How many acres?

[Curtis]

Being new on the scene, i'm unaware of how many acres I may actually need.

Some of you are aware that I am planning on building an underground home, (those who are not, click link in signature) the type of land I need is specific, I'm curious as to what some of you would recommend for me to be looking for?

The land will simply be used for construction of the home, privacy (I just dont want to be right next to another 'lot'), and i'll probably trap/hunt small game. Rabbits, squirrels, and the like.

I guess, originally I was looking into atleast five. But i'm thinking five or so would be adequate, but the more the merrier if I can get a good price, right?

What are some of the things I am not taking into consideration, and what words of wisdom can be passed down to a young guy who has no idea what to look for?


EDIT: And what other alternatives are there? I'm trying to do this as cheaply as possible.

[Squirl]

This was my main dilemma.  You should kick around some dirt first.  Go to realtor.com and find a piece of land nearby that is around 5 acres.  If you can find a tax map and aerial photography map get them too.  Make sure you are familiar with the boundaries of the property and that they are easily identifiable from landmarks.  Then e-mail or call the realtor.  In my experience, if the realtor knows they aren't going to sell you anything else for more money (like a house), they usually won't even show up. Hike the whole property. You should do this for 10 acres next.  If you haven't owned a lot of land before, 5 acres is big.  After a few years it may seem small, but then, you can start the process all over again and you have a house with equity instead of starting from scratch.
It also depends.  One acre can be great if you are surrounded by state land that is preserved.  The terrain also can have a lot of play.  Some properties I could see the whole piece from the road.  Others, I could not see from one end of the property to the next with the same acreage.
  I do not know the prices in your area.  But most areas I looked at, it was a higher price/per acre the smaller you got.  The advantage to the smaller acreage though, was just a smaller price.  In my search I found tons of owner financed pieces, but the price/acre was outrageous.  Many times it was 5-10 times the price of land for cash in the same area.  Always check the land first, you don't want to be buying a bridge in Brooklyn.

[Curtis]

Thank you, advice well taken.

[MountainDon]

How many acres? My first response to that is do you know how big an acre is? Many don't. It's 43,560 sq ft. If square that's just a little over 206 ft x 206 ft. As squirl pointed out the terrain makes a difference to now big or small it feels. So does the amount of tree cover. So while 1 to 2 acres might feel right in some places in others iy would not. Our land feels more open, exposed since we brought the tree density down closer to optimum for forest health. Finding land like ours, with national forest on one side and steeply sloped private land on another should help preserve the apparent privacy.

Sometimes you can find a nice 20+ acre or so chunk. Sometimes one might think of splitting off some later and selling it to help to pay for the original tract or improvements. If you run across something like that and that thought occurs to you, also check on the rules regarding sub division. I know someone who fell into that trap and faced a long list of "must do's" if they were to divide into less than 5 acre parcels. More food for thought.

[Curtis]

Yes, I Googled how large an acre was and it put it into perspective by comparing it to a football field.

It just seems like one acre, while large enough to build a house on, wouldn't be large enough for me to explore at all. I'm thinking five or so would be adequate to get me started.

[Whitlock]

At lest 5 acres more like 10 or ?? Try to find something with a well creek or spring.
You will want a southern exposure for solar or a garden also it might get cold in a ravine on the wrong side of the mountain in the middle of winter. The more flat ground the more you can do with it. If you find a place you like ask if you can camp on it for a few days this will tell you a lot about the property.

Good luck out there,W

[glenn kangiser]

Depends on the piece of land.  We have 5.85 in the valley and the neighbor has 40 next to us with him on the other end so it's not to bad.

Here we have 20 and I wouldn't want less - only a couple are relatively level for house - shop - sawmill - equipment etc.  The rest is nice for exploring with a ATV and getting wood etc. but it is 30 to 40% grades and more in some areas so it is a workout just getting around...but still nice.  Down the road a 1/4 mile we have a 40 so a bit more room to get wood, rent out the house and future rental or sub divide it to two twenties.  Keeps out the riff-raff as we own the road too.

[Curtis]

Can I buy some land from you Haha, sounds what I need. And, with someone who knows what he is doing just just a little ways away!

Haha.

I've been keeping my eye on listings advertised as, "Walkout basement potential" and the likes. Assuming by that they mean there is a hill.

I'm going to get in touch with a few guys I went to high school with that lived on farms or in cabins to see if they could help me find anything.

[glenn kangiser]

While we got a real bargain on it, land is outrageous out here.  20 acres nearly next to ours - not as good really, sold for $300,000 last year.  We paid $68k for this 20 acres. 

But.....like....  dude .... you wouldn't want people to call you a Californian would you? hmm

[MountainDon]

There might be worse things to be called, but I'm having trouble.....   

[Whitlock]

Let me help Don- Mariposan or a mariposite.
Definition-Backwoods hill folk that live in the central sierra

[glenn kangiser]

Sum of em ar crzy I here.

[Whitlock]

You gots too lok outs for theres wemons mostlys I here's

[Flutterby]

What are wemons! Sounds like half woman and half demon?!?!  Or maybe half woman and half lemon!
What ever they are, sounds scary! 

[NM_Shooter]

How much land you need is really pretty simple....

How far away do you want to keep your neighbors?

-f-

[Squirl]

It sounds that you want at least 3-5 minimum.  You can always upgrade from there.  From your earlier posts, it does not sound like you are infinitely wealthy.  Remember you will save a lot of money if you can pay upfront and build smaller and less expensive.  The time that you spend living on the land and not paying a large mortgage will allow you to upgrade later.  Don't forget there is a lot of equity in the process of building a house that has a tremendous value added even for a small one.  There is permitting, testing, septic, wells, all risks that you take, that once complete, are valuable.  
My dream is to have a small 8000 acre piece for myself.  That just wasn't in the cards for me right now.  I can buy more/trade up later.

[CREATIVE1]

Our property is only four acres, but it might as well be forty.  1/4 mile private gated road---no one except us will ever be allowed to build because of creek setbacks---and ours wouldn't have been buildable either if it didn't already have a septic tank. We paid the county $250 to determine our ability to build before we bought the property.   A 45 foot long building too close to the creek is grandfathered in.  200 feet nearly straight up to the public road, but not so public---only property owners on the mountain have a key. Only four of us live there full time. Forest behind us, only accessible from our property,  We own to the other side of the creek and up the 250 foot embankment.  The creek is in a 100 foot gorge from our side, 150 feet wide.  No one will even be able to see the house when we build.  Even the gated entrance to our road is hidden, but unfortunately they want us to put up a sign so that is only temporary.

We looked at lots of 5 acre parcels, and most were long and skinny and often had only one good site for a house, usually right across from where your neighbor would build.  Started looking at ten acres and then came across this property.  The creek is not only amazing and has waterfalls, but it is the only reason we can count on retaining our privacy.

[MountainDon]

You make it sound like it was worth all the travails you've been through. 

[CREATIVE1]

Hope so. 

[glenn kangiser]

What are wemons! Sounds like half woman and half demon?!?!  Or maybe half woman and half lemon!
What ever they are, sounds scary! 

Aha....you've seen them too....

...and to the forum Flutterby.