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Old 12-24-2014, 09:57 AM
 
Location: Michigan
29,391 posts, read 55,499,866 times
Reputation: 22043

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Tiny southeastern Minnesota town offers free residential land, gets no takers in 3 years

CLAREMONT, Minn. (AP) -- A small southeastern Minnesota community is trying but failing to give away land for free.

Claremont, which has about 500 residents, has had no takers in the three years it has been offering free lots to anyone with a qualifying income who is willing to build a house, Minnesota Public Radio News reported (Even offering free land, SE Minn. town stays small | Minnesota Public Radio News ). The city, which is located between Owatonna and Rochester, has three churches, three parks, a gas station and a bank — all within one square mile.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/minnes...175459865.html
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Old 12-24-2014, 09:59 AM
 
Location: TN/NC
34,942 posts, read 31,079,407 times
Reputation: 47319
Free land isn't much good if you have little work available.
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Old 12-24-2014, 05:18 PM
 
Location: North Idaho
32,559 posts, read 47,729,085 times
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I'm not familiar with that town, but free land has little value if you are required to build a house on it and you could buy an existing house for half the cost of building a new one. That's the situation in all the "free land" places I've looked at.

Now, when they start offering five hundred acres of good farmland for free, instead of a tiny city lot, then I might be willing to pay to have a house built on it.
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Old 12-24-2014, 05:26 PM
MJ7
 
6,221 posts, read 10,708,428 times
Reputation: 6606
The town will have to bring in business if it wants to survive and grow. Start by building a small grocery store. Then expand to a hardware store, a doctors office, a dentist, etc.
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Old 12-24-2014, 08:54 PM
 
Location: Michigan
29,391 posts, read 55,499,866 times
Reputation: 22043
Map of the town

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cl...f84a7a195ae44e
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Old 12-27-2014, 06:24 AM
 
251 posts, read 340,274 times
Reputation: 468
I read that, I think you have to have less than 75 k household income to qualify, and you have to build a house. I can't imagine that there's a lot of people who make under 75 yet can afford to build a house and relocate to a rural area.
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Old 12-27-2014, 07:09 AM
 
7,214 posts, read 9,375,282 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MJ7 View Post
The town will have to bring in business if it wants to survive and grow. Start by building a small grocery store. Then expand to a hardware store, a doctors office, a dentist, etc.
It's a "chicken and egg" situation. What entrepreneur would want to own and operate a grocery store in a town of only 500 people? But who would want to live in a town without a nearby grocery store?
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Old 12-27-2014, 07:35 PM
 
4,567 posts, read 10,625,503 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MaseMan View Post
......a town of only 500 people?
Try 176 people. 60 households.

No thanks.
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Old 12-28-2014, 03:21 AM
 
Location: Mount Monadnock, NH
752 posts, read 1,486,582 times
Reputation: 788
at least there's a pretty good chance the crime rate is low! Other than that, with little decent prospects for income, there is not much you can do with such an offer.
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Old 12-28-2014, 05:35 PM
 
Location: North Idaho
32,559 posts, read 47,729,085 times
Reputation: 78076
I've lived in a town with about 25 houses, but it was in a recreational area and a 20-30 minute drive to a major city in two different directions. I don't think that is what is being offered here.
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