Looking to Move to Nebraska for Going Off-Grid (North Platte, Columbus: sale, real estate)

[iseverythingtaken?]

Thank you both. This is all a lot of help.

I feel a bit silly asking this but... how much should I save up for? About how much would 100 acres cost? Decent land, not the best but not the worst. I mean, I can look up the prices on websites like landsofamerica, but you said they're often willing to negotiate. And how can I figure out what a property is worth? Short of finding someone who knows these things and bothering them every single time I see a good-looking property that I want to negotiate the price on, I mean. That's one of the things I'm worried about most, figuring out the price of the land, what I can get for how much.

[SCGranny]

Ouch. That's really hard to say. It depends on the land, the area, the soil type, whether or not it has outbuildings/fencing/a house; how old the structures are. One "section" is 640 acres, or one square mile, and a lot of the properties out here are sold in sections, unless they are broken up by owners. If you are looking for arable farmland, the price - goes up. If you have water features, like a river or creek, the price - goes up. A house on my street is for sale for $87,000 - it is actually two 1940's cement-block houses that were built together - and that is just a house and yard, not even an acre, but for $10,000 less than what we bought this whole piece for! And locals say we were ripped off. Another house near Valentine had 40 acres, fencing, and a few fruit trees for $119,000. A few people I know have gotten the "low interest redevelopment government loans" for their older homes and have redone them inside and out - only to find that they could not afford the reassessment taxes, so the houses are for sale. Beatrice, NE, is offering free land to people to increase their population and tax base - but the murmur from that area is that construction costs are through the roof and offset the 'free land'. Elk Creek NE has discovered the largest rare earth mine in the world, even larger than the one in China, so that area will become a 'boom town' of sorts, with prices rising accordingly - even though the folks there appear very comfortable with the idea of having the mine developers there, there are always some folks who want to - or need to - make a fast buck off of grandpa's farm.

It depends on where you go and what you are willing to do, what accomodations you are willing to make, and what your deal-breakers are. Also, you have to look very carefully at infrastructure and ordinances; can you build (or will you need to) a drain field, who plows the roads and how often (our county has plows that not only do pavement but even go down the gravel ranch roads, as time and weather permits - altho sometimes it can be a few days before some distant ranchers can get out), which government controls the area and says what you can and cannot have as far as housing, animals, etc... We have a very "live and let live" government where we are, they don't allow pig farms or cattle feedlots in the 'town' limits, but everything else is pretty much wide open - until the county inspector drives through and wants to know what building permits were issued for that garage, who rewired that old house, etc.

One of the nice things about Nebraska is that all rights go with the property purchased. Nebraskans always look at me blankly and say, "Well, of course!" - but when I was looking in other states, the frequency of "mining/water rights are retained by seller" notifications always was a deal breaker.

[Gunluvver2]

SCGranny this isn't completely correct.
"One of the nice things about Nebraska is that all rights go with the property purchased. Nebraskans always look at me blankly and say, "Well, of course!" - but when I was looking in other states, the frequency of "mining/water rights are retained by seller" notifications always was a deal breaker."
Mineral and other rights etc do not always stay with the owner of the land. They can be sold and are often separate from the deed to the land. Another good reason to get your own attorney involved in the purchase of property. Much of the land in SW Nebraska is being sold with Mineral rights being retained by the previous owner. IN MY Opinion if you don't own the Mineral Rights to your property you are just a renter. You don't own it all.

GL2

[Gunluvver2]

iseverthingtaken
It is difficult to put a value on land. Currently farm land is at record high levels because the prices of corn, wheat soybeans etc are at all time highs.

In the past land that was considered "too rough" to farm would bring lower prices. Usually this land would be used to pasture livestock. Traditionally this land would be worth about one half of farm land. However that is changing. A lot of wealthy people are looking for this type of land to build hunting and fishing cabins as weekend getaways. If you have a spring or creek running through your property the value goes way up. Oil & gas discoveries in Western Nebraska and Kansas are driving land prices up also. There are still bargains out there but you really have to spend some time looking.

I don't know how much you want to spend on property but here is MY PERSONAL RULE OF ACQUISITION: If you are using CASH to buy anything, you will get it a whole lot cheaper than when you finance anything. IOW don't borrow money to buy anything. That goes for vehicles and land. Or anything.

GL2

[iseverythingtaken?]

"Also, you have to look very carefully at infrastructure and ordinances; can you build (or will you need to) a drain field, who plows the roads and how often (our county has plows that not only do pavement but even go down the gravel ranch roads, as time and weather permits - altho sometimes it can be a few days before some distant ranchers can get out), which government controls the area and says what you can and cannot have as far as housing, animals, etc..."

Aside from asking the person I'm buying from about this, how can I find these things out? I'm sure I could just google it, of course, but what's the best way to find this out? Would they say some of this on a county website? Or should I try finding a county website and looking for a contact form to email them questions?

I agree with you, Gunluvver2, that if you don't own the rights, you don't really own the land. And we definitely don't intend on financing anything. We prefer to buy things in cash.

Beatrice looks like it might be a good idea, depending on what the local gvt says we can build and how much permits cost and such, because wherever we go, we were planning on building on our own house and buildings anyway. We're definitely willing to go without on a lot of things, like buildings and such. It would be nice to have them, but we're willing to build our own if necessary.

I know I keep saying this, but thank you so much for your responses. This is so much more information than I've been able to find myself. It gives me a better direction for my research.

[Gunluvver2]

Originally Posted by iseverythingtaken?

"Also, you have to look very carefully at infrastructure and ordinances; can you build (or will you need to) a drain field, who plows the roads and how often (our county has plows that not only do pavement but even go down the gravel ranch roads, as time and weather permits - altho sometimes it can be a few days before some distant ranchers can get out), which government controls the area and says what you can and cannot have as far as housing, animals, etc..."

Aside from asking the person I'm buying from about this, how can I find these things out? I'm sure I could just google it, of course, but what's the best way to find this out? Would they say some of this on a county website? Or should I try finding a county website and looking for a contact form to email them questions?

I agree with you, Gunluvver2, that if you don't own the rights, you don't really own the land. And we definitely don't intend on financing anything. We prefer to buy things in cash.

Beatrice looks like it might be a good idea, depending on what the local gvt says we can build and how much permits cost and such, because wherever we go, we were planning on building on our own house and buildings anyway. We're definitely willing to go without on a lot of things, like buildings and such. It would be nice to have them, but we're willing to build our own if necessary.

I know I keep saying this, but thank you so much for your responses. This is so much more information than I've been able to find myself. It gives me a better direction for my research.

*************************************************
Google is a great resource and has more information than you could sort through in a lifetime. Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado have County Extension agents in almost every County. These extension agents work through Land Grant Universities for the most part. They are a good resource for finding out about things you need to know. They would be the first place I would start in any search for land in a specific community.

GL2

[SCGranny]

Originally Posted by Gunluvver2

Mineral and other rights etc do not always stay with the owner of the land. They can be sold and are often separate from the deed to the land. Another good reason to get your own attorney involved in the purchase of property. Much of the land in SW Nebraska is being sold with Mineral rights being retained by the previous owner. IN MY Opinion if you don't own the Mineral Rights to your property you are just a renter. You don't own it all.

GL2

Thanks, GL2! The attorney I dealt with told me that all rights are sold with the property in Nebraska by law, even tho I made sure it was in the contract anyway. Good to know.

[Gunluvver2]

Originally Posted by SCGranny

Thanks, GL2! The attorney I dealt with told me that all rights are sold with the property in Nebraska by law, even tho I made sure it was in the contract anyway. Good to know.

SCGranny,
I don't have a law degree but I think that attorney gave you some bad advice. You weren't damaged this time so it is a moot point. You were very wise to make sure it was written in your contract.

GL2

[Bigg Mann]

There is a small community that allows only single story homes, so as not to obstruct views. Lots are in 2.5 acre increments and and many lots combined. They have water wells on them, not pump. Yards are to be only natural terrain. I was interested in one property that was 5 acreas, 2 wells and electricity, 25' travel trailer like new for 13,000.00.

This is located north of Trenton, NE and 24 miles west of McCook, NE

It can be found at realestate.com

[Gunluvver2]

Originally Posted by Bigg Mann

There is a small community that allows only single story homes, so as not to obstruct views. Lots are in 2.5 acre increments and and many lots combined. They have water wells on them, not pump. Yards are to be only natural terrain. I was interested in one property that was 5 acreas, 2 wells and electricity, 25' travel trailer like new for 13,000.00.

This is located north of Trenton, NE and 24 miles west of McCook, NE

It can be found at realestate.com

Sounds like a nice property BigMann. I went to realestate.com but I couldn't find it when I plugged in Trenton, NE in the search box. Is it closer to another town?

GL2