Need help making a life changing decision in NE PA (Bethlehem: for sale by owner, foreclosures)

[13yr Mortgage Vet]

This is my first post. I recently moved to Pa from out west after a 10 year experience. But I am native from NEPA. I grew up in Bethlehem and at times in Plains Twp PA. I am a mortgage broker and work from home doing loans nationwide. I feel the the economy is going to get so bad that I want to be in the woods away from everything. I was at a friends cabin in Tobyhanna yesterday and loved it and this is part of the reason for making the move in June. My plan is to buy a very cheap exclusive piece of land where I would have my privacy. I plan on putting a trailor on the land and live and work in it while I am working on my pet project which will be building log cabin with my own 2 hands. I enjoy fishing and hunting. Most of my life I have been in big city's working in large corporate environments. While it was fun and a great learning experience I am now ready to move away from the city life. I want to build my cabin, grow my gardens and continue to help people with their finance needs in this desperate economy. My questions are as follows.

I am not 100% set on where in NEPA I want to go. This is the reason for my post. I have family in Wilkes Barre and also in Bethlehem. I would like to be as close to in the middle as I can get. Carbon County seems to be right smack in the middle. But I am not sure if it has the privacy that I am looking for. I read that Tobyhanna is bad in the city with gang activity. Is this true? I have to try to get a place that already has power and sewage but I do not mind getting an out house if needed and dig my own well. I would want to make sure that the city would be fairly easy to get permits to build. If a property already has a trailor that I can get, that would be optimal. I want to do a search and find tax foreclosures but so far had no luck. If anyone has advice on where to start looking it would be greatly appreciated. The main concern right now is picking a location where I can take advantage of this bad economy and get something as cheap as possible. I do understand that this is a tall order and I thank you in advance for your help. If you have any mortgage questions feel free to ask. I am here to help.

[Summering]

I love the little log cabin that was posted in the top picture area thread on here........it is so adorable. ( NEPA photos )
I'd say for your location Carbon would be a good choice.....
You would have to check the town rules as far as living in a trailer on your plot, while building.
Some towns frown on trailers in certain lot locations.
The best bet would be to contact a realtor who works out of Carbon for what lots are available that will give you the privacy you want.
Maybe something off from Beltzville Lake where you can go fishing in one of the coves......
You might want to try a Lehighton realtor.
Tobyhanna.......parts of that area I would stay away from.

[roxxy38]

If you go to Pare.org you will find listings for land all over NEPA. It pretty much covers most realtys. Good luck!

[13yr Mortgage Vet]

thanks for your response guys but i am still looking for my answer. I do not want to use a realtor. I want to buy something cheap on a tax sale or something where land is pletiful and cheap.

[Summering]

I suppose you'd have to then drive around your target area...........and then look for For Sale By Owner signs. Try Craigs list.......try some classified ads. There is also a for sale by owner dot com web site.

[I LOVE PA!]

I bought my lot here in a private community on a tax sale. Be careful what you bid on...does not mean it comes with a clean title...There was a lien on my property that I found out by doing a title search AFTER I bought the property. I knew I was taking a chance but it was costly and time consuming to get a clear title. Anyway....go to the local courthouse in the town where you want to settle in. They will supply you with a list of "tax repository properties." Process is fairly easy with a minimum bid...if no one else bids, it's yours.
By the way....I love your idea...sounds like a great plan. Good Luck!

[scrantonluna]

Try looking in the Bear Creek area; it's close to WB, close to the interstates, but still as backwoods as you can get. I think you'd be able to get a well priced piece of land out there that would fit your needs.

I think you should try to take the log cabin idea a step further, and look into some of the people living 'off the grid.' I'm not a green freak, but if you're going to be in a semi-remote location, you could probably use one or two pages from their book.

Always, ALWAYS have a chain of title seach done before buying any land, even from a relative.

[13yr Mortgage Vet]

Originally Posted by scrantonluna

Try looking in the Bear Creek area; it's close to WB, close to the interstates, but still as backwoods as you can get. I think you'd be able to get a well priced piece of land out there that would fit your needs.

I think you should try to take the log cabin idea a step further, and look into some of the people living 'off the grid.' I'm not a green freak, but if you're going to be in a semi-remote location, you could probably use one or two pages from their book.

Always, ALWAYS have a chain of title seach done before buying any land, even from a relative.

Im not sure what you mean by living off the grid. But it sounds like exactly what I want. I want to be by myself in the wild. Of course friends and family will always stop by. Because of being in the mortgage biz the title will be a jnon issue. I will just pull a tiyle search and have the lender do an alta policy where they are responsible if they miss and leins judgements and so on. Bear creek is a great idea!

[scrantonluna]

Off the grid means finding ways to exist on your own, with a minimal amount of paid utilities and things of that nature. Some aspects would be compost bins and similar things, while on the other end you will find stuff like solar and wind powered homes, whole house composting, pellet stoves, etc.

Do a google, they even have books out on the subject now; the ideas span from sensible to silly, but there's a common ground there I'm sure. Try to stick to the green sites, there are some out there with an anarchist stance that can get preachy.

[ScranBarre]

Bear Creek is honestly an excellent suggestion. I'd just be leery though of the zoning of any undeveloped land adjoining whatever property you'd purchase out there, as I foresee the Route 115 corridor between Wilkes-Barre and Blakeslee growing residentially in the coming years (i.e. Laurel Brook Estates). You wouldn't want to finish building your dream abode only to find out that six months later your view would be marred by a new housing development.