Anyone tried buying rural land recently ?

[Westcliffe01]

I have been intending to buy some land in southern CO for some time.  Custer County, small community, 3500 people over summer, down to 1700 in the winter.  35 acre lots were in the $23k range for years and years.  Since the pandemic/lockdown enough people from California / NY state arrived that every available building lot was sold several times and prices eventually topped out well over $120k for the same lots.  For a while I gave up on the dream altogether and started looking at alternates.  Even rural TN has seen the number of lots listed drop month over month and prices that were in the $40k climb higher and higher to the $80-90k on average.

Just recently my wife found a lot for sale back in Custer county at a price that we could actually afford and had the money ready to go.  3 days before closing date, after our offer was accepted and earnest money paid we got a call that the seller had missed a mortgage payment and her mortgage company had shut down the sale...  Back to square one again...

Anyone else have any recent stories ?

[Tom Reed]

Sorry to hear that. I want out of California too. When the right property comes along you will get it. We shopped for 3 years to find the property we are on now.

[playdiesel]

Central Ohio is in an Intel frenzy with many millions being spent on a new chip factory. Land prices have doubled, at least, in 3 years and certain large parcels of tillable land have sold extremely high due to farmers who owned where they are building the chip factory having pockets full of money to spend. Building lots are at an absolute premium here as crop farming has been so good that virtually nobody wants to sell of frontage and have to deal with new neighbors. I get unsolicited offers to purchase our farmland 2-3 times a month and people actualy drive around and stop to ask people how much they want for thier country homes.

As for transactions being screwed up that seems to be part of the times, incompatance combined with greed. 7 years ago we entered a contract to purchase a farmstead and a few acres. Cash offer no contingencies. We also listed 4 other properties for sale that we owned free and clear. After we entered into contract another buyer attempted to purchase the farmstead at a much higher price. It soon became obvious that people were dragging thier feet to have a closing. We had 30 days to close or contract was cancelled. I had my lawyer send registered letters to both realestate agents, the title agency and the seller stating that if they continued to drag their feet until my contractual period ran out that all of them would be involved in a lawsuit. Suddenly we had closing scheduled,,, slime balls.

[mobile_bob]

i bet a dollar to a dog turd that the story regarding missing a mortgage payment and the bank kaboshing the deal is bogus.

if the seller was truly having issues with his/her/its lender, then it would stand to reason that a sale would be just what would be needed to clear the debt and help the bank and the seller, along with the buyer.

my thinking is they got a higher offer and figured they would float this story to see if they could get out of your deal on the property.

its been about 40 odd years since i was last in SE colorado, and from my memory it was about as desolate an area as one might find short of the dark side of the moon.  lots of land rush small stone and mud brick cabins where folks tried and failed to thrive there back about 150 years ago now.

SW colorado might well be a different story and be more desirable?  i don't know, never been there.

don't get discouraged, there is still a lot of property off the beaten path all across the country, just keep looking and you will find something to your liking.

bob g

[Westcliffe01]

I dont know, hardly looks desolate to me and that of course is part of the problem...You cannot view this attachment.

[RJ]

I used to live on 75 acres. No houses in sight. Liked it for any years but with kids it was getting too much to haul them around. We moved, 1000 miles south since then. Rented a house for several years, finally built one ir lot. Purchased 4.5 acres in 2018. My lot would sell easily for twice if not 3x what I paid for it. It's considered a pretty bit lot for this area. Lots of developments going up on postage stamps.

[Westcliffe01]

After the big disappointment we cooled our heels for a while.  Then a nice square lot 1300x1300 (36 acres) came up and we made an offer less than the asking price but $5k more than the last one and the offer was accepted.  Should close in 2 weeks and one of my big final adventures is going to start.  Due to some changes made by the companys new owners, our bonuses now get paid at end of June instead of at the end of March.  I guess we have to wait 6 months instead of 3 to get the prior years bonus now...  probably the same as all the other creditors...  So I can only give notice and end of June and start relocating in mid July....  So I am guessing that getting the septic system in and footings and a slab is all I am likely to get done before the end of the building season.

[Westcliffe01]

The closing went smoothly.  Title insurance this time around was only $76 whereas it was quoted over $750 on the previous purchase which failed.  Closing costs were under $500.   

Knowing that I will be working until mid July before I can relocate, then allowing a month for driving 4 major loads from MI to CO at 2600 miles round trip and about 1 week each, I have had to re-think what I will be building in what is left of the building season, getting started mid August.   I went onto the Menards project center and used their "design a garage" tool and after a few iterations I settled on a 32'x40' configuration.  One can only use "standard" roof trusses in the design tool, but it certainly allows one to get an idea of the material costs that go into the shell of a building.

Here is the spec in the quote:
Picture


 Building Info
Building Location Zip Code:   49201
Building Width:   32'
Estimate includes selection of prebuilt trusses with overhangs to trim to size.
Building Length:   40'
Building Height:   8'
Curb:   Poured Curb
Curb Height:   4"
Foundation Type:   Thickened Slab
Wall Framing Stud:   2 x 6
Roof Framing:   Truss Construction
Truss Type:   Common
Roof Pitch:   4/12 Pitch
Eave Overhang:   18"
Gable Overhang:   24"
Custom Garage Plan:   No I do not need a custom building plan
Wall Info
Siding Material Types:   Through Fastener Steel Panel (Pro-Rib)
Through Fastener Steel Siding:   Cut to Length Pro-Rib® Steel Panel, Color: Beige
Steel Corner Trim Color:   Beige
Accent Material Type:   Through Fastener Steel Panel (Pro-Rib)
Through Fastener Accent:   Cut to Length Pro-Rib® Steel Panel, Color: Beige
Endwall A Accent:   yes add gable accent
Endwall B Accent:   yes add gable accent
Wainscot Material Type:   None
Wall Sheathing:   5/8 x 4 x 8 Plywood
House Wrap:   Typar House Wrap 9' x 100'
Gable Vents:   None
Roof Info
Roof Sheathing:   5/8 x 4 x 8 Plywood
Roofing Material Type:   Through Fastener Steel Panel
Through Fastener Steel Roofing:   Cut to Length Pro-Rib® Steel Panel, Color: Beige
SnowBar Trim:   None
Roof Underlayment:   #30 Felt Roofing Underlayment 3' x 72' (216 sq. ft.)
Ice and Water Barrier:   Hydraguard Dual Pro High Temperature Ice & Water Barrier 39-3/8" x 61' (200 sq. ft.)
Fascia Material Type:   Steel Fascia
Fascia:   12' Steel L-6 Fascia, Color: Beige
Soffit Material Type:   Steel Soffit
Soffit:   Steel Vented Soffit Panel, Color: Beige
Gutter Material Type:   Heavy Duty Aluminum
Gutter:   Spectra Metals 5" x 16' K-Style Heavy-Duty Aluminum Gutter, Color: White
Openings
Service Door:   Mastercraft® 36W x 80H White Smooth Fiberglass 6-Panel Composite Frame
Service Door:   Mastercraft® 36W x 80H White Smooth Fiberglass 6-Panel Composite Frame
Windows:   34"W x 48"H JELD-WEN® Vinyl Double Hung
Windows:   34"W x 48"H JELD-WEN® Vinyl Double Hung
Windows:   60"W x 48"H JELD-WEN® Vinyl Slider
Windows:   60"W x 48"H JELD-WEN® Vinyl Slider
Windows:   60"W x 48"H JELD-WEN® Vinyl Slider
Windows:   48"W x 48"H JELD-WEN® Vinyl Slider
Windows:   48"W x 48"H JELD-WEN® Vinyl Slider
Additional Options
Ceiling Insulation:   Blow-in Fiberglass
Ceiling Insulation R Value:   R49 EcoFill WX Fiberglass Blown-in Insulation
Wall Insulation:   None
Ceiling Finish:   5/8 x 4 x 8 Type X Fire-Rated Drywall
Wall Finish:   5/8 x 4 x 8 Type X Fire-Rated Drywall
Mounting Blocks:   No
Hydronic Radiant Heat:   Yes
Heat Source:   None
Anchor bolt:   Grip Fast® 1/2 x 10 HDG Anchor Bolt w/ Nut & Washer
Framing Fasteners:   Grip Fast® 3-1/4 16D Vinyl-Coated Smooth Shank Sinker Nail - 5 lb. Box
Sheathing Fasteners:   Grip Fast® 2-1/2 8D Vinyl-Coated Smooth Shank Sinker Nail - 5 lb. Box
Truss Fastener:   FastenMaster® TimberLOK® 5/16 x 6 Hex Drive Black Hex Head Timber Screw - 50 Count

Seems a pretty modest package price for a 1280 sq foot building shell.  Internal framing, concrete slab and all the rest will have to be added.  But this represents the point that Im trying to reach before snow flies next winter...  I will not be using the conventional trusses as shown, it will be a modified mono truss.  In other words a shed style roof sloping to one side.  Instead of the high side being vertical, it will incline back at 30 degrees off the vertical and provide a surface to mount the solar panels at an angle ideal for winter sun.  Usually on summer days one has a surplus of solar power and cant do anything with it whereas in winter one needs all the power one can get and then some.   The single slope means a single gutter, feeding a 5000 gal buried cistern which at a later date will be connected to the well, once I can afford that $30k expense.

Concrete in Custer County is about 60% more expensive than the national average at $211/yard so it would be about $3000 for the slab + labor for pouring and finishing which I have no local quote for at this stage.  I will be using rockwool insulation in the wall cavities since it has superior fire resistance, but the roof insulation will be R50 blown in fiberglass.  The attic insulation is already in the quote, the wall insulation not.  I will be sheathing the interior walls with 5/8" plywood prior to drywall and all sheathing will be glued and screwed for a very strong structure.  The same with the roof sheathing which will be 3/4" plywood.   In the kitchen area I am likely to do 3/4" ply sheathing under the drywall for ease in mounting kitchen cabinets.  One can basically put a screw anywhere and it will hold.   My pet peeve trying to hang kitchen cabinets when there is 24" center to center of the studs...  The same applies to shelves and anything else one might want to to attach to walls later...  Elk antlers and the like...

[vdubnut62]

Don't get your hopes up for rural Tennessee. I had 28 acres of unimproved land in the middle of nowhere
Tennessee. As I am getting too old to start too many new projects, I offered it to one of the local Mennonites for $229k and he offered me $125K.
Long story short, I hired a realtor and he got $340K for land I could have bought 30 years ago for $600
an acre.
    The world has gone crazy

[Westcliffe01]

I had noticed that prices had gone way up and fewer listings because much land has been bought by real estate investment companies.  Same in CO and I guess many other places.

[Westcliffe01]

I have been putting together my solar PV system for use in spring on my off grid property.  Some things have changed, in fact one could say that everything has changed in off grid power since 2014 when I started buying components.

Back in 2014 I bought 6x 275W Canadian solar Mono panels.  They have an open circuit voltage of 39V
I bought a Midnite Solar Classic 200 charge controller, this can accept up to 200V DC from the solar array.

The new stuff I recently bought:
a 24V 4000W Sungoldpower low frequency inverter with 24V DC in, 240V Ac in from generator, 240V split phase AC output and capable of starting loads up to 12kW for 20 seconds.  Thus great for large air compressors or deep well pumps.  This unit was $896+ taxes, free shipping.

I bought 4x 24V LiFePO 75Ah batteries  thus will have 300Ah @ 24V nominal. This cost $1725 including sales tax and shipping to my door.

Finally today I bought a new solar charge controller that can accept up to 450V dc from the solar array.  Apparently I never did the math when I bought the original 200V charge controller  because my string of 6 panels in series comes to 234V and in cold weather this might go up to 250V so out of bounds for the voltage limit on the charge controller.  Now one can connect 3 in series x 2 strings in parallel but it adds complication because one then needs to fuse the individual panels because the array could feed power into a failed solar panel and cause a fire. 

So I went with:https://sungoldpower.com/collections/solar-charger-inverter/products/3000w-24v-solar-inverter-charger?variant=39675861893257
It was $509 + taxes and free shipping.

I have another $380 in 1/0 cable, crimp lugs for the cable, tools to cut cable and crimp the lugs, battery disconnect, solar array disconnect with circuit breaker, 175A fuse for the battery system, red and black busbars and finally an adjustable 0-30V regulated power supply to get the individual batteries to the same state of charge before they get connected.

[Tom Reed]

I've been looking at it too. PV panel efficiency on my 21 Sharp 167 watt panels from 2007 is 12%. New panels are now availale >26%.

[playdiesel]

Don't get your hopes up for rural Tennessee. I had 28 acres of unimproved land in the middle of nowhere
Tennessee. As I am getting too old to start too many new projects, I offered it to one of the local Mennonites for $229k and he offered me $125K.
Long story short, I hired a realtor and he got $340K for land I could have bought 30 years ago for $600
an acre.
    The world has gone crazy

Sounds like your land prices are not far from ours. I own 53 acres tgat I bought for $35,000 a out 38 years ago, tillable farm ground. Recent selling prices here are averaging $20,000 per acre for large parcels of tillabke land and 2-3 acre buildable lots are fetching just about whatever is asked.