Getting Land....

So, you've been thinking about becoming more self-efficient or perhaps you just want to live a more simpler life, but you're not sure where to start. I'm here to offer advice and tips on how you can live this life and you don't need acres of land to do it. When I first decided to start this blog, I was thinking about calling it Urban Farming, but I don't live in the city limits. Then I thought about calling it Micro-Farming, which what I'm doing can fit into this description; however, you can own up to 5 acres of land and still be considered to have a micro-farm. I don't have that much land...in fact, I have much less...only a 0.48 lot. Considering all that, I decided to go with the name Backyard Farming on Less Than an Acre.

The first thing you'll need to do is find some land. If you're like me and don't have the money to run out and buy a piece of land, don't fret, you have options. My husband and I found the house we are living in about 15 years ago. We were living about an hour from where my husband worked, and we wanted to move closer to his job. Rent prices in the area were ridiculously high, so my husband started looking at fixer uppers. Basically, an ugly house that needed a lot of work and nobody wanted! You have probably seen these empty houses before. They are all over. Some don't have signs up listing them for sale, so how can you find the owner? Do a Google search for property assessments in your city/state and it will pull up the owner's name. Give the owner a call and see if he is interested in renting the home out in exchange for you doing repairs or doing a rent to own/owner finance. If the house is just sitting there rotting away, chances are, the owner will take you up on your offer. When you rent to own or have the owner finance, the owner is no longer responsible for the repairs (that's true in my state...maybe not yours), which takes a burden off him/her.

By the grace of God, the owner of our house agreed to an owner finance. We did not have the money for a big down payment, so we agreed to pay the down payment over a period of two years, after that, the rest would go towards payment of the house at 7% interest. Now, we pay $300 per month and the house will be paid for next year. We plan to sell or rent out and buy a bigger piece of land. We've had to do a lot of work to this house, but I consider it an  investment. It was well worth it. And, I thank God for it.

If you're not interested in buying just yet, you can rent a home, but if you're wanting to have animals, you'll have to clear that with the landlord. You can also find owner financed land on Craigslist or sites like Country Places, Inc. You can get land for a low down payment. Generally around $400 down, then $200-400 closing costs. Sometimes, you can pay these amounts separately, like pay the down payment one week, and then, when paperwork is ready, pay the closing costs. Then the monthly payments are around $150-300 per month. If you change your mind about buying, then just leave. They will re-sell the land and raise the price if you made any improvements. You can buy a cheap camper to put on the land until you can build.

As you can see, you have several different options to getting land when you don't have much money and no credit. You just got to start looking. See what is available in your area. Do some driving around. Look on the outskirts of cities. You'll find something.