Buying land, am I missing something?

[Will3482]

Hello wonderful people!

I have a quick question, we have been planning on putting either a yurt or maby building a small cabin on some inexpensive land in Eastern Washington, I'm really liking the Tonasket,Okanagen,Orivile area.

So I have this idea in my head that if I find a great inexpensive plot for lets say $10k is it feasible to assume that I could offer them $2-3k down on and $7-8k offer? Most if not all the plots I have been looking at have been on the market for at least a year, so I'm hoping this gives me some great bargaining options...

Am I envisioning this wrong? Or am I going to have to have problems with the banks or some unforeseen problem? Thanks for the replies!

[SleeplessMommy]

It may be very hard to get a mortgage on land - especially now. Expect to pay cash for the deal, or ask for seller financing.

[AprilDaisy]

SleeplessMommy Thank you very much for the links in your signature! I am bookmarking them for possible reference as we are looking to build sometime soon.

[karne]

I guess with buying land you'd want to be looking at some things depending upon what type of dwelling you'll want to have there. Is the Yurt to be a permanent structure, or is the idea to eventually build a log cabin or other housing? I would guess you may need to look at septic issues, perc testing if you plan to have a septic system, as well as well issues, water quality, etc. Will you need to have electricity run to the land, or will you be off grid? Access to the land is important as well--is there a road already, or would you have to put that in? Those are some of the $$ issues I see.

Just some ideas. I haven't put a dwelling on raw land before, so I'm not sure if these questions apply. I do know that most of our projects took longer and cost more than we thought until we got the hang of really estimating. Good luck.

[SleeplessMommy]

Good point Karne - land which does not pass perc has lower value and creates many building issues. Building size could be limited (to 2 bedrooms for example) or you might need a very expensive "holding tank" for sewage.

[rere]

My friends just did this.They put $3,000 down on $10,000 piece of land.

[Will3482]

Thank you all for your replies. We are planning on living totally off-grid in a 30x30 yurt, solar, composting toilet, harvesting rain water and such. The road for me is a concern we may trade in our car for a larger 4x4 (as much as I hate that idea) but I don't want be stuck for longer then 3 or 4 months so I'm flexible on the road. I was hoping that by buying raw land I would slide into it much easier, I know there has to be a considerable value added for a plot with septic and electric.

Someone mentioned I might have a problem getting a loan, a loan under $10k? I live in Washington and in places our land can be quite expensive, or inexpensive if you want to give up some tree's and quality soil. I've been watching the MLS online for almost two years now and these places are just sitting there, most well over a year. I expect for example I would be able to get a plot for $15k and depending on how long it's been sitting on the market and my down of $2-3k I bet I could wiggle the final price down to $11-12k. Or so I imagine. Again thanks for the views/replies, please let me know your thoughts

[AZChickenlover]

Wherever you decide to land, it is a good idea to check with the local planning and zoning departments, or check with the county to make sure that yurts are allowed. We were able to obtain a building permit here in Mohave County Arizona, when we presented them with engineered plans that showed that the yurt met all of the zoning and building requirements. A company like Pacific Yurts will work with you to help in that regard.
Strangely enough, the county made it darned near impossible to have a composting toilet. We already have a septic system, so we are going to just use a low water toilet.

So far we have holes dug for the footings YEAH!

[annethcz]

I think the PPers have given you some great advice.

Do you know much about the area? If the plots of land are unusually cheap, there might be something about the particular plot that makes the land undesirable. Making an inquiry into the property is probably a good idea. Find out about zoning and any building requirements.

[Ydolem]

We lived in Oroville, WA a few years ago (2010) and since have relocated. We are planning to possibly move back and ironically enough do the same thing you are except living our yurt while we build a cob hybrid home either outside of Oroville or preferably Tonasket. I was wondering if you achieved your goal yet. I hope to hear from you soon. Take care~~Melody