Still Seriously Looking For Land

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Okay . . . . posted a thread the other day about searching for land (possibly KY or W VA) but not limited to those states.

I received a few replies (one of which was a private email) and would like to clarify a few things.

I am searching for a For Sale By Owner or Land Contract. Land . . . with or without buildings. This land can be just about anywhere, preferably with access to electricity and such. Well or city water. BUT . . . (BUT . . . .) we are not able to put a big chunk of cash down on a property nor can we plan to make big payments on one until we are in the area and hubby has secured a job, etc.

So . . . . I could do something with a small amount down and maybe payments starting out small and then increasing slightly?? I have never purchased land or housing this way . . . .but cannot secure at bank loan at present and I know there has got to be reasonably priced land out there somewhere with someone willing to work with us on terms and price, etc.

Please . . . . I am very earnest about moving and yet we are limited for funds at present.

Thanks for any assistance in this matter.

"wolfie"

-- wolfie (wolfiequinn@hotmail.com), December 17, 2001

Answers

Wolfie, The form of loan which you speak of is commonly refered to as a balloon loan- payments start out small then, after awhile "balloon" up to much larger payments- It is used sometimes for folks who know they will- refinacne; or get alot of $ in the near future (lotto payment, etc). But a loan with no defineable income... well, you must have darn good credit. As far as land goes, Ill give you my two cents... here in mid eastern NC, land sells for (quit often) 1000 bucks per acre. Sometimes, that price includes housing of some sort. There is a huge number of houses around this area that are vacant but good fixeruppers- often these were farm hand houses that just arent used anymore (my house is one of these- built in 1960 with no indoor plumbing or electric!). There are also for what ever reason, a fair number of bungalow type houses that are vacant- some brick ones at that! Jobs are plentiful- i have never felt stuck for a job- never had to wait for one, either. But, if you have been to WV already- it sure is pretty there!

-- Kevin in NC (Vantravlrs@aol.com), December 17, 2001.

Type in "Ozarks Land Company" and see if it fits.

-- mitch hearn (moopups@citlink.net), December 17, 2001.

For WV or Ohio land with low down pmt and then monthly pmts try Bruner Land Co. Think its www.brunerland.com.

-- KDL (kack@countrylife.net), December 18, 2001.

www.ky-land.com

They have tons of land, on contract for deed. Some with old farmhouses, mobiles, barns. You can work out just about anything you want. As long as you make the payments, it's yours. Low down payments. If you stop making payments, they take it back. Check them out. I got my first farm in KY from them.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), December 18, 2001.


Go to http://www.thriftynickelads.com/

Change cities to Louisville, KY

and put in Real Estate For Sale....there are tons of them and allot of 1-800 numbers. Email me if you want, I know just about all the areas around here.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), December 18, 2001.



Try Ferguson Realty's website (www.ferguson-realty.com) for Adams County Ohio land - they have some current land listings that offer owner financing and might suit your needs. Also a good way to look for land is via newspaper websites - in Adams County check the People's Defender at www.peoplesdefender.com and look in classifieds - they also have land offered with land contract terms right now. Brown County's paper is the News Democrat (www.newsdemocrat.com), no ads currently that would interest you but they appear occasionally. Adams County land is pretty and cheap but job opportunities are thin. Brown and Clermont counties have available land but at higher prices and much better off-farm job prospects.

Good luck! If you become interested in my neck of southern Ohio (Adams-Brown-Clermont counties) I can provide area info etc.

-- scott mcalpine (scottmcalpine@juno.com), December 18, 2001.


Perhaps you could save more and wait. Or you/husband could go to an area and secure a job first, rent a room and look for land then.

I can't imagine anyone offering a contract to folks with no planned income and no/little money down. Do you truly not qualify for a bank loan of any kind? Not even a personal loan? Even private sellers do credit checks, so keeping your credit good is important even in these transactions.

Perhaps you could check out the Caretaker's Gazette and find a place to look after. That would allow you to move and handle your housing costs.

-- Anne (Healthytouch101@wildmail.com), December 18, 2001.


Hello "wolfie"

Let me offer a few suggestions, and some observations. First your short post tells me you want to do business directly woth owners "for sale by owner", that is where you want to make your buy. Then you want to finance at the same place "owner financing". The reaseons are number one because you do not quality for a traditional loan, or at least you think that you don't. You know the old sayings, if you think you can't then you can't. Then you want to deal with owners, because you think somehow it will be cheaper, and a better deal for all concerned. This generally is not the case.

I am a real estate broker, among other things. We live on what I call a homestead and have been here for nearly 14 years. We bought from the owner, who was also a corporation. I had no paying job at the time, and very little cash but I knew where my funds were coming from. This does make a difference. I would suggest that I would not have been able to pull the deal off if I had not been knowledgable in the business. Often people in the real estate business own property too. Sometimes they need to sell it, just like people who are not in the real estate business. Anyway by only being willing to deal with owners, who may not be knowledgable you severly limit your chances of success.

An opportunity that you may be overlooking is to rent, and then buy later from the owner. The possibilities are all over the map here. If you do not know your stuff you will no doubt end up renting a place, and owning an "option to buy" it later on. Only to not ever be in the position to buy. Be careful of "lease/option" deals, and for gods sake stay away from the subdiveders, who buy a 100 acre tract that is marginal at best, and chop it up into 20, 5 acre tracts that are marginal. You can buy one of them for a little down, high interest, and long payment terms. The odds are not in your favor here at all. There are a lot of companies that do this, and only this to operate thier businesses, my competition Bruner Land comes to mind.

I know of some situations that might be a bit more appropriate for you, but it is not likely that they will come on the market. Situations where folks are either retiring or retirement age and need some help. One veteraniarian I know has just retired. Lives on a farm, and has no spouse or heirs, is considering giving a family 5 acres to build a house on if they will help out some, and then leaving the farm to them in a will. 80 acres I think. My point is that you can't find deals like this in the classifieds, and I do not have them for sale either. But they do exist and are worth looking for. It is just possible that you are looking in the wrong place. It might pay you to become a good renter first, and then a buyer.

There are a lot of other people who will rent to you but not sell (yet). Another couple comes to mind. They have both just retired but have no heirs. They like country living but would also like to travel from time to time. He told me he would consider selling if he did not have to move. There are possibilities here but the average person usually does not know how to do the transaction. As a matter of fact I know more than one person who fits into this category. They are usually not very motivated either. That is to say that money is not what they are looking for.

Good fortune in your land search. Don't overlook Southeast ohio for an occasional good deal. Find me in McArthur, OH 45651 (Ed Copp Realty, P.O. box 281). Look me up if you think that I can help, brain pickin' is free, no refunds.

-- Ed Copp (OH) (edcopp@yahoo.com), December 18, 2001.


Annie, these big land companys have nothing to loose selling on contract. They buy up huge farms, and divide them up into sections, small or large. They can get 100 acres for about 2 to 3K an acre. They will sell Wolfie 10 acres for 20 or 30K, and make a fortune in interest. With a 200 payment, maybe 10 dollars goes to pay towards the land in the first 5 years of the note. The rest is profit. All the principal is paid in the last few years of the note. Figure that up over 20 years. Times hundreds and hundreds of propertys.

After Wolfie is here one year, and 6 months with the same job, he can re-finiance with a local bank if his credit is ok. That's what I did. I could qualify before, have excellent credit, but most banks require you be employed 6 months on the same job.

-- Cindy in KY (solidrockranch@msn.com), December 19, 2001.


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