There’s a huge number of these kinds of homes in the southwest. They’re pretty inexpensive and they usually sit on the market for months. They’re in no way investment properties - mine sold a decade later for what I paid for it after sitting on the market for a year.
You have to go into it with eyes open, though. If you’re lucky, you will have your own well on the property. If not, you’ll have a shared well or have to haul your own water. That changes the way you think about showers and laundry. You’re in the middle of nowhere, and your neighbors may range from the nice folks who live a mile over that way to the black helicopter conspiracy theorists. You’ll probably see them rarely but hear them doing target practice in their backyard. Wildlife will very much be a thing. Winters can be rough because if you get snowed in, you’re not going anywhere without owning a plow or snow vehicle. Summers are freaking hot. Water will increasingly be an issue. Internet will be unavailable unless you have a satellite service. You’re going to potentially have a problem with cell service, too.
Some of the problems can be solved by throwing money at it, others are just things you have to adapt to.
There are a fair number of these properties in California. $40k for a postage stamp lot with a tiny framed structure on it (maybe). Oh, in the middle of the desert where the high is above 110F recently.
This is probably a stupid question but do they have running water? I assume they can use generators or solar if they’re not on the power grid, septic tank, satellite internet. But water seems tricky. And mail, but I guess you collect it from town. And how far is town? Surely an hours drive would be the limit of what’s reasonable?
I watched a home reno show on HGTV where one episode was kinda out in bumfuck California and they had a big tank for water and a truck would come and refill it routinely.
Middle of nowhere? No neighbors? Sign me up. Though if probably just tear the house down
There’s a huge number of these kinds of homes in the southwest. They’re pretty inexpensive and they usually sit on the market for months. They’re in no way investment properties - mine sold a decade later for what I paid for it after sitting on the market for a year.
You have to go into it with eyes open, though. If you’re lucky, you will have your own well on the property. If not, you’ll have a shared well or have to haul your own water. That changes the way you think about showers and laundry. You’re in the middle of nowhere, and your neighbors may range from the nice folks who live a mile over that way to the black helicopter conspiracy theorists. You’ll probably see them rarely but hear them doing target practice in their backyard. Wildlife will very much be a thing. Winters can be rough because if you get snowed in, you’re not going anywhere without owning a plow or snow vehicle. Summers are freaking hot. Water will increasingly be an issue. Internet will be unavailable unless you have a satellite service. You’re going to potentially have a problem with cell service, too.
Some of the problems can be solved by throwing money at it, others are just things you have to adapt to.
Got all excited there, imagining the sound of black helicopters doing target practice in my neighbours’ yards.
Then I remembered how language works.
N.B. hypothetical neighbours - mine are just fine, but even if they weren’t I wouldn’t want them gunned down in their homes.
There are a fair number of these properties in California. $40k for a postage stamp lot with a tiny framed structure on it (maybe). Oh, in the middle of the desert where the high is above 110F recently.
This is probably a stupid question but do they have running water? I assume they can use generators or solar if they’re not on the power grid, septic tank, satellite internet. But water seems tricky. And mail, but I guess you collect it from town. And how far is town? Surely an hours drive would be the limit of what’s reasonable?
I watched a home reno show on HGTV where one episode was kinda out in bumfuck California and they had a big tank for water and a truck would come and refill it routinely.
I suspect you may be able to put in a well but I doubt they have city water.