Posted: 2/21/2016 9:52:04 AM EDT
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So the wife and I are tossing around the idea of buying some land so I started looking around the UnitedCounty.com website in the KY area. We live in the suburbs west of Chiraq and KY is within an eight hour drive. Not locked in KY so if there are other states you would recommend please do.
I'm searching for a minimum of ten acres with water and electric available. But I'm not sure what other questions I should be asking a realtor. Suggestions ? |
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Perc/septic, well data, methbillies, ect. You'll have to do all this research yourself. Don't expect any reliable info from the realtors. I'm up at my place now. If you're a long drive away, you better have some good neighbors. Luckily the guy that lives down the mountain year round keeps an eye on the places up here. He called me earlier this week and told me about the downed trees and power line torn off the cabin. Neighbors, even in the country can make all the difference when you leave a place unoccupied for any time. If you're still working and free time is limited, you might not want to buy a place too far away. Remember, you're going to have to take care of it an that will eat into what little free time you might have. |
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I'd limit it to 3 or 4 hours of driving time. If you're like me, you want to be on the property as much as possible. This allows you to get off work on Friday at 6, be on the road by around 7, you'll be pulling in the drive by midnight, you still enjoy most of your weekend there, and can be back in the office Monday morning. I've found anything longer than about 5 hours starts becoming a chore and these 2 day mini-vacations happen a lot less frequently.
That leads into my second point. Pick real estate that the whole family can enjoy. Most of the time a BOL is nothing more than a vacation home. |
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I would make a LONG list of criteria and take your time looking.
For me isolation was a big deal. I don't want to turn anyone away that needs help so being hard to get to is important. A year round spring but no rivers or creeks. Weather that I could camp out in comfortably 95% of the time. 1/2 tank of gas max distance. Neighbors that have a similar mentality. I couldn't find it where I lived so I relocated to a smallish town where I could still work and be close to the BOL. |
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Quoted:
So the wife and I are tossing around the idea of buying some land so I started looking around the UnitedCounty.com website in the KY area. We live in the suburbs west of Chiraq and KY is within an eight hour drive. Not locked in KY so if there are other states you would recommend please do. I'm searching for a minimum of ten acres with water and electric available. But I'm not sure what other questions I should be asking a realtor. Suggestions ? What if you can not drive? That is a long hike!!! PITA45 
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| I started looking for raw land at least 15 yrs ago.After looking at a few places I realized I probably would be doing most of the work myself.(Friends tell you they will help until you buy it) So I decided I would look/buy at land w/ a cabin already on it.I felt I could do building & land improvements while enjoying it but didn't want to build it myself.I would only look for places within a 3 hour drive.I didn't want to spend a half day driving there.I bought a cabin on 19 acres,2 3/4 hour drive.A spring on it,but no electric (wired for generator).top of the mountain w/ National forest across the street.I made sure there was no HOA or POA. Nobody had mineral or timber rights on it.Nobody had a right of way thru it.No liens on it.Any county ordinances to prevent me from shooting on it,Can you do a lot of work yourself ? How old are you & what shape are you in.Be realistic in what you are able to do yourself. Contractors will charge more to travel to real rural land to work on it. |
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I'd limit it to 3 or 4 hours of driving time. If you're like me, you want to be on the property as much as possible. This allows you to get off work on Friday at 6, be on the road by around 7, you'll be pulling in the drive by midnight, you still enjoy most of your weekend there, and can be back in the office Monday morning. I've found anything longer than about 5 hours starts becoming a chore and these 2 day mini-vacations happen a lot less frequently. That leads into my second point. Pick real estate that the whole family can enjoy. Most of the time a BOL is nothing more than a vacation home. I'm 5 hours away from my place on a good day and I'll be the first to agree that it's a chore driving back and forth. Plus every round trip adds 600+ miles to the vehicle. It adds up quicker than you think. I can also tell you that I would never considered a place that far away if I was still working and had to make that drive on a weekend. I tolerate it now by staying a week or two before going home. Generally one trip a month. When I was younger, my parents had a place that was 2 1/2-3 hours away and it was still a bit much for a weekend trip. You really only had one day (Saturday) to enjoy the place or do some work. And if it rains, then oh well. I'm in a place now that is very rural and it's hunting camps, fish camps and then just plain old vacation cabins. A good percentage of them never get used. People get all excited, buy property out here, use it for the first couple of years, then they come less and less until they quit coming altogether. |
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The closer that you can live to your BOL the better. You can go there more often and work on it more. Of course that is going to depend on where you work and live regularly. Sometimes it is doable and sometimes not.
I live in a semi rural area already, so I'm looking for property another 15 minutes out if possible. My regular BOL is about 1.5 hours away, but I'd really like something closer so I can spend more time there. It is a big difference having a close BOL. I can go there after work and not have to spend 3 hours going and coming, instead I can just take a short drive and get some stuff done. Remember: 1. a good water source - preferably a creek or pond that runs all year. Going to be very important for cleanliness and gardening. A well can do, but make sure you can a pump that can function without electricity and have a good backup pump. A surface water source + a well + watch catchment is more ideal. 2. good neighbors - as mentioned above, this counts for a lot, you look out for them, they look out for you.... also the ability to pool resources is important 3. good soil - either it already has it, or you can work it to make it so. makes a huge difference when growing stuff There are several resources that can help you once you find a possible spot to buy. Here we have county GIS maps that you can look at online. They show streams, ponds, soil types and even infrared images that will show you pines vs other types of trees. You also can go back online through previous aerial or satellite images that show what used to be there, or you can estimate how old the trees are. They also will show topography which can be very handy. Also, tax maps can be overlaid and show boundaries of the properties. Will also show tax estimates, and taxes paid in previous years and neighbors property values. Also sometimes they will show zoning and water/gas lines. |
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My family has done this.
Let me help with your thinking. Don't think hours think weekends. You can make it there any weekend is preferable not long weekends. Biggest factor period is water. No water, you don't have to worry about a septic system. The country EPA is going to tell you what type of septic system you need. Water you are pretty much on your own. Good approach, go to the local store and talk to the people who work there. Then stop by who they recommend to say "hi". Rural areas, small store, they know everyone even if its miles away. Next isolated is not really a good thing unless you plan to live there. Not there, its let's rob the place at our leisure. A permanent resident in eyeshot o up the road is a good thing. No cell service is a PITA. This is very doable and worthwhile. It was one of the best things my family ever did. Due to just time and deaths, we just sold the place, enough money to pay cash for a very nice place here in TN close to family. 8.5 hour driving time was just too far away to maintain it by folks not retired. It had grown pretty big over 30 years of add a building. We were all within any weekend until last year. Tj |
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I would not want it to be more then an hour drive, let alone several.
IMO 100 miles would be max, and it would have to include a cabin or livable structure. I wouldn't want to drive that far just so I can "camp" on my own land. I am fortunate in that I can live at my BOL. Its not as remote as I would like but I get 50 acres to myself and a couple streams. It does suck driving 60+ miles each day to and from work but its a trade off. For me its worth it. I love not seeing neighbors when I step out on my deck. 
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Quoted: I would not want it to be more then an hour drive, let alone several. IMO 100 miles would be max, and it would have to include a cabin or livable structure. I wouldn't want to drive that far just so I can "camp" on my own land. I am fortunate in that I can live at my BOL. Its not as remote as I would like but I get 50 acres to myself and a couple streams. It does suck driving 60+ miles each day to and from work but its a trade off. For me its worth it. I love not seeing neighbors when I step out on my deck.  |
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If you can't open up your back front door and piss off your deck w/o neighbors seeing it, you live too close to other people Quoted:
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I would not want it to be more then an hour drive, let alone several. IMO 100 miles would be max, and it would have to include a cabin or livable structure. I wouldn't want to drive that far just so I can "camp" on my own land. I am fortunate in that I can live at my BOL. Its not as remote as I would like but I get 50 acres to myself and a couple streams. It does suck driving 60+ miles each day to and from work but its a trade off. For me its worth it. I love not seeing neighbors when I step out on my deck. |
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I work in Downtown Louisville, KY and have a little house near by.
My estate is in rural Northern KY. It is large, with electric and water, plus septic and cistern. Fireplace on each end of the house. I also own a mountain and 1.5 story cabin with electric and well. It is in the middle of the Daniel Boone National Forest. It is extremely rugged terrain. All three have basements. The place in Louisville is prepped for natural disasters. It is in an urban setting. Very convenient. It WILL burn if either an extended disaster happens or significant social unrest comes about in the area. The estate is wonderful and well stocked. It is also about 40 miles south of Cincinnati and 70 miles north of Louisville. It is in an area with large estates throughout the country side. While it was once a farm community, it is now just development land for larges estates. The people are isolated and do not work together. I do think it would eventually get the attention of looters in an SHTF situation as it stands out as a wealthy area. My Eastern KY place has coal and natural gas. It is not the sort of place to just move to and think you are set. You need to connect with the mountain people. I have family and friends throughout the region. I am also part of a local non-profit organization. We own the old county school house with facilities and supplies for disasters. We also host pig roast and auctions there to raise money. In short, I pump money into the region. I have a region we can shut down and control and supply ourselves, with support of my local friends and family. It is not a town. It is a remote mountain community of very independent people. It is great IF you can build up something like that. But, it is not easy nor quick for most people. Oh, the people, they are nothing like the people around my estate nor in Louisville. These people will scare most people and most would speak poorly of them. Though I am a white collar professional, I am from the region, retired combat arms, pump money into the region, and can run with roughest rednecks. It works for me. But, don't think for a minute it is a "just add water and poof" situation. It ain't. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I would not want it to be more then an hour drive, let alone several. IMO 100 miles would be max, and it would have to include a cabin or livable structure. I wouldn't want to drive that far just so I can "camp" on my own land. I am fortunate in that I can live at my BOL. Its not as remote as I would like but I get 50 acres to myself and a couple streams. It does suck driving 60+ miles each day to and from work but its a trade off. For me its worth it. I love not seeing neighbors when I step out on my deck. I meet the first two at home I want a more remote location currently its 2 miles to a paved road and another 4 to the interstate I want 15 between me and the interstate. Edit: I would like to have a similar setup of 50, 100, 200 yd targets off my porch as currently |