😊😊
that is so awsome , we only have 5 acres in missouri , but alaska looks even better hahaha .........
Look up GSI map or gis map. I don't remember which. But it tells you the owners information including their addresses, tells you what other properties they own, tells you the value of the undeveloped land, and value of buildings on the property, also tells you the value of properties around said property, also tells you the tax amount for the land, it's an awesome map! Best map I've used for researching properties and I've used alot of them!!
Could you send me a link please ? Can't find anything.
Thank you guys so much! I’m also in Pennsylvania like your family, and me and the wife been trying so hard to find land but it’s been ridiculously expensive. Thank you for helping and I’ll be doing more research!
I wish our family was willing...my Grandpa went home to be with the Lord 2 years ago. He had the dream and worked hard to make it happen. He bought 40 acres, dug 2 ponds himself and kept them stocked with fish, built the barn and house himself. Unfortunately, my family has no desire to keep it in the family. They just want as much money as they can get for it. There is no way my husband and I can afford what they are asking. It's a sad process to watch. I am just so thankful for all the sweet childhood memories God provided from catching my first fish to everyone walking the property until we found the perfect Christmas tree💕.
Oh man. This is so sad and sweet at the same time. I wish you could take it over. Make it your goal to be the Grammie and grandpa that pass the family farm on to the grandkid with farm dreams and it will happen, just maybe at a different family farm!
One thing to remember about properties with decrepit buildings or a bunch of junk all around- it'll take a lot of work, but you can find some beautiful wood for shelving and furniture for your future home, and often in the junk you can find some really cool items that can be used in new ways. Get creative!
Watch out for asbestos and mold. Find out what your local laws say about abatement and disposal.
I've been following you guys since before you moved the last time. We have finally decided to look for the property that will grow into our homestead. Great advice and content, as always!
Wow! Awesome Wade! Tell me when you find a place!
I bought raw land, 22 acres on a small mountain in PA. The land was 55k. Septic, 22k. Electrical service, 15k. Well, 12k. Excavation, 15k. Gravel Driveway, 60k. Thats before any building. If you are moving dirt and the EPA/DEP find out about it, get ready to pay tens of thousands of dollars for storm water management. The driveway actually cost 20k but the permits and storm water management required by the DEP was 40k.
Do you need a personal chef? I'm available
Most counties have a GIS system that you can access through their county site and that's a free way to see property lines, ownership, taxes, deeds, tons of data.
Not every county posts all of the information, but they should have a lot of it.
Im in mortgages, realtors want the deal to close with as little back and forth as possible, so they often try to get you to spend more rather than less. More about a quick close than the better commission but always under bit regardless of what a realtor says
I love the idea of buying cheap, uncultivated land and using it as a family campsite while we explore it and begin making it into what we want.
Speaking as an Aussie, that bald-top mountain would scare me. Bushfires travel fast and hot going uphill, and whichever side the fire comes from it's going to roar up that hill and incinerate whatever's up the top.
You could also ask among family members to see if they need someone to keep an eye on their place for them, especially as they aren’t living there anymore but aren’t interested in selling or are unable to sell because of how a parent or grandparent set things up in their will.
I have cousins who live elsewhere and not in the family home which is some distance from the nearest town, they do visit often and maintain the property with general upkeep, but that is all…
It’s just sitting there empty most of the time, only used for family gatherings and other things.
If you have family like that, then you can see if they will let you live on the back if they property in a yurt or something that won’t damage the property….this way someone will be there to keep an eye on things and they don’t have to worry about intruders or wildlife doing damage to the buildings…
Your talk about remote and hard to access land made me chuckle, I have a close friend who has a cabin on a 100 acres roughly that she loves and I love as well.
It’s not exactly remote as the driveway connects to a highway, the hard to access part is what made me chuckle as her property is mostly made up of beaver ponds and dams and almost constant flooding whenever the ‘neighbours’ are making improvements to their dam.
The cabin is on a hump of an island off to one side of the pond with only footbridge access to it.
Parts of the driveway get washed out by the beavers and winter thaw, so it needs almost constant repair…
She only visits the place to spend a day or stay overnight for a few days, but doesn’t live there permanently.
When I go with her, I am automatically filled with ideas and plans for the place. I don’t mind the beavers as they aren’t doing anyone harm…
I can easily live there full time and tell her all the time, but she doesn’t believe me.
I spent roughly 11 -12 years living in an ‘off-grid’ house build on the back end of my grandmothers property, any electricity we had came from Nana’s place, we used an outhouse for a bathroom, hauled water over from Nana’s house and took our baths in her bathroom….
I loved it (to a point) and miss that lifestyle, so am partially prepared to do it again on my own…
I just sent you an email about this then opened up TH-cam and this video was the second one 😳
I love your new adventure, this is exactly what we want so I cant wait to watch your family go through it! We have been looking for land for a long time too! My husband still has 3yrs left in the Navy before retiring so that has put our plans on the backburner, sadly we missed some great deals before the pandemic, so its great to hear your methods for finding affordable properties. I love raw properties and can see the potential, and I love that you picked sunny mountain! Our last military move is coming up in a few months and I'm hoping we can buy a house with a couple acres so we can get started. Definitely a large garden and some chickens and then maybe a cow and horse, since they need a friend. I've been planning and researching for years so I'm 100% ready to jump in, plus I just turned 40 so its time already!
I honestly really like the sunny mountain. It’s gorgeous! I would be concerned about snow removal and mud slides but if you don’t mind then I think it’s great!
Yes in a competitive market like we have been in, realtors will let you know to offer more than listing price. You have to get a place, it’s crazy. We offered $20,000 over listing on a property and got out bidded. After 3 years of looking and putting in offers we finally moved from our little city corner lot to our 7 acre homestead 2 years ago. Way better then we could have imagined, so worth the wait!
Congrats for finding a place!
For sure… I definitely have had realtors tell us to bid more. Once in CT and definitely now in California
Not opposed to green energy at all. But Anthracite Coal for home heating in cold areas is ubeatable. My stove burns for twelve hours at a time. It's great! Especially in the face of all the cost increases. Off grid I'd be looking at a stove or boiler that could run on wood or coal. Love watching/listening to your podcast. Good Luck with everything and God Bless!
Wood stove for us Andrew! Good point on coal though, lots of PA peeps use it!
Finding a good property is what is keeping me in our subdivision. We want to stay close to family, so it needs to be in TN, VA or NE. I think I would like a property with next to nothing on it instead of one with structures that need lots of work or might need lots of "junk" removal.
Don't forget you will still have to build some sort of shelter. New construction is the most expensive. The only way you are going to find cheap property is by going farther away from towns. The further you have to travel to get to a store, the cheaper it's going to be. It's also important to make sure you have access to get on your property, that the seller has title to the land, etc. etc. Water access is paramount. Building ponds only works if you get enough rain, and they are expensive to dig. Due diligence is VERY important to avoid a serious mistake.
@@robinlillian9471 I'm 69 and family is the important issue. We have started from nothing already two times, so I'm pretty sure I have a good idea about we need and the cost.
Thank you guys for being so open and informative! Just found y’all and it feels like you’re going to be a wonderful resource for me going forward.
I thought you were crazy when you picked Crawdad creek. You liked it for the feel. When you cut things down enough to get the cows in it might have the same feel. Also with a busy road you would be gambling that a neighbor didn't sell their land and a mess of condos would be planted there.
We've been living offgrid for 2 years. The first thing we bought..and it was prior to moving..was a small complux shower. Ill do without alot. But a hot shower isn't on that list.
Looking for one now…. Should have years ago I’ve wanted to. Looking in Oklahoma Missouri would love Idaho too
I am on starlink RV (a lower power version) right now, at it worse it about the same has DSL but when it is working well it better then cable. if the area you in has full avliablity you can get full starlink that is faster more stable and cheaper.
We didn’t have a drive on the 10 acres we lived on and we got stuck often even with 4 wheel drive.
I’m in mystic. We’re looking for land. Not opposed to leaving CT
Here in NC the legal is pretty easy with regards to mineral, water etc rights. In NC you own your property 100%. Up to infinity and down to infinity, legally speaking. Easements and all that other jazz are a different issue.
Great podcast, I loved the bit at the beginning about the lotions.
Aust is right. Realtors will suggest more in a hot market
I love the property with the amazing view. It has endless potential
you could use solar to pump water at top and water droping to produce electricity at night
YES! Such a great idea
@@Homesteadyshow that's something I know they do in Australia to keep their ponds full
I live in the city right now. But I have enough yard to start container gardening. But my husband and I are starting to look for land here in the next two years to move our Mobil home on. We are wanting to homestead. We broth grew up on a farm or off grid and we’re sick of living in the city and want to get back out there. City life isn’t the way we want to raise our children.
Organic Jojoba oil is so good for dry skin! I use a lot of it!
I love Gridlessness! So inspiring ❤️
SUNNY MOUNTAIN YEAAAHH! ☀️ 🌲
Congratulations Guys! Wishing you all the best!
Y'all could call the property: The Bald Eagle Congratulations and all the best
I started doing delinquent tax auctions. Haven’t gotten lucky yet but I go to another next Monday.
Oooh cool!
So....lol. I'm going to say it is crazy that a realtor will say to offer more. It has happened to us both ways! The house we're in now, our "temp" realtor (because our realtor was having a baby of course.) - said we should offer $30,000 more than asking (they did put it on the market to "sell it") due to the market and that there was another person bidding on it! Then the other person backed out due to not being able to put up a fence in part of the land due to wetlands. This new realtor said we should keep our bid. I said no...but we did end up offering $10K over because that was the going price they could have put it up for and I wanted the barn. No other barn in the area for sale. LOL
I just got over 10 acres with house and barn for $83,000 in ohio. Ohio land is generally very expensive so i gave a down payment right away after seeing the property.
Can you do another podcast episode on more of what to do if you have land that you cant live on yet? Also what you can do to make money on that property as far as homesteading/animals/food production goes.
Hahahaha oh my goodness the realtor absolutely told us to offer $50grand more than asking! Market is overwhelming 😔
Hey, thank you for this video!
... and borscht is Ukrainian origin soup, made with red beetroots :)
I'll settle for just watching you folks 🤣👌
I can find property I can afford and I can find properties my wife would be willing to move too. I can’t find both! LoL
😂 Alfredo you got me lol’n this morning
There is nothing wrong with asking 9:22 worse they will do is say no
LoL the toilet paper tussle 😂 that was a real thing
Lol 3 mins in n im dying lol i hear myself when u talk. I dont even know ur names yet but i found ur video when i started looking at How to find my land n obtain it. Hoping ur video helps
This video to me is extremely valuable.
Realtors definitely do advise people to offer more these days
I found my property because no one wanted to bid on it--it was oddly shaped. Because there had been no bids, they were willing to go much cheaper.
Interesting show. Looking forward at what you will do with your diamond in the rough.
They do too!
Lol on the big pharma mini rant. Most chapstick has something in it that makes your lips peel!
Yep!
Chapstick has wax in it to stabilize it, most wax doesn't melt at skin temperature. If there's no ingredients list it's not a good buy.
Let's see if it's still so cheap AFTER you add up the cost of all these improvements and IF your pond system works to supply all your livestock and you with clean water. There's a reason good land costs money.
They literally said this at the very beginning of the video...........