Buying land. Then get a Log Cabin, Motorhome, Trailer, or Other?

[CatLady]

An older trailer that's been smoked in a lot... yet another thing to look out for

Thanks for the well wishes.

I spent most of the past days thinking about moving. I am in an odd situation. I'm not a country person, but I want to become one, to some degree. It is not a good idea to dive into the deep end, but where I move next, I plan to stay for 5-7 years. I would like to stay even longer, but I doubt I will end up in a nice enough place. So I am not going to live in the country because I really, really want to, but because I feel it's necessary for me to experience and learn some things out there. And to save money. Ideally I want something in between. Rural but having stores within 10 miles. We will see. I figure I will adapt easily or I will adapt with difficulty.

I did read a book on buying cheap country property, but that book is old. It was interesting and I learned a few things, but I am learning lots every day of my search.

 

[dmccarty]

Making time your enemy is never a good idea. Time should be on your side otherwise one is in for a bumpy ride.

It took us at least three years to find the land we bought. And the only reason we got our property was because it went on the MLS on Monday, we visited the land Tuesday morning as the sun rose, and the seller had a written offer Wednesday morning. The seller knew the offer was in the works Tuesday. We had timber agents tell us they had clients in the contract queue right behind us.

I would bet we got our contract to the seller just a few hours before the other wanna be buyers. And even then there were games being played to get us to drop the contract.

Good deals are hard to find and do not just fall into people's laps. One can get lucky but I have never been that lucky. :laughing: We worked our fannys off for three years looking for land almost every weekend.

Right now the market is depressed and there is very little raw land on the market in my area. And the problem with raw land is you have to do perc tests, deal with power and water issues. There are danged few buyers and people are just not putting land on the market. What is there ain't selling fast in our area.

I would not touch a log cabin, they are problematic. Our builder built several log cabins from kits as well as just buying the logs. He said he would never build a log cabin from a kit again. It was just easier, faster and cheaper to buy the logs to build the house. Once built they have issues that I do not want to mess with.

Seem like your best bet would be to rent a single wide or double wide trailer on some land in a rural area. Then you can find out what you like and do not like. You could then take your time finding what you want.

Later,
Dan

 

[rosietheriviter]

Catlady,
Nobody is prying but the state and what part of that state you desire to be in (or have a help network in) would help a lot in our ability to answer your questions.

Rose is rose

 

[westcliffe01]

I'm just guessing, but I think I'm a lot younger than Catlady with a similar idea. A lot about the financial aspect depends on what things cost where you are now. Me, I'm living on a 1/3 acre lot with a house that has a 1300sqft floorplan/walk out basement. Most of my basement is unfinished garage with single ply doors (crazy that someone would build like that in MI, but you know...).

Bottom line, if I had no mortgage, I would have to come up with close to $400/month just to keep up on taxes. And that is of course in no way connected to your income. Add to that summer utilities of about $200/month (air conditioning / humidity reduction). I heat with wood, so I typically don't spend more than $400 for a full seasons heat (nearly 6 months). The few trees I have on my property include a few giant oaks which are very expensive to even have trimmed (I have branches with a diameter over 2 feet).

Then there are all the township rules / ordinances. Only 2 vehicles may be parked outside. No commercial vehicle parking (even if it only "looks" commercial). My Bobcat outside is basically illegal. No "dismantled vehicle" permitted for more than 24hrs unless it is fully enclosed in a building. Fences require a permit, have to meet township rules and require a full survey. The "ordinance enforcement officer" can come and measure the height of my grass and order a contractor to cut it if he chooses and send me the bill + cost of violation..... Blah Blah Blah. Jackson, Birthplace of the republican party. Who would think that people of this leaning would write such restrictive ordinances ? Big bad government and all that.. but local government then it is OK ?

These are the "issues" that make me crazy. I live on a dirt road that is not even plowed until several days after we get snow, by which time the residents have already dealt with it. I fill in all the washouts and even out the holes the council digs every year (multiple times) to fix their ever unreliable sewage system that we have to use (and for which the fees more than doubled 2 years ago). Honestly, I have no idea what I am getting for all my tax money and I'm not talking income taxes.

Now I have investigated SE Colorado, and in some of the less populated counties people have virtually no difference in services compared to me, except that they pay $180 property tax per year and have virtually full control over what they do on their property (and were talking 36 acre lot minimums). Of course there is almost no "conventional" work (brick and mortar factories / offices) so one has to have a portable job (software / cad / design / nursing etc). Else do something the ranchers need, fix tractors, fences, fabricate, weld, all of the above and a few of the previous options.

I am presently stuck due to the home price situation, since I would probably have to take a loss of at least $50k right now if I had several months to find a buyer and of course I don't have a way to fund a loss of that magnitude right now. I honestly can't point to anything that I can see is going to return employment to this part of MI. My employer has added over 100 jobs and we are in the minority, but since they are all contract positions, no-one is moving into our neighborhoods. Everyone is sitting tight on their unsellable houses (if they have not already been foreclosed, in which case they have left the state) and the commutes are getting longer and longer. Gas price has been creeping back up there too and oil is not outrageous yet.

Anyway, for those of you who may not be living in a situation like what I described, hope you have a better understanding of us wannabes. As long as I'm stuck, I am equipping myself with everything I need to be self sufficient out in the boonies and I can take my time doing it. TLB = done, Diesel genset = done, F250 4x4 for hauling stuff = next, lathe = rebuilding, bridgeport style mill = done, miller dialarc 250 = done, surface grinder = done, cylindrical grinder = looking. Sheet metal equipment = looking, rotary screw (trailer type) compressor = looking, sandblasting system = after the compressor, spray painting = after the compressor etc etc etc...

 

[CatLady]

I'm back to update. Writing it out helps me brainstorm too.

For a while I was trying to find a newer, nicer trailer. Most of them do not have enough privacy and land, and the location is usually too close to the highways (for the ones that are cheap enough).

I thought about it and my ideal end result would be a log cabin that is not small. I read that the 14x32, and maybe slightly bigger ones can be transported as a whole, and bigger ones need to be built on site. So I want one built.

I am hoping a 24x36 would fit in my budget. I would like a nice deck or two, and if I had to, the main cabin could be a little less, such as 24x32 or 24x30. Ideally once I find land, the cabin could go up and be liveable pretty fast. A basement (on the cabin), especially walkout, would be nice but it seems like the money is better spent elsewhere. I would like a good loft or two and they don't seem to add too much cost.

The other thing I need in an ideal situation is one or two metal buildings for storage/work. With electric for one but it's okay to lack electric at first. Because of my current situation, I should probably make the metal building a high priority (but I hate to think of it taking away from the cabin funds). One 12x30 might be enough to start, and I would try to get a used (but great condition) shed/garage. Also I could consider rent-to-own, if the interest wasn't too bad, and I would plan to pay it off within a year, but it would help save funds for the cabin in the short term.

In finding land, I've been scared to find a place lacking septic. But is it really that bad? There are horror stories, but a lot of those people probably did not have perk tests and preapproval from the health dept? There are other bad stories but I figure the odds are it would be fine, especially if there are neighbors like 1000 feet away.

Keep in mind, I have access to some free and cheap labor. However I can't wait long because it costs me too much living in my current situation. (I will wait as needed, so I don't end up with land and other things I'm unhappy with.) So I can't get extra cheap materials because I can't wait for logs to dry? I found a couple sources of logs that claim to be wholesale/direct. They process them with grooves and things.

And I'm still thinking if necessary I could put a camper trailer, camper van, or small motorhome inside my metal building and live that way for a short time. I see used older ones for around $1500. But I may have to go with a better one more like $2500-$3500.

 

[CatLady]

westcliffe01 - I read your post just now. I didn't know you had posted here. My problems with my current living situation are different than yours, but I completely know what you're saying. For 1-2 years I felt stuck here, and felt like I needed to stick it out here. Recently I decided I had to get out and that it was wiser. In your case, you may have to stay, but try to consider getting out "no matter what the cost". If it's mainly a one-time short-term hit, and it allows you to start getting monthly savings. Also now could be a good time to buy land and/or a trailer cheaper. In my case, my property taxes will likely go down by 70-90%! For me part of it was wishful thinking. A friend was also being too optimistic and telling me how property values might go up in 6-18 months. But now looking back, I wish I had decided to make the move a year ago, 2 years ago, or more. If I had made the decision just 6 months earlier, it would have helped. However, being in a worse position (than 6 months ago) has led me to a better long-term decision IMO.

 

[Pops15]

A few things to consider....

Make sure an existing septic system would be approved if you brought in a mobile home, built a cabin, etc. Just because there's a septic system in place doesn't mean the powers that be will let you use it!

Have you talked to a banker/mortgage company? I read some posts that said banks don't make loans on land only. That used to be the case, but land loans became fairly common many years ago. I suspect they're tougher to come by now. A banker might have some ideas for creative financing options. You might be able to buy the land (outright, or put some money down and borrow the rest), get a construction loan, and then finally a mortgage to replace the land & construction loans.

A used mobile home (house trailer) will be the most economical choice, but the transportation and set up costs will be the same as a new one.

Forget about a motor home unless you just want to **** money away.

The cabins you're talking about sound like hunting or vacation cabins, and not something that would make for comfortable long term living. Real log homes are expensive. Very expensive. And they take longer to build than a traditional house.

Your best bet may be to look at distressed property (foreclosed or about to be foreclosed, short sales, etc).

Years ago I built a large room addition on an old farm house. The customer still lived in the city while construction was underway. They would spend their weekends working at the "farm". The guy loved it. The woman didn't. It took them 12 hours a week running two riding mowers just to keep the grass cut. Chances are it will take three times however much time you think it will take to maintain your property. There will always be something that needs your attention.

There has probably been some things posted that you didn't want to hear, but there's been some good advice posted. There's a wealth of "been there, done that" experience on this site.
Good luck. I hope it works out for you.
Pops

 

[CurlyDave]

Real log homes are expensive. Very expensive. And they take longer to build than a traditional house.

Amen to that.

When we were looking for property about 5 years ago, we looked at a log home on ~5 acres. It was about 1.5 times as expensive as a traditional wood-framed home. The property was only so-so (a large bowl, which the owners had turned into a private junkyard), but the log home led them to believe the property was worth a premium price.

 

[dmccarty]

Do not buy land unless you have a septic perc permit or you get a perc permit as part of the contract to buy the land. PERIOD.

Depending on the area getting a well may require the same sort of concern.

We looked very hard at log homes. After we did the research I would not buy a log home. They are just lots of work after they are built and they can have serious issues if they are not built correctly with the right design.

Depending on your future needs and costs I would seriously think of following other posts and build a cheaper out building that can be converted into living quarters for now. This only works if it can be done cheap enough for you to pay off quickly so that the permanent house can be built. And your local rules have to allow it.

Later,
Dan

 

[charlz]

Existing septic and well no doubt add to the price of the property but not as much as it would cost you to put it in new on property that doesn't have it.