Jan 11
21
Finding land for sale off the grid used to be much simpler. Living off the grid was considered by many to be an alternative lifestyle choice that didn’t warrant their approval. But, times have changed…
Now, finding your off grid home has become a goal of many families, and for good reason.
You can find cheaper land, a larger parcel than you could have before, and have space enough to do all of those things you have always dreamed of…
Whether it’s that dream log home, with the little stream meandering through the garden, or a simple home set back from the road for privacy and peace, it is all possible when you embrace off grid living.
Let’s examine the why first…
For anyone who has approached a real estate agent with the notion of finding land for sale off the grid, it can be a rather daunting task.
You really have to know why you should in the first place, before pitching in and looking. The most obvious reason is that land is much cheaper when you shop off grid.
Also, the parcels tend to be much larger in size for this smaller price tag, (sounds good so far…). The only price of admission is the fact that you are going to have to provide your own power source.
The good news is that you can do that with the difference between the purchase price of a grid tie piece of land and the cost of off grid land. Investing the difference leads to one very large benefit, you will only have to do this once.
No more ongoing costs associated with your electric bill, no more monthly bill at all. Just a one time cost of installation (or even build a wind generator and build solar panels too).
In essence you have got rid of a major monthly expense and replaced it with an investment. That is positive family financial planning, and will contribute greatly to your family living debt free as well.
And those are just the initial reasons why… imagine the independence you will feel watching that free power pumped into your home.
With a larger piece of land you can also incorporate a big garden to lower your food costs, cut your own firewood to heat your home in the winter, and even cut the very logs that will build that dream log home of yours.
It is all possible.
As mentioned earlier it is getting a bit more difficult to find land for sale off the grid though. More and more families are realizing that they can do just that and embracing the idea.
To have better control of the family finances and well being is a powerful motivator. It used to drive Jane and I crazy to always have to pay for everything, we were very resourceful people and wanted to provide for ourselves at home.
The basic needs of a family should not always come with a price tag other than working for them. Of course, in this age of specialization, this view does not hold economic sense,… but the first time you build something for yourself, the first time you put a log in the woodstove and realize you did it yourself, the first time you look at the monthly bills and realize… hey, no electric bill, then you will know why.
It all makes sense and in a balanced life the physical must balance the mental, emotional, social, financial and other aspects of our life.
We have all become rather unbalanced in a sense, with the mental and social aspects taking over.
There is a real curative power in swinging an axe, or pounding nails, and of course gardening… this is the real reason why, because you will feel alive again.
Property that is far from the crowds and streetlights is also great for wildlife viewing.
While birds and small animals frequent the suburbs we have had frequent visitors of beavers (they live on our property), deer, moose and even the odd black bear wanders through.
Such exotic birds as pine grosbeaks, several warblers, whip-poor-wills, Great grey owls and the eastern bittern are all frequent visitors.
You just don’t see these more elusive birds in town, they only venture from the forest when they feel safe. Our favorite bird has to be the rose-breasted grosbeak, not for his flashy red necktie that accentuates his dapper black and white feathered suit, but for his magnificent song.
Like a robin that has had years of opera lessons both male and females belt out a morning greeting and evening farewell that is long remembered. Everything, every other bird, every animal, and ourselves stops to listen…
This is the real reason Jane and I are so into living off the grid, we love our animal and bird friends who so easily coexist in the environment that we are part of here.
It may be a bit more difficult than when we first began but finding land off the grid is certainly worth it.
From a more practical standpoint, how exactly do you go about doing this, finding your off grid home?
decide on exactly how much your budget includes
call a family meeting to discuss the needs (and wants) of each family member.
Talk about living off the grid and what it means to each person before you start.Finding the real estate agent is actually the easy part.
Simply take the list of requirements that you came up with in your family meeting and then take a drive to the area in which you want to live. Grab the local newspaper and hunt up the real estate agents who work in the area.
You can bet they will be advertising as this is the only way that you will find them. Most often their offices will be in a small central town in the area.
For ourselves, there are 2 offices and 3 other agents who work in the area. A talk with each one brought up a good number of possibilities for us.
Granted we do live in a tourist area, Land O Lakes, but land is still plentiful and relatively inexpensive, just glancing through the listings we found 10 acres for $12,000, 3 acres on a lake for $23,000, and an old farm of 143 acres for $48,000. That is only slightly more expensive than when we first went shopping here in 1993.
For anyone wanting to discuss living off the grid just drop us a line, we will be glad to help.
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Les
I was wondering if living off the grid consists of paying any propertie taxes and insurance each year .. and all the info i could get thank you Dustin , Ballance
Hi Dustin,
Yes, when you own land you will pay land taxes. The great part is that taxes on rural and off grid property is much less than in town, thankfully, just one more benefit to living off the grid.
Insurance is a personal matter, home and content insurance is relatively inexpensive and should be looked at just like your car insurance, a necessity that we have to put up with.
We could debate the insurance issue as not conforming to real off grid principles, but you have to protect your family first, our motto is always safety first.
It is a lot of work, and you should protect your investment in what it costs to live off grid and your home.
I’d love to live off the grid with my husband and child but I can’t afford to do it Les. How does someone who is currently poor come up with tens of thousands of dollars to buy the land, and even more money to build a house on it?
Hi Heather,
It is not as difficult as it may seem at first to start living off the grid.
There is land (very inexpensive land) in every state and province.
Find a company that deals in recreational property, rural property, or even tax sales (municipal and state), all of these are great options.
We can still buy property in our area, and many others for only $1000 down, and payments under $200 a month.
Ask yourself this, would you rather pay rent of much more than this? forever?
We didn’t want to so we set up a plan to live off the grid, to start over if you like…
We are more than happy to help you.
Where do you live first of all? and next, what do you live on now? surely this option would save you money, it is long term to be sure. Off Grid Living is not easy at first, it takes energy and initiative, commitment and a family that is willing to work together.
Hi, we are very interested in living off the grid, I was interested in your reply to Heather. I currently live in Clermont, FL not to far from Land O Lakes. I was wondering where is the best place for me to find the “very inexpensive land” you talk about? We have $1000. (maybe slightly more) that we can put down, but haven’t had any luck in locating any land. Look forward to your reply.
Regards,
wanting to get off the grid
Hi Pauline, thanks for your interest in living off the grid.
Finding land close by to where you may presently live can be tough. Jane and I in fact moved over 300 miles away from where we originally grew up. We just kept looking and talking to real estate agents, building contractors and local folks until we found an area we could afford. We are not personally familiar with your exact area (it would not be possible to know every area).
We actually took a bit of a road trip when we were looking, camped out and looked around every day for a month.
Your criteria will probably be different than ours for living off the grid too. We had small children, and wanted to build our own home, provide our own electricity and fuel, and have a good garden site, that took a while to find.
We would be able to help you better if you worked out your own exact criteria for a property, and your current situation.
All the best,
Les and Jane
I think this is among the most vital information for me. And i am glad reading your article. But wanna remark on some general things, The web site style is perfect, the articles is really nice, learned alot about living off the grid.
In searching for ways to post our land for sale we came across your site. Great information being shared here!
We have land for sale in Wyoming. 160 acres to be exact and they are situated as contiguous, 40 acre parcels. We would be quite willing to sell an individual parcel, or two, or all.
My husband and I purchased our land with the intent of moving and building, but we have experienced a serious medical issue which is not going away any time soon, if ever.
Being the environmental planning field, and my husband being a cartographer, we spent over two years searching for the right location. We believe this is it…the land overlies the High Plains aquifer; is accessed off an oil road maintained by the county; is situated on a dead end and lies between two very nice communities. It is just around the bend from Gray Rocks Reservoir where people find nice fish for consumption.
The air is clean; the water is clean; no livestock areas; views of Medicine Bow National Forest; 40 minutes from I25 and the forest; south facing lots; gently rolling terrain; perfect for passive solar.
It’s a perfect location for privacy, yet not so far out that one is out of reach for emergency medical attention, which is a big concern when people are seeking off the grid life styles.
If you’re interested, and we would be blessed if you are, please write to us at: wyomingland3 @ gmail.com for a zip file we can send you. Or, write with any questions you may have. (our gmail address is just for communications about our land)
Prices are heartily negotiable.
Best Regards,
Steve and Mary
My husband and I are looking to start living off the grid and to buy a small parcel of land in eastern or southeastern oregon. 1-4 acres would be plenty. We are having a tough time finding something with no building codes without being too remote with accessibility issues. Any help would be appreciated. We are looking for something under $15k.
It really is rare to encounter an experienced person in whom you will surely have some faith, nice living off the grid info. In the world in the present day, nobody really cares about showing others the way in this issue. How lucky I am to have definitely found a really wonderful web page as this. It’s people like you exactly who make a genuine difference nowadays through the tips they talk about.
I have a beautiful off-the-grid home on 48 acres for sale in Southern Colorado.We built the home and are living off the grid for 4 years. thanks for this site
Great post, we are really looking forward to living off the grid! My husband,, four children and I purchased a duplex in a small PA town a year ago. We are fixing it up and selling it in hopes to buy a piece of land off the grid. We are both artist and I love gardening and all things green. I think being an artist is great for this type of living and I hope our dream comes true not only for us but for our future generations. My husband and I are young and parent-less so we have had no one to teach us or tell us how to do things like this. I wish there were more info like this out there! If you have any info that you think would be of help please email us! Thanks Again!!
Completely
OFF the GRID
and in small growing town. Just off Route 66 in beautiful New Mexico. Hard to find acreage a short walk (1/4 mile) to pristine lake with no, none, nada livestock or agricultural drain-off so stays full or close to it. Ready for alternative energy structures only. This will be the first all-alternative energy community for days. Have contractor and energy set-ups ready to go. Water is the next gold rush so make a move and look forward to being off the grid forever.
Hi all,
I have a property and have been living off the grid for the last 15 years, it has been the best part of my family and my life. But, do to business I am going to have to sell it and move out of state. The property is in the Santa Cruz mountains in Ca, 25 minutes from silicon valley. 10 acres with a legal 1850 sqf house, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, loft, mad room, laundry room, solar, two wells, two creeks, lots of usable land, fruit trees, etc. if you are interesting in off the grid let me know.
can you tell me where the off grid property you mentioned are listed
Hi, There are several places to find property for living off the grid. In Canada you could try Dignam and in the U.S United Real Estate has several great choices for off grid.
We are trying to find a good property in Nebraska to build an “off the grid” home. Any ideas on where to start looking?
Hello, We have been informed that there is lots of rural land that is suitable for living off the grid in Nebraska, simply consult with real estate agents who deal in rural, cottage or recreational land. Let us know if you need any other specific help with your off the grid move.