Things to consider buying land for your off grid dream

Things to consider when buying land for your off grid homestead

While looking for a piece of property to start your dream homestead there are all kinds of things to think about and consider and this is what I am sharing in this post.

How much money do you have to spend on property?

The first thing to consider is your budget, because if you can't afford it, it is completely out of the question. Our budget was quite small because we were buying a land with no lender involved and we insisted on remaining debt free but we found this was the first filter we set we we set to the internet for our search. Soon after you start searching, you will get a feel for how many acres that will get you in your desired area. But also consider the expenses that will come once you purchase the property. A great questions to ask yourself is 'Will I need a lot of land cleared for a driveway and how much will that cost?'

How many acres do you need to homestead?

For some, this number is set in stone because they have specific plans for how they want to use their property. For others, like ourselves, this number was negotiable. We knew we needed at least one acre to homestead, have a garden, keep a flock of chickens, but we knew we wanted up to 10 acres. We ended up purchasing a 2 acre lot but after a few months had the opportunity to purchase another 6 acres. We now have 8 acres to homestead on and because our home is so small, it's actually enough forest to heat our home with firewood from our own property. I'm also really relieved we ended up with 8 because now we have a flock of sheep on an acre and are working at clearing another acre to eventually grow our own hay field.

But, how many acres do you need to reach your goals, or accomplish what you want to do on that piece of land? How close would you want a neighbour? What if the neighbouring property was clear cut, would you still love the views? What about future goals, are you also going to end up with a flock of sheep or a family milking cow?

Story time: I have a beautiful and inspiring friend named Amanda, follow her here, who moved from another province and started building her dream farm on a mountain. It's absolutely gorgeous and I enjoy watching her farm flourish. The neighbouring lot behind their field was clear cut and completely raped by the forestry industry. Her dreamy forest views changed dramatically with just a small, almost transparent buffer between her farm and the land that was destructed. When land shopping, consider what is beyond the property lines, will it affect you if it changes?

How remote do you want to be?

Basically, how far do you want to drive when you need something from the hardware store or run out of something? If you want to be really remote you will need to be willing and have transportation to drive far distances to what you need, whether that is a supermarket, hardware store or for other shopping needs.

It's also important to know is how long it will take emergency services to get to your property in case of an accident and if you are capable of providing CPR and first aid is you are very remote. We wanted to be around 200km to a town with shopping centres and hardware stores so we can plan a day trip to get everything we need but also to be close to our amazing homeschool community. We ended up about 150kms to two different cities and are only 5kms away from a small village with all the necessities.

What does the ideal property look like?

There are all different kinds of properties out there, some are flat, on a hillside, pasture or wooded. Some are susceptible to flooding or are just really wet and boggy. What does your property need to look like in order for your to accomplish your homesteading goals? If you want to raise cows, you may want to look for cleared land but cows can also thrive on silviculture pastures. If you want trees for harvesting your own firewood, you may want a wooded lot.

Story time: The front 2 acres of our property is where we built our cabin and homestead but it was also logged around 30 years ago. The other 6 acres are old growth forest and we not logged. The area we cleared was almost impossible to get around. It was full of stunted birch, maple and spruce trees that were starving for sunlight and felt more like 'bush' than a wooded lot. It was SO time consuming clearing by hand, stick by stick.

Do you need municipal services to your property?

If you still want to rely on municipal services for plowing your road, providing water to the property or for sewer services you will want to add this to your list of considerations. Usually off grid dreamers are trying to break away from these services. If you don't want to pay the large amount to have a septic system put in place you will need to be certain you can legally have a composting toilet or outhouse on your property or find a property with a septic system already in place. The same goes for your water and having a well drilled, harvesting rainwater or spring water from the property.

Some great questions to ask are:

Will this road be plowed in the winter?

Is there road side garbage pick up? If not, how will you dispose of your trash?

Is there a natural spring on the property to collect potable water?

We really lucked out with our property! Our road, although terrible, it is managed year round by the Department of Transportation, we have weekly garbage pick up and is even on a school bus route.

What are the Building Codes?

You'll always want to follow the rules, especially if your forever home is what's at stake. In some areas you are not permitted to build tiny houses, ridiculous right?! Can you build the kind of building you want on this property?

Does the Zoning and By-laws allow you to do what you want?

Some municipalities or townships restrict what you can do on your property and if you can use it as a business, residence or a farm. There are also by-laws that will restrict the amount of chickens, larger animals, and if you can even have a family daily cow. Being aware of these by-laws is so essential to finding your property if you are planning to homestead.

When shopping for property to build alternative homes, of off grid homes, you'll want to look for words like unorganized townships, local service districts or parishes. These are generally the areas where there isn't a governing entity overseeing your build. However you will still need a building permit and follow your province's or state's building codes.

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