3 ms·

Thanks for this - I have what you might call champagne taste on a beer budget. I've always wanted to live in a small, but highly efficient house in the woods. Y

by zucked 5y ago

Thanks for this - I have what you might call champagne taste on a beer budget. I've always wanted to live in a small, but highly efficient house in the woods. You know, something that looks like it came from an architectural magazine. But I am consistently blown away by what even pre-fab homes cost. I clearly don't have the budget that the author does, but the process felt eerily similar to mine so far. It's never mentioned how much acreage was purchased, I don't think. My mental block is anything sub 5 acres where I am looking. My current trouble is that I don't live anywhere near where the property I am looking at is. Getting there is… quite a to-do. I'm leery of putting much trust in a realtor as my eyes/ears given that 1.) the property is cheap enough that their commission will be small potatoes and 2.) they have an incentive to sell you _something_. How does one navigate that part? How much of the soil test/survey/etc was done pre-sales, how much was a contingency, or do you just YOLO it?

brailsafe 5y ago
5.287 acres fwiw. I hope they add some of these details.
lazide 5y ago
Usually the county clerk will have some pointers. Always double check lot lines, plat maps, zoning, permit and ownership history yourself. Use the realtor provided information as helpful pointers to get started, not ‘the truth’. They often aren’t trying to mislead, just not questioning things they are told or that are convenient for them to believe, but there but there are also some outright frauds. Also, pay for your own independent well inspections (it has a well right? If not, uh oh), septic inspections (the soil type is okay for a septic system the county will approve right? If not, uh oh), and walk the property a couple times at different times of the day and night. Sometimes there is a noisy train line, or airport landing patterns change during certain times, and what was a mellow quiet plot can be noisier than LAX during Christmas.

by zucked 5y ago

brailsafe 5y ago

5.287 acres fwiw. I hope they add some of these details.

lazide 5y ago

Usually the county clerk will have some pointers. Always double check lot lines, plat maps, zoning, permit and ownership history yourself. Use the realtor provided information as helpful pointers to get started, not ‘the truth’. They often aren’t trying to mislead, just not questioning things they are told or that are convenient for them to believe, but there but there are also some outright frauds. Also, pay for your own independent well inspections (it has a well right? If not, uh oh), septic inspections (the soil type is okay for a septic system the county will approve right? If not, uh oh), and walk the property a couple times at different times of the day and night. Sometimes there is a noisy train line, or airport landing patterns change during certain times, and what was a mellow quiet plot can be noisier than LAX during Christmas.