Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

Which do you think is better? From the looks of it, I am going to have to build.

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

I definitely prefer raw land. Hate the pasteurized crap. :)

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

Buy pre-existing. You can get it cheap now days and the cost to build today is huge. I bought raw, but in hidsight wish I had bought an old farm with a shanty old house already there.

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

If you can, why not wait until the mortgage mess starts to clear out. It may take a few years, but there will be some bargains of a lifetime ahead.

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

you are probably right about the bargains ahead but i think you will have missed the boat when it comes to having youself a well prepared bug out
location or sustainable homestead.

right now i think that should be a priority and anyone who has such a place
will tell you it can take years and many resources to develop.

i dont think you will have the resources if you wait till the last minute
to buy.

id buy raw and have a trailer or shed put on it but you may have some bargains with water/septic and small home already built/developed
in which case id go with the better developed land.

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

I'm agreeing with you. You didn't indicate this was for bug-out purposes. I was thinking "regular" house.

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

Purchasing a nice existing estate, in my opinion, represents much more value than a raw property.

We recently moved from our small 800 sqft starter house to a nice 1900 sqft home, which included a 32x64x12 pole building with concrete floor. In addition to the nice house, the pole bldg has a heater, a hydrant for water year round, and a switch for going on generator power. Not only do you get the basic house with all the anemities, you get all the landscaping, outbuildings, and in my case a nice yard, mature trees including two overgrown apple trees that produce hundreds of pounds of apples each year, and an established lawn/yard.
The key is that the previous owner did all these upgrades, and incurred all the costs of these extras, which have little impact on the price of the estate. In other words, something for nothing. Think how much each item cost the previous owner/owners to build, actual lumber or excavating, concrete work etc. If you buy raw land YOU will have to pay the going rate for all the upgrades unless your very handy and like to work all the time.
I've seen it in Southwest MI as the farmers sold land into the housing boom, and the 2500 to 3500 sqft McMansions were being built. What usually happened is they got the basic house and garage, and it takes decades for the former corn field to develop into a nice neighborhood, usually they have a very sterile look to them. I'm sure you've all seen them, cookie cutter neighborhoods, or mini-estates, 10 acres or less.
Take your time looking and one will come up. We waited about 3 years till the right one surfaced and we couldnt be happier.

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

Great points, thanks guys!

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

Your first and foremost importance for any land is that it have adequate water; year-round spring, well, etc. After that everything else is workable, unless of course you're sitting on solid rock and can't grow anything.

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

Having bought raw land(well a rough driveway cut in and power to the property line) I would not do it again UNLESS we had the funds immediately available to build everything.

We now have land with a driveway that needs a little more work,loft barn with power run to it,but still need a well($6500),septic($2500) and some gravel put down around barn.

All told we have probably spent close to $50,000 for everything w ehave done to the land on top of the price of the land.

We are trying to sell so we can buy a finished place.

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

I voted with my money for the raw land, but I am executing part of a long-term plan. I bought the land three years ago and have been slowly progressing with the plan. Since I have 11 years left to go on the plan, I have plenty of time to get everything done. Like most everything else, plan the work and work the plan.

It would be less expensive to buy a preexisting home, but then there are compromises on what the home is. I have very specific construction methods and material requirements that could not be met by a "regular" place.

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

I vote raw land.

There are really cool building materials and techniques that you can utilize to make your house safer, healthier and off the grid.

And it shouldn't even cost that much more (if at all).

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

I lean towards raw land... I have some things that go in before the buildings. :O

Jmo.

I agree- have the funds all lined up before the purchase.

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

I would lean toward an established farm, particularly if you have any farming type goals. The cost of fencing has gone up astronomically! It takes a long time and a lot of money to build a place from scratch, if you are going to have a house, outbuildings, fencing, gardens, fruit trees, etc.

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

http://www.kansasfreeland.com/

Free land in Kansas if you can pull it off.

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

Excellent points........

Unless you have a desire to build it from the ground up ( rare breed) buy used and customize it to your specs.

A seller will NEVER recoup what they spend on doing upgrades. (as millions are finding out granite countertops dont mean jack)


T

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

I've got a rural place with excellent well water and septic, surrounded by six forested lots (three of which I own). Used to have gas, but got rid of the tank this year- I'm looking to upgrade with a woodstove. The pump is also electric, I'm worried about power outages cutting off water. Once I get a manual pump and generator, I'll be good. Oh, and there's no garage, just a small shed. I'm thinking a nice pole barn. Sandy soil, but it can be worked with. Got the place as-is from relatives.

The downside is that it is pure holiday or bugout- it could never be transformed into a farmstead, unless I radically alter the landscape.

I guess the point (other than bragging) is that it sure is nice to have a warm structure on rural land waiting. With houses so cheap these days, it makes sense to buy one. You can always build later on another part of the property, then you have two homes.

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

Probably will get a better deal on pre-existing than a new build...



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Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

LOCATION. That, and water is your main consideration. Those free lots in Kansas have no appeal to me, because of the limitations imposed by those communities.

Besides, I want an Earthship. :bear_w00t:

Re: Buy raw land then build or buy land with pre-existing home?
 

Just watched a guy build a super nice earth contact home this summer on a nice flat lot cleared of trees .... did not orientate to the south or add a trombe wall or glazing or anything that could take advantage of the sun to heat his new home.

What a total waste of free energy and what would have been a good design.


Just another stupid basement home.





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