Thinking of Buying acres of land.

Okay so i am planning on buying some land either in OR or WA. I am thinking couple of acres and this property would be intended for a retirement,
Family getaway, recreation purposes.

Please share your experiences on buying land. I envision 1/8mile of clear cut no shrubs for fire prevention and personal safety. Possible a barn style structure for living and parking the Tundra. Please share and post pics if you dont mind. In addition i have been browsing on zillow and I see “2 acres and for $7,000” is this too good to be true? I plan on calling my realtor and the realtors listed on zillow.

 

MUST item #1. Check ANY land against the USGS flood plain map. After all the floods of 3/4 years ago they were revised (moving the flood higher in almost all cases). And much more land moved "into" the flood plain.

Land in the flood plain creates a whole host of problems when you're trying to build a structure. Either Authority Having Jurisdiction problems or lender problems. Or both. Of course if neither of those are in play then you can go all wild-wild-west.

 

@ColoradoTJ

 

Not sure about the Pacific northwest but Ill share my experience in the Northeast.

Make sure you have road access and not a right-of-way. Here a right-of-way decreases the value of the property compared to road access.

If you plan on building make sure you have own surface rights. A lot of banks wont lend money for construction if you dont own surface rights. Its not a complete deal breaker if the person who owns the rights will be willing to suspend them during the construction period.

Also don't compromise. Make a list of what you want in a property and stick to that list. It took me 3 years from the time I started looking to get what I wanted. You wont regret it in the long run. My neighbor rushed into the purchase and build and is now having so many issues with water and functionality of the land layout.

I could talk about this for hours because I definitely made some mistakes and now after owning it for 3 years I am starting the building process.

 

Thank you thank you guys! The things you all mentioned I didnt know about, with the surface rights is that something is written and paper?

is buying land like buying a car? How do i make sure i am not buying on an Indian burial ground?

 

If youre looking for something private or secluded 2 acres is not likely to accomplish that. Also, yes 7k for 2 acres here in the NW screams "not worth it". Where exactly are you looking?

 

Aside from aforementioned points, something I ran into back east was dealing with sewage. Smaller plots were problematic because they weren't big enough for a (required) septic system (and yet still remote enough to not be on any municipal sewage system). I can't remember the details - I get the feeling it was whatever rural community I was dealing with and their way of keeping people spread out - but it was an unexpected hurdle.

I'm sure there are many ways to handle that - the aforementioned property (a decommissioned church) still had an outhouse (!) - but the bottom line is to be aware of zoning and other laws where you are shopping, and to think about your needs in relation to them. Have some iterative conversations with some experts with good local real estate knowledge to see what you don't know you don't know.

And yeah, for seclusion, two acres probably isn't going to cut it. My granddad had a 3 acre plot in WV and I remember thinking if I ever do what you're talking about I'd want (considerably) more than that. Since it's still a remote pipe dream for me I have no idea how much would be enough - would be interested to hear others' thoughts on that. Probably also has to do with terrain...3 acres in the heavily wooded mountains of WV might feel different than 3 acres of wide-open Utah slickrock.

 

For the surface rights you will see that in the deeded paperwork. It will mention what "rights" are transferred to you (mineral, surface, trees, water). I would also talk to a local bank that specializes in land loans and see what a $/acre goes for. Sometimes fields are worth more than wooded lots. Really depends on the area. That would be my starting negotiating point. I am currently going through that right now with purchasing the adjacent lot. The seller ended up being $250/acre higher than the bank valued the land at. It cost me $800 to get the survey done but worth it in the end as the seller met me at the bank valued price

 

I only have been looking in Southern Oregon area; klamath falls, christmas valley, beatty,Chiloquin.

 

Also check to see about local subdivision laws. Two close friends of mine purchased ~46 acres in Freeport Maine for 70k or so. Going into it they knew about the local subdivision laws. You have two options in Maine 1) you can subdivide the land all at once but if you do that then a portion of the land you’re planning on dividing out has to be forfeited to conservation. Or 2) you can wait a period of time (I believe 5 years) and split the land and then wait another 5 to split again eventually giving you the amount of lots you want... but you have to wait.

 

Also, wait for a very very dry period in the summer and then have your wetlands assessment done.

 

@Boosted4runner knows the area and I think own a few plots here and there.

 

I have 3 acres next to a lake in Maine 15 minutes outside of Portland and the last 10 years ive seen the houses being built and amount of vehicles going by quintuple. Currently looking at 50-100 acre plots in Northern Vermont because I want to get the absolute fuck away from people. Neighborhood was great, quiet, nice people. Friggin city people started flooding in and its now endless barking dogs, music, cars going down the road double the speed limit, etc. Look for the flood plain stuff like someone mentioned, get soil samples, find out what the taxes will run you, and not sure if you have it out there but we have ‘land use’ properties where the taxes are dirt assed cheap as long as you allow wheelers and snowmobiles and such.
im only 33, not old enough for that ‘get off my lawn’ stuff but its getting to that point..

 

Im already yelling at people to slow down, my husbands like ‘god damn youre becoming that grouchy old lady on the street already’

 

I live in WA, I don't think it is the best cost effective place to retire. I've not had personal experience buying just land but I have done some research, it's always better to find something that is already zoned for what you want and with utilities or some type of structure already there. Also unincorporated county property is one less level of governement.

 

Make sure the property will pass a perc test and that the site can support a deep well if water and sewer services are unavailable.

 

Chiloquin is very nice. My dad and I did a lot of trout fishing on the Sprague. 5 star river. Beatty is a nice area. Did a lot of deer hunting at nearby Yainax Butte. We spent a lot of time hunting near Silver Lake in Christmas Valley. Great views. Somewhat desolate. Bonanza is quite nice. Bagged a buck there in 1970. Land prices will be higher near Chiloquin due to the Sprague River. XMas Valley should be fairly cheap which means more acreage and the small streams/creeks out there that you can sometimes jump across are full of German Browns and rainbows. Forgot about Paisley. Check out Paisley and Lake Abert area!

 

Thank you I will^

 

Possible if its right, i was recently looking Around Mojave County AZ area. But i am comfortable and have knowledge in PNW area.

Share your thoughts on AZ land.

 

Did you ever find land? I could write a book on buying land in the Eastern Washington / North Idaho area. I just bought a house on 5 acres but before COVID had planned on buying land and building a house. Been looking at land non stop for the last two years.

 

Eastern Orygun....just sayin

 

Honestly never been but I’ve heard good things.

 

Where did you end up buying? How much land/house specs?

 

Eastern Orygun covers a wide swath from north to south. Due diligence is paramount!
I lived and raised in Orygun back in 1965 after my Marine aviator dad retired. My older brother is still there. I deliberately use Orygun, not Or-a-gone pronunciation. Huge giveaway that you are an out of stater... huge......Marine Corps Birthday today......Ooorah!

 

Posters are right about 2 acres not nearly enough. I had 4 acres on the North Umpqua River in southern OR, not too far from Glide. Not enough. Don't count on any 10-20-30 year old covenants ever being enforced. It won't happen. Ended up with a horse barn blocking my view on one side, built right on the property line (supposed to be no closer than 25ft by the covenant), and a junkyard on the other side. And it turned out that I didn't have the access to the riverside that I was told I'd have. Actually, I'm glad they forced me out of Oregon and back to Texas (for many reasons, not mentionable on this forum) where I bought 20 acres in the Hill Country for half the price I sold the 4 acres for.

 

For what it's worth i played football and basketball against Glide High School back n the 70's. Oregon is still quite nice depending if you like the coast or solitude in eastern Orygun.

 

Loved Oregon, Matt. It's a beautiful state. Other things about it, ya know? Taxes, politics, etc. But I do go back and visit. North Umpqua is the prettiest river I've ever seen.

 

I miss crabbing off the piers at Winchester Bay among other things...like a f**king ocean.Ha!

 

I bought 5 acres with a house and a 1200sf shop in Eastern WA.

 

When I was an air traffic controller, we used to take familiarization rides, "fam trips" a max of 8 times a year (fly free in the cockpit). I started flying up from Albuquerque into Eugene, and rent a car, and drive around. Truly, the very first time I walked out on the beach near the Umpqua lighthouse by Winchester Bay, I thought I'd stepped onto the moon. I've spent a good part of my life on the Texas Gulf coast, and that part of the Oregon coast on a foggy day was just surreal!. I was hooked!! An altogether different kind of coastline.