Before you can pull the trigger and move off grid, one of the big steps of the process is deciding on what land purchase is right for you. So how do you decide? In this article I am going to give you an overview that will help you in your search.
How do I pick land for an off grid homestead? Some of the most important things to know about before deciding on purchasing land for off gridding are: climate, location/neighborhood, taxes, local building codes, land restrictions/zoning, government permits, natural resources, access , and financing.
When you have a picture in your head about how you want your off grid experience to look, you can then use these handful of factors to determine which plot of available land will be most consistent with your dream. In the flowing article, I will break down all of these factors and explain how they will affect your homestead planning.
What You Want to Do Affects What Land You Need
Chances are pretty good that if you’re reading an article about how to choose land, that you already have a good picture of what you want to do off grid, and you already have your purposes for taking the dive worked out in your mind.
If you don’t already have a vision for what you want, you may want to take a few minutes and write down some ideas of what would be important to you. Do you want to be close to the ocean, mountains, or a lake? Do you intend to take your kids to public school? Do you want to be close to family? Are you planning on having fruit trees, large summer garden, or a green house? Do you want to live in a tiny home, converted shed, cabin, or a more traditional sized home? Will you be raising livestock? Well water, creek water, or rain collection? These are a few of the things you will want to have in mind before land hunting.
Climate is one big factor that people often cite as being a reason to move into a certain region. Many people adopt an idea of the area they live in being “not too hot, not too cold”. Some people enjoy being able to experience all four seasons every year, other prefer the weather to stay more consistent, especially if they are looking to grow specific plants or fruit trees. Maybe areas with high humidity aren’t your thing, or maybe you can’t stand harsher winters. These are just a few things, but you get the idea.
Once you have an idea of what type of climate you want, maybe you’ve narrowed your search down to a handful of regions. Next you may want to consider the location and neighborhood. By this, I mean things that are close by in the area. Do you want to stay somewhere within a reasonable drive to friends and family? Do you want to be a close to good shopping, or entertainment? Do you need a good school district? Do you want total seclusion even? Close to the mountains, beach, or lakes and rivers? Using these ideas, you might be able to whittle down the regions your interested in even further.
The Balance Between Off Grid and Government Regulation
The next couple of sections here is probably the roughest, and takes the most time to research, and they evolve finding areas with the least government obstruction. State and local taxes maybe a starting point for you though. I personally tend to prefer areas with no state income tax for example. There are a few states in the United States that don’t have state income taxes, such as: Tennessee, Texas, Florida, New Hampshire, Washington, South Dakota, Nevada, Wyoming, and Alaska. This is a great sampling of the different regions of the United States, which makes a good starting point if you already have the ideas down we discussed earlier.
To make up for no income taxes, these states pull their income in from other taxes, such as higher sales tax, property tax, local and gas taxes, among others, which may not apply to you, such as corporate income tax. For those who live off grid, these taxes may not affect you much, as you are probably not using much gas, and you’re already saving money by producing your own power, water, and food, but it is worth of mention here so that you have the full picture.
Local building codes can also sometimes be restrictive, costly, redundant, or just plain stupid. Building codes can be broken up into several categories that include: building code, electrical code, mechanical code, and fire code, among others. If you are planning on a DYI construction, you going to need to know how strict the building codes are in your area, and which ones apply to you. Complying with some of these codes, and having inspectors verify them, can be very costly. For that reason, it’s best to skip areas with overly intrusive codes. You can still build a safe dwelling for yourself that is compliant with other area’s safety codes in mind if you want, but with out all the red tape and government thumbs on top of you.
Land restrictions and zoning can also cause problems for off gridders. Want to raise livestock, build a green house, or run a business out of your home? These are potential areas where you could be hassled over zoning laws. Want to live in a tiny home? I’m afraid that if your house is below 400-500 sqft, you maybe in violation of the land restrictions. In some places, it is actually illegal to camp on your land for long periods of time, if at all, and the rules they use to define the word “camping” in the law could include anything from no septic, to no grid tied power. Some areas won’t even let you have a chicken coop if your land isn’t zoned for agricultural purposes. Many people try to purchase agricultural land because of this, it’s a little extra bumper room to insure that the local government won’t hassle you over chickens, goats, cows, and green houses. Even if you don’t plan on doing those things, having land zoned for that gives you extra options in the future.
Likewise, government permits can be a real hassle: Building permits, remodeling permits, driveway permits, permits to re-roof your house, permits to demolish a house, electrical permits, plumbing permits, pool, spa, or hot tub permits, decking permits, solar system permits, siding permits, water heater replacement permits, residential furnace and/or air conditioner permits, mechanical permits, fire suppression permits, notification systems permits, “miscellaneous fire” permits, and wiping your own butt permits. Ok, maybe I exaggerated on that last one (butt who knows?). This paragraph serves to sum up the last few points to say this: your chances are better to succeed off grid if you get away from cities, and as many government restrictions as possible. The land is likely cheaper already, and chances are better that you won’t have to deal with nearly as many of these government related roadblocks.
Considerations of the Land Itself
Now that we’re out of the nasty government restrictions portion, and found some places that best avoid all of that mess, lets get back to land practicality, as this might be the next logical step to think about. Naturally available resources on your new land could provide a lot of benefit, and the more acreage you are able to afford and maintain, the better off you might be here.
Is there already a clearing on the land where you can build a home, plant fruit trees, build a green house, and a place to put solar panels for maximum sunlight exposure, or construct a pond for water storage? Maybe your dream is to build a log cabin from the trees that are on the property, but are there enough trees?
Is there a natural water source such as a spring, stream, pond, or well water availability? Is it possible to build one or more of these things on the property?
What I’m talking about here is how much natural resources are there on the property for you to take advantage of.
You’ve already planned on going off grid, why not find an optimal plot which could already provide you with many of the things you desire? This could save a lot of effort on your part in trying to recreate these things on your own. For example, if you have a spring or a creek, you might be able to save a load of money by not having to dig for a well.
The last couple of things I have for you to think about are also very important. Access to the land is obviously very important. Access basically refers to a road, or even waterway, where you can easily get to and from your property. The best property in the world isn’t worth much if you can’t travel to and from it freely, and move critical supplies in and out. A lot of land listings say something about “road frontage” for that purpose.
Financing is a big thing, what can you afford, and how are you going to pay for it? Your options maybe a lot freer if you have a lot of cash on hand, but for everyone else, this might be a road block. Banks are a lot less likely to approve loans for undeveloped land. Undeveloped land is a lot harder to sell, so if something happens and the borrower can’t continue to pay the loan, it might take a long time for the bank to sell off the land and get their loan money back. That’s why its more practical for off gridders with little start up funds to do owner financing.
Related Questions
Owner financing is kind of like a rent to own plan, where there are no banks involved.
How much do building permits cost? Building permit costs vary by location, but in general average about $1,200, although they can fall between $450 and $2,000.
What happens if you build without a permit? If you build without a permit, neighbors could complain and get authorities to investigate you, resulting in a hefty fine, or even jail time.
Is it Legal to Build Off Grid? While very few areas have laws against off grid living per say, it can still be illegal in some areas. Various aspects of going off grid could violate local laws and get you removed from property you own. You will have to read the local laws, or even consult a layer to make sure you are safe.
