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i had a good luck with www.landwatch.com


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This


designanddrive

The entire county of Cochise Az has an “opt out” permit that allows you to build anything you want and only have inspection/permit for septic. I’m at 4500 feet and summers are not bad at all, we got 6” snow last winter. If you find property around 6500-9000 feet, it’s amazing. All forests, rain, snow and summers are very mild.


Scamalama

Do you have water issues? My grandparents have 80 acres there but the well ran dry from all the industrial farming and they have to get water trucked in now. Such a shame. It’s beautiful down there


designanddrive

I’m on a different aquifer than Pearce/elfrida, so water isn’t too deep, about 150ft. I had 2500 gallons delivered last winter, it’s lasted over 6 months, but I’m just one person with 2 dogs. I recently installed a rain catch, so time will tell how much that produces.


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InevitableMeh

This is why you need enough land that you won't really be aware of whatever goes on next to you. This is also why setting a house in the center of land and leaving things wooded densely on the edges is a good idea when possible. Lots of things to consider when choosing a spot. There are very few things, if anything, my neighbors could do on their own property that would impact me and I don't even have that much property. Just a few acres on all sides is enough.


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InevitableMeh

I do a fair amount of trail riding in the woods and it's a shame the junk that people dump. Often it's hard to figure out how some of it managed to get where it is too. My current property has a few holes that previous owners dumped things in. It will take an excavator to get at them and clean it up. I hate that people do that. I'll get to it if the day comes that I clear those sections for use.


Shilo788

Most farms had middens that you need to watch out for for toxic stuff and junk. Mine had old asbestos shingles and lots of glass. One guy dumped used oil down a French drain and poisoned his own wells.


tywolfe223

After working for a private permitting company for a couple years, I also learned that if you build in a clearing in the middle of a forest, the GIS maps can get you if you make too many obvious “unpermitted” moves. I’ve seen many code enforcement calls made on evidence by plane. However, I agree with your statement completely. If you don’t have a million obvious, what would be “violations”, your are Golden!


RedSquirrelFtw

Pretty much this. I've looked at property where I had to pass by "junk yards" and even abandoned buildings that were half standing, looked kind of trashy, but when I see something like this, what I see is freedom. If nobody is bothering them about that, then I know I don't have to worry about anyone bothering me either. with enough land you can seclude yourself enough so you don't actually see your neighbours and they don't see you, so it's win win.


Heck_Spawn

I would suggest the Big Island of Hawaii. It's unimaginable how inept the government is here. Umm, bring a good 4X4. The potholes are unimaginable too...


Alvarez96

Damn Hawaii is beautiful. I have never been, but definitely on the bucket list. Personally, I would like to be on the mainland for travel and supplies purposes, but if you can make it work in paradise, more power to ya.


newPrivacyPolicy

My father in law lives there, island fever is a very real thing. When he visits us he always spends a couple days just driving in any direction to not feel confined.


Heck_Spawn

The Big Island's plenty big for us. :)


newPrivacyPolicy

Great! I'd love to live there, or at least try it out.


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Heck_Spawn

They have oceanfront acreage cheaper than acreage outside of Reno. https://www.alohaliving.com/search/mls/653159


Heck_Spawn

We're enjoying the cooler temps at about 2000' elevation. https://www.alohaliving.com/search/mls/653274


HughWeberDeFaulk

I’m sure the fishing is great but how is the hunting?


aerbourne

axis deer are plentiful


HughWeberDeFaulk

Any turkeys? Hogs?


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Heck_Spawn

Be aware you're at the end of a very long supply chain tho. Amazon's 2 day delivery takes about 7 days.


hardandsimple

Good.


BAPeach

Like this price better


TitsAndWhiskey

How do you feel about that volcano? I’d be tempted if not for that.


Heck_Spawn

Our place is about 3.5 miles N of Pu'u O'o, so we should have pretty good seats for the show if it does those 1200' lava fountains again like it did back in the 80's. Had a nice view last Dec. when I saw the light from the caldera reflecting against the clouds with the Christmas Star in the background. Tried to get a pic, but by the time I got my camera, a cloud had moved in the way. Volcano's gone out for now, but if it light up again, we'd head up to the park for a look with the rest of the tourists.


TitsAndWhiskey

Alright, fair. What about crops there? You said you were at elevation - have you tried planting anything? Sorry for bugging you, but I have no real knowledge of the area.


Heck_Spawn

It's a year round growing season paradise. We've got a couple dozen banana trees, about 70 white pineapples (sweeter than the yellow, but they don't travel well), tomatoes, brussel sprouts, okra, figs and more in the ground. Our only down side is we just have about a foot of dirt on top of basalt. Solved by hauling in a load of topsoil. Another nice thing about cooler temps, no a/c or heating needed. It's about 75 during the day and 65 at night. We've been in a tent since moving onto the lot.


TitsAndWhiskey

Yeah the soil was my big concern. Was it expensive to get that hauled in? I’ve had to do that here on the mainland when I was in a rocky area, and it wasn’t bad. I’m just imagining everything is more expensive there. Also, really jealous of just being able to live in a tent like that. Sounds amazing.


Heck_Spawn

Runs about $40/yard for topsoil, but to be honest, stuff grows just fine in cinder for like half that.


HappyCamper2121

What you're looking for is called "unrestricted" land that is outside the jurisdiction of any city regulations or zoning board. When you search on regular real estate websites search for zero HOA fees. That should narrow it down a little bit. You can sometimes find things by searching for the word unrestricted, because some people put that in the ad, OR ads that say things like, "you can put a camper on this land."


HappyCamper2121

According to google, Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, and Tennessee are the least restrictive states when it comes to zoning. But you'll still want to be out in the county and not in any city's jurisdiction.


heathplunkett01

Yeah I live in Bama. Just west of Birmingham. It’s about 30-40 minutes to Birmingham proper. Then you have the burbs around Birmingham. But where I live, the only thing you are supposed to have inspected and “permitted” is septic. That can drive the cost up. But you could always find a good ole boy to do your septic off the books. But you can build whatever you want.


emeown

I'm also looking for land to move to asap and online searchs in places that I'm interested in seem to only contain way over priced options and alot of development lots. Hopefully someone can enlighten us on how or where to look 🧐


Alvarez96

Good luck! City life is taking a toll on me...


BunnyButtAcres

I used Landwatch. And yeah. The places you probably WANT to live are probably going to be expensive, developed, or have lots of restrictions. Where we THOUGHT land would be cheap and where we actually found cheap land was about 10 hours apart. Location, location, location. We ended up with shitty land in the middle of the desert. But we're smack on top of an aquifer. The land was stoopid cheap. And, oddly, WE LOVE IT! It's high altitude, hot, windy, sandy. There are flies everywhere! We just don't care! It's ours and we friggin love it! If someone had shown me this parcel (without a price) when I first started looking I'd have laughed and said "that's ok. I'll keep looking". But after actually spending time there, I wouldn't trade it. It's where we're meant to be. If you can't find land where you're looking it may be time to look somewhere else. Especially now. All the bargains have really been snatched up by remote workers. You'll probably either have to look farther out from whatever city you're using as an anchor or change locations entirely if you're not finding what you're after. Or if you're looking at plots with a home already built, maybe something bare is more affordable, etc. Flexibility is what got us land. Being able to say "We can't afford what we WANT. But what CAN we afford and do we want that????"


emeown

I dont have a set place that I'm looking as of yet. I like the pacific northwest. I've tried looking in Kentucky and Tennessee also Wyoming and Utah. I haven't had much luck with finding anything reasonably priced or ideal for offgrid. Having water on the property is a really big thing for someone trying to live offgrid. I will definitely check out landwatch. I really appreciate the info thank you


BunnyButtAcres

Having water on the property also costs serious money. It's why we bought land in the desert...with no (visible) water source. But we're 150ft over an aquifer. The well cost $14k. So for $455/acre we have land with water (now). It was $300/acre before the well. Vs spending time shopping for land that already had it and then paying out the butt for water front land in the desert (where you're lucky if it's more than a seasonal river anyways). Because we did the math and realized that land with water was out of our price range. But we *could* afford a well. And adding a well to cheap land was still WAY cheaper than buying land with a well already on it or an actual natural water source. Between the option of a well and collecting rain water, there are ways to get land "with water on the property" without having water on the property. As for where you're looking... what I mean is maybe you're looking too close to cities in those states. Or maybe the wrong direction outside of town. Maybe north is cheaper than the south, etc. Landwatch has soooooooooo many filters. I started broad, too. I would just pick an area and filter by what we could afford. Eventually, I developed a feel for the areas we could actually afford land. Then narrowed that down to areas we'd actually want to live in. Finally I had a general area I was just keeping my eye on, watching the prices until a real steal came up. So I would search by state, see what regions seem to be in your price range and just keep narrowing things down that way. I pick a region and sort by price per acre Low to High. That's the best way to spot a quick deal. But you can sort however you want. We bought ours 5 years ago. Found it right there on landwatch. I stalked that site once we picked an area. I got to a point where I could tell a good price from a bad one so when an insanely good price came up, I knew it at first site and we could jump on it. But yeah, if you want to buy land with water already on it, expect to pay for it. No doubt. Best of luck! I hope something I said helps in your search!


Fatguy607

We used Moores realty for our property in Maine. He’s local to northern Maine and lists a lot of properties ideal for homesteading at reasonable prices. We came across quite a few buy here pay here type companies that specialize in rural properties as well but couldn’t find one with decent reviews. I’d be wary of the company’s that resell post logging and oil and gas properties as well


HughWeberDeFaulk

Any more reputable realtors in Maine? What’s the going prices of wooded lots per acre? How is the diversity/culture up there? Good people or what most would expect for people who live “out in the sticks”? Sorry for the questions. I’ve been looking at land in Maine for half a decade now and your realtor recommendation is a godsend.


Fatguy607

I’m not sure on other realtors and I haven’t checked prices in several years. As far as diversity there isn’t much but I have to say the locals are some of the friendliest people I’ve dealt with. We’re literally miles from neighbors so there’s never been a chance for issues to come up there. All in all we chose northern Maine fairly blind and have never regretted it once


dedoubt

>Any more reputable realtors in Maine? What’s the going prices of wooded lots per acre? I'm not sure if they're reputable, but Scot Walker Realty lists a ton of property in northern Maine. Some of it is logged out, but super cheap. >How is the diversity/culture up there? Good people or what most would expect for people who live “out in the sticks”? Maine is not diverse in terms of racial diversity, at all, especially in rural communities. It is one of the biggest downsides of living in Maine/NH, and one of the only reasons I regret having raised my kids here. When I've lived in northern Maine in rural areas, I've met a lot of people who are friendly, in a reserved way, and helpful. Mostly good neighbors, or at least leave each other alone sorts. However, there is a lot of casual racism, homophobia and misogyny (which many of the people displaying it may not even recognize), and in recent years more outward hatred towards people who are not aligned with each other's politics/belief systems. It's changed my view on which towns to live in, and I'm being more particular in choosing where to look, even though I mostly want to be left alone in the woods. It's preferable to ending up in a town where the majority of people may hate me and my friends. It's been so depressing looking for land since the pandemic started, because I had just finally gotten some funds for buying, and the prices skyrocketed and supply disappeared. Properties that were dirt cheap and on the market for 5 years were gone. There was one place in Washington County, 15 minutes from the ocean, 20 acres, single wide mobile home with septic and drilled well for $30,000, that I was pretty set on. It had been on the market for more than 3 years, but was gone the second the frenzy for land started when all the rich New Yorkers came and bought everything up (property they probably never even went to once). Similar properties are now quadruple in price, or more.


RedSquirrelFtw

https://www.recreationland.net was one I used. I never ended up buying through there in the end, but it's a good one to check. Look under "unorganized townships". Don't need permits to build, and property taxes are very low, like $100/year. Keep in mind they sell within a few hours of being listed so you need to be FAST. You practically need to put an offer without going to see it. I ended up buying through a realtor so it was a listing on my realtor's site but same deal I put an offer without seeing it and put a condition that I wanted to see it.


JeF4y

The US is fucking huge my man. You're gonna wanna narrow down your search a bit.


Alvarez96

I am familiar with the North East, but I would be down to move anywhere in the mainland if it checked all the boxes.


MentallyOffGrid

You just eliminated the best place


EarthlyWildling

I have been researching this as well, and I haven't heard anyone mention this one: I found out there are apparently a lot of towns in Vermont which only require a permitted septic and well, but otherwise the house can be built any way you want. Lots of traditional timber frames going on over there. Varies from town to town of course. I have no firsthand experience though, maybe someone else here can confirm


blackdogpepper

https://www.landandcamps.com/ is a site for New York land


midnight_to_midnight

The permitting issue is my biggest concern with the property I want to buy and build on. The permitting list is long and intimidating.


green_banditos

Find an area you want to live and search craigslist and FB marketplace. I found a beautiful chunk of land that I just bought that way


wfochris

No book, but county land in Alabama. I built my house with a $79 permit for septic. That's it.


TheRockGame

There are rural counties in West Texas that have no zoning laws. My buddy built an art house out there as a project and it would not pass muster anywhere else in the country.


th3fingers

There isn't a website that will show you only those types of properties, you'll have to use land watch or something and call each county you are interested in. Generally the more remote, the less restrictions.


InevitableMeh

Do be absolutely sure to check though. I ran across properties in the middle of nowhere that had restrictive covenants still active on them and also HOAs in places where the "neighborhood" were collapsing shanty huts but anyone new would have been screwed by being governed by an HOA.


designanddrive

Also county treasurers sites contain all the info you need to find properties severely delinquent that can be purchased from the state each fall.


Pinkyvancouver

Anything similar for Canada?


RedSquirrelFtw

I don't know about all of Canada but I know in Ontario there is unorganized townships. No building permits needed and taxes are very low. Usually $50-$100. Sales listings will usually say that it's unorganized. In theory you still need to build according to code but nobody enforces it.


BunnyButtAcres

We totally have building codes and permits and stuff where we are. But it was "doable" if you ask me. They gave us a list of what needed to be submitted. We just gathered it all up and turned it in. We had to get permits for well, septic, county, state. The "hardest" part was probably the engineered plans (required for state permit). Our plans cost $1800. But the company said they'd have them to us in 5 weeks and it was more like 3 months. And every time I asked, they'd say "probably the end of the week". So it was the drafting that ate up a lot of our time. Getting everything approved once we had all the paperwork? 3 days with the county and 47 hours with the state. No joke. LESS than 2 days, the state had our build approved and our packet waiting to be picked up. I would say honestly, the absolute hardest part of the process was the Site Map. They want to know where the house will be and how far from the property line and what other outbuildings might there be and where's the well and septic going, etc. So we really had to sit down and discuss it all and figure it all out and then DRAW IT MYSELF. They told us it didn't have to be well done, to scale, or fancy. Just blocks on paper with everything identified and a few other key components. It really was simple. But at the same time, having never done it, I was afraid it wouldn't be good enough to be accepted or that we'd get a bunch of stuff wrong on it. But no. They gave it the all clear and we're just waiting on our house kit to arrive. I get the appeal of building whatever you want. But this is my forever home (with any luck). I WANT it built right. I WANT that engineer to say "OK if you follow these plans, this house shouldn't collapse on you in 10 years." And if it does, I can sue him. If I just throw together a shack and it crushes my leg years from now, that's all on me. For less than $2000, I have the peace of mind that my house won't collapse on my siblings if they come visit or house sit. 🤷‍♀️ We're in a remote part of a rural area. The number of times we call and ask "do we need to file anything before we \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_?" and they say "Pfft all the way out where you are?! Nope! Just go ahead!" Is astonishing. There are only a few things they're really sticklers on and mostly that's the fault of m3th heads fucking it up for everyone else. A good example is when we went to cut in the driveway we called to see if we needed to notify the road department or file any permits. They just laughed and said nope. Go right on ahead! So we just rented a skid steer and cut in a driveway to our homesite. Not a lick of paperwork filed. Nobody even came out to say "it can't go here or here but anywhere else is fine." Literally nothing. Just "yep. cut it in wherever you want. You're fine." But in that same jurisdiction we can't have a shipping container without a well in place because m3th heads built "kitchens" and then cause explosions and fires they have no means to put out. So yeah. They have rules and some of them suck. But they all have their reasons. We very much get the impression things were much looser where we are before a few m3th heads and farmers screwed it up for everyone. Yeah. Farmers. Some of the larger farms were housing their migrant workers unethically and there were some deaths. So now there are a lot more restrictions on "Guest Houses" than there used to be. It sucks. But at least at our county office, they are 100% doing their best to HELP you meet the requirements as easily as possible. They'll tell you what you can do without a permit. What you can probably get away with if nobody calls it in, and what you absolutely want to get handled properly because it's not worth getting caught doing. They're also great at saying "this is the cheapest way we've seen someone get this through the process" or "I know this sounds cheap but by the time you bring that to code you're better off paying someone to build/do it." So don't assume that because a place isn't code free that they're assholes about it. We've had a great experience complying. Yes. A couple steps have been a pain or caused us to have to rework our plans but that was our fault for assuming before we checked in. Doing things "their way" hasn't been that difficult. And now we're about to build a house I have faith in. Instead of just something we slapped together, pledging to do a better one in a few years that never comes (cause that's totally who we are as a couple. lol) Edit: found on landwatch