Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
I know what you're thinking: “It's too good to be true.” In this video, Becky from Becky's Homestead explains how people with very little money can get themselves a small plot of land.
To be clear, she doesn't mean literally no money. But as you'll see, owning a piece of land in the countryside is not a pipe dream. In fact, it is very doable.
You can watch the full video below, but if you prefer text, I typed up all six steps. Scroll down to read them.
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Step 1: Gather Local Newspapers
You're going to have to do more than a simple Google search for “land for sale.” You need to gather local newspapers from counties all over the state you want to live in. I recommend going on a trip for a few days to check out the area and gather papers as you go. Oftentimes, there are great deals in these papers that get overlooked.
Step 2: Search The Newspapers
Get out a Sharpie and search for land for sale by owner because if you try to go through a bank, they'll probably turn you down for having little money or bad credit. Remember, the property you get doesn't have to be that large.
Several years ago, my parents purchased 60 acres of land, but it ended up being way more land than they needed. Most of the garden and livestock was on just a few acres, and the rest of the land just sat there unused. What a waste! As Becky says, “Two to three acres is plenty of land for a homestead.”
Step 3: Call The Owners
First, ask them straight up how much they want for the down payment. It's best to be friendly and honest, but direct. If the down payment is too high, you might be able to talk them down a little.
Second, ask what they want for the interest rate. Shoot for 8 – 12%. Without a lot of money or good credit, you're unlikely to get anything for lower than that.
Step 4: Investigate The Property
Get the full legal address of the property, including the county it's in. Once you have that, find the county's website to find the property appraiser's office, specifically the zoning department. (You should be able to do this online, but if not, you'll have to go to the brick and mortar office.) Then you need to do two things:
- Find out if the property is zoned “residential/agricultural” or just “agricultural.” It needs to have the word “agricultural” or you won't be allowed to have a homestead on the property. Other than dogs and cats, most animals aren't allowed in strictly residential areas.
- Find out if the property is in the “hundred years flood zone.” You don't want to live in a flood zone, not just because it might flood, but because it's probably a very damp and wet piece of property which is not good for animals. You need high and dry land if you want your animals to be happy and healthy.
Step 5: Visit The Property
Call the owner first to make arrangements, then drive to the property and check it out. You want to walk around, have a good look at everything, and make sure it's a suitable place for a homestead. Here are three things in particular that you should look:
- A Well – You can always add a well yourself, but you'll save time and money if there's already one there.
- A Septic System – Again, you could put this in yourself, but having one already there would be very convenient.
- Flat Land – It's hard to use land that isn't flat, and as a homesteader, you want to use as many square feet as possible.
Step 6: Find a Title Company
For a fee, a title company will research the seller to make sure they're the actual owner of the property, and they'll make sure there are no liens on the property. This could potentially save you a lot of legal trouble.
That's it. Sign the contract and you are an official landowner!
Check out the full video on Youtube to read the comments and ask Becky any questions you might have.
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This is great, practical advice. Especially about the land being flat, (that is SO important) and using a Tile company. Great job.
I’ve realized for a long time now that flat land is not all that important – treated posts, set into the ground, can make most any site useable, and non-flat sites are often much more interesting…. the classic “pole house”….
Agree absolutely. I LUV the mountains, and have developed five bush-blocks over he years; one mountaintop 160-acre block had views of the pacific ocean: 86 km away! Building is ALWAYS adaptable to the site: even a mudbrick house can be set on a 35-degree slope. (only requires a bit more concrete in the footings.
All the best.
I’d prefer land with a slope. Building into the earth saves a lot in materials and provides great insulation.
Good info but if you can supply some info as to some sites or plasplasces where you can look for people selling there property there property there self, I LOOKED ON LINE,CRAIGSLIST .newspaper’s. BUT WHAT IM LOOKING FOR IS AN OLD FARM HOUSE ON @ LEAST 5 OR MORE ACRES FOR SALE BUY OWNER & I CASNT SEERM TO FIND MUCH.Do you know of any special sites thast wol hasve more of these listings.
Look on eBay “Land For Sale.
looking for 20 acres cheap with trees around 12,00o dollars
Bullyland.com or Oregonlandcc or just google cheep land and you will be surprised at what you’ll find.
Tim, I looked up bullyland.com and it was all in German. If we are in the USA, shouldn’t we look up something with an American website? Did I miss something?
billyland dot com
Farm Finders often run good deals if you want land in OR, FL, or AZ. They occasionally offer NV too.
It’s Billyland.com and not Bullyland…
I hope that this helps someone.
realtor.com
MORNING FROM “A COLD NORTH EAST WA.” I found my house and land on ZELLOW”! I move in to the house not knowing a damn thing on country living ! THIS house only has WOOD heat! I cash them out ! IT is a hole new life stile I lived IN SEATTLE THAT says it all! one other thing is the tempters here right now it is 16 ! OK to go to the store takes about 30 mins. + going one way and there is no fast food here !
I’m having problems getting financed. Easier to get a car financed!!
What state are you in and are you looking for RURAL land ?
Victoria. (Free to travel interstate) Bush-block with permanent water
Land is cash. Banks don’t finance raw land.
Ask about contract sales. Eventually someone will say yes. Even more likely the farther out of town it is. The seller of the property we did end up buying was thinking we wouldn’t want to live that far out away from everything but that was just what we were looking for. We wanted a place Google couldn’t find us.
Looking for land near Greenville, S.C. 1 to 3 acres. Wooded, NOT a golf course subdivision. West of Greenville, we like the mountains. City water wld be nice but not necessary.
Prices of land and houses here in Australia is many times dearer than the US. I’m too old to moe to USA unfortunately
Arizona , Yes how old is that? Just curious
Get back to me: [email protected]. I’m currently outside of Melbourne, but have some cash and lotsa experience, and am looking to go bush again. Not a kid either, so am looking for someone to ‘share the load’.
Cheers
Check ordinances for land use too within the township that you plan on purchasing. Where we live, you can’t have a lot of typical livestock on less than 5 acres.
Also, check property lines, easements and (including DOT). We bought our property and found out two years later than a deal was made back in the 70s with the DOT. We still technically own the land, but it’s there’s whenever they want it. Its about 1/4 Acre and the lines do not show up on our parcel map.
Another item we ran into was water. We live pretty close to the city and the land had an existing well. However, the city would not allow us to upgrade because we had a water line in front of our house. That cost us 14k within the first two months of moving in.
This is a great post, but it isn’t as easy as just finding land. 🙂 hope my experiences help others!
thanks for sharing!
How does one go about researching DOT promissaries and easements? should that not have been part of the disclosures? If not, how would you find out? And as far as the water, how were you notified? Just when you applied for the improvements to your well? All of that, found out after the fact, sounds a lot like a lawsuit. But if they can legally fail to disclose these things, how do you find out prior to purchade?
Title search and title insurance. It’s part of your due diligence.
HINT!! DO NOT tell the self-styled ‘authorities’ ANYTHING you can avoid telling them. I’ve been there/done that for many years and never had a problem. eg Don’t “upgrade” a well; just dig a fucking hole!
CAN YOU PLEASE LET ME KNOW HOW I CAN GET LAND FOR VERY LITTLE MONEY I AM POOR AND I WOULD LIKE TO FIND OUT THE 1W WAY POOR PEOPLE CAN BUY LAND.
If you are”poor” how on Earth can you think of buying land?! It’s NOT free no matter what you read. The advice here is rediculous. You need money that’s the bottom line. No one is giving you anything. What would you do with land?! You need a well,septic,electric. A house. All that is a huge amount of money. Get a job and save money.
You don’t necessarily need electric. The poor may have jobs but not much of a savings; try saving on the current minimum wage which doesn’t just apply to fast food places while paying bills. Also, when people are released from jail and prison they have fines onto of everything and when society doesn’t seem to forgive seven times seventy then they end up on the streets or right back in.
Need a well grab a shovel and dig til you hit water then tie a bucket to the end of a rope or collect the rain. Need a house buy a cheap tent or build a mound into the ground. Need light use oil lamp need to cook camp fire. Need a toilet out house and then compost.
The best way for people who are cash strapped to purchase land and/or a home is through a land contract deal where the owner is willing to carry the financing for you.
I hope this helps someone.
It depends on how flexible you are …there are plenty of gov /non profit organizations that will help tremendously if you are ok with moving somewhere considered to be rural theres dozens and dozens of diferent programs and grants that are there just for that… also lots of states have incredible incentives if your willing to move to a small town pretty much most midwest states at least are currently doing this but there are plenty of others too you just gotta google ….it helps the town to not experience population collapse..and keeps property taxes and the like flowing to the state so everyone in that situation is highly insentivised to make it the easiest and cheapest process they can to attract new people …gotta think outside of the box ….and while I don’t recommend it cause it’s a s$%tty thing to do but look for people who are in a situation that you can exploit to your benefit think messy divorces where you can pitch it as them getting the last laugh screwing the other over broken hearts and spite can be powerful drivers ,or people who have to relocate for their job in a short amount of time …you get the gist….any situation you can leverage for your benefit 😉
Check the County Zoning for the property you are considering. Where I live, it shows online, if the property is zoned agricultural or residential or a combo. Forest is zoned separately in some counties I think. We don’t have any here in my county. The maps can be confusing so check with the appropriate zoning authority and ask them to send a copy of the zoning so you have it in writing. Look on ebay. My Father listed a large farm thru his granddaughter on ebay. There are farms listed as well as hunting land which can often make a wonderful off farm, off grid property, homestead. Craig’s list is another place to look. The classified ads for property in the county, town or nearby you are looking at is another. Realtor.com is for listed with an agent and u will pay extra. HUD maybe, as well as trailer, mobile homes with land in rural settings often are cheaper.
Very misleading information. Nothing is free! Why lead ignorant people on?! Most of the comments can’t be understood because the grammar is so bad. If you don’t have money for property ,how do you get the rest of it!? Asking others to buy you stuff?! How outrageous.
This article has a basic – but critical – flaw: it is mistaking a “for sale by owner” property with a property for which the owner is willing to hold the mortgage (or possibly do a land contract or lease purchase deal). The overwhelming majority of owners of for sale by owner properties expect to receive full payment for the property at closing, just like owners of properties listed with a Realtor. This means a buyer needs to either have cash on hand to purchase, or they need to secure a mortgage. The seller isn’t much concerned with the down payment; that is between you and your lender. The scenario the author is describing is the rare seller willing to finance the deal themselves. In this seller’s market there is no reason for a property owner to bother with someone who doesnt have any money and/or can’t get financing. The major reason a buyer can’t get financing is damaged credit. If a buyer is such a credit risk that a bank with billions of dollars won’t loan to them, why would a seller? In my area of Ohio, as in many rural areas in the US, there are zero-down USDA Rural Development loans available to credit-worthy buyers. A potential buyer who does happen upon a seller willing to hold the mortgage themselves or sell on land contract should exercise extreme caution. There are unscrupulous sellers who “sell” the same piece of property over and over again, essentially setting up a buyer for failure with terms that the buyer will never be able to meet. The buyer defaults, the seller forecloses, or depending on if it is a land contract, simply evicts, and the property is ready for the next inexperienced or unsophisticated buyer who reads an article in how to buy property when they’re flat broke. And don’t get get me started on Craig’s List and other online sites. There’s an excellent chance you’re not even dealing with the actual owner of the property in some of those schemes. I hate to be the bubble buster, but the old saying about a deal being too good to be true applies in real estate too.
Thanks
Thank you for boldly busting the bubble because what you say is hard core facts. If anyone could read this first, even though it is basically common sense with some basic life experience thrown in, it didn’t cost several thousand dollars as it would to find out the hard way.
I moved into this house the first of OCT. 2019 I wish I could have moved in JUNE,JULY then we would been able to cut are firewood here cutting firewood permeant is free! DO I MISS SEATTLE,WA. HELL NO! I even had to buy a GENARATOR POWER HA ,HA, HA AS they say living off the “GRED”
One reason people are willing to sell on land contract or carry the note is because they are asking more than a mortgage company would be willing to lend on that property…
Most people do not pay much attention to the overall price if the seller is willing to sell to them and is willing to make the monthly payment what they can afford…!
Most people are happy with any deal they get as long as they are getting to purchase the place…!
This allows the owner to charge more than the property is worth…!
As you stated, if the buyers don’t follow the agreement, then the owner just forecloses on them and the buyers walk away with nothing to show for all of the money they’ve spent up to that point…
I hope that this helps someone.
Oh very well stated. Leading people to believe this nonsense is really not helpful. Please folks. Learning basic English will be a great help. Nothing is “free”. You must work for what you want. I know, how awful of me….
Remember to be sure via title search owner is the actual land owner. If unable to pay in full negotiate a down-payment, monthly payments and interest rate you can handle. Sale by owner does happen especially if Land is not pristine, needs work (be sure you can handle it). If there is a home bonus. If not check zoning/ordinances. Can you live in mobile home? Fifth wheel?
Don’t know about America, but in Australia you have NO hope of buying land if you don’t have a steady income and haven’t saved a deposit. I would hope it’s the same all over the world. Here in Australia we the workers just keep funding the lazy who expect everything for no effort. Best to be realistic about what you can afford and take joy from smaller things. Grow vegetables in containers, visit the parks around you and soak up the ‘green’. Volunteer at your local animal shelter. Assuming it’s a bigger dose of Nature you’re seeking. I’m sorry you’re not living the way you want to be. I too am disappointed about the false hope this article may give to low/no income folk.
YOUR problem, Cherrymar, is that (like most people) your’re trapped in a thought-process predetermined by others: entirely for their own benefit.
I’m currently in Oz (Melbourne) and, starting with next to nothing, have managed to own half a dozen properties (bush-blocks) over the years: ALL of them without going into debt.
I’ve developed each one (mudbrick house, etc.) and sold at a sizeable profit. The key, however, was to never buy a place with a ‘profit-motive’. Buy a place that can FEED you (even if it means living in a tent) and the rest will fall into place one way or another. I understand that time and price-ranges change all the time, but there are STILL options that crop up if you know HOW to look.
If you wish to discuss/have questions feel free to contact me: [email protected] Cheers.
Rose brock I get 730 dollars on SSI I would like to buy some land up in pink oaklahoma with a trailer on the land it don’t have to be a big trailer about a 2 bedrooms with some trees
Suggestion: Land for sale by owner…also known as contract for deed. People selling land usually list it as Contact for Deed.
Do not forget to ask who owns the mineral rights. The property owner my not own them and you could be in a big unpleasant surprise down the road. The right to access the minerals may be owned by someone looking for coal,oil, gas etc and can look for it regardless of what you have above ground.
The article also pointed out nothing is free!!! Owner finance is becoming more popular in our area. We bought our first home Owner finance, just because we needed to move quickly. 3br, 2ba, 1/2 acre, inground pool. We later refinanced through a bank for a better interest rate. And we made over 25000.00 when we sold it 7 yrs later! It IS POSSIBLE. You just have to be patient and smart.
Thank you for the article and the information!
I wanted to ask how do you keep your chickens from digging under the fence and getting out into the neighbors.
Dig a trench bury the fence in trench—Put rocks- logs etc in hole to block bottom of fence..The more rocks and logs you put in hole you can keep chicks in and critters out hope it helps
Another ‘usual’ method is to bury the bottom of the fence 10″/12″ down and fold the bottom of it BACK into the pen; then fill in. No chook has EVER thought to dig a foot back from the fence in order to get under it. Half the PEOPLE I know don’t have enough brains to figure THAT out! 🙂
I don’t know why but these types of web sites seem to bring out the self appointed experts that love to dump on peoples dreams. It makes their day if they can discourage someone and trash the referred to article all in the name of doing others a favor. Those of you reading this article who want to find your special piece of property, ignore these super negative naysayers. Do your own homework. Talk to someone who has done it before. And you might consider buying the book “Find and Buying Your Place in the Country” by Les and Carol Scher. Les is a lawyer specializing in rural real estate. Although the latest edition is dated there is a wealth of information in it. If you purchase from Amazon spend some time reading the comments too. And again, ignore all of the pseudo experts. Do your own research and be as thorough as you can and ask a ton of questions and then some. And if you have to, get some legal help. That could be money well invested.
Realize you will need to have a basis of information to live off the grid if that’s your desire. Lots of books at the library, video, YouTube, agriculture magazines, Google homesteading and permaculture, your local college for agriculture courses and consider working on a homestead to learn skills. Or choose your land within 20 minutes distance from your workplace. Practice money saving and plant in your current backyard. Keep a job to continue earning and saving, make use of 401k. Just digging a hole to drink water out of is a good way to risk your health. Mother earth news, hobby farms, courses from ARS, and the variety of YouTube and other sources give lots of information on how to safely use rain water off your roof, from a hillside, stream river etc
Nothing in the article or Becky’s video promised free. I learned a lot in high school, long ago, picking up books on livestock, farming, plus today there are videos. Get a notebook and start logging knowledge. Make sure you check out land in several of its season. How does water run or pool and is it a resource or trouble? A number of younger people are teaming with older folks. Young have the muscle; older the money and resources. Would an older couple welcome your help in exchange for living space, training, mentoring, maybe giving you option to buy? Meanwhile you help with chores. They watch the kids while you work, on homestead or at job? Something you’ll need to ask. Ask local people, churches, anyone who might like to meet with you? Discuss time line, mutual interests, if a paying arrangement, a probationary period and once agreed a written agreement and both parties get needed help, such as attorney to review. Maybe the party doing work providing elder assistance would have an agreement that in exchange for that and modest rent they have contract to buy at agreed amount when current owners move to assisted living. Perhaps a portion of rent can apply to purchase
Well said Pat. That’s the very sort of world I grew up in (Australian immigrant: immediately post-war.) and I still have the fondest memories of it, tough though it could be. It worked! And people were too busy to be anything but genuine human beings! Different world today, and I DO miss it.
All the best.