I looked on Zillow: I searched for at least two acres, at least 3 bedrooms, and under $50K. And we found it, too! 3 bed, 2 bath, 5 acres, 3 wells, a barn and a 50'x60' metal building for $50K (they wanted 75 but it had been on the market for many years). I have built a chicken coop and now have chickens (I butchered 8 of them last week), I am putting in raised beds as soon as I clear the 2 decades of weeds and brush from the property - I have two acres cleared so far, and we are a year in. The house needs work, but we are living in it just fine. We work remote, and we have the rest of our lives to get our homestead where it needs to be.

I lived on a 3 acre homestead, when I met my (now) hubby who wanted to move closer to his ailing grandfather. We bought a modular home and had it set up in a small field on his grandfather's 55 acre farm. 2 years in grandfather's health had taken a dramatic turn for the worse and he needed around the clock care. We closed up our house and moved into grandfather's house and spent 6 years caring for him until he passed. He left the farm to my hubby. We live and farm/homestead here full time. It is No Where close to the perfect homestead. It's on the side of a mountain with almost No flat land, the soil is clay so I have to amend anytime I want to plant, erosion is a constant battle, we grow more rocks than anything else and the house (which I am remodeling) is in constant need of repair. But it's paid for and has excellent water, so here we are.

On Dec 25th, 2022 my husband, my mother and myself found 6.25acs in the Ozark mountains of Missouri . Raw land, nothing there. In one year we've put on a cabin shed that we are finishing the on inside. We put in a small but very sufficient solar system. We have a decent graveled driveway, set up a 2000gal. rain catchment system and a flock of 20 chickens, with roosters. We will be putting in raised beds and a couple high tunnels because the Ozarks are really good at growing rocks, and we sre completely off-grid. Oh, by the way, we are all over 65 yrs of age, and doung it on our Social Security, thats the only income. It can be done.

This is exactly what we did! We asked 😊 We found a home with 3 acres and the neighboring property of 90 acres had 3 of those parceled acres adjoining with our land. We have horses…and it turns out the land owners were an older couple who also had horses. I brought them an apple pie and we talked horses for 2 hours. We all got along great and they were happy to sell to us.

As a woman in my 60s, trying to figure this out for retirement is so stressful. Thank you for making this.❤

Honest realtors can absolutely be worth the money paid for them in terms of their fiduciary duty. Mine steered me away from several pricier houses because she knew they had foundation problems or something about the listing made her worried for other fundamental problems. What she found me was a diamond in the rough and got me a good price for it. Additionally, she made sure that everything was legal and I got every document I needed, even ones I didn’t know to ask for.

With cows, pigs and chickens, you can start creating top soil immediately. It will be a few years before you see super rich soil…but it happens fast when using animals to restore the soil. Their hooves make nice divets that hold water and nutrients. The hay they eat can add back seed. And you can throw clover and beets and buckwheat after they move to the next cycle area. We also used goats to remove what wasn’t wanted. Our cycle was goats, then pigs (American Guinea Hogs) and chickens, ducks and turkeys (when possible). In three years our pastures looked good. We don’t run cows. Enjoy your beautiful project!

Just closed on our diamond in the rough a week ago! We looked for two years. What we bought wasn’t perfect, but it was what we could afford and something we can make shape and mold into our diamond . Can’t wait to build our homestead and follow your journey.

We lived off grid for 14 months. We went to bed early in late fall and winter. I enjoyed my oil lamps. We invested in solar outdoor lights. It was a very precious time.

I feel like I've been in the dream state for years! I think we are finally coming into a season of change; selling our business, paying off our home, starting with livestock. Saving for land and renting our home!! We still have a year or two, but we're getting there, debt free. We're ready for hard work, been doing that our whole lives, with less fruitfulness. Thanks for the inspiration.

Nice. I found my property from a realtor who found it from a person he knew that the house wasn’t even for sale. Talk to your realtors. The good ones will hunt for you.

I'm 73, so will probably start with a window sill "garden"..... herbs lol...and I'm still disabled from a stroke, don't think I will ever be able to deal with chickens, which I've always loved and wanted......and cows, oh my! My love since I was 3.So I'll do herbs for now

Sorry Kay... He's correct about bidding more. Not so much now but a couple months ago everything went over list.

I bought an Acer property, it's actually 2 properties, two 1/2 acer lots. Ones zoned commercial other is residential. Has a 3 bedroom 2 bath fixer upper. I bought it without a realtor, it was for sale by owner, I paid $14,000 for it in Jan of 2021! In Southampton county VA it's the poorest county in Virginia, and land here is cheaper then dirt! Litterly! Now since inflation has happened, prices are a little higher, but still extremely low here. There's a one acre lot down the street from us for 5 grand! Branchville VA! Just a lot. With water and sewer, and driveway and a falling down house. The firehall will remove the house for free. But yeah 5 grand! I'm looking at a cleared Acer for a market garden for 7 grand right in NC. Right down the street! Great area with nothing here! Waiting for the boom to come!! Lol buying cheap land as much as I can in the meantime! Soon people will find out about this area!!!

We ended up with our property in 2018 with 10 acres and a good sized house because my dad was doing some work on the property for the owner. It had been abandoned for years. We got it for less than market value. The land is in two 5 acre parcels so it was even cheaper than it would have been since the 2nd 5 acres was just tossed in for the minimum $1 processing fee. Fast forward we have chickens. Getting bees this April and adding goats 😂, meat chickens, and meat rabbits next spring. Totally random but it worked out perfectly for us.

I bought 300 Acres in Clay West Virginia for $45,000 in 1996. Bought an acre in southern Indiana in 2019 that I live on now for $1,500

Ohhh this is going to be good!!❤ We already have our land…but I’m still watching/listening!

I think I found my property this week! It’s a PRO-JECT! But a manageable one over time! And the math is WONDERFUL once the main project is done! Wish me luck! Hoping to have it locked down by the end of the week! I just posted a video of the initial walking of the property and I would love your input!!!

I recently got raw land in northern Ontario Canada….blessed to have found a property that is remote, in an unincorporated township (no building codes or permits needed), with land rights, tree rights, and mining rights. My boyfriend and I are starting our cabin build this year, and going off grid. The process will be a huge undertaking, and take time, but we’re really excited about building a generational homestead. I’ve been binging your homestead content. It’s unbelievably inspiring. Thank you for sharing your experience. And you’re right, putting in a well is INSANELY expensive lol

I hate to say it, but your husband is correct. We have been looking for houses that are way overpriced for one thing, and every realtor we have talked with has told us to put in an offer for a bit more than what they're asking if we even want to be considered. We had one that we called to go and see and were told by the realtor that the owners would be going through the offers that night. They already had 5 offers and we would need to put in an extremely strong bid to even have our offer looked at. That was a couple of months ago and the property is still sitting on the market. So, yes, the realtors do tell you to put in an offer for more than asking price no matter how far overpriced they are and work that needs to be done.

Don't forget about USDA loans if you are in the US. You can even get 1 time close construction to mortgage loans. Lots of cheap land in Appalachia. Turn it into silvopasture with sheep.

In all fairness, his mustache is AMAZING!!! Love your relationship, so cute and wholesome, I was chuckling and smiling at times bc of it.

We do say you need to bid more, when we know you likely won’t get the house without bidding more. I can’t speak for all agents BUT for me, my clients wallet comes before mine. 10k in price is a few bucks to my pocket but its a still 10k to my client! If I think we can get away with bidding less I absolutely advocate for that! I love making a shark deal for my people!

I can't make this stuff up... while listening to you two talk about what kind of property to look for and what aspects to keep in mind I was looking at property listings and right when I clicked on this one property to see the details you guys mentioned the diamond in the rough and the listing literally called this property a diamond in the rough! too funny

He's 100% right Realtors do that all the time. Some people are just too naive and/or ignorant of the workings business transactions, selling theories and methods/strategies.

Very good info. I built on 20 acres in MN that allows no builiding on wetlands. My marriage/ homesteading lasted 10 years without children! Kudos to you both. The numbers on divorce with couples going into homesteading/building is very interesting. Make sure both parties have options if one of the parties taps out (or leaves you for a sailor). It will save you from further lawyer fees that neither one of you can afford.

Gridlessness is my Absolute Favorite (completely off the grid) you tube channel!

I love Gridlessness! So inspiring ❤️

I love your new adventure, this is exactly what we want so I cant wait to watch your family go through it! We have been looking for land for a long time too! My husband still has 3yrs left in the Navy before retiring so that has put our plans on the backburner, sadly we missed some great deals before the pandemic, so its great to hear your methods for finding affordable properties. I love raw properties and can see the potential, and I love that you picked sunny mountain! Our last military move is coming up in a few months and I'm hoping we can buy a house with a couple acres so we can get started. Definitely a large garden and some chickens and then maybe a cow and horse, since they need a friend. I've been planning and researching for years so I'm 100% ready to jump in, plus I just turned 40 so its time already!

Aust and K: I have been dreaming of homesteading for well over 20 years. I have been looking for property online for many, many of those years, always disheartened that I can't seem to figure out how to make my dream come true. I watch and listen to lots of homesteading vlogs, podcasts, etc., and I have to tell you that this is absolutely the most inspiring video I have ever seen on the topic. I am so happy to be a new subscriber to your channel, and I am incredibly eager to watch your journey unfold. Thank you SO much for sharing your life with us, and for these amazing tips!

I just want to say again, I am really enjoying your new journey. I am kinda reminiscing of the past couple of years when we did what you are doing. At this time we went back to a small farm to accommodate our grandchildren and our aging parents. I believe we will go back to the dream to build a cabin on rural tucked away property. Blessings and prayers to you and for your journey!

Awesome podcast! I did something similar after purchasing 5 acres of remote property in Alaska. I reached out to neighbors introducing myself, and ended up purchasing another acre with a log cabin on it from an older remote cabin owner who couldn’t make the journey to their cabin anymore. Story and being genuine is everything!

I wish our family was willing...my Grandpa went home to be with the Lord 2 years ago. He had the dream and worked hard to make it happen. He bought 40 acres, dug 2 ponds himself and kept them stocked with fish, built the barn and house himself. Unfortunately, my family has no desire to keep it in the family. They just want as much money as they can get for it. There is no way my husband and I can afford what they are asking. It's a sad process to watch. I am just so thankful for all the sweet childhood memories God provided from catching my first fish to everyone walking the property until we found the perfect Christmas tree💕.

that is so awsome , we only have 5 acres in missouri , but alaska looks even better hahaha .........

I've been following you guys since before you moved the last time. We have finally decided to look for the property that will grow into our homestead. Great advice and content, as always!

Congratulations Guys! Wishing you all the best!

@K and Aust! If you do Sunny mountain, make sure you put the pain on the top of the hill Mark Shepherd goes above and beyond to put ponds at the top anywhere you can. It's pretty incredible how little space it takes to capture rainfall, to fill a pretty sizable pond. I've been to five or six of his properties that he's done this, and it's epic. Nobody ever thinks to put ponds on top of, but they're the most reasonable place to.

Thank you guys for being so open and informative! Just found y’all and it feels like you’re going to be a wonderful resource for me going forward.

The bald mountain property has a good view, you’re not buried in the trees but see trees. I like it.

Im in mortgages, realtors want the deal to close with as little back and forth as possible, so they often try to get you to spend more rather than less. More about a quick close than the better commission but always under bit regardless of what a realtor says

SUNNY MOUNTAIN YEAAAHH! ☀️ 🌲

This video to me is extremely valuable.

I love the property with the amazing view. It has endless potential

You two are such an adorable couple. I love your videos. Great discussion and good info.

LoL the toilet paper tussle 😂 that was a real thing

Lol the Sandpaper hands in callus from typing really made the start of the video feel more wholesome 😄

Just bought some Laurel Mountain soap. They'll be gifts for several people. Never done this before, made a purchase from a KZfaq recommendation!

Thank you guys so much! I’m also in Pennsylvania like your family, and me and the wife been trying so hard to find land but it’s been ridiculously expensive. Thank you for helping and I’ll be doing more research!

Look up GSI map or gis map. I don't remember which. But it tells you the owners information including their addresses, tells you what other properties they own, tells you the value of the undeveloped land, and value of buildings on the property, also tells you the value of properties around said property, also tells you the tax amount for the land, it's an awesome map! Best map I've used for researching properties and I've used alot of them!!

Thank as a young family looking to go this path in life. We appreciate you guys talking openly about this. Give us the facts. :). Hoping our spring 2025 we have purchased land.

the last property we bought(a temp. solution out of necessity), it was suggested that we offer more than asking.. we did and its the only way we could have gotten in. the housing market has been insane!! 8 months later, we saw an old farm house with a 2 acre pasture- it was neglected to say the least! we got the house under asking and used the profit from the first property (after a bidding war, we made 30% profit) to update the electric and plumbing so that we could get into our ugly farmhouse. 2 yrs later, we have replaced windows, planted an orchard, gotten chickens, built lots of planter boxes and a shed,,, and a free shelter we acquired will soon be a home for some feeder sheep. we have much more to do and patience is key. i dont know if you guys have heard about the "unicorn" property but, i havent found it yet. hard work, imagination and thinking outside the box seems to be how to get the dream homestead these days. thanks your inspiring videos and sharing your journey. I am excited to see how your next adventure turns out!!

Great podcast, I loved the bit at the beginning about the lotions.

Been living off grid since 1992, you will love it. Add Starlink and you are set

All you need ( if forested ) is a milling machine ( harbor freight ) - building materials solved - rainwater harvesting - creek for hydro power - gardening - livestock - thats keepin it cheap and all you need

One thing to remember about properties with decrepit buildings or a bunch of junk all around- it'll take a lot of work, but you can find some beautiful wood for shelving and furniture for your future home, and often in the junk you can find some really cool items that can be used in new ways. Get creative!

I can find property I can afford and I can find properties my wife would be willing to move too. I can’t find both! LoL

In our area, yes, Realtors DO tell you to bid above asking price. Bidding wars also happen, and home cost ends up above; sometimes WAY above asking price. price

I love the idea of buying cheap, uncultivated land and using it as a family campsite while we explore it and begin making it into what we want.

Thick tall shelter belts of trees are a great cure for roads and sticky noses. You want a double or triple row of trees that grow very tall very quickly, and several more rows of shorter bushier trees to fill in the gaps - and all evergreens, of course, so they serve their purpose all year around.

Congrats on your choice!

We hand milk, and use lanolin as our milking lubricant. It keeps teats and hands soft and supple!

I honestly really like the sunny mountain. It’s gorgeous! I would be concerned about snow removal and mud slides but if you don’t mind then I think it’s great!

I am on starlink RV (a lower power version) right now, at it worse it about the same has DSL but when it is working well it better then cable. if the area you in has full avliablity you can get full starlink that is faster more stable and cheaper.

This was great content!

I bought raw land, 22 acres on a small mountain in PA. The land was 55k. Septic, 22k. Electrical service, 15k. Well, 12k. Excavation, 15k. Gravel Driveway, 60k. Thats before any building. If you are moving dirt and the EPA/DEP find out about it, get ready to pay tens of thousands of dollars for storm water management. The driveway actually cost 20k but the permits and storm water management required by the DEP was 40k.

Finding a good property is what is keeping me in our subdivision. We want to stay close to family, so it needs to be in TN, VA or NE. I think I would like a property with next to nothing on it instead of one with structures that need lots of work or might need lots of "junk" removal.

I live in the city right now. But I have enough yard to start container gardening. But my husband and I are starting to look for land here in the next two years to move our Mobil home on. We are wanting to homestead. We broth grew up on a farm or off grid and we’re sick of living in the city and want to get back out there. City life isn’t the way we want to raise our children.

We've been living offgrid for 2 years. The first thing we bought..and it was prior to moving..was a small complux shower. Ill do without alot. But a hot shower isn't on that list.

For sure… I definitely have had realtors tell us to bid more. Once in CT and definitely now in California

My realtor absolutely did pressure me into paying higher. I was younger and ended up overpaying. I thought I could trust her because she was a friend of the family, but I learnt that day to not trust your realtor! I ended up finding out later that the other bids were at asking price. I initially said I was comfortable paying 5k over, she talked me up to 16.5k over asking

Lotions that incorporate water have preservatives since water will support growth of microorganisms. Kind of similar to storing water for emergencies, it has to be treated to stop or delay growth. Lotion bars don't incorporate water. Thus no need for preservatives. Thing is oils and butters can go rancid given enough time, but preservatives don't impact that.

Speaking as an Aussie, that bald-top mountain would scare me. Bushfires travel fast and hot going uphill, and whichever side the fire comes from it's going to roar up that hill and incinerate whatever's up the top.

We didn’t have a drive on the 10 acres we lived on and we got stuck often even with 4 wheel drive.

I'll settle for just watching you folks 🤣👌

Y'all could call the property: The Bald Eagle Congratulations and all the best

Not opposed to green energy at all. But Anthracite Coal for home heating in cold areas is ubeatable. My stove burns for twelve hours at a time. It's great! Especially in the face of all the cost increases. Off grid I'd be looking at a stove or boiler that could run on wood or coal. Love watching/listening to your podcast. Good Luck with everything and God Bless!

You could also ask among family members to see if they need someone to keep an eye on their place for them, especially as they aren’t living there anymore but aren’t interested in selling or are unable to sell because of how a parent or grandparent set things up in their will. I have cousins who live elsewhere and not in the family home which is some distance from the nearest town, they do visit often and maintain the property with general upkeep, but that is all… It’s just sitting there empty most of the time, only used for family gatherings and other things. If you have family like that, then you can see if they will let you live on the back if they property in a yurt or something that won’t damage the property….this way someone will be there to keep an eye on things and they don’t have to worry about intruders or wildlife doing damage to the buildings… Your talk about remote and hard to access land made me chuckle, I have a close friend who has a cabin on a 100 acres roughly that she loves and I love as well. It’s not exactly remote as the driveway connects to a highway, the hard to access part is what made me chuckle as her property is mostly made up of beaver ponds and dams and almost constant flooding whenever the ‘neighbours’ are making improvements to their dam. The cabin is on a hump of an island off to one side of the pond with only footbridge access to it. Parts of the driveway get washed out by the beavers and winter thaw, so it needs almost constant repair… She only visits the place to spend a day or stay overnight for a few days, but doesn’t live there permanently. When I go with her, I am automatically filled with ideas and plans for the place. I don’t mind the beavers as they aren’t doing anyone harm… I can easily live there full time and tell her all the time, but she doesn’t believe me. I spent roughly 11 -12 years living in an ‘off-grid’ house build on the back end of my grandmothers property, any electricity we had came from Nana’s place, we used an outhouse for a bathroom, hauled water over from Nana’s house and took our baths in her bathroom…. I loved it (to a point) and miss that lifestyle, so am partially prepared to do it again on my own…

I thought you were crazy when you picked Crawdad creek. You liked it for the feel. When you cut things down enough to get the cows in it might have the same feel. Also with a busy road you would be gambling that a neighbor didn't sell their land and a mess of condos would be planted there.

Most counties have a GIS system that you can access through their county site and that's a free way to see property lines, ownership, taxes, deeds, tons of data. Not every county posts all of the information, but they should have a lot of it.

Organic Jojoba oil is so good for dry skin! I use a lot of it!

Interesting show. Looking forward at what you will do with your diamond in the rough.

Looking for one now…. Should have years ago I’ve wanted to. Looking in Oklahoma Missouri would love Idaho too

I know Danbury!!! I’m from Wilton!! Now I’m in San Francisco, I was just back visiting 😊😊 why not just homestead with a garden😊💜 That’s what I want to do! Eating animals is expensive, and you need more expensive health care when you eat meat 😊😊

They do too!

Yes in a competitive market like we have been in, realtors will let you know to offer more than listing price. You have to get a place, it’s crazy. We offered $20,000 over listing on a property and got out bidded. After 3 years of looking and putting in offers we finally moved from our little city corner lot to our 7 acre homestead 2 years ago. Way better then we could have imagined, so worth the wait!

I just sent you an email about this then opened up KZfaq and this video was the second one 😳

Can you do another podcast episode on more of what to do if you have land that you cant live on yet? Also what you can do to make money on that property as far as homesteading/animals/food production goes.

I started doing delinquent tax auctions. Haven’t gotten lucky yet but I go to another next Monday.

Every time I think I find the perfect 10 acres on Zillow, the location is 3 1/2 hours away from the closest farmers market lol 😂

you could use solar to pump water at top and water droping to produce electricity at night

Here in NC the legal is pretty easy with regards to mineral, water etc rights. In NC you own your property 100%. Up to infinity and down to infinity, legally speaking. Easements and all that other jazz are a different issue.

Aust is right. Realtors will suggest more in a hot market

Love the onxmaps suggestion. I'm going to get that when the time comes! Also, Is that an imperial stout you were enjoying at 13:59? :)

Lol on the big pharma mini rant. Most chapstick has something in it that makes your lips peel!

I’m in mystic. We’re looking for land. Not opposed to leaving CT

Hahahaha oh my goodness the realtor absolutely told us to offer $50grand more than asking! Market is overwhelming 😔

Realtors definitely do advise people to offer more these days

Lol 3 mins in n im dying lol i hear myself when u talk. I dont even know ur names yet but i found ur video when i started looking at How to find my land n obtain it. Hoping ur video helps

Hey, thank you for this video! ... and borscht is Ukrainian origin soup, made with red beetroots :)

What worries me most is frittering away all i,ve saved on lawyers,real-estate people,surveyers,all kinds of people who you have to deal with their hands out.l,ve met people who spent thousands just on permits n infections n tests n getting some guy to sign his name on paperwork,etc.and still did,nt whind up with anything. how do I avoid throwing my money away ?