# A few basic questions about buying land



## kuurt (Mar 12, 2017)

I don't know anything about buying land so I'm going to ask a few basic questions. 

1. Is land sold by the acre? 
2. Can you buy less than an acre of land? 
3. Can you buy just a single acre of land?
4. Does land get cheaper the further out into the country you go? 
5. Can you get free land if you're far enough out in the country? I just don't see how all the land out there could already be taken.


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## Horrorshow (Jan 13, 2015)

Yes
Yes
Yes
Usually
I wish


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## Thumper38 (Mar 4, 2017)

kuurt said:


> I don't know anything about buying land so I'm going to ask a few basic questions.
> 
> 1. Is land sold by the acre?
> 2. Can you buy less than an acre of land?
> ...


Anything not owned by people is claimed by the government. And in many cases, land owned by people is claimed by the govenment.


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## Bellyman (Jul 6, 2013)

As for #5, I wish... The Homestead Act of 1862 was an interesting time when you could claim up to 160 acres and it was yours after 5 years of continuous residence. Not a bad deal for someone who wanted to be a farmer and needed land. But the Homestead Act was repealed in 1976 with a 10 year extension for Alaska which went until 1986. 

Occasionally, you can find an interesting "deal" where a small city or town somewhere is giving away property with some stipulation of some kind, maybe something like you have to move there and stay for a specific length of time, and it's probably a town with a very small number of people and is about to die off completely, which would make moving there a rather difficult proposition for almost everyone.


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## Ellendra (Jul 31, 2013)

kuurt said:


> I don't know anything about buying land so I'm going to ask a few basic questions.
> 
> 1. Is land sold by the acre?


It's sized by the acre, but usually sold as a chunk. Kind of like buying meat at the grocery store. If you get the package that's wrapped and on the display shelf, you get whatever amount is in the package, even though the price is displayed by the pound.

Some sellers may be willing to divide the parcel, but not always.



> 2. Can you buy less than an acre of land?


Usually. Some areas have restrictions on how small a chunk of land can be, but others are more flexible about it.

In the area where my farm is, the smallest parcel allowed is 5 acres. Closer to town there is no minimum size for land, although if you want to put a house on it then there are rules for how small the house can be.



> 3. Can you buy just a single acre of land?


Again, usually. If you find someone selling a single acre of land, then you can buy a single acre of land.


> 4. Does land get cheaper the further out into the country you go?


In general, yes.



> 5. Can you get free land if you're far enough out in the country? I just don't see how all the land out there could already be taken.


It's taken. Either by individuals or by the government. And the government isn't giving any away.

Once in a very great while, an individual will decide to give some away, but you'll go insane searching for that person long before you find them.

Anyone who says there's free land being given away by the government, is scamming you.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I paid $37.50 for this acre, it was 3 pieces put together by the county and sold as excess. Part of an old fish hatchery, part of a log scaling shack and part of an abandoned intersection. It is 9 miles from a small town, in the woods, inside the timberland gate. It was all luck, after 25 years of looking. I wanted something I could get and make what I wanted with a minimum of cash money. Nearly everything is recycled, free material put together in an artistically pleasing outcome. Sticks and stones, lumber and hand hewed timber gathered from the land and materials salvaged from other places I have/had owned, scavenged and cleaned up....James


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## kuurt (Mar 12, 2017)

Awesome, thanks for the replies. 

Where do you find land for sell, do people advertise it in the newspaper or what?


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## Ellendra (Jul 31, 2013)

Newspapers, realtor's walls, craigslist, MLS websites, etc. http://www.realtor.com/ is a good place to start. Or Zillow.com.


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

jwal10 said:


> I paid $37.50 for this acre, it was 3 pieces put together by the county and sold as excess. Part of an old fish hatchery, part of a log scaling shack and part of an abandoned intersection. It is 9 miles from a small town, in the woods, inside the timberland gate. It was all luck, after 25 years of looking. I wanted something I could get and make what I wanted with a minimum of cash money. Nearly everything is recycled, free material put together in an artistically pleasing outcome. Sticks and stones, lumber and hand hewed timber gathered from the land and materials salvaged from other places I have/had owned, scavenged and cleaned up....James


How much were the payments?


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## Horrorshow (Jan 13, 2015)

Ellendra said:


> Newspapers, realtor's walls, craigslist, MLS websites, etc. http://www.realtor.com/ is a good place to start. Or Zillow.com.


Other good choices: Landwatch.com, LandsofAmerica, and UnitedCountry.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

po boy said:


> How much were the payments?


It was a terrible hardship but I had to pay cash. lol. Now it is the taxes. I turned in the $37.50 as the true cash value, we pay taxes on 80% of that here in this county. I made sure all my improvements do not go on the tax rolls so they don't get much since I only pay county property taxes, no city taxes, no fire or police protection. State Police and Fish & Wildlife come through the locked gate once in a while....James


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## Thumper38 (Mar 4, 2017)

I understand wildlife walking through like they own the place. But state police?


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

It is all timberland above the locked gate but it is still open to hike and bike. State police, F&W, BLM and Forest Service all patrol the woods and creeks....James


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## Thumper38 (Mar 4, 2017)

Interesting.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

kuurt said:


> I don't know anything about buying land so I'm going to ask a few basic questions.
> 
> 1. Is land sold by the acre?
> 2. Can you buy less than an acre of land?
> ...


An acre of land consists of 43,560 square feet. But rarely will any acreage survey out exactly even acres. The term "more or less" is nearly always included in the legal description. You can buy any size parcel an owner wants to and can legally sell. In some places ther are restrictions on subdivision. Normally the further from town the cheaper the property, but one never knows until the sale is closed! Most people don't give their property away although I can think of two cases where this happened. My boss once bought a 45 acre tract a few miles out of town and he gave one acre back to the previous owner. It had a huge hole fifty feet wide and at least two hundred feet deep! He did not want the responsibility of owning it! The other case was when I bought a farm and gave an acre away. It had an old family graveyard on it so I had the graveyard surveyed and deeded it over to one of the family members that wanted it.


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## Declan (Jan 18, 2015)

kuurt said:


> I don't know anything about buying land so I'm going to ask a few basic questions.
> 
> 1. Is land sold by the acre?
> 2. Can you buy less than an acre of land?
> ...


1. It is sold by the parcel which may be more or less than an acre, but is generally measured in acreage, though not always.

2. Yes, I have own several lots that are less than an acre.

3. Yes.

4. Generally but not always. There are some communities where land sales for a lot more for reasons having nothing to do with proximity from urban areas. Being in the right school district, proximity to other things like lake communities, and having more road frontage are common price drivers, though ultimately it comes down to what they are willing to sell for and what you are willing to pay.

5. IDK. I am skeptical in most places but you can get really good deals if you are patient. Foreclosed property can still be gotten fairly cheap in my area if you time it right, especially HUD owned properties that are fetching about 50 cents on the dollar but the investors move on those fairly quick.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

Weird thing all the "free" land I've ever uncovered was in a town. Unclaimed by any person or government. 
Free land is best found through in depth research of court documents. 
The best way to purchase land is to get to know people and let them know what you need


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