A wise man knows how little he knows!
5 acres in Alaska with a home on it cheap$$$
Comments
12/27/2008 - 16:58
Alaska Land
Just a comment on Alaska Land. You can buy remote parcels of land in Alaska offered by the state. And, you can buy it online with a credit card if you can believe it.
http://dnr.alaska.gov/mlw/landsale/
You can buy some very cheap land in Alaska, but most of the remote packages are exactly that--remote! Dogsled team or seaplane, maybe atv,snowmobile to get you there.
Alaska owns all mineral rights to everyone's land, but no property tax on most of these parcels.
Unless you have the fortitude of Dick Proenneke(maybe Kola could do it), it might be a bit daunting...
Ron
12/27/2008 - 17:07
Alaska anyone?
Wow, it sounds very nice.
It's my understanding its pretty dang cold up there (for a long time too) and the summers are very short. I love the four seasons but I think Alaska may be a bit too much for me. The cold, snow and winds often make simple chores very difficult.
I don't mine the remoteness at all...in fact I kinda wish my place was even more remote than it is. But its the long winter that would be a challenge for me up there. Lots of folks have been migrating up there..in somuch, that many locals are upset and trying to deter folks from moving up.
The price is definitely a tickler tho'.
Kola
12/29/2008 - 15:34
If you're willing to go out into the hills of WV
They've got some cheap land there as well. Here's a place for $850 per acre with free gas (which makes the decision of what type of furnace to use an easy one :-))
http://www.idxvow.com/cgi-bin/ncwvidx/allservice/mls.cgi?view=land.cgi&show=yes&mls=10061311
This one's a little more per acre, but it comes with a cabin you could use while you're building a real house:
http://sunnysiderealestate.homesandland.com/Listing.cfm?MagId=ANY&ListingId=11841807&WebsiteId=9336
I wish I could take that land and move it about 4 hours to the east! Otherwise I'd have a 4.5 to 5 hours commute every day, each way. I guess I could sleep on the weekends? ;-)
-Josh
12/29/2008 - 19:13
Yeah I don't know what the deal with the gas is
I've talked to several people, including some realtors, and nobody knows (or they don't get back to me, in the case of some of the realtors :-))
I've got a couple theories:
1) There's a well on the property and the owner negotiated a certain amount of free gas per year in exchange for selling/leasing the right to drill
2) There's a pipeline on the property and the owner negotiated a certain amount of free gas per year in exchange for letting the pipeline come through his property
But I don't really know! I do know that there seem to be quite a few of these properties out that way, that say "free gas as per owner!" (or just "free gas APO!")
-Josh
12/29/2008 - 19:41
Free Gas
The "free gas" works this way:
The gas company owns the mineral rights to the land. You, as the 'surface property owner' own the rest. In return for the gas, they negotiate 20-30 year agreements for all the natural gas you can use. It can equal a lot of money saved, but the company is able to, depending on the agreement, dig multiple wells without any input from you. They have to stay 200 feet away from your home/structures, but that's about it. Once the well is built, they will also have to maintain it and keep it clear of trees/debris, so that will mean heavy equipment on your property.
All things considered, it's a nice deal if you want the home full-time and lay the property out accordingly, or if you get to speak to the company and renegotiate the contract perhaps.
12/29/2008 - 21:22
from experience
"KEEP IT SIMPLE"
Take it from me... Be very very careful... My grand parents had rural land with free natural gas like the ad. All was great for 10 years, the company had their well and Grand parents had natural gas line to their house. Obviously, that was used for all the heating and cooking. Life was good. Then the company wanted to drill a new well as that one was nearing its end. They came and surveyed and drills temp wells all over their property and rolled in heavy machinery, tons of noise and decimated their lovely acreage that they had preserved. In the process, they crushed the septic tank, ripped and tore up fencing and demolished considerable number of timber. They went to court to halt the onslaught. The court ruled in favor of the gas company. They had stayed clear of 150 feet of the house as stated in the agreement they inherited from purchase of the property. The law views mineral rights far more important than idle land, so unless you are using the land for some purpose... ie farming, grazing, domestic use, the right to mine the mineral supersedes your property ownership. In the aftermath, it cost them over 50K in legal fees and more importantly, the value of their property dropped by over 70%. They did did have a new well and the company did pay for the new gas line to the house and they have free gas still... But the aggravation of 2 years of commercial drilling they say was not worth it. 5 years later and another 10K in costs to restore the land, My Grand parents finally had the peaceful home around their 100 acres.
Iwas going to post this up for everyone but members first
here is a great opportunity(i think) already set up for you
read the ad :) http://anchorage.craigslist.org/for/960371426.html
http://www.loghomebuilders.org/land-picture < my land
There is no substitute for experience!
Go get some!