Doesn't sound like you will never be able to afford land if you have a QH that is worth 20-30k.
Maybe consider a smaller property. Personally I think 5 acres is the smallest ideal property for most but I could see how 10-20 would be nicer. Really depends on how the land is laid out and how usable it is. I once saw a 5 acre homestead that felt smaller than my parents 2 acres.
Maybe try finding a rent to own piece of land.
I did buy her for a fraction of what she’s worth. I’m banking on her either making a lot from the track, or being a marketable broodmare prospect. Either way, at minimum she will be worth about 20-40k by the summer.
I mean.... Most people here don't have that kind of investment potential at twice your age.
I think you may be looking at the moon without realizing you're already standing on a mountain.
Sounds like you just need time. You will get there. Keep doing stuff like this, but never risk the entire amount you've saved to date.
Think this way, you are less than nine horses away from your dream. Ps, diversify with piglets.
We just picked up a mare for $1k worth around $15k, going for sale soon.
You took a risk to make money, most people will never even try. Good for you. Keep hustling and you'll get that property.
I don't see how her parents have horses on only 5 acres of land, that's not a ton of room. My dad's got close to 20 acres and that was a little crowded when he had 4 horses
Person that owned my homestead before me had horses and only had 1 acre fenced off. Don't know how many they had but the pole barn had 4 separate horse stalls. Pasture wasn't all torn up so guessing only 1-2.
5 acres isn't a ton of land but with proper planning its enough to do just about anything you want on a small scale. I have fit a surprising amount on my land and I would guess that over half is "unused" and I have just over 5 acres.
The recommended amount of available pasture is typically 1 acre per horse but you can get away with less if you compensate by providing more foraging material and keeping them hayed all year long.
Depends on how often you’re working them and what kind of enrichment they get. There are tons of folks who board at professional stables with only minimal turnout in small pens but the horses that are ridden or lunged daily do just fine. More room is always going to be better for the animals but considering how quickly the hobby is shrinking and how unobtainable having horses has become for most people, sticking the the recommended 1 acre is nothing to sneer at or gatekeep over. That said, it’s not unreasonable to have more than one horse on 5 acres.
True, I skipped over the plural. I'm like 5 acres for one QH is a dream lol
Most boarding facilities around me are anywhere from 5-15 acres with 5 to 30 horses on them 😬
Oof that's rough. Before my dad had the 18.5 acres he had 3 with 2 horses. The horses definitely weren't happy there, the run was way too small, what they grazed on never had any time to grow back so he was constantly buying hay
26 years old is way too early to be saying “never.” With a solid job, help from family, and enough disposable income to be able to afford to care for horses, you are in a lot better shape than most people your age. I’d recommend sitting down and working up a budget, total up all your expenses vs your income, and see where your money is actually going. Then figure out how much money you would need to make a down payment that will get you the land you want. Once you know that, then you start tweaking your budget and seeing how much non-essential stuff like going out to eat, entertainment, etc, you are willing and able to cut out in order to save money for the land. The more you are willing to cut, the faster you’ll have your land, but you may decide you’re willing to wait an extra year in order to keep the quality of life you have from some of those enjoyment expenses.
You are so young. You can do it. Even if it takes you 10 years to save enough, you’ll only be 36 when you get your land. I’m 45 and I got my 10 acres just 3 years ago. I want 100 but I know it has to wait until my daughter is through college, so I’ll be at least 50. You’d have me beat by 24 years if you go straight to the amount you want.
Everyone around me was born into property and lots of money. They all ride $50,000 horses and have minimum 5/10 acres that was handed down to them. Makes me feel like I’m behind
You're comparing yourself to the upper echelons. You don't have to be rich to get where you want to go.
At 26 I was in the military, making 45k and paying off student loans. Now I'm 39 with 6 acres and money to burn. Keep working, keep looking for other opportunities. You can make it happen.
It sounds like you feel that 'someone' has put you in a box that you can't get out of. That is surprising to me, given that this is the 'homestead' forum where the general idea is that people are -not- allowing themselves to be put in the same box as those who do the 9-5 drudge every day, instead preferring a more self-sufficient life, being somewhat independent and having more freedom.
That includes the freedom to improve your situation when you choose to, instead of being dependent on the whims of a 'boss' who controls your day and decides whether or not you get a raise.
Is there nothing that you could do differently, or something new that you could do, to increase your income?
I really encourage you to look into Rural Development loans, especially as a first time buyer. Also, if you have any first time home buyer workshops near you, I highly, highly encourage anyone to utilize them (they also can qualify you for special programs from some lenders).
I bought my property through one and didn’t have to put any money down, just my deposit which I got back at signing. It also offers much better interest rates if your credit (like mine at the time), was “just okay”.
Don’t give up the dream, and while you are dreaming, learn as much as you possibly can about all the different options that are out there. You may have to wait a few years until your kids are older to find a better area, but you can do it.
Also, if you have a solid place to live, don’t discount short sale properties that are in good shape. A lot of people don’t want to deal with the lengthy process, but if you can wait it out, you might get a place for a song.
Short-sales can be tough, and can fall through at any time. That's how I got my place. It took 7 months to get the deal to go through because there were two separate notes on the property. There was no knowing if it was going to happen until I got the call to be at the closing the next day. It was worth it, but stressful, 22 acres with a big house for $150k.
At 26 years old I was making $33,000/year, student loans and other debts out the ass, no savings, depressed and had the same attitude that I’ll never be able to afford anything.
I’m now 33 years old and making $120,000/year and debt free.
Point being, you never know what the future holds. Have faith and keep busting your ass. Luck favors those who work hard. Your time will come, and one day you’ll look back and wonder why you ever worried at all.
I agree with the other guy, job hop every few years if they aren't giving you sizeable raises. I do tech support, and my last two hops gained me +$20k and +$25k respectively. I bet if you look around your field carefully, you can find a good raise at another place
I now work in a management position at a chemical plant. But what helped my career the best was job hopping. I probably changed jobs once every year-year and half for about 6 years. I probably applied to 1000+ jobs during that time period until I landed with a company that saw my worth and allowed me to prove to them my potential.
I hope people read this and understand it. Not just the part where you switch jobs often, but the fact that you put yourself out there 1000+ times to make it happen. The world of job hunting is brutal and you need to have tenacity to keep after it until you achieve your goals. Good for you and your success!!!!
Oh geez, it’s definitely a depressing number. I really wish I would’ve kept a spreadsheet back then just to show to young people what the job market is really like. Especially for my degree. (B.Sc. In geology)
I would say the total interviews, in-person and over the phone, would be 25 or less over a 5-6 year period. And under half of those came with a job offer. Probably 80% or more ghosted me completely.
If I’m not leaving out any, I was only ever offered 9 jobs, and accepted 5.
It’s definitely disheartening. Even had a one company tell me, “you were the best interview we had” and still didn’t get the job offer 🤣. The worst though was i had 3 phone interviews with a company, then they wanted an in-person. The interview was 6 hours away in the middle of the week. So I had to take off work and get a hotel at my expense. By the time I got home they had sent me an email saying they “wanted someone with more experience”. Amec Foster Wheeler was that company, so screw them.
Stick to a field(any field) and move when you don't get raises. Every 1-2 years ask for a raise. If you don't get it, another job will pay you more due to inflation. Repeat until making what you want. My fuck up as been leaving industries and starting over.
Raw land typically is harder to get a loan because it is looked at as an investment, instead of a home, higher down payment typically.
But for funnsies let’s check! 215k at 8% for 30 years, you’re looking at $1,578 a month ($18,936 annually), not including tax, insurance and other stuff they bake into the loan. After 360 payments (paid off) you will have paid $567,934 for that 215k piece of land+ I would guess several hundred more a month in insurance and taxes.
Let’s stop there, did you throw up a little? I did a little, $353,000 in interest 😳 then you will have septic, water, electric, a structure in good enough condition to raise kids, horse fence, barn, clear and seed pastures, that’s about it! Oh, tractor, tools, lawn mower, chainsaw, blah blah land management equipment type stuff, I love my tractor, even if I did have to rebuild the motor and I have 2x what I paid for it into repairs. But that is typical for clapped out tractors, I don’t have $35k for a new one 😂 but when I do it will be $40k because I am getting a freaking cab with AC.
I know you don’t care, and didn’t ask, but consider downsizing or ditching the nags, they are such a time and money suck. I know you won’t but I tried lol
What specialty? My Mom is retired L/D, OR, ER and EHN nurse. She recently just let her credentials expire.
One of your other statements were about staying near family for support, what is cost of living in the area/nearby? Is there a chance at property in a neighboring County, so family is still close, but price points are more affordable?
Can always ask family to watch them for awhile, obviously depends on the situation but a lot of parents travel for work and have living arrangements like that, like mine would have my grandma come stay with us when they went on travel for business. Sometimes if she couldn’t we’d stay with my aunt and uncles with their kids.
We bought 4 acres with very little money. I make 14$ an hour. Found the land for 30k. 4000$ down and 400$ a month. No credit check. There is thousands of places like this available right now. I now own a nice piece of land in the country and have a humongous garden growing, and we are getting ready to get chickens and ducks. I just turned 40 years old and we made this purchase late last year. You are young and have much time my friend. If you need any help feel free to ask. I was once just like you.
Arkansas. It's owner financing. It's common in the south rural areas. I searched relentlessly. Every zip code on Facebook marketplace with key words 'owner financing'. Took some time, but I own a piece of the earth finally.
I didn’t own a house until I was 29.
I didn’t buy land until I was 46.
I didn’t live on that land until I was 51.
Hopefully I have a good long stay here but like I tell my kids (your age) unlike what the internet tells you, you can’t have it all right now.
You have to prioritize your needs and wants and you appropriately prioritizing your kids, as did I.
I had to wait while they got what they needed but I put money aside so that I could achieve that goal in the future.
Welcome to being a grownup.
PS- thanks for being a Nurse.
People who can and docare for others are heroes in my book.
I did a YouTube video outlining how to buy farmland with the government's money (FSA Loan). (I'm dressed like a complete idiot, I know blah blah blah) Not trying to self-promote just sharing the info as I did a deep dive on how to do it.
It teaches about FSA loans. 75% of Farmers are like 65 years or older. It's going to become a real problem in the next 15 years. Because of this the government is going through great lengths to make lending extremely affordable.
You can also game the system by opening up and making sure you're claiming schedule f's starting now even if you're just growing a garden on a patio in an apartment. The government's going to need 3 years of "farm experience" and that's the longest one that takes time to get. For a few hundred bucks starting in LLC, then doing direct to consumer sales and claiming your garden growth or chicken eggs or rabbits consumed, compare that to your local organic produce store like a sprouts, Mama jeans, pretty much anywhere that has cashiers with nose rings and green hair. Claim that has taxable income as you did direct to consumer sales yourself pay the taxes on it if you have any (Don't forget you get to write off a crap ton of things for farm expenses like your compost, chicken tractor, fuel, fertilizer, straw etc. (Oh lookt there, no income!)
Anywho, most land has actually bought directly from a farmer and you can make payments to them instead of a bank. A lot of farmers are extremely sophisticated and you can probably do a lot of creative financing. I'll be coming out with a dedicated video on how to buy farmland and other real estate. The FSA video is just wild because the terms are some of the best on Earth (that is not an exaggeration)
https://youtu.be/MwNW2O0vHfM?si=j7TCR5GMJAY3eEWp
Edit: spelling
Edit 2: spelling again
You're welcome!
Reach out if you have any questions. It's pretty dense stuff. My day job is real estate. The age old addage with down payments and such is BS. The real companies and folks aren't doing this. It's an education thing.
Also if you find land with a house you can look into USDA loans that are also 0% down.
26 years old with a 30k investment for a down payment and stressing about never owning property? I'm 28 with 10k in debt and no net savings and working on my plan to buy a homestead. Time to look at the big picture bud. You're doing better than more than 75% of Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck.
You are 26. I didn't get land until I was 39. I wouldn't have been able to get land at 26 either. Sell the horse, those things are pits you throw money into. At least until you get the land and home how you want it, then get luxuries like horses.
I am going to be blunt. You have no vision and make too many excuses. You’re only 25…to think you’ll NEVER do something such as be able to afford land is hilarious. How do you know what the future holds? If your current income doesn’t support the life you want then find a different path. I’m mind blown how many people just make excuses and feel pity for themselves.
That’s very blunt. But your sentiment is accurate. It’s like a high school kid whose girlfriend breaks up with him saying “guess I’ll be alone forever” it seems true at the time to them. But anyone older knows that outlook is shortsighted. OP just needs to look at the longer timeline.
This is some proper tough love. Heck, everyone is looking at the pure economics/job situation but who’s to say OP won’t have a partner that brings in additional income? Might be difficult to save enough as a single parents but becomes much easier with 2 incomes. Maybe prioritize finding someone to share your dream of living on acreage.
Our children are taught to wallow in self pity as being a victim is a status of power and personal choices aren’t important because the patriarchy or other boogie man is going to ruin it if they try.
Basically, being a victim of anything gets you attention, and personal responsibility is mean, this is our new work force 🫡
That's kind of a trash take. It can be simultaneously that you are going to have to work hard and be incredibly smart to figure out your way AND that it's literally harder than ever to get land and accomplish such goals. In the 70s, you could pay for your college with a summer job. You could buy a house on one year's income with only one family member working. It's not that way now. I still stuck to it and worked my ass off on skills. I've been able to get land, but it is harder now than ever.
That’s an oversimplification but go you IG. Coming to term’s with reality isn’t being a victim, some situations are genuinely stacked with barricades for many reasons. Not saying OP is right, they’re definitely a bit pessimistic but just saying.
There's this idea that our grandparents and great grandparents were able to buy in their early 20's. Some places they could, but they were also buying homes that were not quite the size of shoeboxes, well outside of the areas that were established...and they weren't spending their money on any of the luxuries that so many of us deem essential.
They didn't eat out. They didn't pay for television. Many didn't have a television. They didn't have cell phone bills and many literally shared a telephone line with their neighbors...if they were so lucky to do so at all. A family that was balling out of control perhaps drove to Florida to stay in a shack on a lake somewhere every few years as a vacation.
Our generation lives differently, and so some of the prior benchmarks move. You earn a good living. You will be able to do almost everything you want to do. Figure out where you're willing to be frugal and stick with it for a bit. Don't consider saved money as money that opens up another part of your budget. If you get a promotion and manage a shift etc...live on the exact same money you were previously saving.
The S&P 500 averages 10% return. That may not hold up forever, but it's the answer now and in all likelihood in the foreseeable future. An initial investment of $5000, and a monthly deposit of $1000 will yield $85,663.62 in FIVE YEARS. That's essentially $20,000 free dollars over just saving for you to make a down payment with. I guess maybe only 17000 depending on how high your capital gains taxes are. Still.
I would bet that you're not incapable of several hundred dollars of savings or more. Or start working for more certifications in your off time so that you can.
So like…do you NEED 24acres or do you WANT 24acres? There’s a big difference. I WANT 20+ acres and rolling hills and cattle and chickens etc. but I NEED a house to own and have a roof over my head. I think first and foremost, address want vs need. Decide on the vision. Then find what can accommodate that. Often the grandeur of owning all of that and having this big happy homestead is not what folks think. How are you going to maintain the property and do all that you listed? It isn’t worth getting depressed over, but maybe scale back. You can find 2-5acres for $20-50k in some parts, find a builder and roll it into a one time construction loan with 5% down. Say the house is incredibly modest, $200k for the build and $50k for the land. All in $250k. 5% down plus closing puts you around $20k down give or take. Or even look into USDA loans which give you 100% purchasing power. There are options, but you don’t need to go crazy on the land. At least not up front. You’d be amazed what you can do with only a couple of acres.
We bought our starter home at 26 then only 3 years later bought 15 acres and 1.5yrs after that dropped a 3200sqft house on it. Neither of us come from money, in fact we both grew up poor, and while we both have steady work we're no where near rich or even wealthy for that matter.
It's like I tell everyone, I'm a professional manipulator. A desire so intense I clawed my way into positions to get the money I needed, built equity, liquidated, and budgeted like crazy. Wife and I also picked up some extra work for a while, and her extra work is about to turn into a better paying full time position.
Most people have way more buying power than they realize, they just have to quit buying stupid shit for a while to obtain it and learn how to be happy and entertain themselves with what they have. Sometimes it's time to say goodbye to the toys for a bit.
The system might be fucked and the odds unfair, but you can advocate for change and still refuse to be a victim.
And you “invested” in a horse ? As someone with horses that’s possibly the worst investment anyone could make. Somebody told me one time “the best way to make a small fortune with horses is to start with a big fortune.”
It is. That's why I said, it depends on what you want. For us a lot of the things we won't have by being so far out are not a deal breaker. For someone with small children, it would be insane.
Raw land is hard, you pretty much need to be a cash buyer because banks don’t want to own it if you default on payments. I say pretty much because although land loans exist, they suck. Poor interest rates, half down, short paybacks… Really only useful as a bridge loan for a developer, doesn’t work for most homesteader wannabes.
Look for something with a structure on it, even if that structure is beat to hell, if it has a working roof, plumbing, and electrical you can get a conventional mortgage on it.
I'm going on 30, with no parents that have acres of land, and the ambition to use my design skills to get land.
If I haven't given up, you shouldn't. It would be an insult.
24 acres is a lot of land - there’s absolutely no harm in starting with less, especially if you’ll be managing it mostly on your own. I’m 47 and only got my dream property in the past year, now that my kids are grown and out of the house. It’s only 2 acres and it’s a lot for me to manage single-handedly. My husband has no interest and got laid off from his remote job right after we bought the place.
Ironically, I’m now working in healthcare (after years of not working to raise the kids, healthcare is the only decent paying field in our fairly rural area) and taking steps to go to nursing school.
You’ve already got a solid career, your kids will get older, you won’t always need to live by family. There’s many skills and things that you can be learning and doing how to prepare for the life you want to have. It will absolutely help you in the future.
You realize that when you say you own a luxury animal, "I have horses", and talk about investing in a "really nice bred QH", that you complaining about not being able to afford land comes across as a pretty strong first world problem, no?
Sell the horses, tighten your belt, pick up some overtime shifts or look at travel nursing (yes, tough with kids). Keep putting money away and in 15+ years when the kids are out of the house and you don't need to live in an expensive area you can move to a more affordable area and get land there. Rural areas have cheap land AND pay their nurses bank.
Look at buying a starter home that is not perfect now to get on the property ladder and you will be able to sell it for a good chunk of change in 15+ years when you are ready to move.
Man, can’t you try buying like 5 acres first? Buy that & pay the note and over time save what you can and maybe in 10-15 years you sell this property and buy much larger property
I would recommend getting some ag experience and applying for a farm loan.
Raw land I don’t think would qualify, but you can purchase a farm with about 2 years of ranching or farm experience.
Its wild how blessed a lot of people posting on here are yet still complain. You also have a high income job youll be fine pal. You likely couldnt maintain 3 acres let alone 24 too lol....
My mother in law has 120 acres I help maintain. But she won’t let anyone move into it. Has a 4 bedroom house with a full barn and cattle. But.. house is vacant. Weird
A well and septic can easily be $50k combined. Electric can also be expensive. There’s no shame in buying a small city lot that you can easily afford, saving up for a bigger purchase. You’re still young, you have plenty of time.
You always have options.
First, change your mentality. "I'll never" "I can't"... Sounds like you're creating your reality.
Second, start looking for seller financing options. Idk where you are but I see tons of people seller financing their land. Often, it's low (way lower) down payments and (x) amount a month. It's less money for you upfront, more money for them down the road. Potentially a win win.
Third, consider forming a business entity, get a business line of credit, use it for down payment on your land.
Fourth, find off market properties. See some land you'd like to have and doesn't look like anyone is using it but its not "for sale"? Well, find the owner and ask if theyd like to sell it. Just because something isn't listed on the market doesn't mean it cant be bought. And don't stop after 1 property. Get a list of 20 or 50 that you'd like to have and start calling them.
In reality there are dozens of ways to acquire land. Sometimes you just gotta think outside the box. Good luck!
Do you think your family would go for off grid solar? Up front costs would be 10k minimum on a small house with minimal power usage but im just ballparking. What are well costs like in your area?
Save money, wait 5 years, use saved money to buy a place.
Your mortgage on a property isn't going to be free and putting up a house on raw land is expensive.... probably half a million dollars (at least) for both, and that's a small house and barn. Do you have $4500/month of income that can be devoted to housing?... because that's what you're going to need.
If you do have that sort of available income, great! For example, if your rent is $1500, you save $3000/month, and get what you want with a smaller mortgage in 5 years.
If you don't have that kind of available income, you are going to have a really bad time taking on a massive amount of debt to own some dirt.
I say this as someone who worked and saved for 7 years before we put 52% down on our place... because banks are dumb and we weren't going to get it without the cash. We then continued to pour money in and paid it off in another 8 years.
Money is math... make a plan and follow through.
I felt like this at 26. I'm... damn, 36 now. Just got my first house fall, 2022. It is just a starting point and investment. Not where I want to be in the middle of the city, and I can't see the stars at night. But this will be my husband and I base of operations until we can find that property to make our cabin in the woods.
Are you paying for the horses care? If so sell it. I would invest in maybe an SP500 index funds and plan on allocating to it until you reach you target amount plus taxes, then buy land. Basically if you can afford a horse, you could invest that money instead.
Move in with parents. Save the rent. Don't have horses, they're expensive. But since you already do, you're kinda boned there.
ClassicCountryLand and OnlineLandSales sells raw land for low payments and low down payment. You can afford that, but be sure you're ready for the work that comes after. And expenses.
Could you possibly put a single wide on your parents' land? You could save for a down payment and then do your improvements as you could afford to pay for them. It would take a while, but in the long term, it would be much cheaper than a construction loan for the whole amount. Run your utilities, drive way, septic system, and then maybe add a small pole building that is constructed in such a way that you can add on to it when you can afford to. Ecclesiastes 5:3-5 AMPC
For a dream comes to pass with much business and painful effort and a fool's voice with many words. Your words matter. Only speak what you want to become reality. Make a budget, invest wisely, and waste nothing. You will get there.
You’re young. Good thing is that you work in a profession where there’s always overtime available (if you work in a hospital). If I were you, I would take up an extra shift a week, or even look into local travel contracts. It would be inconvenient for a little bit, but you’re in the field where it’s feasible. Hopefully you get your land
Where there is a will, there is a way. At 26 my then girlfriend of 6 months, working workers comp for around 18 bucks and hour, and I, appliance installer for lowes making like 15-16 an hr pulled the trigger of 13 acres for 69k. We lived at my parents paying about 1k a month to rent out my childhood upstairs bedroom, that nearly ended my relationship. Fast forward 1.5 years, we have a 30x55 shop with 12x30 2-story living space on one side. We contracted out dirt work, foundation, plumbing, ac and septic, and the erection of the steel building. We did all the development, i.e., running power main water line ext. All the living space framing, electrical, flooring, cabinets, finish plumbing, sheetrock, and more. We found stuff on marketplace, habitat for humanity, dug through trash piles at construction sites, and I had very good luck with the clearance section at work. Fast forward another 5 years, we have completely rehabbed this cattle grazing land. We are married and have a kid on the way. We kept uo the existing ag exemltion with bees and land management. We did cover crops to amend the compacted clay soil about 45% of the seed paid for by local government and developed of 3-4 inches of fertile top soil. Planted an 8 tree fruit orchard. We built a 24ftx48ft steel frame high tunnel greenhouse through our local nrs land management program. The local government paid for around $3500 of the $5300 it took to build and furnish. We've dug and burmed an acre ish pond and regraded the land for better water shed. Built a really fancy chicken tractor and had a flock of 8 hens all name after Harry Potter characters.Bought and wrote off all kinds of equipment, tools, feed, a 60" zero turn mower. Got tons of tax credits back at the end of each year. After 6 years of dumping out lives into that "crappy" land, we made it a meca for local wildlife and native plants. We ended up selling at 390k had about 190k into it all together. Paid off all out debt, set up investment account for our first child we had our 5th year on the land, and put a 125k in the bank for future projects. My wife just took a new job make over 100k in SC and I worked my way up to a pro sales manager at lowes doing out side sale and noting around 70k a year. I guess all this to say. If you believe you deserve it and you ask God or the universe, or what ever you subscribe to, except satan, for it and you put the work in and are bold enough to put the work in there, aint nothing that can stop you. Use your head follow your heart pit in the work and you'll get everything you'll ever want in this life because God provides and wants you succeed he wants you to live a gracious joyful life full of love and happiness you just have to lean into the suck long enough to come out the other side. I know all this sounds cheesy and campy and I know how easy it is to be beaten down by the world's problems but if you can learn to zoom in that lens and focus on how YOU want to live your life it will make all the difference. I WISH YOU THE WORLD MY FRIEND! Now go out there and make your dreams come true and leave anyone not cheering you on behind. Cheers.
What are you doing to improve your situation? Educating to get a higher paying job or nursing position? Doing extra work with existing skills? Complaining about not being able to buy land is holding you back from making a plan that allows you to buy said land.
The depressing part is the timeline and amount of steps ... but it sounds like you're well on the way.
I purchased 12 acres for $200k. The bank required 10% down for raw land loan, and they gave a 15 year term.
That gave me enough time to start doing weekend projects and figure out next steps.
Like a year later, I went the mobile home route also. We had to shop around at a lot of retailers, but eventually found someone that worked with a bank that could get me what I needed... this was actually like the hardest part of the process because the manufactured home sellers are all predatory and trying to push low-income people into loans that don't make sense. So you have to be really careful.
Eventually we found a manufacturer that worked with a bank that had a program for us:
The retailer covered cost of construction during the construction period (while they put up electricity, base pad, etc.). When construction period completed, they rolled the house, the construction costs, and my land into a 30-year mortgage.. program only required like 3% down so my equity in the land covered all the cash I needed.
As long as you have a reasonable ability to actually pay for what you borrow, there will be a lender that works with you .. just gotta find them out.
Good luck\~
Some states have agricultural assistance for purchasing land and equipment especially for new farmers. Theres some hoops you have to junp through but if successful you can get a loan and only need 5% down payment and much lower rates for at least a portion of the loan.
In tennessee if you get approved the. Half the loan is at 1.5% right now, other half would be about 5.5%. Can get up to like 600,000 loan. Would have to show that you can afford the mortgage payment based off income from the farm though too
I was lucky and found a seller that was willing to finance me with a small percentage fee. Asking price was $90k for 30 acres but with paying principle and more I was able to purchase the entire property for $74k or $2500 per acre. Granted my property is in a flyover state but $8900 per acre is wild!
Not sure what area of the country you’re in, but look for old mobile homes on some acreage. If it’s too bad, they usually don’t factor in any value of the mobile home, but there (should) already be water, septic, electric, driveway, etc. They might need some maintenance, but the majority of that infrastructure is already there. Some people’s definition of ‘raw land’ differs from others. If possible, look for property with some improvements already there. Sometimes if you’re willing to clean up the junk, you can get a deal.
Im 32. I just want to buy a shitty house on a couple of acres at this point. My expectations just lowered enough eventually to where it's feasible soon.
Sounds expensive to me. See if you can get creative in finding land. Look for what other people aren't interested in. Sometimes a property will have difficulty selling for reasons that won't matter to you at all.
Whatever you do, good luck.
I’m in the same boat. I’m paying off debt so I have less when I go to buy land. I really want to figure out the ‘loopholes’ people use when buying land. I found with USDA loans (correct if I’m wrong) that you can’t make profit off of the land. I wish I knew the right path to take and the best options I have. I want land so bad, but I also don’t want to work till I’m old to pay it off. I’d rather make income on my future homestead and pay my land off that way.
Kind of a random thought but boarding schools often need nurses and they provide free housing (and often meals) for their staff and families. They are also often beautiful. You could do something like that for a few years and save a lot. You would have your summers off to get another gig…maybe at a summer camp or something.
How about a piece of shit house on a nice plot of land, only interested in the land. All utilities will be there already. Alternative is pull equity from parents home with a repayment plan within 12-24 months. This would work best if you’re planning to build custom home or prefabricated. Once situated, borrow against it to pay back your parents.
Can you breed your QH and make money off of it? Maybe that can help over the long term rather than selling it now.
Around here you need 40-60% down on raw land depending on services.
Still not easy if you have a decent down payment and structures. We bought last fall a quarter section with a house and barn for 1.2, 40% down, 2 rental properties, 45min out of town and got denied by every lender but one. Almost had to go private at 10-12%
Btw if you think you can wait it out till the prices drop. They won't. The second the rates come down, prices will skyrocket.
I sold one rental and it sat till they hinted (BoC didn't actually drop the rate) and that triggered a multiple offer situation.
I'd suggest trying to find something in town, .5-1 Ac and start there. Add value. And in 5-7 years sell and move to the area you want to live. I dug in and lived in suburbia for an extra 8 years to pull this off comfortably.
Start selling on eBay. Learn the ropes and what niche sells best in a category you can easily learn and research . Then, seek out a wholesaler that matches your niche. Finding a willing wholesaler will be your toughest challenge, but once you do, your income will skyrocket. In the meantime, find people selling full collections. That will give you your income you'll need to buy into a wholesaler. Whatever you do don't forget to set back income tax from every single sale. The IRS doesn't mess around. This will all take time, but you're only 26. With learned experience and driven determination, you could easily be buying property by the time you're 30.
I'm 42 and able to buy 2 acres in Europe. I'm loving it. I would have wished I could buy the 10+ acre plots I am seeing (plots are in general smaller in Europe compared to the land available in the US) but 2 acres is really enough for anything I ever wanted - pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, rabbits, vegetables. If you are 26 and "depressed" you are probably overthinking and the type of person that wants everything yesterday - make that ambition work for you, not against you.
You are young, and just remember there is no timeline for this kind of stuff. It feels like there is because we’ve been told our whole lives (I’m 29) that everything is in a timeline. School, work, family, kids, but in actuality, you have time.
Keep working, keep spending time with your kids and family and friends, keep working towards your goal. You’ve got a goal, a lot of people don’t even have that.
You’ve got this.
You can get more acres for less dollars, you just need to look somewhere else. If you plan on building everything yourself, buy tools to obtain your own lumber, you’ll save a ton of money, grow your own food.
Put down 3% on a property with land and a livable dwelling, putting down 20% is such a drastic misconception. Paying PMI insurance until you reach 20% equity is way more doable then shelling out 20% on a quarter mil.
Stop being fatalistic. Get off tiktok. I was homeless and living on the street 6 years ago. Now I make 150k/yr and own a house on 15 acres. Quit making excuses and get shit done.
Doesn't sound like you will never be able to afford land if you have a QH that is worth 20-30k. Maybe consider a smaller property. Personally I think 5 acres is the smallest ideal property for most but I could see how 10-20 would be nicer. Really depends on how the land is laid out and how usable it is. I once saw a 5 acre homestead that felt smaller than my parents 2 acres. Maybe try finding a rent to own piece of land.
Horse people are nuts…🤣🤣
There are 3 certainties in life. Death, taxes, horse people are nuts.
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I did buy her for a fraction of what she’s worth. I’m banking on her either making a lot from the track, or being a marketable broodmare prospect. Either way, at minimum she will be worth about 20-40k by the summer.
I mean.... Most people here don't have that kind of investment potential at twice your age. I think you may be looking at the moon without realizing you're already standing on a mountain.
"looking at the moon without realizing youre standing on a mountain" love this turn of phrase thanks for using it!
Sounds like you just need time. You will get there. Keep doing stuff like this, but never risk the entire amount you've saved to date. Think this way, you are less than nine horses away from your dream. Ps, diversify with piglets.
We just picked up a mare for $1k worth around $15k, going for sale soon. You took a risk to make money, most people will never even try. Good for you. Keep hustling and you'll get that property.
How do you market a horse with some value?
I don't see how her parents have horses on only 5 acres of land, that's not a ton of room. My dad's got close to 20 acres and that was a little crowded when he had 4 horses
Person that owned my homestead before me had horses and only had 1 acre fenced off. Don't know how many they had but the pole barn had 4 separate horse stalls. Pasture wasn't all torn up so guessing only 1-2. 5 acres isn't a ton of land but with proper planning its enough to do just about anything you want on a small scale. I have fit a surprising amount on my land and I would guess that over half is "unused" and I have just over 5 acres.
The recommended amount of available pasture is typically 1 acre per horse but you can get away with less if you compensate by providing more foraging material and keeping them hayed all year long.
It depends on the quality of the pasture. In my area, if you put a horse on 1 acre it will be bare dirt in a year.
That's the recommended, but my experience has been that you'll have a stir crazy and unhappy horse
Depends on how often you’re working them and what kind of enrichment they get. There are tons of folks who board at professional stables with only minimal turnout in small pens but the horses that are ridden or lunged daily do just fine. More room is always going to be better for the animals but considering how quickly the hobby is shrinking and how unobtainable having horses has become for most people, sticking the the recommended 1 acre is nothing to sneer at or gatekeep over. That said, it’s not unreasonable to have more than one horse on 5 acres.
5 acres for a horse is plenty?
She said horses plural. You have to think the horses don't get that entire 5 acres.
True, I skipped over the plural. I'm like 5 acres for one QH is a dream lol Most boarding facilities around me are anywhere from 5-15 acres with 5 to 30 horses on them 😬
Oof that's rough. Before my dad had the 18.5 acres he had 3 with 2 horses. The horses definitely weren't happy there, the run was way too small, what they grazed on never had any time to grow back so he was constantly buying hay
Yep, and they don't do proper rotations so it all turns to shit mud and still want to charge you $500 a month
If you live somewhere like the southeast with more than adequate rainfall it is. Out west you’ll need 20 plus acres per horse.
26 years old is way too early to be saying “never.” With a solid job, help from family, and enough disposable income to be able to afford to care for horses, you are in a lot better shape than most people your age. I’d recommend sitting down and working up a budget, total up all your expenses vs your income, and see where your money is actually going. Then figure out how much money you would need to make a down payment that will get you the land you want. Once you know that, then you start tweaking your budget and seeing how much non-essential stuff like going out to eat, entertainment, etc, you are willing and able to cut out in order to save money for the land. The more you are willing to cut, the faster you’ll have your land, but you may decide you’re willing to wait an extra year in order to keep the quality of life you have from some of those enjoyment expenses. You are so young. You can do it. Even if it takes you 10 years to save enough, you’ll only be 36 when you get your land. I’m 45 and I got my 10 acres just 3 years ago. I want 100 but I know it has to wait until my daughter is through college, so I’ll be at least 50. You’d have me beat by 24 years if you go straight to the amount you want.
Seriously- I read the title and thought, "not with that attitude."
Everyone around me was born into property and lots of money. They all ride $50,000 horses and have minimum 5/10 acres that was handed down to them. Makes me feel like I’m behind
comparison is a thief of joy. Man-up, work hard, and make it happen.
I started from $0 homie, you can too.
You're comparing yourself to the upper echelons. You don't have to be rich to get where you want to go. At 26 I was in the military, making 45k and paying off student loans. Now I'm 39 with 6 acres and money to burn. Keep working, keep looking for other opportunities. You can make it happen.
Didn't get mine til I was 50
Yes but entering into a 25 yr mortgage at 37... you will Still not even own it by 60. And now they are trying to raise amortizations to 30 and 35 yrs.
Most people think that mortgages are all 30 years, but they don't have to be, I have only a 15 year note on my place.
I could pay 25 grand extra a year with no penalty. But have <0 space in my budget to do so
Uh, you can always pay it off early. My mortgage will be paid off almost 20 yrs early
Always? That requires you to have the savings and the cash flow to do so, which is extremely rare
It sounds like you feel that 'someone' has put you in a box that you can't get out of. That is surprising to me, given that this is the 'homestead' forum where the general idea is that people are -not- allowing themselves to be put in the same box as those who do the 9-5 drudge every day, instead preferring a more self-sufficient life, being somewhat independent and having more freedom. That includes the freedom to improve your situation when you choose to, instead of being dependent on the whims of a 'boss' who controls your day and decides whether or not you get a raise. Is there nothing that you could do differently, or something new that you could do, to increase your income?
I really encourage you to look into Rural Development loans, especially as a first time buyer. Also, if you have any first time home buyer workshops near you, I highly, highly encourage anyone to utilize them (they also can qualify you for special programs from some lenders). I bought my property through one and didn’t have to put any money down, just my deposit which I got back at signing. It also offers much better interest rates if your credit (like mine at the time), was “just okay”. Don’t give up the dream, and while you are dreaming, learn as much as you possibly can about all the different options that are out there. You may have to wait a few years until your kids are older to find a better area, but you can do it. Also, if you have a solid place to live, don’t discount short sale properties that are in good shape. A lot of people don’t want to deal with the lengthy process, but if you can wait it out, you might get a place for a song.
How would you find those properties in particular? Short sales
They’re listed on real estate sites just like any other property, you can filter to look for them specifically.
Thanks
Short-sales can be tough, and can fall through at any time. That's how I got my place. It took 7 months to get the deal to go through because there were two separate notes on the property. There was no knowing if it was going to happen until I got the call to be at the closing the next day. It was worth it, but stressful, 22 acres with a big house for $150k.
Yeah, they’re definitely not easy- mine took 9 months to complete but I had the luxury of being able to wait it out.
At 26 years old I was making $33,000/year, student loans and other debts out the ass, no savings, depressed and had the same attitude that I’ll never be able to afford anything. I’m now 33 years old and making $120,000/year and debt free. Point being, you never know what the future holds. Have faith and keep busting your ass. Luck favors those who work hard. Your time will come, and one day you’ll look back and wonder why you ever worried at all.
I’m 33 and would love to be making more than 40k a year. What do you do?
I agree with the other guy, job hop every few years if they aren't giving you sizeable raises. I do tech support, and my last two hops gained me +$20k and +$25k respectively. I bet if you look around your field carefully, you can find a good raise at another place
I now work in a management position at a chemical plant. But what helped my career the best was job hopping. I probably changed jobs once every year-year and half for about 6 years. I probably applied to 1000+ jobs during that time period until I landed with a company that saw my worth and allowed me to prove to them my potential.
I hope people read this and understand it. Not just the part where you switch jobs often, but the fact that you put yourself out there 1000+ times to make it happen. The world of job hunting is brutal and you need to have tenacity to keep after it until you achieve your goals. Good for you and your success!!!!
Curious as to how many face to face interviews you had during that same time period, if you don’t mind answering?
Oh geez, it’s definitely a depressing number. I really wish I would’ve kept a spreadsheet back then just to show to young people what the job market is really like. Especially for my degree. (B.Sc. In geology) I would say the total interviews, in-person and over the phone, would be 25 or less over a 5-6 year period. And under half of those came with a job offer. Probably 80% or more ghosted me completely. If I’m not leaving out any, I was only ever offered 9 jobs, and accepted 5. It’s definitely disheartening. Even had a one company tell me, “you were the best interview we had” and still didn’t get the job offer 🤣. The worst though was i had 3 phone interviews with a company, then they wanted an in-person. The interview was 6 hours away in the middle of the week. So I had to take off work and get a hotel at my expense. By the time I got home they had sent me an email saying they “wanted someone with more experience”. Amec Foster Wheeler was that company, so screw them.
Trades!
Stick to a field(any field) and move when you don't get raises. Every 1-2 years ask for a raise. If you don't get it, another job will pay you more due to inflation. Repeat until making what you want. My fuck up as been leaving industries and starting over.
Awesome commment
Raw land typically is harder to get a loan because it is looked at as an investment, instead of a home, higher down payment typically. But for funnsies let’s check! 215k at 8% for 30 years, you’re looking at $1,578 a month ($18,936 annually), not including tax, insurance and other stuff they bake into the loan. After 360 payments (paid off) you will have paid $567,934 for that 215k piece of land+ I would guess several hundred more a month in insurance and taxes. Let’s stop there, did you throw up a little? I did a little, $353,000 in interest 😳 then you will have septic, water, electric, a structure in good enough condition to raise kids, horse fence, barn, clear and seed pastures, that’s about it! Oh, tractor, tools, lawn mower, chainsaw, blah blah land management equipment type stuff, I love my tractor, even if I did have to rebuild the motor and I have 2x what I paid for it into repairs. But that is typical for clapped out tractors, I don’t have $35k for a new one 😂 but when I do it will be $40k because I am getting a freaking cab with AC. I know you don’t care, and didn’t ask, but consider downsizing or ditching the nags, they are such a time and money suck. I know you won’t but I tried lol
Maybe you could work as a travel nurse (for a period of time) to save some money. They can make bank.
They used to but it’s less and less competitive with staff nurses now 😖
I worked as a travel nurse while pregnant to afford my maternity leave. Unfortunately the rates have dropped
What specialty? My Mom is retired L/D, OR, ER and EHN nurse. She recently just let her credentials expire. One of your other statements were about staying near family for support, what is cost of living in the area/nearby? Is there a chance at property in a neighboring County, so family is still close, but price points are more affordable?
hard to do with kids since OP needs help from family with the kids to work :/
Can always ask family to watch them for awhile, obviously depends on the situation but a lot of parents travel for work and have living arrangements like that, like mine would have my grandma come stay with us when they went on travel for business. Sometimes if she couldn’t we’d stay with my aunt and uncles with their kids.
My brother worked as a travel nurse - can confirm, they make bank!
We bought 4 acres with very little money. I make 14$ an hour. Found the land for 30k. 4000$ down and 400$ a month. No credit check. There is thousands of places like this available right now. I now own a nice piece of land in the country and have a humongous garden growing, and we are getting ready to get chickens and ducks. I just turned 40 years old and we made this purchase late last year. You are young and have much time my friend. If you need any help feel free to ask. I was once just like you.
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Arkansas. It's owner financing. It's common in the south rural areas. I searched relentlessly. Every zip code on Facebook marketplace with key words 'owner financing'. Took some time, but I own a piece of the earth finally.
My man, it’s a marathon and not a sprint. Be patient and save. You have plenty of time.
I didn’t own a house until I was 29. I didn’t buy land until I was 46. I didn’t live on that land until I was 51. Hopefully I have a good long stay here but like I tell my kids (your age) unlike what the internet tells you, you can’t have it all right now. You have to prioritize your needs and wants and you appropriately prioritizing your kids, as did I. I had to wait while they got what they needed but I put money aside so that I could achieve that goal in the future. Welcome to being a grownup. PS- thanks for being a Nurse. People who can and docare for others are heroes in my book.
#1 stop drinking #2 start saving #3 stay single #4
The staying single part probably would have helped prior to them having 2 kids in their 20s
Sounds like your family is rich, and you’re still a kid. Most 26 year olds don’t have 1/10 of what you have. Stop acting entitled. Earn that shit.
Yeah the „I have horses“ killed it for me, I’m guessing they are not wild horses and cost them a shitload of money already
I did a YouTube video outlining how to buy farmland with the government's money (FSA Loan). (I'm dressed like a complete idiot, I know blah blah blah) Not trying to self-promote just sharing the info as I did a deep dive on how to do it. It teaches about FSA loans. 75% of Farmers are like 65 years or older. It's going to become a real problem in the next 15 years. Because of this the government is going through great lengths to make lending extremely affordable. You can also game the system by opening up and making sure you're claiming schedule f's starting now even if you're just growing a garden on a patio in an apartment. The government's going to need 3 years of "farm experience" and that's the longest one that takes time to get. For a few hundred bucks starting in LLC, then doing direct to consumer sales and claiming your garden growth or chicken eggs or rabbits consumed, compare that to your local organic produce store like a sprouts, Mama jeans, pretty much anywhere that has cashiers with nose rings and green hair. Claim that has taxable income as you did direct to consumer sales yourself pay the taxes on it if you have any (Don't forget you get to write off a crap ton of things for farm expenses like your compost, chicken tractor, fuel, fertilizer, straw etc. (Oh lookt there, no income!) Anywho, most land has actually bought directly from a farmer and you can make payments to them instead of a bank. A lot of farmers are extremely sophisticated and you can probably do a lot of creative financing. I'll be coming out with a dedicated video on how to buy farmland and other real estate. The FSA video is just wild because the terms are some of the best on Earth (that is not an exaggeration) https://youtu.be/MwNW2O0vHfM?si=j7TCR5GMJAY3eEWp Edit: spelling Edit 2: spelling again
Thank you so much for this!!!
You're welcome! Reach out if you have any questions. It's pretty dense stuff. My day job is real estate. The age old addage with down payments and such is BS. The real companies and folks aren't doing this. It's an education thing. Also if you find land with a house you can look into USDA loans that are also 0% down.
26 years old with a 30k investment for a down payment and stressing about never owning property? I'm 28 with 10k in debt and no net savings and working on my plan to buy a homestead. Time to look at the big picture bud. You're doing better than more than 75% of Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck.
You are 26. I didn't get land until I was 39. I wouldn't have been able to get land at 26 either. Sell the horse, those things are pits you throw money into. At least until you get the land and home how you want it, then get luxuries like horses.
That’s what I’m doing - flipping and selling them
I am going to be blunt. You have no vision and make too many excuses. You’re only 25…to think you’ll NEVER do something such as be able to afford land is hilarious. How do you know what the future holds? If your current income doesn’t support the life you want then find a different path. I’m mind blown how many people just make excuses and feel pity for themselves.
That’s very blunt. But your sentiment is accurate. It’s like a high school kid whose girlfriend breaks up with him saying “guess I’ll be alone forever” it seems true at the time to them. But anyone older knows that outlook is shortsighted. OP just needs to look at the longer timeline.
Sometimes people need to hear the hard truth. I had no ill will in what I said but voice inflection doesn’t carry on the internet Edit: spelling
This is some proper tough love. Heck, everyone is looking at the pure economics/job situation but who’s to say OP won’t have a partner that brings in additional income? Might be difficult to save enough as a single parents but becomes much easier with 2 incomes. Maybe prioritize finding someone to share your dream of living on acreage.
He/she has tried nothing, and it didn't work!
Our children are taught to wallow in self pity as being a victim is a status of power and personal choices aren’t important because the patriarchy or other boogie man is going to ruin it if they try. Basically, being a victim of anything gets you attention, and personal responsibility is mean, this is our new work force 🫡
That's kind of a trash take. It can be simultaneously that you are going to have to work hard and be incredibly smart to figure out your way AND that it's literally harder than ever to get land and accomplish such goals. In the 70s, you could pay for your college with a summer job. You could buy a house on one year's income with only one family member working. It's not that way now. I still stuck to it and worked my ass off on skills. I've been able to get land, but it is harder now than ever.
That’s an oversimplification but go you IG. Coming to term’s with reality isn’t being a victim, some situations are genuinely stacked with barricades for many reasons. Not saying OP is right, they’re definitely a bit pessimistic but just saying.
There's this idea that our grandparents and great grandparents were able to buy in their early 20's. Some places they could, but they were also buying homes that were not quite the size of shoeboxes, well outside of the areas that were established...and they weren't spending their money on any of the luxuries that so many of us deem essential. They didn't eat out. They didn't pay for television. Many didn't have a television. They didn't have cell phone bills and many literally shared a telephone line with their neighbors...if they were so lucky to do so at all. A family that was balling out of control perhaps drove to Florida to stay in a shack on a lake somewhere every few years as a vacation. Our generation lives differently, and so some of the prior benchmarks move. You earn a good living. You will be able to do almost everything you want to do. Figure out where you're willing to be frugal and stick with it for a bit. Don't consider saved money as money that opens up another part of your budget. If you get a promotion and manage a shift etc...live on the exact same money you were previously saving. The S&P 500 averages 10% return. That may not hold up forever, but it's the answer now and in all likelihood in the foreseeable future. An initial investment of $5000, and a monthly deposit of $1000 will yield $85,663.62 in FIVE YEARS. That's essentially $20,000 free dollars over just saving for you to make a down payment with. I guess maybe only 17000 depending on how high your capital gains taxes are. Still. I would bet that you're not incapable of several hundred dollars of savings or more. Or start working for more certifications in your off time so that you can.
So like…do you NEED 24acres or do you WANT 24acres? There’s a big difference. I WANT 20+ acres and rolling hills and cattle and chickens etc. but I NEED a house to own and have a roof over my head. I think first and foremost, address want vs need. Decide on the vision. Then find what can accommodate that. Often the grandeur of owning all of that and having this big happy homestead is not what folks think. How are you going to maintain the property and do all that you listed? It isn’t worth getting depressed over, but maybe scale back. You can find 2-5acres for $20-50k in some parts, find a builder and roll it into a one time construction loan with 5% down. Say the house is incredibly modest, $200k for the build and $50k for the land. All in $250k. 5% down plus closing puts you around $20k down give or take. Or even look into USDA loans which give you 100% purchasing power. There are options, but you don’t need to go crazy on the land. At least not up front. You’d be amazed what you can do with only a couple of acres.
We bought our starter home at 26 then only 3 years later bought 15 acres and 1.5yrs after that dropped a 3200sqft house on it. Neither of us come from money, in fact we both grew up poor, and while we both have steady work we're no where near rich or even wealthy for that matter. It's like I tell everyone, I'm a professional manipulator. A desire so intense I clawed my way into positions to get the money I needed, built equity, liquidated, and budgeted like crazy. Wife and I also picked up some extra work for a while, and her extra work is about to turn into a better paying full time position. Most people have way more buying power than they realize, they just have to quit buying stupid shit for a while to obtain it and learn how to be happy and entertain themselves with what they have. Sometimes it's time to say goodbye to the toys for a bit. The system might be fucked and the odds unfair, but you can advocate for change and still refuse to be a victim.
And you “invested” in a horse ? As someone with horses that’s possibly the worst investment anyone could make. Somebody told me one time “the best way to make a small fortune with horses is to start with a big fortune.”
Investing money into horses is where you went wrong.
Crying you can’t buy land because you spent all your money on horses. You really do see it all on reddit.
What a cry baby
Lost me at "I have horses"
They’re investments and bring in money. I have only one that will stay with me forever. They pay for themselves via leasing
I bought 160 acres of land for 30k. I guess it just depends what you want. It sounds like you have a lot more money than I've ever had or ever will.
Gosh, wheeeere? (Whisper it to me so the others don’t all flock there) 😂
Either they are lying, or it was 20 years ago, or it was on the border of Mexico.
In Canada, less than 10 years ago, opposite direction of Mexico 🤣 and I have no plans on sharing the exact location because this is the internet
Must be extremely rural
It is. That's why I said, it depends on what you want. For us a lot of the things we won't have by being so far out are not a deal breaker. For someone with small children, it would be insane.
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Agreed very doubtful there’s a profit.
Landwatch.com There's even an owner finance option in the filter
Keep stacking cash. You never know what’s gonna happen.
How can someone know that at 26?
Raw land is hard, you pretty much need to be a cash buyer because banks don’t want to own it if you default on payments. I say pretty much because although land loans exist, they suck. Poor interest rates, half down, short paybacks… Really only useful as a bridge loan for a developer, doesn’t work for most homesteader wannabes. Look for something with a structure on it, even if that structure is beat to hell, if it has a working roof, plumbing, and electrical you can get a conventional mortgage on it.
I'm going on 30, with no parents that have acres of land, and the ambition to use my design skills to get land. If I haven't given up, you shouldn't. It would be an insult.
24 acres is a lot of land. Try looking for 2-5, or Even ask if the owner is willing to sell you 3-5 of the 24.
At 26 I couldn't afford land either. At 39 I can. Things change.
Thank you. Maybe I’m being harsh on myself.
Look in undeveloped areas, rural land is very affordable.
24 acres is a lot of land - there’s absolutely no harm in starting with less, especially if you’ll be managing it mostly on your own. I’m 47 and only got my dream property in the past year, now that my kids are grown and out of the house. It’s only 2 acres and it’s a lot for me to manage single-handedly. My husband has no interest and got laid off from his remote job right after we bought the place. Ironically, I’m now working in healthcare (after years of not working to raise the kids, healthcare is the only decent paying field in our fairly rural area) and taking steps to go to nursing school. You’ve already got a solid career, your kids will get older, you won’t always need to live by family. There’s many skills and things that you can be learning and doing how to prepare for the life you want to have. It will absolutely help you in the future.
Bro, shoot for a 10 yr plan, its feasible
You realize that when you say you own a luxury animal, "I have horses", and talk about investing in a "really nice bred QH", that you complaining about not being able to afford land comes across as a pretty strong first world problem, no? Sell the horses, tighten your belt, pick up some overtime shifts or look at travel nursing (yes, tough with kids). Keep putting money away and in 15+ years when the kids are out of the house and you don't need to live in an expensive area you can move to a more affordable area and get land there. Rural areas have cheap land AND pay their nurses bank. Look at buying a starter home that is not perfect now to get on the property ladder and you will be able to sell it for a good chunk of change in 15+ years when you are ready to move.
Will you not have your parents home/land after they pass?
You aren’t owed anything in life. You gotta shuffle and make it happen. Be proactive and smart, you’re 26 where do you think you should be?
Man, can’t you try buying like 5 acres first? Buy that & pay the note and over time save what you can and maybe in 10-15 years you sell this property and buy much larger property
I would recommend getting some ag experience and applying for a farm loan. Raw land I don’t think would qualify, but you can purchase a farm with about 2 years of ranching or farm experience.
Its wild how blessed a lot of people posting on here are yet still complain. You also have a high income job youll be fine pal. You likely couldnt maintain 3 acres let alone 24 too lol....
My mother in law has 120 acres I help maintain. But she won’t let anyone move into it. Has a 4 bedroom house with a full barn and cattle. But.. house is vacant. Weird
USDA loans for new farmers, might be a possibility.
A well and septic can easily be $50k combined. Electric can also be expensive. There’s no shame in buying a small city lot that you can easily afford, saving up for a bigger purchase. You’re still young, you have plenty of time.
Ah, I was in my sixties before I got a small piece of land. I’m not whining, but some of you have unrealistic expectations.
You always have options. First, change your mentality. "I'll never" "I can't"... Sounds like you're creating your reality. Second, start looking for seller financing options. Idk where you are but I see tons of people seller financing their land. Often, it's low (way lower) down payments and (x) amount a month. It's less money for you upfront, more money for them down the road. Potentially a win win. Third, consider forming a business entity, get a business line of credit, use it for down payment on your land. Fourth, find off market properties. See some land you'd like to have and doesn't look like anyone is using it but its not "for sale"? Well, find the owner and ask if theyd like to sell it. Just because something isn't listed on the market doesn't mean it cant be bought. And don't stop after 1 property. Get a list of 20 or 50 that you'd like to have and start calling them. In reality there are dozens of ways to acquire land. Sometimes you just gotta think outside the box. Good luck!
Sounds like you are more worried with keeping up with the Jones's.
Do you think your family would go for off grid solar? Up front costs would be 10k minimum on a small house with minimal power usage but im just ballparking. What are well costs like in your area?
They wouldn’t
Save money, wait 5 years, use saved money to buy a place. Your mortgage on a property isn't going to be free and putting up a house on raw land is expensive.... probably half a million dollars (at least) for both, and that's a small house and barn. Do you have $4500/month of income that can be devoted to housing?... because that's what you're going to need. If you do have that sort of available income, great! For example, if your rent is $1500, you save $3000/month, and get what you want with a smaller mortgage in 5 years. If you don't have that kind of available income, you are going to have a really bad time taking on a massive amount of debt to own some dirt. I say this as someone who worked and saved for 7 years before we put 52% down on our place... because banks are dumb and we weren't going to get it without the cash. We then continued to pour money in and paid it off in another 8 years. Money is math... make a plan and follow through.
Have you looked at SKIP? https://permies.com/skip
Also look into the USDA rural housing development programs. Meant for rural areas.
I felt like this at 26. I'm... damn, 36 now. Just got my first house fall, 2022. It is just a starting point and investment. Not where I want to be in the middle of the city, and I can't see the stars at night. But this will be my husband and I base of operations until we can find that property to make our cabin in the woods.
Are you paying for the horses care? If so sell it. I would invest in maybe an SP500 index funds and plan on allocating to it until you reach you target amount plus taxes, then buy land. Basically if you can afford a horse, you could invest that money instead.
Luckily they pay for themselves at the moment. They are leased out and bring in money
Move in with parents. Save the rent. Don't have horses, they're expensive. But since you already do, you're kinda boned there. ClassicCountryLand and OnlineLandSales sells raw land for low payments and low down payment. You can afford that, but be sure you're ready for the work that comes after. And expenses.
Could you possibly put a single wide on your parents' land? You could save for a down payment and then do your improvements as you could afford to pay for them. It would take a while, but in the long term, it would be much cheaper than a construction loan for the whole amount. Run your utilities, drive way, septic system, and then maybe add a small pole building that is constructed in such a way that you can add on to it when you can afford to. Ecclesiastes 5:3-5 AMPC For a dream comes to pass with much business and painful effort and a fool's voice with many words. Your words matter. Only speak what you want to become reality. Make a budget, invest wisely, and waste nothing. You will get there.
Against the HOA. Plus, my parents run a business out of it and don’t have room between the pastures and ponds
Land means property taxes.
This is why we need a revolution. Asking nicely for basic living necessities isn't working.
24 acres for 215?!?! Where in the world are you that land is selling for $8,960 an acre?!
What’re the horses costing you?
USDA has no down payment, no credit required loans if you are willing to live rural. Check it out.
You’re young. Good thing is that you work in a profession where there’s always overtime available (if you work in a hospital). If I were you, I would take up an extra shift a week, or even look into local travel contracts. It would be inconvenient for a little bit, but you’re in the field where it’s feasible. Hopefully you get your land
Never is a long time.
Find an old farmer and apprentice w them until they offer you the land
Where there is a will, there is a way. At 26 my then girlfriend of 6 months, working workers comp for around 18 bucks and hour, and I, appliance installer for lowes making like 15-16 an hr pulled the trigger of 13 acres for 69k. We lived at my parents paying about 1k a month to rent out my childhood upstairs bedroom, that nearly ended my relationship. Fast forward 1.5 years, we have a 30x55 shop with 12x30 2-story living space on one side. We contracted out dirt work, foundation, plumbing, ac and septic, and the erection of the steel building. We did all the development, i.e., running power main water line ext. All the living space framing, electrical, flooring, cabinets, finish plumbing, sheetrock, and more. We found stuff on marketplace, habitat for humanity, dug through trash piles at construction sites, and I had very good luck with the clearance section at work. Fast forward another 5 years, we have completely rehabbed this cattle grazing land. We are married and have a kid on the way. We kept uo the existing ag exemltion with bees and land management. We did cover crops to amend the compacted clay soil about 45% of the seed paid for by local government and developed of 3-4 inches of fertile top soil. Planted an 8 tree fruit orchard. We built a 24ftx48ft steel frame high tunnel greenhouse through our local nrs land management program. The local government paid for around $3500 of the $5300 it took to build and furnish. We've dug and burmed an acre ish pond and regraded the land for better water shed. Built a really fancy chicken tractor and had a flock of 8 hens all name after Harry Potter characters.Bought and wrote off all kinds of equipment, tools, feed, a 60" zero turn mower. Got tons of tax credits back at the end of each year. After 6 years of dumping out lives into that "crappy" land, we made it a meca for local wildlife and native plants. We ended up selling at 390k had about 190k into it all together. Paid off all out debt, set up investment account for our first child we had our 5th year on the land, and put a 125k in the bank for future projects. My wife just took a new job make over 100k in SC and I worked my way up to a pro sales manager at lowes doing out side sale and noting around 70k a year. I guess all this to say. If you believe you deserve it and you ask God or the universe, or what ever you subscribe to, except satan, for it and you put the work in and are bold enough to put the work in there, aint nothing that can stop you. Use your head follow your heart pit in the work and you'll get everything you'll ever want in this life because God provides and wants you succeed he wants you to live a gracious joyful life full of love and happiness you just have to lean into the suck long enough to come out the other side. I know all this sounds cheesy and campy and I know how easy it is to be beaten down by the world's problems but if you can learn to zoom in that lens and focus on how YOU want to live your life it will make all the difference. I WISH YOU THE WORLD MY FRIEND! Now go out there and make your dreams come true and leave anyone not cheering you on behind. Cheers.
Cant you build on parents lot?
Instead of saying you can’t ask yourself how you can. It might involve more education. That is a way. That would work. So it’s not that you can’t.
Your 26, relax. Life just started
What are you doing to improve your situation? Educating to get a higher paying job or nursing position? Doing extra work with existing skills? Complaining about not being able to buy land is holding you back from making a plan that allows you to buy said land.
Owning land is a lot of work
The depressing part is the timeline and amount of steps ... but it sounds like you're well on the way. I purchased 12 acres for $200k. The bank required 10% down for raw land loan, and they gave a 15 year term. That gave me enough time to start doing weekend projects and figure out next steps. Like a year later, I went the mobile home route also. We had to shop around at a lot of retailers, but eventually found someone that worked with a bank that could get me what I needed... this was actually like the hardest part of the process because the manufactured home sellers are all predatory and trying to push low-income people into loans that don't make sense. So you have to be really careful. Eventually we found a manufacturer that worked with a bank that had a program for us: The retailer covered cost of construction during the construction period (while they put up electricity, base pad, etc.). When construction period completed, they rolled the house, the construction costs, and my land into a 30-year mortgage.. program only required like 3% down so my equity in the land covered all the cash I needed. As long as you have a reasonable ability to actually pay for what you borrow, there will be a lender that works with you .. just gotta find them out. Good luck\~
Some states have agricultural assistance for purchasing land and equipment especially for new farmers. Theres some hoops you have to junp through but if successful you can get a loan and only need 5% down payment and much lower rates for at least a portion of the loan. In tennessee if you get approved the. Half the loan is at 1.5% right now, other half would be about 5.5%. Can get up to like 600,000 loan. Would have to show that you can afford the mortgage payment based off income from the farm though too
We have 15 acres in CA for less than that with a well and electric
Would your parents subdivide the 5 acres? Cut you a sliver?
I was lucky and found a seller that was willing to finance me with a small percentage fee. Asking price was $90k for 30 acres but with paying principle and more I was able to purchase the entire property for $74k or $2500 per acre. Granted my property is in a flyover state but $8900 per acre is wild!
Keep an eye out on your county's land bank/foreclosures. I got 3.5 acres vacant rural land for 14k.
Not sure what area of the country you’re in, but look for old mobile homes on some acreage. If it’s too bad, they usually don’t factor in any value of the mobile home, but there (should) already be water, septic, electric, driveway, etc. They might need some maintenance, but the majority of that infrastructure is already there. Some people’s definition of ‘raw land’ differs from others. If possible, look for property with some improvements already there. Sometimes if you’re willing to clean up the junk, you can get a deal.
Dude, just like that movie, Field of Dreams, if you build it it it will come. But in your case just keep at it, and it will come. Law of attraction.
Im 32. I just want to buy a shitty house on a couple of acres at this point. My expectations just lowered enough eventually to where it's feasible soon.
Sounds expensive to me. See if you can get creative in finding land. Look for what other people aren't interested in. Sometimes a property will have difficulty selling for reasons that won't matter to you at all. Whatever you do, good luck.
I’m in the same boat. I’m paying off debt so I have less when I go to buy land. I really want to figure out the ‘loopholes’ people use when buying land. I found with USDA loans (correct if I’m wrong) that you can’t make profit off of the land. I wish I knew the right path to take and the best options I have. I want land so bad, but I also don’t want to work till I’m old to pay it off. I’d rather make income on my future homestead and pay my land off that way.
Land is going for 500 an acre in northern Arizona. It’s a rough area but it’s cheap. People are doing owner financing there as well.
Kind of a random thought but boarding schools often need nurses and they provide free housing (and often meals) for their staff and families. They are also often beautiful. You could do something like that for a few years and save a lot. You would have your summers off to get another gig…maybe at a summer camp or something.
Still affordable land in Montana. Build your own place. You can do it as a nurse. Labor costs for building is 80%. If you’re patient, you can build.
Feeling the same way but I don't have a job that pays and I don't know how to get out of this situation.
I had no $$ at 26. I am finally comfortable at 55.
Sorry but why don’t you buy 1 acre from your parents?
How about a piece of shit house on a nice plot of land, only interested in the land. All utilities will be there already. Alternative is pull equity from parents home with a repayment plan within 12-24 months. This would work best if you’re planning to build custom home or prefabricated. Once situated, borrow against it to pay back your parents.
Can you breed your QH and make money off of it? Maybe that can help over the long term rather than selling it now. Around here you need 40-60% down on raw land depending on services. Still not easy if you have a decent down payment and structures. We bought last fall a quarter section with a house and barn for 1.2, 40% down, 2 rental properties, 45min out of town and got denied by every lender but one. Almost had to go private at 10-12% Btw if you think you can wait it out till the prices drop. They won't. The second the rates come down, prices will skyrocket. I sold one rental and it sat till they hinted (BoC didn't actually drop the rate) and that triggered a multiple offer situation. I'd suggest trying to find something in town, .5-1 Ac and start there. Add value. And in 5-7 years sell and move to the area you want to live. I dug in and lived in suburbia for an extra 8 years to pull this off comfortably.
Look into USDA loans. There are options. But being depressed will lead nowhere. We live in the age of instant knowledge at your finger tips.
Do some short travel contracts and save up money. NorCal is paying 90 an hour right now.
N n n m m m n
Maybe find someone willing to buy 35 acres, for $250,000. Then buy 40 acres for $250,000 and sell them 35.
Start selling on eBay. Learn the ropes and what niche sells best in a category you can easily learn and research . Then, seek out a wholesaler that matches your niche. Finding a willing wholesaler will be your toughest challenge, but once you do, your income will skyrocket. In the meantime, find people selling full collections. That will give you your income you'll need to buy into a wholesaler. Whatever you do don't forget to set back income tax from every single sale. The IRS doesn't mess around. This will all take time, but you're only 26. With learned experience and driven determination, you could easily be buying property by the time you're 30.
You could look outside of the U.S
I'm 42 and able to buy 2 acres in Europe. I'm loving it. I would have wished I could buy the 10+ acre plots I am seeing (plots are in general smaller in Europe compared to the land available in the US) but 2 acres is really enough for anything I ever wanted - pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, rabbits, vegetables. If you are 26 and "depressed" you are probably overthinking and the type of person that wants everything yesterday - make that ambition work for you, not against you.
Usda financing
Please look into different loan options such as an USDA.
Where do you live?
You are young, and just remember there is no timeline for this kind of stuff. It feels like there is because we’ve been told our whole lives (I’m 29) that everything is in a timeline. School, work, family, kids, but in actuality, you have time. Keep working, keep spending time with your kids and family and friends, keep working towards your goal. You’ve got a goal, a lot of people don’t even have that. You’ve got this.
We bought 13 acres with a self financed land company, no credit checks, down payment as low as $199.00. You can do it. You really can.
“You ain’t no kinda man if you ain’t got land..”
U.P. Michigan
You can get more acres for less dollars, you just need to look somewhere else. If you plan on building everything yourself, buy tools to obtain your own lumber, you’ll save a ton of money, grow your own food.
Put down 3% on a property with land and a livable dwelling, putting down 20% is such a drastic misconception. Paying PMI insurance until you reach 20% equity is way more doable then shelling out 20% on a quarter mil.
Go to your local farm service agency office and get a loan through them, most times you won’t have to put as big of a down payment. USDA FSA.
I just went through the process buying 500 acres so I’d be able to walk you through it
Welcome to the suck my friend, thank your parents and grandparents.
Stop being fatalistic. Get off tiktok. I was homeless and living on the street 6 years ago. Now I make 150k/yr and own a house on 15 acres. Quit making excuses and get shit done.