I’ve mentioned a few times that I dabble in ‘the market’. A bunch of those investments spat out some dividends Friday and about half of that amount gets funneled into the Land Purchase fund, and the rest gets reinvested. So, as a result, I’ve got a little bit more money to put towards getting a chunk of nowhere.
Unfortunately, this late in the year, it is unlikely I’ll be able to actually go walk any potential acquisitions. I cannot imagine that buying a piece of property that you viewed when it was under a foot of snow is a good idea. It does, however, give you some information on how accessible that place is in the winter, but I need more info than that before plunking down a hundred grand.
While I like western Montana for its mountains, and disdain eastern Montana for it’s flat-as-a-cookie-sheetness ( you can watch your dog run away for three days over there, its so flat) there is lots land between those two extremes. I’ve seen quite a few listings just west of Great Falls in the Cascade area that look interesting, and even some up near Choteau and Augusta, but nothing that ticks off enough boxes on my want list to make a trip there to look. Closer to home, the Helmville and Drummond area have some stuff but now youre up in the 5000′ foot range and snow is a bit of an issue at those higher altitudes, along with a shorter growing time.
I did see a very nice chunk up north of here but it was, unfortunately, on the reservation and I am not touching that with a ten-foot pole. Regular local politics is a clown show, tribal politics (and its racial overtones) are just pure anarchy.
Ii don’t mind waiting until spring to get ‘more serious’ about a purchase. It gives me more time to put together more money, and it also gives me time to explore more possibilities online. However, I’m getting older and I don’t want to be too old to enjoy a piece of land when I finally get it. I really hope that next year is the year I take this step and then can get started on the headache of infrastructure.
Speaking of, I did see a piece of property that was almost a contender. It was in an area that a fire had gone though and wiped out. The trees had started to comeback, and the property already had a well and septic on it, as well as a couple foundations where the buildings used to be. I passed on it for reasons, but here it is if anyone is curious…
Before you say anything, I fully recognize that it is unlikely (but not impossible) that I’ll find a piece of property that is 100% of what I want, and I’m okay with that. I can live with 90-95%. Or if theres an outstanding feature that makes up for a lack of another, I might even be okay with 85%. But I can only really afford to do this once, so I’d like to get as much of what I want as I can on the first go round. So..the hunt continues.
Hey Cmdr, I hope you do find something soon, the amount of work, even with a normal house in a normal rural area, is astonishing and it’s best to get started.
I was going to recommend you check any land with a website called https://www.historicaerials.com/ but they have suddenly become ad supported, and it’s now obnoxious. The site let you easily see old topos and old photos of the property (for areas that they have maps and photos) that were all aligned to the geology.
It’s a great way to see past uses for the land and surrounding area. You DON”T want to be near an abandoned dumping ground, or an old chemical plant or wartime facility…
Too bad that someone ruined the site. It was incredibly useful and cool.
SInce the easy way is unusable, you might still be able to find other ways to see old topos and county maps. I recommend trying. I’ve learned lots about my current place and my BOL.
Also check out any pipeline maps for the area. Don’t want surprises when you dig the bunker!
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Hey Commander, another good point about waiting is it seems the Nation’s real estate insanity is slowing down. Granted, not everywhere, but hopefully it will be a great upcoming year for you.
If only. Prices have been coming down, and I hope that it works to my advantage, but you never know what the future holds.
I hope prices come down. Here in north ID, we’re still seeing sellers laugh when offered $100k or more for 20 acre parcels of raw land with zero infrastructure. It’s so bad that we’re trying to plan our finances so that when the time comes for us to move to the REALLY old folks home we’ll be able to sell our place to some nice young local couple at something like 25% of market value so they can get a good start in life.
As we drive about the countryside and watch YT videos it seems that there are a lot of dreams turning to dust out there. As mentioned, some infrastructure could already be in place from abandoned or damaged real estate and could be better than raw land. Even having power to the lot line can be a big deal. Maybe check the county assessor for tax liens, sometimes paying a relatively small amount of back taxes could score a piece of property or an 8% return if the owner eventually coughs up.
Good advice that. A quick way to drop the price is tell them “This amount of $$$ is what I have NOW. Are you interested in selling your property to me ?”
It is wise being choosy but definitely write the list of Needs and Wants to help shorten indecision if it arrives.
You might consider looking at what James Wesley Rawles and son have listed…
Way outta my price range, unfortunately.
Keep an eye on the GSA website, sometimes they have some very unusual properties for sale, like this one (the auction is over) https://realestatesales.gov/gsaauctions/aucbdcls/?sl=FTWOR724005001
Yes, it had some problems (dry well, lots of Air Force stipulations and probably will have a Russian nuke targeted to it until they update their databases) but, ignoring all that, kind of a prepper’s dream. The auction started out cheap ($8,500) but ended up kind of high ($286K). Over time I have seen the prices go up, like everything, but still some unusual properties every now and then.
Following. The commentaries do have kernels of sage advice to overlay onto your checklist template for a property / home selection, and you are half assed squared away so it will fall into place eventually. Tempering those rawles redoubt expectations with a budget limitation is the main challenge. I had to forgo the larger land or property wants with mindfulness of my aging physical limits and the property taxation demands that come with that going big hobby farm idea. Reality kicks in when we make honest self assessments, getting to a better tactical and strategic locale is the only win win really necessary. Every other feature or attribute above that on your checklist is a bonus item. Fwiw realtors, websites, and the real estate ecosphere is a minefield of potential pitfalls and outright frauds to be wary of when making these big moves and purchases. Being shrewd and quickly saying no to things that put you off or your trained eye catches is the best things to have going forward. Patience if not pushed out or in a rush to evacuate move will give you the battle time needed to make best selections of current inventories, and what may also arise or pop up in future listings, be ready to strike fast if deemed a good deal or let it slide if the vibe is not right with you. Happy hunting and stay frosty while moving about the country.
Just curious what your reasons were for rejecting the Roundup, MT property? $180K for 40 acres is a pretty good price. Looks ideal to me.
Political water thing going on. Mining contamination. That sorta thing.
If you like that, you’ll love this:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/Cottonwood-Rd-Bridger-MT-59014/2113465491_zpid/
Price reduced by $830k to $169k for 160 acres,
Nice, but we need our trees.🙂
I wouldn’t like that public road running through my acreage. The fire is no big deal. It actually makes it easier to clear the land and replant with better species or just create new open spaces. It’s hard to find in MT, but you want to stay below 2,500 ft in elevation if you want to have an awesome garden and orchard. We’re at 1,750-1,800 ft in Idaho, and we grow heirloom tomatoes and peaches like weeds.
My criteria include
No HOA
No contamination
No neighbors nearby – which means a goodly sized piece of property
The rest of it, I can deal with. One problem with that Alert facility is no water….and no ability to drill a new well? Err, thanks but…