Woohoo!! I'm going to be a land owner again

[O.S.O.K.]

I've been working on this for the last three months. I got my wife to go check out the area that I wanted to purchase some land - in Mississippi and she liked it

So we looked around at different properties and then looked again on a couple of more trips and we found what we were looking for.

I got the loan approval on a 10 year note and sent the purchase form in to the land agent.

So, now just have to send off the earnest money and get the thing closed.

Very happy - this is in central Mississippi, Montgomery County - 30+ acres of pines and hardwood bottoms. Just what we wanted. Its on a gravel road but only a mile off of the state highway, so good access, but off of the beaten path.

There's no cost for the county to put in a culvert and no charge for water or electric hook up - so starting costs are very low. Just need to get a bulldozer to make the road in and clear the home site.

This is going to be our primary residence in time - and I plan on slowly building the place up myself - starting with a "core" home that can be expanded - along with a barn, etc.. My goal is to build everything and pay as I go - like the Mexicans do Well, not exactly like they do - I'll be using all new materials most likely But the idea of paying as you go and having no debt in the process is very smart IMHO.

This way, when we sell our current home and move there - we'll be free and clear of debt - my ultimate goal. And we'll be living in an area that will allow for complete, off-the-grid existence if we want. The hunting is outstanding!

Can't wait

Of course, I'll put a shooting range on it - I've really missed having my own place to shoot - once you have that for a while you really get spoiled.

[AJMD429]

If you haven't read Countryside Magazine, you might like it, if you're into debt-free and off-the-grid living.

[Topside]

MAAAAANN!! Sounds like a heckuva nice place to live and do some shootin! Congratulations.

T.

[Pitchy]

Happy for ya, congrats.

[damienph]

No charge for electric or water hook up? That is deal right there.

[Pete44ru]

Congrats, Jac - I hope the land's title search clears OK.

I 'spect you'll soon be postin' about your first bar-b-que, there !

Heck - It even justifies a new BBQ gun ! !

.

[O.S.O.K.]

Thanks guys. And yes, living off-grid is the goal but I'm not in a hurry. The first thing is to be in a situation where I can easily do it.

And I don't mean to brag - I am just really excited about this. I'm 50 years old and can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I want to be in a situation that will allow me to have some kind of retirement... even if I still have to work at something - I want to be in an area that I enjoy.

[Pete44ru]

[I want to be in a situation that will allow me to have some kind of retirement... even if I still have to work at something ]

Don't fret - your wife is sure to let you know exactly what a "Honey-Do" list is.

.

[Blaine]

I think that's great!!! I doubt you could get your cost of living much lower than that.

[Jarhead]

Thanks guys. And yes, living off-grid is the goal but I'm not in a hurry. The first thing is to be in a situation where I can easily do it.

And I don't mean to brag - I am just really excited about this. I'm 50 years old and can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I want to be in a situation that will allow me to have some kind of retirement... even if I still have to work at something - I want to be in an area that I enjoy.

Congrats......shoot for the stars and live your dream!
Mike

[O.S.O.K.]

Yeah - there are some hurdles - the title search is one. Taxes owed is another possible bugaboo. Gotta get through all of that.

And my wife is a little dubious of my ability to construct a house, etc., paying as I go. She just can't get her head around that. Her aunt and uncle tried to build a house like that and ran up a large bill, but it was a very different situation and they are very different people. I'm not fool enough to go out and charge a bunch of stuff on a credit card and keep doing that until I've maxed out all our available credit - which is what they did. Still, she's doubtful. I guess she'll settle down when she see's the progress and lack of credit card balance.

I've constructed things - small buildings, etc. and I intend to literally do this in steps with the materials paid for with cash. I'm going to plan this all out. We can do this with our current income. Not to mention tha I still have a good size gun collection to tap into...

[stretch]

Good on yer, O.S.O.K.!!

That's the way to do it - no debt, and as a hobby until you're done.
Like you said, design it so that it's expandable. Let us know how it
goes!!!

-Stretch

[Ysabel Kid]

Congrats!!!

[spaceman spiff]

cool..........


spaceman

[Blaine]

We expect periodic reports with pics, of course

[BenT]

Sounds great!! But I'm a little confused about being off the beaten path on 30 acres and still have access to city water?

There is alot of smart house designs that make the best use space without being overly big.

Good Luck!

[TravisM]

Congradulations!

Sounds like you're living the original American dream. Awesome!

[RIHMFIRE]

Congrats!!!
cant wait to see some pics....
hows the hunting?

[Dave B]

Congratulations. I am looking forward to pictures as you build.

Dave B

[olyinaz]

I'm 50 years old and can see the light at the end of the tunnel and I want to be in a situation that will allow me to have some kind of retirement...

I wish I could figure that one out myself...

At any rate, CONGRATS!!

Best,
Oly

[El Chivo]

Congratulations! Sounds like a great place.

I tried to become a landowner once. I walked in to a real-estate office and said "Hey, I want a couple of acres".

The lady came around the desk, kicked me in the cojones, and said, "Well, now you have 'em".

[Gobblerforge]

Good luck and stay healthy. The wife and I did the same thing and have been living debt free for 6 years now. Love it. Outside of the phone, dish, electric and taxes, it's the cost of living. Work has been horrible around here for years but we still do OK without bills. Lots of folks out there suffering. As long as your work stays constant and your health doesn't stop you, you are going to have the lime of your life in the years to come. Take lots of pictures as you go and keep a photo album. Your going to tell this story a hundred times and it's nice to have pictures to show others. A positive attitude will be your greatest Allie. Bad days will come and go and sometimes it will be as if your hands can't seem to work a single tool but you'll get past them soon enough. Go do something else and come back to it, many times only to find your over it. Keep us posted from time to time and ask for ideas when you get to some sticky point. One last thing. I don't know the lay of your land but I live by the mantra, build high, stay dry. The news the last few years should prove this sound. I would never consider building where there's a chance of flood cause it will rain. Just a thought.
Gobbler

[O.S.O.K.]

Thanks everybody.

We do intend to build on the high ground - this has ridges and draws on the whole thing. I'll put a google earth pic of it down below here...

The water is county water - not city water This area is all rural with little towns. Most all of the land is private or held by timber companies and hunt clubs. The population is spread-out over the rural areas with houses and hunt camps. Very pretty mixed forest with the dominant industrty being the timber business (pines).

The hunting is absolutely fantabulous - you can quite literally hunt something year round if you like. The deer season starts in October with archery and then alternates back and forth between gun and primitive weapon and ends up again in archery to the end of January - limit is one deer a day - and they still don't harvest enough annually! Turkey (tracks on this land) dove, squirrel, rabbit, coyote, bobcat, coon, etc. and sasquatch :lool: are available - so you really can hunt year round. There are also a couple of nice bass lakes (resevoirs) nearby - within about 30 and 45 minutes drive.



The red is the property outline. The line in and circle are where we will probably put the house, buildings. There's a high spot in that area with a draw off to one side and a drainage that should make a good pond.

[RIHMFIRE]

Wow ...thats a pretty nice chunk of land.....
and i know where i would put a food plot....
right in the finger of the clear cut....just about the middle of it..

I just love Alabama.....went on an RV camping trip there one year...
My wifes boss has a cabin on a lake and we plan to rent
for a couple of weeks this year...north of you..near Talladega...

is that a chicken farm to the south?.....
if it is.....there your fertalizer

Good luck to ya!

[O.S.O.K.]

The clearcut is actually 7 year old pines now. Mississippi not Alabama - though they look a lot alike. And the place to the south is a beefalo ranch - a guy from Texas came in some time ago and started it.

[damienph]

There's no cost for the county to put in a culvert and no charge for water or electric hook up - so starting costs are very low. Just need to get a bulldozer to make the road in and clear the home site.

This is going to be our primary residence in time - and I plan on slowly building the place up myself - starting with a "core" home that can be expanded - along with a barn, etc.. My goal is to build everything and pay as I go

O.S.O.K.

After seeing the aerial photo of your property; I recommend that you verify that there is no cost for electric hook-up. I work for an Electric Cooperative; our business is mainly providing power for rural consumers. Our cost for constructing single phase primary (7.2kV) averages about $5.50 per foot, or roughly $1450 per span. A single phase span, for us, is 270'. Measure in feet from the existing pole where power will come from to the point where your transformer or meter will be and multiply by $5.50; that will be a rough estimate of what it will cost a utility to build it. That doesn't include the cost of right of way clearing (typically a 30' swath cut to the ground from the last accessible primary pole to your transformer pole). If the new build is not a primary residence, we charge the consumer the full cost of construction, including transformer and meterloop.

All I am saying is the cost of building power in can really put a crimp in a budget.

I hope that you are right about no cost to you, but in 32 years as a lineman/foreman/superintendent, I've never built it in for free.

[O.S.O.K.]

Thanks - already did. I have a very good friend in the area and I also got this from the realtor. No charge to run up to 600' of line to hook up electric. Water, no charge. The county pops for the install and cost of a culvert for your drive.

I do have to pay for the dozer to make the drive and clearing and of course, gravel/crushed rock put down.

[damienph]

Great!! I am glad to hear that. Nothing beats living in the country with no close neighbors. I could never move back to town.

[RIHMFIRE]

The clearcut is actually 7 year old pines now. Mississippi not Alabama - though they look a lot alike. And the place to the south is a beefalo ranch - a guy from Texas came in some time ago and started it.

My bad...when i read "Montgomery County" .....I thought of Alabama....
anyway.......still a great place...Mossy Oak Country...

[O.S.O.K.]

The clearcut is actually 7 year old pines now. Mississippi not Alabama - though they look a lot alike. And the place to the south is a beefalo ranch - a guy from Texas came in some time ago and started it.

My bad...when i read "Montgomery County" .....I thought of Alabama....
anyway.......still a great place...Mossy Oak Country...

Yeah, it is Mossy Oak Country - literally

I am really looking forward to getting this done - so many darned legalistic steps to take to get there though. I think it's even worse now that it was before 2008... I do know that they want more down now - 20%. But the rate on the loan will be very good - 5.3% and I get dividends back each year lowering the effective rate to 4.8% - very good. This is one reason that I wanted to get this done now - as I really do expect the interest rates to go up in the next year or two... and when it happens, it will be very quick - no time to rush and get a loan...

[madman4570]

The clearcut is actually 7 year old pines now. Mississippi not Alabama - though they look a lot alike. And the place to the south is a beefalo ranch - a guy from Texas came in some time ago and started it.

My bad...when i read "Montgomery County" .....I thought of Alabama....
anyway.......still a great place...Mossy Oak Country...

Yeah, it is Mossy Oak Country - literally

I am really looking forward to getting this done - so many darned legalistic steps to take to get there though. I think it's even worse now that it was before 2008... I do know that they want more down now - 20%. But the rate on the loan will be very good - 5.3% and I get dividends back each year lowering the effective rate to 4.8% - very good. This is one reason that I wanted to get this done now - as I really do expect the interest rates to go up in the next year or two... and when it happens, it will be very quick - no time to rush and get a loan...

That looks like one great place! Congrats, you will love it!
Now I am no lawyer so dont take stuff below as legal advice but just a recomendation only------
Make sure it is surveyed prior to purchase and found to be acceptable to you then post it. It also wouldnt hurt to get you a good sized umbrella policy to protect you guys. And on even a normal policy if you are insuring it as vacant land most policys wont even allow a Dog house sitting on it or it isnt considered vacant.(check you policy)
Good Luck!

[O.S.O.K.]

That looks like one great place! Congrats, you will love it!
Now I am no lawyer so dont take stuff below as legal advice but just a recomendation only------
Make sure it is surveyed prior to purchase and found to be acceptable to you then post it. It also wouldnt hurt to get you a good sized umbrella policy to protect you guys. And on even a normal policy if you are insuring it as vacant land most policys wont even allow a Dog house sitting on it or it isnt considered vacant.(check you policy)
Good Luck!

Thanks - I will look into that. I am planning on slowly building a home and storage buildings, etc. on this. Today, I was looking at using used shipping containers as the bases for a home. They come in all kinds of sizes. You can bury them to make a basement too.

My wife thinks I'm nuts but you can cut and weld and such and then finish with drywall and extrerior finish like hardy board to the point that you can't tell the house is constructed primariy of the containers- roof joists too - for a conventional looking top... I need to look into the actual costs... but it seems like a great way to go. They are very strong and once contstructed, you would have a very safe dwelling.

[madman4570]

What ya think?

http://www.everlogs.com/pdfs/ecologicalhome.pdf

[2X22]

Awesome, congradulations and all that bugaboo! It really is a neat thing when you get your own piece of property that is YOURS!

About 6 years ago when I got my own little piece of Heaven, I'll never forget it. An old retired logger and when I signed the papers and then drove directly to it, after getting out of my truck and looking around at what was MINE, I'm not to embarrassed to say, I stood there and cried like a baby. It was pretty overwhelming for a while.

The wife and I were able to pay ours off (luckily) in 2 1/2 years so we were free and clear. Just to give you another idea of a way to build, I built a pole building and then framed it in to a house. Small, but easy to add onto which we plan on doing fairly soon. Other than having the structure erected I have been able to do EVERYTHING myself. Basically we were able to move into our little 24'x36'x10' cabin for about $18K, not including appliances of course

Setting up with propane which runs my refrigerator, kitchen range and tankless water heater left me with very little need for a huge amount of power. So I run the whole place on a Honda EU3000i, a few batteries, inverter, solar panels and a microhydro system. Just lights, coffee pot, computer, tv and a soft surge water pump don't draw much power though my 24v freezer does draw a bit too.

You are going to be having some fun planning your future now!

[O.S.O.K.]

Thanks 2x22 - very cool = and yes, I know how you feel - I will feel the same when I get this done... And madman! That is very very cool! I need to look into that! Concrete log home! I wonder if I can build a smaller one and then expand on it later...

Very cool. Thanks.