Video on how I found Land

[Mike 870]

Hey guys, made a 6 minute video on how I found land.  Spoiler alert:  I found land no one else wanted.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic.  Are you struggling to find land?  Did you buy some that you love or hate?

https://youtu.be/R3D5sY8WPOo

[cbc58]

Mike - I watched your video and some of the others you have done on your place.   Thanks for sharing your experiences. 

I am in the process of looking at some land now and came across what looked like a killer deal on craigslist.  2 lots for 12k total - 2.5 acres all together - about 20 minutes outside of growing area.   Walked the land and it looked pretty good (layed well - nice trees) - but the neighborhood is a little rough (house and neighbor next door not overly desirable).  Decided to do some research...

Further research shows the land will require a 18-20k septic system for each lot, and the neighbors well is over 600' deep.  All the neighbors wells put in around 1970 have failed -- and they had to put in new ones substantially deeper. Estimate for well is 11k.  The road this property is on is technically private - there is no road maintenance agreement - and the road itself will require about 2k of work to make passable by car to the lots.  Talked to the neighbor and 2 years ago there was a drug bust and shooting at the house down the street, and the online crime maps show a fair amount of crime in the area.  The local convenience store was robbed 2x by gunpoint within the last 2 years.  While walking the land the neighbor behind decided to shoot his pistol for target practice.  First visit to property was on a weekend - nice leisurely drive.  Second visit was after work at rush hour and the traffic was very, very busy - gridlocked - and there is a lot of road noise.   Construction estimates for a 1800 s.f. house all-in come to about 195k -  and the neighbors house down the street that is 2600 s.f. (that needs about 30k worth of work) - is for sale and on the market for 170k.  Bottomline is that this property that looks like a "killer deal" -- isn't -- and that it is very important to do all your homework before buying. 

Visiting this land for the first time - it looks great - until you do the research.  Someone will buy this and learn a valuable lesson.

[Mike 870]

Wow,  that sounds awful.  Good thing you did several trips and thorough research.  I hope that I didn't give the impression that people should not do that sort of due diligence when searching for land.  Or even settle for something they are not fully happy with for that matter.

[cbc58]

Mike,

You gave some good information in your video.  I was just relaying my current experience looking at a parcel and what a little research uncovered.  Tks.