How can I find afforable land?

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Who is paying for that water across the road?
Do you own a house now?

I have no idea. This realtor is very brief with me every time we speak, and I just asked this question through a text. I didn't get much info unfortunately.

I do own a house right now, but it's in the city.

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

I have no idea. This realtor is very brief with me every time we speak, and I just asked this question through a text. I didn't get much info unfortunately.

I’d be finding a new realtor TBH. This isn’t a new kitchen appliance you’re looking to buy, they should be actively pointing out any issues and giving all the details.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I’d be finding a new realtor TBH. This isn’t a new kitchen appliance you’re looking to buy, they should be actively pointing out any issues and giving all the details.

Unfortunately, realtors are meant to sell the place, not tell you all the reasons why you should run from it. I've known of several realtors who'd even clean up the place like vacuum up invasive lady beetles or pick up things off the floor just to make the place as nice as possible in order to sell it. Finding issues out are better by either doing your research or talking to neighbors that are not trying to encourage (or discourage) you from buying the place.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I’d be finding a new realtor TBH. This isn’t a new kitchen appliance you’re looking to buy, they should be actively pointing out any issues and giving all the details.

Well, he's not my realtor. He's the realtor who is trying to sell the property.

And this reminds me, I was going to ask you all, would it be good to hire a realtor to help me search for property?

 

[aart]

I do own a house right now, but it's in the city.

Do you plan on living at this new property?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Well, he's not my realtor. He's the realtor who is trying to sell the property.

And this reminds me, I was going to ask you all, would it be good to hire a realtor to help me search for property?

It might be, especially if you can find the right one. A realtor will have access to listings long before they're on the website, so they can show you places long before the public knows about it. Some realtors are better than others, so finding the right one is key. One who's ambitious is a great one, but NEVER show that you're ambitious or highly interested in a place (even if you are). If you show too much excitement over a place, it'll be harder to talk the sellers and realtor down. Save your excitement until after you've slept on a place and really thought it over throughly, and if it's still there, hide it when you talk to the realtor.
A realtor will also be able to do all your searching for you (though I recommend doing your own searches because they'll still pass things up or miss them). Tell them what you're looking for, location and everything and they'll do that work for you. As I did say in a previous post though, do your own research on every place you look at! A realtor might help you figure out what the taxes will be, but there may always be things they won't tell you unless you ask. You want to know taxes per year (and buildings), water tests, soil tests, etc, and anything else that'll meet the specifics on what you're looking for.

Getting a realtor is fully up to you and might be best because they'll know the specfics that you're looking for. Just get the right one, and perhaps requesting showings on a few random places with different realtors might help you find one you like.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Do you plan on living at this new property?

We would want to eventually build a house, but it's a long way down the road because we can't afford it at the moment. I'm thinking I'd just maintain the property and use it for some farming in the meantime.

The property with electrical towers was obviously not a place we could build, but was more of an opportunity to get land quicker (because it's so cheap I can buy it for cash right now) and start experimenting with farming. I would eventually have to buy another property for the purpose of building a house.

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

Some realtors are better than others, so finding the right one is key.

I feel the need to emphasize this; I went through three of them looking for my current place. The first one was useless (‘it’s listed for more than you wanted to pay and it’s missing several features you said were must-haves, but you should totally buy it anyway!’), the second one was better (pointed out things like ‘this one has water damage’ ‘this isn’t up to code’ ‘the place you wanted to look at is a lot more trashed than the pictures, are you sure you want to waste your time seeing it?’) but was unfortunately only part-time and out of town a lot when the housing market was going really fast, causing me to miss a chance at a couple likely places. The third one was good, and full-time, and ended up helping me find the winner.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I feel the need to emphasize this; I went through three of them looking for my current place. The first one was useless (‘it’s listed for more than you wanted to pay and it’s missing several features you said were must-haves, but you should totally buy it anyway!’), the second one was better (pointed out things like ‘this one has water damage’ ‘this isn’t up to code’ ‘the place you wanted to look at is a lot more trashed than the pictures, are you sure you want to waste your time seeing it?’) but was unfortunately only part-time and out of town a lot when the housing market was going really fast, causing me to miss a chance at a couple likely places. The third one was good, and full-time, and ended up helping me find the winner.

Thank you! Yeah, maybe it's worth searching around for a good realtor.

 

[Sally PB]

We worked with a buyers' agent, ie, he represented ONLY buyers. He was excellent. We told him what we wanted, and how much we could afford. He had an inspection company he worked with, and they were VERY thorough.

When I had a chance to look through lots of listings, this is what I did.

I took off ALL the parameters except what HAD to be there, and I was left with: distance from work and max price. (We weren't looking for vacant land.) All of a sudden, there were a LOT more options.

It didn't have to have a garage; we could build one later if needed. One bath would be fine. You can't really add a basement, and we did want a basement, but I took it off the list anyway. No kids, so the schools were not important.

Since you're looking for land, your options might be better from the start, unless land is flippin' hot right now where you are.