Buying a homestead might be the biggest investment you will ever have to make. And, also the most exciting. But, it can also be terrifying because of the time, effort, and money that goes into buying a homestead. For many people, it is a one-time chance to find their dream lifestyle. And, the chance to find a property that they will eventually retire on – and maybe even be buried on (not to be morbid). Your individual checklist may be different from someone else’s. But, there are 12 important questions that are pertinent to anyone who is looking at buying a homestead. You may be willing to compromise on some of these, but for us, most of these were dealbreakers. With that being said, let’s dive into the details of how to choose your homestead property.
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12 Question Checklist on How to Choose a Homestead Property:
#1: The General Location:
When hunting for the perfect homestead, it can be hard sometimes to make a final decision between two properties that are both good matches in different ways. We had that happen to us when we were searching for our homestead property. The determining factor for us was the “general location”. When you go to choose a homestead property, this is a very important concept that is often overlooked.
Now, there are a few main things that come to mind when I think of a homestead’s general location. The 4 big ones are:
How far away is work?
This is a very important one. Because, depending on where you are moving to, it may be hard to find another job in your profession. So, you need to choose a location where the commute will not drive you crazy – even if you have to do it for years.
How close is the nearest grocery store?
Yes, I know that “growing my own food” is one of the primary tenets of being a homesteader. But, we all have those staples or comfort foods that we do not raise ourselves. For example, we do not raise our own dairy at this point. So, I am dependent on either a grocery store or another farm to supply our butter, cream, and milk.
I know many homesteaders order groceries online and have them delivered to their house. But, I tend to avoid extensive meal-planning. So, I like to know that I can ask my husband to run to the grocery store when I am missing a key-ingredient for dinner.
How far away is the nearest good-sized town or city?
Again, if you are better at long-term planning than we are, this may not be a dealbreaker for you. But, I find that we are constantly running out of chicken grain, needing hardware for a project, buying a part to repair a truck or tractor, or a host of other bumps that come up throughout the week. So, we usually end up going “downtown” at least once a week. Because of this, we definitely wanted to be within a 40 minute drive of a good-sized town or city. Something big enough that we could get auto parts, tractor parts, hardware, tools, fencing supplies, feed, maybe catch a movie while we are there.
And, how far away are the nearest emergency services?
Again, not to be morbid, but there are a lot of terrible accidents that happen in the world of agriculture. Farmers and homesteaders are often working with large and dangerous machinery when they are tired, and accidents do happen. Barn fires are also a real concern for homesteaders. So, we wanted to be in a community that had a fire department (ours is volunteer based), and within easy reach of a hospital. I also wanted to be within an hour drive of where I planned to deliver my babies.
#2: Existing Buildings or Other Infrastructure:
While it is completely doable to start with a bare piece of land, that is a project that can take years (or a lot of money if you hire it out).
To make things a little more realistic, you can choose a homestead property that meets one of these requirements:
- There is an existing house, but no other infrastructure (for example, you will have to build outbuildings and put up fencing).
- There is existing farm/homestead infrastructure, but no house.
We ended up choosing the second option. We decided to choose a homestead property that had an existing barn, pole barn, manure pit, one well, a perimeter fence, and a driveway. The barns needed some repair, the well needed a new pump and electric hookup, the perimeter fence needed to be repaired in a few places, and the driveway needed to be resurfaced. But, it was at least a start. We had a place to keep hay dry, a way to keep our animals contained and watered, and a driveway to bring machinery and vehicles in while we built our house.
#3: Choose a Homestead Property with Good Water and Power Options:
Water:
Water for household use typically comes from 3 possible sources:
- Town Water
- Dug Well
- Drilled Well
No matter what your water situation will be for your homestead, definitely have the water tested. Our water is excellent, except that it has Uranium concentration higher than the recommended limit. So, we run our drinking water through a Berkey filter that is designed to remove Uranium. But, there are other contaminants that require a whole-house filtration system, and those can be very pricey to purchase.
We also chose to go with 2 drilled wells. The barn well was already here when we purchased our homestead; it just needed to have a new pump and electrical components. But, we added a second well for the house and garden use. Drilled wells are definitely more expensive to start with. But, we have never had to worry about our wells going dry during the summer – even when we use them extensively for cattle and irrigation. Dug wells tend to go very low during the summer and can dry up completely during a drout.
Power:
If possible logistically and financially, it is definitely best to bring in electric through the power company. But, there are many homesteaders live off-grid and use only solar and gas-generator power. And, the benefit of living off-grid, is that you still have electricity when your neighbors lose power during storms.
#4: Are There Any Natural Resources on the Property?
If you can choose a homestead property with a few natural resources, that is a huge bonus. There are many possible resources that would save you money. Just make sure that you look into your town and state’s rules and make sure that you own the rights to anything on your property.
Some possible natural resources include:
- Water: A spring or even a flowing river or creek with clean water can be an amazing resource. It can water your livestock, provide irrigation, be a possible source of power, and even provide a swimming spot to cool off in.
- Sand or Gravel Pit: This is awesome for repairing roads and driveways and providing a base to build pole barns on.
- Trees: We make our own maple syrup by tapping maple trees on our property. And, we harvest various hardwood trees for firewood. During the winter, we heat our house with a woodburning stove fed by this firewood. And, if you have a sawmill, you can even saw lumber for building.
- Cleared Fields: For grazing or haying.
# 5: Town Regulations, Zoning Ordinances, Deed Restrictions, Easements, HOAs, Building Codes etc:
I don’t know about you, but we like to fully own and control our homestead property. So, just double check all of the possible restrictions attached to a property before you buy it. HOAs often come with fees and a lot of restrictions. Easements can be tough when you have kids or animals and would rather not have strangers accessing your property at will. And, some deeds even have restrictions. For example, our Deed prohibits Mobile Homes. This was okay with us since we planned on building a house anyway. But, it would have been a dealbreaker if finances or other reasons required that we start with a mobile home.
Some Restrictions to Check On:
- Type of Animals
- Number of Animals
- Type of Buildings
- Number of Buildings
- Number of Vehicles
- Noise Ordinances
- As a homeowner/landowner, can you do your own building? Or do you have to hire a Contractor?
- Does anyone have a right to access your land?
- Are there any Association Fees?
#6: Check the Property Taxes Before You Choose a Homestead Property:
At least where we are in Maine, Property Taxes are wildly different depending on what town the property is in. And, for some towns, the Property Taxes can be close to what your mortgage payment will be.
#7: Internet Options:
I know it sounds very “21st Century” of me, but Internet availability was a big deal for us. We do not watch or subscribe to any channel or satellite TV. But, in the evenings, we really enjoy our various shows through subscriptions like Prime. Plus, we have our Blog and Youtube channel. So, we preferred to choose a homestead property in a town with traditional Internet options (versus Satellite internet, which is unreliable at best).
#8: Do You Have Enough Time?
So, in a section above, we discussed how to choose a property with some existing infrastructure. But, most likely, there are going to be things that you have to repair or build before you can live full-time on your new homestead. Whatever those necessary projects are, just make sure you realistically have enough time to complete them. And, always schedule even more time than you think you could possibly need, because issues will always arise when building.
For example, most houses take around 6 months to build if you have a good crew and the house is fairly basic. If this is your situation, then I would recommend having other housing accommodations arranged for 9-12 months. That way, you are not living out of a tent or scrambling for other housing at the last minute.
#9: Do You Have Enough Money to Choose that Homestead Property?
And, I do not mean the obvious “can you afford the mortgage payment?”. There is a lot of money that goes into starting a homestead outside of buying the initial property. For example, we just spent a couple thousand dollars this spring to buy fencing supplies for a small 7 acre field. Just make sure you have your finances in order to cover any necessary:
- Set-Up Costs.
- Up-Keep Costs for at least the first year.
- Unexpected Costs: This is basically your emergency fund for vet bills, storm damage, tires on machinery, fuel, and all of the costs associated with homesteading that you never think of until they are staring you in the face.
#10: Will You Be Happy with the Climate?
Again, this may seem like an obvious one. But, I find that many potential homesteaders think “Can I deal with the climate?”. The correct question would be, “Will I be happy with the climate?”.
For example, if you find rain depressing, then you probably should not choose a homestead property in the northwest. If you hate humidity, then do not settle in the midwest. If you really hate being cold, then you probably should not choose to live in the North or Northeast.
For us, we do not love the cold, but we are also okay with it. And, my husband loves to ski. He also loves to run and restore machinery through the summer, and I love to garden. So, we knew we would be happy with a gorgeous summer climate that was neither humid or too hot – and the climate for the rest of the year was not a big deal to us. So, Maine seemed to be the perfect answer.
#11: If Possible, Do Not Limit Yourself:
Especially for someone who is moving from the city out to a rural location, it is easy to limit yourself. If you are accustomed to a 1/4 acre yard, then 5 acres may seem like a lot of land when you first start. And, you can definitely do a lot with 5 acres.
But, many homesteaders start out with a small kitchen garden and some chickens. And, then 3 years down the road, they want to add goats, a milk cow, buy a tractor, plant an orchard, and open a You-Pick Pumpkin Patch.
So, if you have the option to do it, definitely buy a place that is large enough for you to grow into.
#12: It Is Okay to Start Small and Even Stay Small:
That being said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a small homestead. There are many folks who successfully homestead on less than an acre. And, they somehow seem to still keep animals, garden, and enjoy the full homestead experience.
No matter what your location or the size of your homestead ends up being, there will still be plenty of ways for you become more independent and live a simple and sustainable life.
I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!