Every time I get optimistic about a piece of property, it sets off a flurry of background activity in my brain. I start thinking about construction techniques, power generation, privacy issues, water procurement, septic management, vehicle and foot access, square footage, and, of course, how to pay for the darn thing.
Im heading out to look at this property tomorrow and its going to be a bit of an adventure. It’s past a locked gate, which is nice, but the roads (and its a very generous thing to call them ‘roads’) might be challenging. The realtor said they had to chainsaw some trees out of the way to get down the road. Interesting.
As I understand it, we will most likely be able to drive in a ways and then have to go the rest on foot. Not a problem…just pack a bag, grab the GPS, lock and load, and off we go.
Last property that I was interested in enough to go look at was a non-starter because of the road access. This one might not be as bad. Its a county road up to the gate, and then its a matter of some logging/mining road/trail for about a mile. After that, it branches and then its about 300 yards to the edge of the property. That 300 yards might be overgrown-needs-to-be-reclaimed ‘road’ or it might be hospitable to a small pickup. We’ll find out. However, I fully expect that, if this comes to pass, a 4-wheeler (or side-by-side) is going to be in my future.
Theres a lot of things to consider before pulling the trigger on something like this. I can only really afford to do it once so I’d like to get it right the first time. I need to see if the terrain is amenable to building, what the access is like, etc, etc. Lotsa things to factor in. Some are dealbreakers, some aren’t. Some can be mitigated, some can’t. There’s no way to tell from just a Google Earth view and some photos that were cherry-picked by the realtor. Just gonna have to do boots-on-the-ground.

This weekend I’m going to go look at a property for sale. You know it’s gonna meet your parameters about remoteness and lack of people when the realtor strongly advises you to bring along bear spray. I, of course, will err on the side of caution and bring Best Millimeter and an HK91.

This particular property is close enough to where I currently live that I can go there on weekends and not spend all weekend driving, but far enough that if things get hairy youre gonna have a helluva time getting to me.

Its priced in such a manner that, if I like it, I may be able to swing the adjoining parcel as well and buy myself some buffer against future neighbors.

We shall see. I’m heading out there Saturday and it should be a bit of an adventure.

Still hunting for property. It seems like whenever I find something that looks reasonable, there’s some little thing that queers the deal. And, before everyone chimes in with ‘perfect is the enemy of good enough’ or ‘if you wait for the perfect piece you’ll never find it’, I’m quite aware of that, thank you. However, there are some things that I’m simply not willing put up with.

Whats the criteria? Well, theres a couple things:

Minimum of 20 acres – Way I see it, this gives me enough space for privacy and various additions to the landscape as I see fit. I have no upper limit except for what I can afford. Im willing to go down a bit in acreage if it gives me something that is of paramount importance –  running water, pond, a spring, well, mineshaft, caves, etc. A 35-acre parcel with no water vs. a 17.5 acre parcel with a year-round spring? No contest.

Price – I’m really trying to keep it below $200k, but I can stretch it maybe 10% if something is really attractive.

Roads – Absolutely dont want a piece that is bisected by a road. I’ve seen quite a few properties that seem ideal and then you look at an overhead view and there’s some road running right down the middle. I have found a couple pieces where the road either dead ends at the property, which is rather nice, or the road paralells one side of the property which is acceptable. What I dont want is a road cutting the property in half so every Billy Bob in the county can go roaring across my property at 3am.

Neighbors – Obviously the fewer the better. One thing Im noticing is that a lot of people build right on the edge of their property line so as to butt right up against the piece I’m looking to buy.

Terrain – I dont want something thats all vertical, and I don’t want something that is basically a parking lot with grass. A little rolling is ideal with some high points and flat spots. Trees and more trees.

Elevation – I’d like to keep it below 5000′ and certainly not up near 6000′

Proximity – I need it to be within reasonable (2-3 hours) of my current location so that I can reasonably get there on weekends and days off to perform work. There’s plenty of stuff six hours from me, but I need to be closer for the purpose of working on the place on the weekends. And, while Im not living here forever, I can’t just pull up stakes and move to an empty stretch of dirt. There’s that ‘in between’ time where I’m going to have to live here, and work on projects there…..and that means the closer the better, within certain parameters.

So, its a bit of a balancing act. For example, I’ve found a few pieces that were hundreds of acres within my price range, but they are basically flat-as-a-cookie sheet prairie where you can watch your dog runaway for three days. Nope, want more timebr, cover, and terrain.

Contrast that with the place that had lotsa trees, a year round spring, privacy, but was all vertical…an entire sloping side of a mountain.

And the place that has 20 acres, a developed well, a two-car garage on a slab, fiber internet, and phone. Annnnnd….neighbors butted up right against the property line with a huge house and several garages.

Like I said, I understand that ‘perfect’ may not exist. I am willing to accept 95%, 90%, or maybe even 85% of what I want. But…there’s some stuff that is just a dealbreaker.

I can only afford to do this once, so I wanna make sure I get it right the first time.