Buying land & putting a house on it?

[Eli]

So my fiancee and I are looking to buy a house in about a year. Quite a long time away, I know, but that's the plan. We want to explore all our options. We don't want what most people want, so we'll have that advantage at least.

We want 5-10(or more) acres. We are not picky about a house, as long as it's livable - the land is more important. Southern exposure, level or gentle slope, preferrably with a year-round creek or spring on the property. We want to become self sufficient, perhaps even going off-grid eventually.

I would like to know more about buying a piece of land and putting a house on it. Does this, or at least can this, end up being cheaper than a piece of land with a house already on it? We would probably go with a cheap(30k) manufactured home in the 1000-1200sq ft. range, with the goal of building our dream stick built in ~10 years.

How much does it cost to put in a well? I know this is based on how far down you have to drill(and the area you're in), but in general how much will it cost for a 150' well? 300'? 450'?

How about having a septic system put in? I know some systems can be pretty cheap, but others can be quite expensive.

How much could one expect to pay to have electricity run? I guess it's really just going to depend on how far you need it run..

Honestly, something like this makes me salivate, and if we had more than 8k saved at the moment I would seriously consider moving right now. Our goal is to have 30k by August of next year.

I think the only bad thing is that it doesn't have a spring/creek. Oh, and it's in the middle of nowhere - 2 hours from Spokane and 7 hours from Portland. But 80k? How can you go wrong?

http://www.unitedcountry.com/search...&Page=1&Office=46036&No=46036-13000&AU=N&FT=P

How about this?

http://www.unitedcountry.com/search...&Page=1&Office=46047&No=46047-07740&AU=N&FT=P

That looks amazing. Man, I can't wait! It seems like it's easier to find the qualities we want in an empty parcel of land, that's kinda why I'm asking. We have no idea what we would qualify for yet, but we're thinking around 175k total.

 

[skyking]

Wow, that second lot is right by a campground I had on my browser!
Without details it is impossible to figure your costs. accurately, but here goes.
I'd plan 10K for septic design and installation.
I'd plan 25K for a well.

Look closely at that first property. It is off grid, meaning there is no power unless you make it yourself.

No cable TV and only satellite broadband, and iffy cellphone coverage.

On the second link, it says "near Gifford". It could be off grid too.

 

[vi edit]

Prices can vary WILDLY from even as litle as a couple feet away from another lot..let alone different parts of the country. It's one part skill in picking out a good property, one part luck hoping you hit good water.

You've seen my build thread. We did a dirt loan on the property (20% down required) and paid it off before starting the home. We had electric and natural gas at the lot line so that helped out a lot. We needed our own septic and well put in.

In our area it's just luck if you hit a good water vein with a shallow well. Some hit at 30 feet, some hit at 60, others need to go up to 120. That's with a 36" bored well. If you've got a lot of rock/shale then bored isn't going to cut it. I think we were quoted around $75 a foot for a bored well. If you need to drill, then we were looking at around $28 a foot.

We tried the bored route first. Two dry holes. $3,000 burned up.

Had to then move over to drilled. Had to go to 450 feet. That was almost $14,000 after the casing and well head were set up.

Then it was another $7000 to drop a pump 450 feet down, run the electric to it, trench it 50 feet to the house, and hang a constant pressure system on the wall. We luckily have about 15gpm and didn't require a holding tank or cistern to keep pressure up.

To get rid of water we need to install a septic system. A 4 BR tank and install for me was almost $8,000. And that's in easy to dig midwest clay. If it's rock or harder stuff plan for more.

Your utilities are another thing that will kill you in a true "raw" property. You could be looking at $30,000-$50,000 or more just to get electric run there/to the house.

Plus depending on how far off the main road you are, you could be looking at $10,000 to $50,000 in grading & gravel to get a driveway put to you. I know a house near me that's about a half million dollar home built about 2 miles off the main road on some farm ground. It cost them $40,000 to have a really rough gravel driveway put in.

And then you have things like permits, excavating/landscaping, and surveying that have to be done before you even beging building that can add up into the 5 digit range too depending on areas.

It's *not* cheap to develop raw land and put a house on it.

 

[Sluggo]

Never underestimate the cost of a driveway, unless you want your house right up on a rural road. Even a 1/4 mile gravel driveway will be a huge initial cost as well as a maintenance headache.

We were at 5k each for well and septic, which I gather is quite a bit lower than most of the country.

 

[drnickriviera]

Unless you are raising animals or it's mostly wooded, why do you want that much land? I have over 7 now and it's too much work. 2 acres is the max i'll go from now on.

 

[Eli]

Jesus, all that adds up mighty quick. Maybe a raw piece of land isn't for us with such a low overall budget.

I'm okay with off the grid, I was just curious how much electrical is to run if it's available.

Those are some crazy numbers though. So 21k just for your well? I guess that's why "raw" land is so cheap...

We've been reading a lot of books on "urban" farming and off the grid living(which is something I've always wanted to do).

It sounds like we'll probably have to settle with 2-5 acres much closer to town with a cheap manufactured already on the property, and stick with our goal of our dream stick built in ~10 years.

Or win the lottery.

Unless you are raising animals or it's mostly wooded, why do you want that much land? I have over 7 now and it's too much work. 2 acres is the max i'll go from now on.

We do plan on raising animals, though if we were to get 10+ acres most of it would be left to do it's own thing probably.

We probably only need 2-3 acres really. But I do like the idea of owning a nice expansive piece of land. Our own little wildlife refuge.

 

[drnickriviera]

Depends on the soil. Around here it $2-3k for a 150' well that can generate around 15gpm. Completely finished, just flip the switch.

 

[Analog]

We bought 45 acres back in '97.

We put in a well, it was about $10/ft. Ours is 425 feet, the last hundred being in bedrock (no casing necessary at that point).

We have a 1200' driveway... not cheap.

The septic system was rolled into the cost of the house - this will depend on the size of the house and the local ordinances as to the cost - check into it with a local contractor, he should give you a good idea.

We also put a pond in - not our 1st choice, but they needed backfill for the foundation of the house, and it would be cheaper to get it from the hole created by the pond than to have it trucked in. We needed a lot because our foundation is only a couple of feet below the existing grade to avoid wet basement problems.

Does that help?

 

[vi edit]

Depends on the soil. Around here it $2-3k for a 150' well that can generate around 15gpm. Completely finished, just flip the switch.

I could only wish mine was that cheap.

I'm drilled straight into the limestone aquifer. It's salty, icky water. But it's water. And if my well goes dry....everyone around me is in a world of hurt.

 

[Analog]

Since wells are quite variable - I'll tell you about ours. Even though its 425' down, the static water level is only 20' below grade, plenty of water, no salt and we don't run a water softener. Years later they ran city water down our road and we refused to hook up, we love our well water.

 

[DrPizza]

Yeah, well and septic vary incredibly widely. When you're looking at a property, before you purchase, you might want to have a perk test done. That'll help determine the final cost of your septic system. Here, if I wanted a new septic, it'd run me about 3-4k. Very good drainage. But I'd only have to move about a mile & it would run me 10-12k. New well, probably another 1500-2k. Our water is fairly shallow.

You could always move to western NY from out there... that 80k will get you 50 acres or more in my area. A few years ago, I had a thread about a property we almost purchased - 4 bedroom farm, barn, huge storage shed, 5 or 6 bay tractor garage, 114 acres: 90k. It needed a new septic system because some idiot planted a willow tree in the middle of the leach field.

You could move somewhere in between me and Anubis.

 

[MotF Bane]

We bought 45 acres back in '97.

We put in a well, it was about $10/ft. Ours is 425 feet, the last hundred being in bedrock (no casing necessary at that point).

We have a 1200' driveway... not cheap.

The septic system was rolled into the cost of the house - this will depend on the size of the house and the local ordinances as to the cost - check into it with a local contractor, he should give you a good idea.

We also put a pond in - not our 1st choice, but they needed backfill for the foundation of the house, and it would be cheaper to get it from the hole created by the pond than to have it trucked in. We needed a lot because our foundation is only a couple of feet below the existing grade to avoid wet basement problems.

Does that help?

What do you do with 45 acres?

 

[MotF Bane]

Yeah, well and septic vary incredibly widely. When you're looking at a property, before you purchase, you might want to have a perk test done. That'll help determine the final cost of your septic system. Here, if I wanted a new septic, it'd run me about 3-4k. New well, probably another 1500-2k.

You could always move to western NY from out there... that 80k will get you 50 acres or more in my area. A few years ago, I had a thread about a property we almost purchased - 4 bedroom farm, barn, huge storage shed, 5 or 6 bay tractor garage, 114 acres: 90k. It needed a new septic system because some idiot planted a willow tree in the middle of the leach field.

Stuff's cheap in Middle of Nowhere, Tax York.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

You might look into a digester instead of a septic tank. The cost of wells differs wildly as has been said,

 

[rcpratt]

That's a lot of money.

 

[Eli]

Yeah, well and septic vary incredibly widely. When you're looking at a property, before you purchase, you might want to have a perk test done. That'll help determine the final cost of your septic system. Here, if I wanted a new septic, it'd run me about 3-4k. Very good drainage. But I'd only have to move about a mile & it would run me 10-12k. New well, probably another 1500-2k. Our water is fairly shallow.

You could always move to western NY from out there... that 80k will get you 50 acres or more in my area. A few years ago, I had a thread about a property we almost purchased - 4 bedroom farm, barn, huge storage shed, 5 or 6 bay tractor garage, 114 acres: 90k. It needed a new septic system because some idiot planted a willow tree in the middle of the leach field.

You could move somewhere in between me and Anubis.

Believe me, I've thought about it! And I thought of you and your farm. I'm aware that properties are uber cheap out there. I would like to be close to my family in Portland, though.. But some of these properties we've been looking at are in BFE..in areas that I have no connection to. So it kinda begs the question, where do we want to live? I am sure we could start a life for ourselves just about anywhere...

Thinking about different states really opens up a whole new world, though. I think we would like to stick to Oregon and Washington, though I'm open to being convinced otherwise.

 

[Analog]

What do you do with 45 acres?

About 25 acres are hay & horse pasture, the other 20 are the house/barn and woods where we have some trails for riding / hunting. We have 5 horses.

 

[Eli]

Looking at some land in NY.. Damn.. I can't believe how cheap it is!



I dunno. That's crazy. Might have to look into it......

 

[Eli]

dp

 

[Eli]

Damn, this is gorgeous. I would love to wake up to this every morning.

http://www.unitedcountry.com/search...&Page=2&Office=46059&No=46059-09008&AU=N&FT=P

 

[MotionMan]

Put one of these on your land.

MotionMan

 

[911paramedic]

I am on 10 acres out in the CA desert, well, septic, etc. One thing to consider, interwebs. I am stuck using an aircard and pay $60/mo for 5GB, it really sucks having to keep such a close eye on your monthly data transfer.

There is NO way of getting cable because not only am I five miles from town, my driveway is 0.5 miles long. That would be one expensive trench to dig...

 

[Eli]

I am on 10 acres out in the CA desert, well, septic, etc. One thing to consider, interwebs. I am stuck using an aircard and pay $60/mo for 5GB, it really sucks having to keep such a close eye on your monthly data transfer.

There is NO way of getting cable because not only am I five miles from town, my driveway is 0.5 miles long. That would be one expensive trench to dig...

I'm fine with satellite broadband, though of course it's far from ideal, it's also far better than nothing.

If I were to get lucky and have cell signal at one of these places, I would just use that.