Talking to a realtor- Advice needed

[BAK]

Hi all
So my fianc

[rockriver]

good question..
i think you'll get better answers than mine.
but here are a few questions/phrases that i think would be normal for someone talking to a real estate salesperson
in a rural area.
sounds to me like you are looking for a place to have a "weekend cabin"
which could also become your "retirement location"
and that you'd like to do some "homesteading."
you've been reading mother earth news and really like their articles.
you have no experience with "living off the land" but would like to learn.
you'd rather not build a house. wouldn't it be cheaper if you cound find an acreage where
someone else had already started a little "mini farm" (or "really big farm" if you have really big finances!)
a place with a well, some sheds, barns, fencing would sure be nice wouldn't it?
i've heard that a house with a basement would give you expandable space for a cheap price per square foot. is that true? if so, do you know of something that might have a basement?
we live in a subdivision where the houses a real close together. too close. it sure would be nice to have some privacy when we come for a weekend or a month. what do you have where the house is "way off the road."
we are worried about crime. what is the crime rate in this side of the county?
what kind of crime is it?
we go to xxx church... is there a good active church of that faith in this area? what are the more active churches? you could insert, whatever social organization you want into that question. even if you never darken the doors of a church, knowing the answer to this question will tell you a lot about a community. i just visited an area where the most active worship building is a mosque. the second are several catholic churches and of course there are several jewish synagogues sp? that response told me a lot. or jewish, you might have

we'd like to live near folks like us? what community activities are there? is there a softball league? a hunting club? a group of quilters?
what are the schools like? how are they rated?
( i just visited an area that has one of the best school systems in the area. but the next town over has a high school that has 4-5000 students with "lots of very bright students, but a lot of inner city type problems." )

anyhow,
in my area these questions do not arouse any special curiosity.
you need to go visit. and spend several time periods there. go to a friday night football game. visit the local hardware stores.
eat at the restaurant with all the pick up trucks in the parking area.. talk to a couple of insurance agents. they'll tell you which side of the county to move to.
i'm making plans to go help at a small school out of state for a week. our host quickly told us. "don't go into the village after dark by yourself." and stay from the men hanging around at the xxxx. when i asked why, i was told "well they used to be the guys that sold moonshine. but now their cash crop is marijuana."

looking forward to seeing what other responses you get.

[1Admin]

https://www.unitedcountry.com

See what you can find on the net yourself also.

Boots on the ground is what will be needed, however if you have a dozen places to "check out" on a weekend trip, you'll be ahead of the game.

Good luck, if your willing to divulge the GENERAL area your looking at, folks here might have some insights on the area.

Of the consultants you listed, Practical Preppers are good folks.

[WiseOwl]

When we were searching for the house we just bought we laid it right out

We want 3+ acres
Well
Woods
Hills
Quiet
Within hour commute
Place I can garden
Place I can hunt
Place I can shoot
Place people won't think we are weird for homeschooling
Basement

Other than the basement we hit a home run

Only drawbacks is no Internet and people drive waaaay too fast down my road.

But I met a neighbor the other day. Gave him a semi description of myself and my family.
He said he shoots too

Wants to co-op on chickens next spring.


Been here 2 weeks and haven't met anyone else yet. But it will come




Don't be scared to tell them what you want. They work for you.

When I told my agent we wanted a mini farm/homestead she knew what was up.

[protus]

like wise said.
find the general area. have a list of what you want.
for us it was
xx miles from x town, with x acres, with well, city power/water(if well worked we didnt care) and under xx amount.

you will do well like admin posted to shop online etc and have a list of places in the ao.
try trulia and zillo. they have raw land deals as well.they will also give you a general idea of location and area.with google maps.

thers no need to be super sneaky, they wont go " oh hech he's a whacky prepper..."
if they ask say its for a cabin,,hunting camp,,retirement area,,,anything,,it wont matter.

[Grinnan Barrett]

Simple, look for someone who specializes in rural land purchases, small farms, getaways etc. Shop around for a Realtor in area you are interested in. remember always that the Realtor works for the seller not for you. That is how they get paid unless you have a deal cut with them. Be straight with them. Most of all find someone you feel comfortable with. You want someone who will work in confidence with you. Tell them you want how many acres, with well water, trees, ponds, and off the beaten path. Make you own assessment of each property you look at. Check out land sales on the internet to know what is available. Many pieces of land are not listed by sellers but rather they look for the person they want to sell to. GB

[goatlady]

Having been a Realtor myself and worked with others in finding my "homestead" A realtor can work best knowing exactly what you need and are looking for and your bottom line pricing. They could care less about your lifestyle or outlooks, they focus on filling the bill for you. I liked to receive a written list or at least a firm statement of needs versus wants on property. I sent my own realtor a 2 page list of "must haves" and "nice to haves", working from 3 states away. Took a while and several visits but he found my ideal and it was a done deal in 3 days. You must be clear in YOUR mind what you want/need and then just relay those facts to whom ever you choose to work with.

As for developing your property, it is usually best to get settled in 1st for at least 6 months, get to know the neighbors, the "experts" available locally, the extension office in your county has pertinent information on ag. stuff as does the soil conservation service who have advice on ponds, soil fertility, best crops/covers, etc. That time also gives YOU time to become familiar with your property so you can have a better idea of what might work in which location i.e. wind directions, sun and shade, seasonal possible problems like flooding or creek drying up.

[rice paddy daddy]

A lot of good info in these posts. Good info.
Having bought and sold a few properties in my life time I can tell you one of the most important things is to have a local real estate lawyer who works for you, not the realtor.
Liens, mineral rights, surveys, title search, etc; do NOT overlook these seemingly mundane parts of the deal.
Make sure you are looking for property zoned for what you want to do. Our property is zoned what the State of Florida calls OR. That stands for Open Rural. We can pretty much do what we want - barns, livestock, pick up trucks up on blocks for 5 years awaiting restoration, shoot deer off the back porch, all sorts of good redneck stuff.

[BAK]

Thanks for all be advice. I did a bunch of searches and called a realtor whose name kept popping up on the properties I liked. He wasnt super friendly but hopefully it will work out. Used some of the lines suggested.

Also spoke to Mrs Practical Preppers. She was very friendly and took her time with me. Gave me a quote for a two day consult which considering the grand scheme of things is not that bad. The only issue is that southernprepper1 (the guy with the military experience) is no longer a part of the company. However PracPrep did mention that they have an ex Ranger that they can recommend for a security consult, evaluation and planning. But that will be more $$$. Ehh the stuff we do to protect the ones we love...

[goatlady]

Just a "hint" - most realtors do NOT get too excited about calls about property until the potential buyer actually makes the effort to show up! 100s of "Lookie Lou's" bugging realtors all the time and wasting their time! Once he realizes you are a serious potential buyer, IF he does not "warm up" to your satisfaction, find another realtor you can work with in comfort.

[Freebirde]

As mentioned before about mineral rights, make sure you also have the timber rights and water rights to the property. If someone else has the timber rights, they can come in and cut any tree, including your fruit/nut trees, that they can make a dollar/yen off. Make sure you know about any right of ways or rights of access on the property. Check to see if you can get to or from the property in an emergency during bad weather. Steep hills and snow or dry creek crossing and hard rain makes for an "interesting" trip to the ER. Check the area newspaper, some of which are on-line, for classified ads of 'For Sale by Owner' and to see about news and events of that area. Check for any restriction on the property, protected wetlands, breeding grounds of the redfooted box turtle, or one of only three patches of blue skunk thisel. Check to see that it is not under the main flight path of the local airfield.