# Want: Ozarks Land - 5 to 10 acres - 20K Budget



## UncleJT (Aug 17, 2011)

I'm looking for roughly 5 to 10 acres of land in the Ozarks foothills. Some land I am looking at now is located in Texas and Shannon Counties. Ideal property will have a mixture of pasture and woods with not too restrictive covenants.

I am looking for "EZ" financing and plan on paying it off in less than 3 years. Can put 1K down. As of a month ago, my credit score was 673 so, although not terrible, it is doubtful a bank can/will finance me. 

Please PM me if you know of anything. Thanks.


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## libby (Feb 27, 2011)

There is some great stuff on e-bay! We've been looking at the same area, and you can get some great places with low down and owner finance.


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## Qhorseman (Jul 9, 2010)

I used to live in Texas county. There is a reason land is so inexpensive down there. There is no work to speak of.(minimum wage is the norm) Be very leery of the companies that are selling land with no money down and small monthly payments for the rest of your life. There was one guy down there that had the same parcels of land sold to numerous parties at the same time. If you go that route make sure the person selling the property has a legal right to do so. Insist on Title insurance up front, not at the end of the Contract for Deed that is so common around here. Insist on a survey, as it is legal to sell land in MO on a more or less basis. Usually it is much less. These folks that offer property are very aware that our land here is much less expensive than most places in the US. These folks know how to prey upon peoples desire to get back to the land, some will even claim to be homesteaders themselves. BUYER BEWARE.


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## UncleJT (Aug 17, 2011)

Qhorseman: Yeah, I agree completely. Almost all of the properties I am considering on my short list are from a very reputable development company that has been in business for a while, and most have been surveyed already. All properties I am looking at are offered as a Warranty Deed but Title Insurance as backup is definitely a good idea in all cases.


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## Qhorseman (Jul 9, 2010)

If you are not in a big hurry to purchase, I would wait for a bit and see where the land prices go. We recently had a farm here sell for $850 an acre. Thats down from what it sold for not to long ago. It sold in the late 90's for $1500 and acre. Ag Dept. here is thinking the acreage is going to drop another 50%. Believe me folks here do not have any problem jacking the price up for an out of stater.


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## Mike CHS (Apr 3, 2011)

Qhorseman - sorry for the hijack but related since I'm looking in the same area for some small acreage with a house but more this time next year.

Can you recommend a Realtor or do you think the online sites are adequate? I'll be retired by that time so not looking for work other than what I create myself.


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## UncleJT (Aug 17, 2011)

Mike CHS said:


> Can you recommend a Realtor or do you think the online sites are adequate? I'll be retired by that time so not looking for work other than what I create myself.


Over the past couple days, I've had some pleasant conversations with Rose Zella Myers of Missouri Real Estate of the Ozarks. She seems to specialize in the Ava, MO area and has a few nice parcels listed at the moment for decent pricing. Unfortunately, none of them have owner financing at this time.


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## Mike CHS (Apr 3, 2011)

Thanks for the link - I'll file that one away to use when we get a bit closer. I've mostly been using United Country (on-line) to get a general idea.


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## Qhorseman (Jul 9, 2010)

If I were looking for property here, With the benefit of hindsight  I think I would come down for a visit and try to find a place FSBO. The sale is easily handled with a private attorney for a small fee. I just bought the place to the north of me for $800 an acre with a 3 bedroom house on the place.


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## davidj (Nov 2, 2005)

Mike CHS said:


> Thanks for the link - I'll file that one away to use when we get a bit closer. I've mostly been using United Country (on-line) to get a general idea.


This is our second time looking for property in southwest MO. We still own a piece in Dallas County (have a contract to sell it) and are looking for something near Bolivar. My experience has been that I can find the properties faster than the real estate agent by looking online. I search the local United Country sites too. It seems like there are properties there that aren't on the MLS. 

This site:

Springfield Area Board of Realtors

let's you search the MLS by multiple criteria, however it'd be hard to find owner financing. If you're looking for a deal on a Fannie Mae foreclosure:

http://www.homepath.com/

let's you look by county in MO, again though no owner financing. 

The FSBO sites are not as easy searched in my opinion. Then there's always Springfield Craigslist or the local newspapers have some owner financing properties.


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## Mike CHS (Apr 3, 2011)

Thanks David - I'm not looking for financing so those links work for me.


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## Qhorseman (Jul 9, 2010)

There are loads of small newspapers and advertizing papers in the area. You will find alot of folks here are just starting to use the internet and more than you think have never heard of craigslist.


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## UncleJT (Aug 17, 2011)

Mike from Ozarks Land Company seems to be a competent realtor as well.


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