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Can anyone suggest a way of easily locating rural homes and small acreages of 2 to 5 acres? Realtor.com, Trulia, and similar sites are very inaccurate concerning lot size, and sites specifically searching for acreage tend to focus on large properties. Its very frustrating!
Normally, I would suggest Realtor.com, as the info on that website comes directly from the local MLS's, so it's as accurate as what the agent has entered at the local level.
The problem you run into in a lot of rural areas (like rural Nebraska) is that there isn't a local MLS or realtor board, so you basically have just independent real estate companies. About the only suggestion I can give you is to either Google (such as Ogallala Nebraska real estate) or else go to a site such as DexOnline and look up real estate in the yellow pages for the town you're interested in. I know - it's a hassle, but unfortunately in those little towns that's about all there is. You pretty much just have to call a real estate agent directly.
Your suggestions are good ones, and I will probably have to go that route.
I suspected that the more rural areas lack an MLS, but I run into the same problem here in the Upper Peninsula, even though our larger realtors are represented by UPMLS and a couple of smaller services. I was rather hoping there would be a national search engine for rural real estate, but the closest I've been able to find is UnitedCountry.com, which by no means covers the entire country.
In the 1970's there was a nationwide Real Estate cataloge called (I believe?) Strout, but when I search Strout on Google it directs me to GMAC. Is anyone aware of any other nationwide realtor service where one could look up property of a specific description anywhere in the US, not rerstricted to one particular zip code or area?
Even Strout and United Country were their own companies with their own listings, albeit they marketed their properties throughout many different states. There is no "nationwide realtor service" except ones like Realtor.com that are tied into local MLS databases. If the local listings aren't online or in some type of database, you won't find them anywhere but through the local real estate companies. . . . Sorry.
You've got to begin by prioritizing your desires and goals for a rural property.
With a clear starting set of "wants", start directly contacting the brokerages in the areas of the country you'd like to consider.
You may find a "farms and ranch or rural properties" monthly advertising magazine for your region. This will give you some idea of the prices and availability of places, and the names of the brokerages in that area. Start interviewing the brokerages and go see the places they have on offer to get a feeling for what they'd be like ... consider location, access, water, utilities, amenities, housing, outbuildings, communications, taxes, fencing, neighbors, medical access, shopping access, recreation opportunities, job access, and overall operating costs to be there.
This will be an information gathering process on your part to narrow down the locale and the specific features of properties that will meet your "wants" and "needs". It's not a quick process, expect that it will take time to refine and adjust your concepts.
Be ready with a pre-qual letter from your lender, so that when the day comes that you see the property that meets your requirements, you're ready and able to deal.
The hardest part of buying a ranch or farm is that so much money can be going to a productive business aspect of the "home" purchase ... so the mortgage qualifying can be much more difficult than just purchasing a residence.
Without demonstrable farming or ranching experience, the lenders get very leery of financing you into all that acreage.
If you're just seeking rural acreage without all the farming/ranching, then it's even more difficult to finance beyond the homesite .... because now you don't even have a potential cash flow from the property.
Try unitedcountry.com. This is what they specialize in, acreage with or without homes all over the US. It's a great way to see what's out there. And there's a lot! Good luck!
Can anyone suggest a way of easily locating rural homes and small acreages of 2 to 5 acres? Realtor.com, Trulia, and similar sites are very inaccurate concerning lot size, and sites specifically searching for acreage tend to focus on large properties. Its very frustrating!
Get an agent who knows the area you are intersted in
If it is a good agent the have been to the recent zoning board meetings and are abreast of the changes in the area
I'm not sure if this helps you or not but you can searchModerator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed for 0-10 acres. Maybe this will at least help you narrow it down to under 10 acres. I know what you mean being stressed about not being able to search the rural areas like you want to. Sites like this are starting to make it easier. Hopefully in the next year or so it will be real easy.
us2indaup - I happened to notice a United Country brochure over the weekend. It appears that there are a number of different local companies affiliated with them. I'm sure they must have an online web address, and you might actually find quite a few properties in rural areas that way. Otherwise, once you zero in on the rural areas you're interested in the most, then you can start calling the local R.E. companies for more info on local properties.
Last edited by Gretchen B; 05-09-2007 at 11:25 PM..
Reason: clarity
North Dakota is actually one of the states we're looking into, especially after learning in the North Dakota state forum that you guys get much less annual snowfall than we do here in the U.P. I can take the cold, but I'm sick to death of snow.
By the end of the summer we should know if we're going to be staying in the U.P. or relocating, and if we do relocate, it would be to the northern plains (I guess thats what you would call the states from Nebraska to North Dakota?).
My problem is researching home prices in the more rural areas. Some of the small town Realty companies aren't even part of an MLS, and I've even comes across some in YellowPages.com that don't seem to have a website.
Short of actually travelling around the areas we need more info about, I'm hoping someone knows of a better way.
~~ ~~
Gretchen B : United Country sent me a catalog which will be useful in locating realtors in certain areas, but they seem to be concentrated more on southern states, whereas we're mostly interested in the central or northern great plains. Does anyone know of one directory of all MLS sites for the entire country?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clyde Thorne
What state are you looking at? I live in North Dakota, and there are lots of rural homes, from $10,000 to the $350,000. The further you are away from a major city, the lower the value.
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Thank you, Gretchen B ~~
looking for smaller acreage outside of town
