# Would love some advice



## Christina22 (Jul 20, 2018)

Hi everyone,
I'm new and specifically joined to get some advice on our situation.
My husband and I live in Northern Idaho. We're currently staying at a relative's house until we can find a property to purchase. We qualify for a conventional loan but after looking at some numbers, we only qualify for $150k. We have dreams of owning a homestead on several acres but what we qualify for doesn't buy us much more than 1/3 acre. 
Should we settle on a 1/4 or 1/3 acre lot and then maybe in a few years see if we can buy something with more land or should we try to look for alternatives to get us onto a larger property now (rent to own, owner carry, etc)?
This is our first home purchase and the whole process has left me feeling hopeless. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


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## painterswife (Jun 7, 2004)

Start small. Only buy what you can afford. Buy something you can improve and build equity in. Improve the property as well. Build good gardens and plant fruit trees.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

Lots of things to ponder. 

How old are you? 

If you really live frugally, how much can you save in a year? 

Are you and the relatives getting along well enough to stay there a year while you save and look for property?

I would recommend holding off if you can and shopping longer for real estate. 

Scour the for sale by owner internet pages. Drive around all the back roads looking for FOR SALE signs. 

I am selling properties that were originally my rentals as owner finance. It works as a win/win.


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## JosephSeiss (May 3, 2017)

I would ask, are you wedded to Idaho? We are not able to purchase right now, but we are your neighbors in Washington. Land here is very expensive. Idaho is only slightly better. But, I have been looking online on places like landandfarm and have found that 100,000 can get you much much more in places other than in the northwest. If you are okay with relocating, you should be able to get what you're looking for out of State.


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## IndyDave (Jul 17, 2017)

Christina22 said:


> Hi everyone,
> I'm new and specifically joined to get some advice on our situation.
> My husband and I live in Northern Idaho. We're currently staying at a relative's house until we can find a property to purchase. We qualify for a conventional loan but after looking at some numbers, we only qualify for $150k. We have dreams of owning a homestead on several acres but what we qualify for doesn't buy us much more than 1/3 acre.
> Should we settle on a 1/4 or 1/3 acre lot and then maybe in a few years see if we can buy something with more land or should we try to look for alternatives to get us onto a larger property now (rent to own, owner carry, etc)?
> This is our first home purchase and the whole process has left me feeling hopeless. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Only 1/3 of an acre for $150K? With prices like that I would worth about $20 million right now. Is land made out of gold in Idaho?


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

I'd be moving to a cheaper state where you can get a bigger bang for your buck


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## kinnb (Oct 23, 2011)

Welcome!


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## Big Mac (Jul 22, 2018)

We purchased 15 acres of woods for just under $100k in East TN. With housing costs rolled in, yeah, that'll pop that budget, but there's a few things you can consider.....
How handy are you/husband?
Can you stay in your current situation for a couple years, work your #@% off, and pay down the principle on a piece of land, buying a home in a few years?
Used mobile homes around here sell for ~$40-50k (installed, not counting site-work). You could purchase some land and put a mobile home on it while working towards building your dream home down the road inside that budget?
Ask yourself how bad do you want it? Ramen noodles and green beans is a pretty cheap diet, just saying. 

- K


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## shawnlee (Apr 13, 2010)

The harder you dig, the better the deals !

I picked up 5.39 acres with large chicken coops 12x40....a outhouse, 2 smaller sheds,a detached 2 car garage 20x30.... a 40x80 Quonset hut, pig feeders, a well, cisterns, septic and partially burnt out farm house for 7K......and all the misc farm type stuff, a tractor that has not run in 25 years, some misc equipment and obligatory scrap pile of used up lawn mowers, pieces of corrugated roofing and old fence scraps etc...

Lots of fruit trees and a large abandoned garden that has grown to a acre of garlic and more kahle or chard than anyone could ever consume....rubarb...asparigus etc

The deals are not listed most of the time ……


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## timMe (Mar 28, 2018)

Christina22 said:


> Hi everyone,
> I'm new and specifically joined to get some advice on our situation.
> My husband and I live in Northern Idaho. We're currently staying at a relative's house until we can find a property to purchase. We qualify for a conventional loan but after looking at some numbers, we only qualify for $150k. We have dreams of owning a homestead on several acres but what we qualify for doesn't buy us much more than 1/3 acre.
> Should we settle on a 1/4 or 1/3 acre lot and then maybe in a few years see if we can buy something with more land or should we try to look for alternatives to get us onto a larger property now (rent to own, owner carry, etc)?
> This is our first home purchase and the whole process has left me feeling hopeless. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Get a tissue handy, 2016, The wife and I bought 10 acres, 1400 sf ft, 3/2, well,septic, storm shelter and 3 outbuildings for 35k.. It was on auction and we had the $$ to pay for it.. I can still find it on the web for what it sold for here in OK..Scour the internet and save search pages, do so everyday, when a bargain comes along be ready to pounch on it..


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## JosephSeiss (May 3, 2017)

shawnlee said:


> The harder you dig, the better the deals !
> 
> I picked up 5.39 acres with large chicken coops 12x40....a outhouse, 2 smaller sheds,a detached 2 car garage 20x30.... a 40x80 Quonset hut, pig feeders, a well, cisterns, septic and partially burnt out farm house for 7K......and all the misc farm type stuff, a tractor that has not run in 25 years, some misc equipment and obligatory scrap pile of used up lawn mowers, pieces of corrugated roofing and old fence scraps etc...
> 
> ...


Wow! What State are you in? How did you manage to find it? Congratulations!


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

I bought 40 acres in Missouri in 2002. 

Three bedroom one bath house that needed work, but solid oak underneath. 
Working fridge, stove, washer and dryer. 

Barn from the 1800s. 

Some timber, none ready to cut, two hay meadows. 

$50,000 from a friend of a friend.


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## shawnlee (Apr 13, 2010)

JosephSeiss said:


> Wow! What State are you in? How did you manage to find it? Congratulations!


The property is in Kansas, not living there yet.


Drove around for days finding abandoned properties, then went to the local court house to research who owned them and started calling people, person was happy as a lark to sell, been payin taxes on it for 15 years, but lived out of state.


Came up, met me, we looked over the property and talked, did a title search and hired a lawyer to do the paper work.


I know it was a very lucky situation, but they do exist.....some we had no luck finding or contacting a owner, who knows with some of them what was going on and of course, some did not want to sell or were offended and asked.....wanted to know how I found out who they were....lol

For those who have never done a title search, you get the history of the property back to when we formed as a nation....every person who has owned it, what they paid ,every mortgage , every oil/gas lease, loan etc and the court docs or who and when it changed hands. Pretty cool thing if you ask me.

I know everyone who has legaly owned it and all records that ever happened with it.


It starts when the united states Gave it to/formed the state of Kansas and the first owner was a railroad company.


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## Txyogagirl (Jul 4, 2018)

IndyDave said:


> Only 1/3 of an acre for $150K? With prices like that I would worth about $20 million right now. Is land made out of gold in Idaho?


You don’t purchase land you purchase school district. If your land is in 10 buck 2 and not a highly recommended school it’s really going to vary in price here is Texas were there is land everywhere... well their isn’t. Here a good school district and shopping within 20 mins can run you up to 200k per acre with lots of restrictions. If schools and stores don’t matter it really don’t matter where u live and can find something in a bad but pretty area for 6k per acre again the more u buy the better deal you get. To the original poster something I encourage you to really think about is taxes with a small amount of land your tax bill may be really high compared to a property with Ag exemptions. It’s all about supply and demand.


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

And rainfall. And jobs. 

The Austin area is bonkers. Jobs, shopping, entertainment. An hour out of town, one acre, $80,000. 

I am not sure what rural land by the southern border or in the panhandle are running (my version of Timbuktu).

Rural land on the mid gulf coast is $10,000 and up.


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## weaselfire (Feb 7, 2018)

Around here, Central Florida, land goes about $5,000 an acre. New mobile home on site is $60,000 to $85,000. Add well, septic, electric and your $150,000 still gets you a couple acres. Other areas in the state go for $1,000 an acre to $5 million an acre.

Look in a cheaper area.

Jeff


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