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grover
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2012 05:53pm
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I am having a tough time trying to find a piece of property that I like here in southern Indiana. Anything decent seems to be at least 8-10 thousand an acre.
Just wondering how long you looked before finding what you wanted?
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VTweekender
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2012 06:06pm - Edited by: VTweekender
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I was fortunate and found mine within a few weeks of looking.
That sounds like a lot of money per acre you describe. Maybe the keywords in your description is "like" and "decent", depends on what you mean by decent I guess. Do you want easy access? want electric to the property? town maintained roads? all those things add up to prime property , building lots.....bigger money..
I am sure you can find cheap properties there....just might be hard to get too, or have to go off grid etc..etc..
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PA_Bound
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2012 06:07pm
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4 to 5 years- on and off. Looked at a bunch of properties. Many weren't very nice. Some had junk cabins on them already. Had one offer get beat by a competitive offer. I would search for a while, then get frustrated and stop looking, then start looking again when the itch returned... Eventually found what I was looking for. I think patience and diligence are the keys, however.
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grover
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2012 07:26pm
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I think we are gonna have to have electric available. Unless my wife's mindset changes I don't think she will spend much time anywhere without some of the things electricity bring. I have to admit I don't like sweating when I sleep either.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2012 07:40pm
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2 months to find the land we wanted.
$19.5K an acre; 6 acres; was asking $24.9K an acre
Yes, it's a lot, but it's mountains, cool in summer and private. There's lots of bare, high temperature desert that is much cheaper in NM, but that has no appeal to me.
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naturelover66
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2012 08:09pm
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I looked for several years....... I wanted/ needed a maintained road for snow removal...... lakes nearby ..... and electricity with Cabin. I also wanted to finance part of it....... with good terms...... Hard to find. I wanted a cute town somewhat close ........ and a hospital within 30 minutes. Found it all........... im so so happy. 
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2012 09:09pm
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About a week, got a smidge over 20 acres of timberland next to the national forest for about 1900 an acre
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Borrego
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2012 10:09pm
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Wanted a specific area due to water access. Waited for 3-4 years, searched tax rolls, etc. Finally found the dream lot.... perseverance!
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Gypsy
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2012 10:20pm
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It took us a week or so; I would have preferred more acreage than we ended up getting, but when I saw the land and cabin we chose, it just "spoke to me". I guess you'll know when the place speaks to you, but if you have things you absolutely need (like electricity, easy access, etc.), then don't even bother looking at places that don't have those things unless you are willing to compromise. I guess really knowing what you want, how much you can afford to spend, and having a list of "dealbreakers" can help you stay true to your needs and wishes.
Good Luck!
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BlaineHill
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2012 10:30pm
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I looked on and off for a couple of years. I would take a Saturday afternoon and tell the wife I was "scouting" for land and she would not expect me back in time for dinner. When you find the right place you will know it. If you have doubts I would keep looking. It is incredible how land prices vary across the country. I came in right at $1500/acre for, what I believe to be, heaven on earth.
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Rob_O
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# Posted: 16 Jul 2012 11:03pm
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I looked for 18 Months.
Going rate for the area was around $8500/acre, I found myself in the right place at the right time and bought my 27 acres for $100K
Where in So. Indiana are you looking?
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flyrdr
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# Posted: 17 Jul 2012 06:41am
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Right now I'm looking more for an area than a specific property. (not financially ready quite yet anyway). I live in southern NH. I'd like a min of 2-3 acres costing no more than $20-25K, I want to be able to put up a recreational off-grid type cabin, I don't want to be forced to have a septic or adhere to any type of what I call snob zoning (min sq footage etc.), I want to be in the woods in a wilderness setting without being in view of neighboring homes or cabins, , and here's the hard part for me, wife wants it to be within a 2 hour drive from home. Four hours would open up tons of options for me but 2 hours is tough. It would be a miracle to find something that fits all the things on my wish list.
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dvgchef
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# Posted: 17 Jul 2012 08:48am
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I spent years looking on and off. Because of price I had to keep lengthening the drive time. It was fun looking at all the different options out there - there are some real nightmares waiting for buyers! When I finally pushed to a 3 hour drive the price dropped dramatically and I found my property the first day looking.
I have wanted to have land since I was a kid so I was patient.
Good luck and stick with it!
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bugs
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# Posted: 17 Jul 2012 11:01am
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We looked casually for a number of years and then in spring 2009 we started thinking seriously about a bit of property. As luck would have it we hit the jack pot on the first look in the real estate guide and found 240 acres of recreational property up for sale by an estate.
One trip out to see it in a spring blizzard with SUV's upside down in the ditches and cars spinning out of control and the deal was done. Offer went in the next day for under $300/acre and the rest, as they say, "is history", and lots of hard work.
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Rifraf
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# Posted: 17 Jul 2012 11:14am
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I spent about a month looking
but I didn't have much time to get it done
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TomChum
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# Posted: 17 Jul 2012 12:43pm - Edited by: TomChum
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2 years lookin' then got serious for about 6 months. It was hard work. You need time to learn how to assess land, for the case where if a good deal appears, you have the knowledge to assess it.
However I've seen it wisely written (on S-C forum) ..... that wasting your life WITHOUT a cabin will cost you too, and this cost is time that you can never get back!
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 17 Jul 2012 03:13pm
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Took us almost a year. We put miles and miles on my van and would be gone for 12-13 hours a day. We would plot out regions with different pieces of land that were fairly close together and head that direction. Can't go by what the ad or Realtor says-ya just got to see for yourself. Many times we would immediately get there and be like "really? this is it? you've got to be kidding!" Other times land would be nice but access terrible or bugs swarming absolutely everywhere. The first time we saw our land it was hot and humid but I thought it was okay-my husband really liked it. A week or so later we went back and it was hotter and more humid and I was stung by a bee. There were no trails so we were all scratched up from blazing through the woods...I couldn't exactly say I loved it but I was more interested. Because of distractions and various other reasons we didn't get back to that piece of land until December. It was windy and cold out but seeing the pine trees and not having all the underbrush to scour through made me really see the beauty of the land and I was sold! We closed the end of Jan. Ten acres off a gravel but plowed road far enough north to have excellent snowmobiling, by lakes to fish in and Lake Superior to explore. Two state parks and the county forest too. Electricity at the road and a clean spring fed creek for a source of water with trees that offer so much privacy...2000.00 an acre-it was everything we set out to find.
Don't give up your search and don't buy right away if you aren't totally sure. Sometimes you have to see everything out there to know there is nothing better-just for peace of mind.
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grover
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# Posted: 17 Jul 2012 04:51pm
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Thanks to everyone for the encouragement. I think we just want too much, the perfect place. Probably like everyone else we want acreage. At least 5, the more the better. We would like a lake when we look out our front door, a lot of woods, privacy, somewhere we can do what we want, when we want. I know the lake thing puts it in a whole different level cost wise.
We are in southwest Indiana. There is not a lot of wilderness area here but we do have the Hoosier National Forest. That is ideally where we would like to find something.
We will keep looking.
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grover
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# Posted: 17 Jul 2012 05:01pm - Edited by: grover
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Just a follow up. I've never been there but Northern California, Oregon, Washington look like beautiful places to have a cabin. As life goes it is just not practical to pick up and move cross country. Maybe being a little philosophical here but I've often wondered..Why was I born where I was? Is life too short to wonder "what if"? Family and job tend to dictate where we spend our time.
Maybe the saying "The grass is greener on the other side" applies here.
Did I mention I hate hot, humid summers? And no I haven't been drinking.
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 17 Jul 2012 10:40pm
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Quoting: grover Maybe the saying "The grass is greener on the other side" applies here. Did I mention I hate hot, humid summers? And no I haven't been drinking.
Your post just cracked me up!!!!!! I think we all have felt that way from time to time Keep your chin up...maybe the lake will have to be down the road and around the corner. We would have loved that too but the reality was we were just not willing to spend the $$$$ for it.
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Rob_O
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# Posted: 20 Jul 2012 02:04pm
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Quoting: grover We are in southwest Indiana. There is not a lot of wilderness area here but we do have the Hoosier National Forest.
That's not very specific, but I know where the forest is so if you're close to the forest you're kinda close to me (Louisville).
Here's a couple properties I found with a quick search
32 acres for $50K
16 acres with frontage on the Blue River
Good luck with your search
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grover
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# Posted: 20 Jul 2012 06:15pm
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From Evansville but we are looking toward the Perry County area.
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Rob_O
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# Posted: 20 Jul 2012 07:08pm
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Here's one you might want co check out. Right on the edge of the forest
40 acres outside Tell City
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rayyy
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2012 06:52am
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There was a piece of land in my home town that I always admired.When I got serious about buying,I tracked down the owner about 3 years ago and offered him a good buck for it but he never would budge.It was 3 1/2 acres with a creek and pond.half wooded,half field.The down side was that a house was built on the neighboring lot right up next to the property line.The only spot the cabin/house could be bilt was backed right up to this other house.I think they built it there deliberatly to discourage anyone from buying this lot.Anyway's this property I wound up with is MUCH BETTER!It pays to be patient and hold out for the perfect land to come along.
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Gypsy
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2012 10:29am
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We *thought* about it for a long time, but only took us a week or so of looking before we chose the place. We thought about the future when we chose our spot. I had thought I wanted a lot of acreage, but being a little closer to other people, while still being completely private was more attractive to us because we want to retire at this cabin, and I was worried about being in my 60's and 70's and being too secluded.
The great thing we have found is that the neighboring properties to us are empty right now, and no one ever seems to be around. We work weekends so we go to the cabin during the week.
There were other properties we looked at, and none of them felt "right", they were just cabins. I saw this one and was moving in in my head while we were first looking at it. We've only been there 3 times since we bought it, and I swear it feels like we've been going there for years!
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OwenChristensen
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# Posted: 21 Jul 2012 03:37pm - Edited by: OwenChristensen
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I've always had the land. I got it from my dad when he passed away in about '82, but you might say it was ours all along. Grandpa Christensen bought it in 1914. He and the owner before him cleared most all the timber for farming. Then in 1962 Dad and I planted in back into pines. Now those trees are just under 100' tall and 16'' dia.
There are lots of oaks, maple, basswood, poppel too. Only small clearings of less than a half acre. I own 120 a and my brother-in-law owns the other 80.
We're comming up on 100 years.
Owen
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grover
Member
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# Posted: 22 Jul 2012 11:32am
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It's very cool to have a history and the memories about a property like that. Congrats.
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grover
Member
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# Posted: 22 Jul 2012 12:34pm
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Owen,
I hate mosquito hunting. Are they especially bad this year or is that something you always have to endure?
Do you mine telling us what state you are in?
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bukhntr
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# Posted: 7 Nov 2012 08:16pm
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I wanted a place forever we saved hard for 3 years began looking and it still took a couple of years, looked at several properties. The wife thought I had to find something wrong with all of them, but when you find the right one you know it. We went a couple of hours from home because we liked the area but it can be frustrating to get there as often as you like so keep that in mind, but having what you want where want is great when you are there.
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Anonymous
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# Posted: 7 Nov 2012 09:41pm
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31 years..well sort of! When through the young kid stage, we enjoyed power boating so we boated from 1982 ( pre kids ) until present. Started to look seriously in 2007, bought in 2008. Was ready, pre-approved so we could deal in cash, no conditions..
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