Buying land within 40-50' of Boston? Possible under 150k? (Cambridge: for sale, real estate)

[mephie]

NB: I mean 40 to 50 minutes outside of Boston, not feet. Just in case...

Hello -

I never thought I would leave Boston, but home prices are too high for Cambridge (I'm about to have a child and a good public school system matters).

So, we have given it some thought and are considering building a home outside of Boston.

We love Acton and surrounding areas. We would love to be surrounded by trees, maybe even some water (not necessarily a pond but maybe a small stream on our property). I have tried searching on realtor.com for land, but few matches come up for single lots.

We would prefer .5-.75 acres (or slightly larger), but the entire land would not need to be cleared (preferably not). Just enough that we can build a ~40x25 foot home on the property. The rest can be woods, or at least most of it. Or open land... for the right price.


Where can I search for land (it doesn't have to be Acton, or even near there, just somewhere within 40-50 minutes of Boston)? Preferably on a commuter rail of some sort, but once again, not a necessity. We also love the Weymouth area.

Is it possible to get land that is suitable to build a home for under 150k (including any clearing costs)? What can I expect to pay for costs associated with putting utilities on our lot? If not, what do we need to spend, to get land under 150k (including costs to clear the land of any trees/debris that must be removed)?


Also, if you could recommend any manufactured home builders that will work with our floor plan (with minimal changes), that would be appreciated!

Thank you! This is a huge life change and I appreciate all help in advance.

[Jamesnana]

Don't think it's do-able for $150k close to Boston (or even far away.)

[vogue1]

We were in similar position and thought we could be smart(er), and do the same thing you are asking about. We have learned since that just for land, you need to think at least $200-250K (maybe to be 1 hour outside of Boston), plus home (even cheapest) if lucky, maybe around $200K most likely 250K (Murphy's Law). Only very experienced builders and developers with steady crews, and insiders knowledge, can swing it in the range you are asking about. My five cents. Wish you the best.

[mephie]

Originally Posted by vogue1

We were in similar position and thought we could be smart(er), and do the same thing you are asking about. We have learned since that just for land, you need to think at least $200-250K (maybe to be 1 hour outside of Boston), plus home (even cheapest) if lucky, maybe around $200K most likely 250K (Murphy's Law). Only very experienced builders and developers with steady crews, and insiders knowledge, can swing it in the range you are asking about. My five cents. Wish you the best.

So what did you do?

How can I get a 2 or 3 bedroom (or 2 bedroom with small "office", i.e. a room that legally cannot be called a bedroom) for the 250k range?

South Weymouth would be great... it looks so beautiful, but everything is above 300k.

Are there any towns on the commuter rail with less than one hour travel to Boston/Cambridge? I would love to be in the Acton/Concord area, for easy driving (or travel via T) to Cambridge, where I work (I'm a low pay-scale researcher at a major university. Unfortunately, the school's real estate office doesn't help people with getting good deals: They rent at market rates and they are always going up. I've heard that the cheapest you can rent for is $1700 for a small studio apartment). And there are usually waiting lists.

And, I'd like to buy, sometime in the next 3-4 years. Before that, just rent cheaply to save as much as possible, to lower my monthly payment.

[Jamesnana]

Just did a quick search for you in Hanson, which is about 45 minutes from Boston, and on the commuter rail. It has about 6 properties under $150k land. There should be other towns that fit the bill. So I guess it can be done.

[mephie]

Originally Posted by Jamesnana

Just did a quick search for you in Hanson, which is about 45 minutes from Boston, and on the commuter rail. It has about 6 properties under $150k land. There should be other towns that fit the bill. So I guess it can be done.

Are you doing the search on realtor.com? I can't find a website that lets me search neighboring towns just for the land, so I have to do each town individually... seems rather limiting?

[Jamesnana]

No. I was in touch with a realtor a while ago and I get an automatic e-mail every day that allows me to search the MLS. You can do multiple towns. Her name is Mary Beth Muldowney of Trade Winds Realty in Norwell. If you contact her, Just tell her you are looking for buildable land for $150k or less. Maybe she can help you. She is very nice.

Hope this helps.






























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[brightdoglover]

Be aware that many lots for sale might require a septic permit, which can be a whole 'nother story.
Consider Littleton with the above caveat. Commuter rail (purple line), prosperous blue collar (unpretentious), largely, lovely small lakes, lots of conservation land, and a good town feel with a good schools system.
Just remember about septic permits on raw land.

[proudestmonkey]

My favorite site to search is You can search multiple towns at once.

Land prices are tricky because there are so many different states that the land can be in and so many things you might have to do to it, so just start to educate yourself about all that. I know a bit, but haven't actually gone through the process of buying land.

I'm in Weymouth and there are lots that pop up here and there- there are still builders building around here (usually S. Weymouth) so it may be possible. I look through every once in a while. Are you just looking for new construction in general or are you definitely wanting to build your own custom house?

Before buying our house here we were considering buying as well and looked at a lot in Kingston. It would have been under $200,000. but not $150,000. A neighbor of ours in Weymouth built a house in Braintree when they bought a lot through a land auction that was held by the town and got the lot for a pretty reasonable price. It's not secluded, it's on the corner of a side street and a main street, but I guess that's the sacrifice they made to be able to build their own house. I'm sure they didn't pay $150,000 for it.

Good luck!

[vbuilt]

Hanson is a nice town and I have built a couple dozen homes there.

brightdoglover is correct with the need to assess lot development costs regarding septic systems.

Another comment would be regarding your time-line. Construction and lot values remain depressed but would likely tend to be higher in the future; now is the best value for our "construction" dollar.- I don't want to even think about an economy where the prices go even lower! Buying/building at the bottom of the market is certainly the way to go if it is "do-able".