i finally have something to post! I was layed off from my job in florida last july. We decided it was time to relocate out of florida so, after searching for a few months, i landed a great job in south western virginia. right near the blue ridge mountains. it's beautiful everywhere you turn! so we started saving every penny we could to buy land. we manaaged to squirrel away 14k and decided to look around. what a shock! land is pricy here. 5 acres for 30k, 1 acre for 14k, 20 acres for 90k.....wow! we originally wantd at least 20 acres. with the prices we were finding, that was not a possibility. well, i'm stubborn and refused to have less than 15 acres. so, as a last resort, i posted an ad on the local craigslist of what i wanted. i got a few replies of 15 acres for 60k and the like. then there was one reply. all it said was "i think i have what you're looking for". so we called and set up a meeting to look. the lady had 90 acres and wanted to sell 48. i asked about just half of it, knowing i couldn't afford all. i told her what we had saved and she offered to owner finance the rest. so i walked the land and knew it was the place. however, she wouldn't give me a firm price. i went back a few times and walked the land, marked approx. 20 acres with my GPS and talked with her some more. finally....a price! she said 2k/acre is what she paid and just wanted to break even. done deal! 2k/acre is what it is! now i just have to get a survey done and then off to a lawyer to draw up the details. after that, i will have a lumber company come in to see how much some of the timber may be worth to help pay down some of the balance. it's mostly oak with a nice patch of small cedars. i don't want it clearcut, just a few here and there to pay down the land some. anyway. we got our 20 acres! pictures will be up after my next trip. i warn you though. it's absolutely beautiful! never been logged, all rural and raw land! on a plus side too, it's only about 30 miles from where i work!

Good for you!  I've had a chance to spend time in that region on history research trips and I agree it is beautiful.  Things to check. Zoning, can your seller cut a 20 acre chunk off of what she owns based on the zoning, if any, and what can you do with the property...designated wetlands, or anything else on the GIS maps...easements already in place....and or any you may need so your property is not landlocked...what the water situation is...are there public sources, do you need a well and what do wells look like in the area, depth flow etc.  Good heavens, I, sound like a mother!  Anyway, I can appreciate the thrill of acquisition..so, Congratulations!

Sweeeeeet! Congrats!

Congratulations.

A note of caution from an experience with my land.  Be careful who you hire and how they log.  The skid loaders and trucks that they can drive are extremely heavy and can compact the area.  I have parts of my land that won't drain 25 years after logging.  Just make sure they don't use the equipment in the area where you want to put a septic field.

thanks everyone. to answer the questions, the land is zoned for residential/agricultural. no restrictions for building and can even have mobile home if desired. the land perks, but here the perk test does not transfer, so i have to pay so it's in my name. the land is not steep, but hilly and has some great build sites on it. the owner is allowed to survey off the 20 acres for me without any issues. the property fronts a county maintained gravel road. it's rural, but at least it's maintained and i'm not landlocked. for water, i need a well. wells in the area are common, and i prefer one anyway. power is present at the county road and i will have a septic system for sewage. i've been looking at the lumber guys in the area and will not go with the first one i find. i did find a crew that uses horses. no equipment. pretty cool. i'm going to check them out too. i think that would be awesome if i could get them in there. it would be fun to watch anyway.

still moving ahead. the survey took longer than expected. i got a great deal on it though. $640.00 to survey the new 20 acres. i meet with an attorney thursday to get the deed transferred to me too. i did contact the horse loggers and have a meeting with the owner next week to have a walk around the property and get an estimate of what the trees are worth. a cool story with them, they will be featured on the show 'ax men" early next month. i hope i can take some time off to watch them work. anyway, we are rolling finally!

Some extension services also have state forrestry services.  I know some will have a state certified forester come for free or low cost to tell you what your trees are worth.  Just a form of sellers protection.

Congratulations! My parents live in the Galax area. We lived in Ocala, Fl-horse country area for a number of years. I remember how excited we were at our 5 acre purchase back then. I'll look forward to hearing about your exciting journey & seeing your pics.

Good work and best wishes!

Interesting project and some helpful comments here. It will be interesting to watch this evolve.

Congrat's...The biggest part now is to keep your heart from beating out of your chest, and sleeping at night........cabins, houses, decks, sheds, so many exciting projects.....Glad your dream came true!!!!!! rsbhunter