Looking for a small parcel of land not too far from Dayton, Ohio

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Small Cabin Forum / Properties / Looking for a small parcel of land not too far from Dayton, Ohio


Author	Message
kurtis Member	# Posted: 15 Nov 2012 01:13am Reply Hey Guys, I was recommended to come check out the forum by someone. My first post isn't really anything too special; I don't have any good information to share or any good questions to ask at the moment. My apologies for having a "needy" first post, haha. Anyways, I live in SW Ohio. I'm just trying to find a small piece of recreational land on a land contract for cheap. I have big dreams (homesteading) for the future but luckily I ran into the right guy selling land who made me realize starting small is probably the best way to go. For now, I just want a place to take my son camping on the weekends, maybe longer during the summer, to get away from the city and the modern conveniences that have a way of owning us. I've been camping since I was young and I'm pretty aware of the campgrounds with permanent sites but I'm looking for a bit more privacy than they offer. Plus, it'd be a really great feeling to have a place of my own. A nice rural get-away if you will. I live in the Dayton region. I'd like to stay within a few hours drive and find something very affordable. I'm not trying to get in over my head on monthly payments or the initial down payment. I've been looking for over a year now and haven't found the right spot or deal yet but I'm sure it's out there if I keep looking. If anyone knows of a property available with an owner who might be willing to work with me, that would be great. Thanks a lot! - Kurtis

buckybuck Member	# Posted: 15 Nov 2012 06:01am Reply There's a couple of us here who live near Dayton. Interestingly and not by plan, we seem to have all ended up owning parcels in Vinton County. I like it--it's the least populated and arguably least developed county in Ohio, and just south of the Hocking Hills area. In my case, I wanted a piece of isolated property no closer than 100 miles from my home, since that seemed to me to be the minimal distance necessary to feel "away from it." It takes me a little less than two hours to get to my place--amazingly, once you get past the three traffic lights on US 35 between Dayton and Xenia, there's only one other traffic signal between Dayton and Vinton County. I think you can still buy land there all day long for less than $2000 an acre (I've seen it as low as $1,000 an acre for farms over 100 acres), but people are starting to talk about fracking in that area so land prices are probably headed up. Check the Chillcothe and Athens Craigslist property listings.

kurtis Member	# Posted: 15 Nov 2012 07:40am Reply Thanks for the info. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one from Dayton who likes to get out every once in a while, haha. I've definitely seen a lot of property in Vinton; although they're typically larger chunks of land (than I can afford). That would be a great area given its density and beauty! I've been doing a ton of searching on Craigslist over time and usually I end up looking through the "Extended Results" (which goes all the way into Kentucky) but I'll try to check out those craigslist's specifically. I tend to look up the following terms: "land contract", "land", "acres", "acreage" Do you have any other suggestions that might be a bit more specific to my needs?

TheCabinCalls Member	# Posted: 15 Nov 2012 07:48am Reply buckybuck is right on. check craigslist. Use acre or acres in your search. few hours from Dayton puts you in a lot of nice places; north, west, southeast. This time of year is always good to grab something someone needs to get rid of. If you have cash and the economy tanks again you can get it even cheaper... Do you want flat, hills, trees, brush? Camping, hunting? Summer only or do you want snow in winter?

kurtis Member	# Posted: 15 Nov 2012 07:58am - Edited by: kurtis Reply Yeah, I don't have a ton of cash. At least ... nothing considerable. Enough to make a down payment but that's about it. Unless someone is willing to sell me something usable for $1,000 For now, camping and a bit of privacy is all I'm looking for. I don't hunt and am honestly not picky on geography other than sitting on the North Side of a steep hill (ran into one property like that a year ago). Of course, I can say that because this is Ohio and we don't really have bad land. (i.e. deserts) If I have to clear out some brush to setup a camper or later build a cabin then that's all the more excitement and things I can do with my son (he's 4, time for us both to learn). On the other hand, if I have to invest some time and money into planting trees to get some privacy, that's okay too. I'm actually really flexible and figure that the land is basically what you make of it. I don't have enough money to expect too much, anyways. Summer is prime; but winter would be great too! I don't care about anything conventional such as water access, electrical access, sewage, etc... If they're available; awesome! If not, that's completely okay too. One thing I would be a bit leery about is buying land with restrictions. I don't plan on running a pig farm or anything but the less government (or deeded) red tape I have to deal with, the better. Thanks, TheCabinCalls!

VC_fan Member	# Posted: 20 Nov 2012 07:05pm Reply Kurtis: For what it's worth, we started our quest looking around Pike, Adams, and Scioto counties. Beautiful places but most rural places we looked at were, not to appear impolite to any neighbors there, kind of scary. My wife was nervous driving up to them. We went to look in Vinton County and fell in love with the area. So I'd encourage you to keep looking there. Sounds like folks are giving good advice about Craigslist. But also keep an eye on the local realty websites and don't be afraid to talk to the folks there and tell them what you're looking for. A lot of their business is repeat customers (like you'd probably be) and word of mouth and you may find they'll try to help you. Buying an acre or two is a lot more pricey because of the survey cost but still a good way for you to go. Also, in VInton County I think a 5 acre+ tract needs only 50 feet of road frontage but a smaller tract needs something like 150'. Unless things have changed recently they have no zoning or housing inspectors (just well and septic) but this is something I assume they do to try to maintain some rural feel to the area. And I agree with you about wanting few restrictions. You may end up with a dump beside you but at least if you want a dump you can have one. But that's getting slightly harder to find. From what I hear, there was one guy in the county who owned more land than the state of Ohio at one time. Yes, there are several state parks, a state forest, and a lot of other state-owned land there. He owned 60,000-70,000 acres as I understand it. He's up in years and has liquidated almost all of his holdings but whenever he sold something he had a standard set of restrictions that he put on the land to do what he could to keep the place from becoming too trashed up. I hope you find something! Keep us posted.

R9R Photography Member	# Posted: 18 Mar 2013 02:42pm Reply kurtis Hello!! If you're still looking check out Mossy Oak Properties, they're one of my bookmarks for looking for land. You can customize searches to narrow them down as much as you like, or leave them broad as you like. Just my $.02, I'm saving now to start looking Spring 2014 so I understand what you mean.

kurtis Member	# Posted: 21 Mar 2013 11:37pm Reply @VC_fan I saw your post a long time ago but completely forgot to reply. I'm sorry. That's really good info about Vinton that I didn't know. I appreciate you taking the time to share. @P9R Photography Thanks a lot for the link. It looks like some decently priced properties in there. It's a site I haven't come by until you mentioned it. I'll have to keep checking it out every once in a while. ------------------ I'm still definitely on the hunt so if anyone comes across anything, feel free to let me know. One new cool feature would be the possibility of having some sort of terrain suitable for short-distance firearms. I recently purchased my first pistol and have really enjoyed shooting it. If not directly on my land, maybe a good, friendly neighbor or even a nearby outdoor range. Thanks again everyone!