How to Find Land for Hunting, Homesteading or Bugging Out
Morgan Rogue 01.31.22
Are you looking for land as a hunting property, possible homestead, or maybe just a bug-out property in case SHTF?
You’re not alone!
I don’t have any hard stats about how many new people have been buying up the property but if you’ve been on the lookout for property or have been paying attention to real estate lately; property is so hot right now.
In 2020 when the pandemic hit, more people realized they wanted their own piece of land to call their own and start to make a shift in their priorities.
In states like Texas where everything is private property, it’s almost a priority to have your own property or know someone who does to make hunting a bit easier.
Regardless, the only thing they aren’t making more of is land.
If you’re able to invest in a piece of land, I highly recommend looking into doing that. It’s a hard asset and something you will be thankful to have no matter your reasons.
Here’s how to find land of your own:
Where to look?
Where do you even find land? We’ve always searched for properties online. We have very rarely gone through realtors. In our experience, realtors have not been very eager to show land properties. In fact, many realtors have never even been to the property that they’re selling, especially if it’s very rural.
Look online, search property specs (like how many acres you’d like and the location) and start inquiring. If you happen to find a realtor that you like and they’re willing to help look for other properties, great. Otherwise, contact whoever the agent is on the online listing.
Conventional or owner finance?
Are you able to use conventional financing, cash or owner financing? This could change which properties you’re able to afford or not. Be aware, no matter whether you’re doing conventional or owner financed, they will require money down. We have been able to negotiate our down payment with owner-financed properties, conventional financing may not be so flexible. However, it all depends on what you’re willing and able to do.
Does it have an HOA?
I think this is always our number 1 question that we ask, is it part of an HOA? You’d be surprised how many pieces of land are part of an HOA. If you’re not looking to have your property scrutinized at all times with arbitrary rules or what you can or cannot do on it, then I would advise against an HOA.
Are there deed restrictions?
There may be deed restrictions such as, you can’t live in a mobile home on the property. We bought a property that had this exact deed restriction, and we didn’t think it was a big deal at the time. But we couldn’t even live in a mobile home or RV while we were building our home. We had to build the home and live off the property. That became a huge burden to us and a hard lesson learned as we eventually sold the property.
I’m now passing this lesson on to you. Get to know any deed restrictions that there might be.
What’s the well depth?
Whether the property has a well on it already or one needs to be drilled, I would call a local drilling company to ask about the area. They will have a good idea of the area and the current well depths. This is extremely important to know for desert areas specifically because every single area will be different.
If there is no well or you can’t get a well right away, are you ok with hauling water? Where is a nearby place to haul water from?
What are the county and city laws?
If the property doesn’t have any issues, are there county or city laws? Some places may not allow you to shoot within certain limits, maybe there’s no hunting, these things exist. So look to the local city and county laws. Really rural parts probably won’t have. many of these issues, but it’s good to check anyway.
Are mineral rights important to you?
I think getting mineral rights to a property these days is going to be very difficult unless the property has never been tested or there’s never been any type of interest in mineral rights for the property. Ask about mineral rights if it’s important to you and see if anyone owns them or what you would have to do to get the mineral rights.
How far is too far?
When looking for a property, be honest with yourself about the distance between your property and a major city. Do you want to be close to hospitals? Do you still need to be close to a city for your job? Do you want to be close to the city just because you don’t want to drive 2 hours to grocery shop?
There’s no right or wrong answer, look for a piece of property that is going to be within a reasonable distance to or from a small or major city depending on your needs or wants.
Do you need electricity?
If the property is raw land, not even electrical hookup, are you prepared to be off-grid? If you would like electricity, look into how much it’s going to cost to get a line to your new property.
There’s no perfect property
After all of these considerations, I want you to keep one last thing in mind: no property is perfect. You want to mark off as much of your wishlist as possible, but you may be looking a long time if you’re trying to find the perfect piece.
In saying that, don’t rush into anything either. Make sure you’re at least marking off some priorities that matter to you. Such as acreage, electricity, water, shelter, restrictions, etc.
Take it from me and don’t rush into something just because you desperately want land. Find something you’re going to really feel at home at. Visit it if you can, if you can’t then have the realtor visit and facetime you or even a friend.
Enjoy the process and good luck finding land to call your own!
