I have a lot of retrospect - and some regret - about the off grid property that we purchased to homestead on. When you start looking at off grid properties, it becomes very overwhelming and it is easy to focus on just the positives, like when you are out shopping for a car. You take it for a test drive and everything seems great, until you sign on the dotted line. Once you get it home and really check it out, you begin to notice all sorts of issues.
This is the same for property! You go to the property, inspect it a few times, convince yourself of how great it is, and then sign on the dotted line. Once you move onto the property, you will start noticing all the issues about it, things you would never have even thought of before.
That is why I am writing this post, to help you navigate through the checklist of what to look for when buying off grid property.
This is a continuation article from my recent post, The Five Systems You Need For Living Off The Grid. This is the first of the five systems I talk about. Check it out!
Before you even THINK about buying that off grid property you have been eyeing, you need to think of the legal stuff. And there is a TON of legal stuff to deal with here in America. It's seriously annoying and can be life changing if you choose a property in a highly regulated area.
Legal Stuff To Watch Out For:
Property Taxes - take a look at what the previous owner was paying in taxes. Make sure you are prepared to settle that bill twice a year. However, you may be in a seperate tax bracket than the last owner. Our property taxes went through the roof, because the previous owner was elderly so she received a much lower rate. Also, consider if there are any backtaxes on the property that need to be paid.
Within City Limits - I recommend not getting property within a city limit, because if you do, you will have to be mindful of both city and county building codes. Also, you need to think about how strict the building codes are on the property you are looking at. Property in high value areas are usually crawling with inspectors, ready to bust you for not filing permits and not building to code. Look for something remote, in a low value area where neighbors are not upgrading homes. This way you can fly under the radar.
FEMA Flood Zones - If you are trying to finance an off grid property and need help from the bank, you will strike out if you in a FEMA flood zone. The flooding maps are outdated and obsolete, so even if you think you are not in a flood zone, you very well could be according to FEMA.
Big Tip! Live in the area of your prospective property for ONE YEAR before purchasing!
This is probably one of the biggest regrets when I bought my property. I did not live in the area for one year, so I did not experience the four seasons. Each climate is different, down to a small radius, that no information online can tell you how exact it is.
Our property is by an old riverbed, so all the cold air sinks in from the valley. Our climate is usually 10 to 20 degrees colder in the winter than five miles up the road! This affects our growing season, pushing us out an entire month of gardening. That is a huge deal for us.
We also have a very long dry season, much longer than we anticipated. Our property is so lush and green and beautiful in the rainy season:
But the dry season lasts for about 6-8 months, and it is dry as a bleached bone in the desert sun.
Wow, what a difference!
Because the weeds grow so tall during the wet season, and then dry out so quickly, we now have a large swath of our property covered in dry brush that is posing a fire hazard. But we have not been able to afford a tractor to mow it down. Not a good situation.
Can You Take Care of the Property?
Can you afford the equipment needed to take care of your property? Do you have the money to build the fences, rent the equipment, purchase tractors and farming equipment? It is so much more expensive to afford the materials and equipment needed to properly maintain a large chunk of property.
Off grid hidden expense: Equipment Maintenance
If you can afford tractors and mowers and tillers, do you have the know how to fix them when they break down? Do you know how to change oil and filters? If not, you will be paying big time to the local mechanic to care for your equipment.
These are all the things I really did not consider when we purchased 30 acres. We got such a great deal on the property, we bought it up. But now, we don't have the necessary equipment to really maintain it, and likely won't be able to get it for quite a while.
This small John Deere tractor costs $30,000 new in America, and that doesn't include attachments. You can find a used tractor for around $15,000 but you better know how to work on it, because tractors like to break down.
Don't get in over your head
I suggest going with a smaller parcel, maybe no more than 10 acres, so you can maintain it easier than something big like 30+ acres. Also, purchase something that naturally takes care of itself which doesn't require much maintenance.
Here are some more factors to consider that I will cover in other posts, as this one is now getting quite long:
- Road access and road maintenance
- Fresh water for drinking, gardening, and livestock
- Natural building materials
- Quality of soil
- Sunlight for solar power
- Wind for wind power
- Natural food sources
- Adjacent access to public lands
I hope you found my article helpful and informative. Please give me a follow if you would like to stay updated on my content.
If you want to learn more about off grid living, visit my website, www.MaximumOffGrid.com.
Thanks for reading!
Sincerely, Regina Cal.
There really is a lot to consider. I think the tip on living in the area for a year is a good one. My mum nearly bought a property, then when she spoke to some locals she discovered that it regularly flooded. That didn't come up on the required searches.
I've featured your post in the Garden Journal Weekly curation.
Thanks for featuring my post! It's true, we think we can find everything we need to know about the place online, but the reality is we have to live and visit with locals to really get the truth. She lucked out.
Amazing article however except for one thing.
The environmental damage caused by the production of solar panels and they're extremely limited lifespan as well as the toxicity of batteries and the needing to mine for all of the rare earth minerals needed to construct a solar power as well as the charger wires and of course the inverter and battery system.
Everything comes with its cost and damage to the world especially if you're buying solar panels that are made in China built with human rights violations....
That being said to truly be off grid you have to rely in these technologies and when the only thing that you have is the sun you might as well look at the totality of environmental damage and decide that going solar is important.
If I were you I would start looking into a recessed greenhouse. The warmth of your Earth during winter will stabilize the temperatures. Putting some rabbits at the bottom allows a protein and essential amino acid food source as well as bunnies love cold and thrive very well in cooler temperatures. Plus bunny poop rocks as fertilizer and is the best thing ever.
Rabbits also increase the carbon dioxide in that area allowing your plants to breathe and have extra carbon dioxide for growth even if the cold air has you not permitted to ventilate due to temperature losses.
And always with equipment start small. If you are living on a grid you should know how to do basic construction basic mechanics as well as a huge list of skills it is not just as easy as having a dream and throwing money at it. If you really think that off-grid living is awesome start by living in a rural community first before you attempt to make the full switch to off grid as most people are horrified at the change in your lifestyle.
Awesome job and I can't wait to see more quality content from you.
Thank you for the informative comment! I agree, solar power is ugly. I am really sick of our system! Our inverter fried because a mouse got into it and chewed the boards. It's going to be $1500 to get it fixed back up. Beyond the extreme expense of solar, like you said, it is totally toxic! It really isn't green at all. I think becoming less dependent on electricity helps a lot, and alternatives like wind or water turbines are good alternatives, which can be DIY. I am planning to downsize our solar and look into getting out of the camper and building an earthbag home, something that regulates temperature naturally.
Actually the best way I can give you would be using traditional wood burning and heating however you are in the desert so that complicates things however you do have quite a bit of brush in the area that you could repurpose for power generation and start thinking thermoelectric generators to make electricity off of your heating.
There is quite a bit of burnable stuff in the area and since you said you have a fire hazard start collecting everything close to the house and start working outwards!
And absolutely you're definitely going to need some small tools to begin and then as you grow continually upgrading your tools is definitely going to be a must.
There are so many alternatives that you can fit to your geographical environment.
Then there is also the solar heaters that you could also slave to thermoelectric generator
The hardest part is the cooling. Our camper heats up like a tin can in the sun! And I wouldn't be too worried about it, but we have pets in the house that can't go outside. An earthship would be ideal. Once the pets are gone, we won't have to worry about cooling too much.
There is ways of running piping in the dirt to cool air and then fan it into your house.
Some ways of cooling in the desert are pretty simple. And yep dig in! Earth is your friend.
You got good water access?
We have a well, which provides us good water. We have a good aquifer underneath us. I think the next big step is building a sandbag earth ship. That is my goal. But it is an overwhelming one!
Biggest advice for that... Start. And one shovel at a time.
Mike ohler? The author of the $50 underground house and an amazing architecture genius.
Yep I'm right! I met him at rainbow Washington State 2011 and got his books and one signed. I've got an open welcome.
Just get shovel out and start digging one shovel at a time and make a bigger hole and draw your lines out and visualize where you're going but start to remove material slowly and consistently over time.
Up until you can get more funding to get in an excavator that would be an interesting fundraising goal for enabling you...
Excellent post! Here in Mass we have something called 61A (B,C,D) and it drastically lowers your tax bill, IF you meet the qualifications AND maintain them. But it would affect the amount if someone is checking out property taxes.
Thank you! That is interesting to know. In Arizona, and most other places, if you qualify as a small farm, you can get your property tax bill lowered. It doesn't take all that much to qualify, so I am going to look into that.
great post! keep em coming!! and top pics.. in particular
YES!! yes yes.. omg! <3
Thank you! I have so much content in my head that I am working to get out into the world. My website has a lot of it, and I am catching up here. I appreciate it!
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