How can I find afforable land?

For context, I live in Northeast Ohio. I have a regular day job, but I have always dreamed of having a small farm, either for hobby or for potentially developing into something more. Right now, I'm really just looking for a 1+ acre piece of land I can experiment with different farming and livestock on. I know I'll enjoy it but I don't know if it's something I'd want to/be able to do as a career. But since bringing this all up to my husband, he suggested maybe we go in on a piece of land together so maybe one day we could build a home on it. I like this idea so I'm not buying land now and then buying again later, but I also know that finding more ideal land like that might come at a higher price.

The other option right now is this one property. It's about 2 acres and within my budget to buy cash, but there are giant electrical towers running through the property and an easement with the electrical company. You also can't build anything on it but sheds. Someone told me there's a risk of cancer being by those towers but I've seen mixed results when looking that up online. This property might be good to get started right away, but long term we can't build on it. But I wonder if it be better to get my foot in the door rather than keep putting this off.

So with all that said, where can I find affordable land? Is there some secret? We don't have a super high budget and I like to buy in cash or as close to it as I can. We are accepting of less than ideal land, as long as some of it is cleared and there isn't some other major problem. Many 1 acre properties in out county and surrounding are $50k+.

If you have any suggestions for helping me find cheap land, please shoot them my way. Besides internet searches, I don't know where to begin. Do I need to link up with a realtor? Are there in-person or online land auctions I don't know about?

Any advice helps. Thank you.

Also please feel free to critique my farming pipe dream.

What I did years ago when I knew like you that I wanted to get out of a neighborhood and see what all I could do on real land, I got approved for a Constuction loan. It doesn't have to be the kind with rules about when/what to build, it's just a higher interest rate typically, and you don't have to build until you're ready. I went shopping in a pretty low range, but I made sure that I was looking at land that already had some sort of crap shack/tear down on it. Because to me that meant services (water, septic/sewer, electric) or 2 out of 3, but a better situation than raw land where I have to figure out and pay for services. So when I say crap shack, I search for trailers on land or really horrible houses, lol. I found quite amazing few 5acre properties People are usually more focused on the dwelling itself and don't see past it to the amazing land. So take advantage of that. Fast forward to now, 5 acres on River front.....

In person auctions of land might get you a lower price per acre. Newspapers and other in print posts might be how to find them or look up auctioneers on line and call one that handles land sales.
What are you planning to farm? Only a few farms make enough profit for a person to live off of. The ones that do have far more than an acre.

My Mom shopped for houses and land for years, and with me tagging along with a lot of her shopping, I've gotten some experience.

On the power lines, that is a straight-out, no go. You want to run from that. Not only do you run the risks and can't build whatever you want, if the State ever decides to put a corridor or anything like that like they are doing here in Maine, that's where they'll put it. They'll take over your land, cutting trees and moving whatever, and run the corridor through your lot and you'll have zero say over it. (My aunt is losing a lot of land due to this and her land she hays and raises cattle on.)

For the cheapest land (and taxes, which is something you want to look at even if the place appears affordable), you want to look at Townships. Nobody lives out there, the land is shockingly cheap, and there's extremely low taxes (and most of the time no town office with the possibility of no police except for State Troopers). Though affordable, there's typically reasons why people don't live in those areas like no nearby grocery stores, no cell reception in some to most places, and possibly no convenient gas stations. Some of these Townships might not even have people living in them.
Due to the lack of people in the Townships, predators may be overwhelming in those areas, so if you do move into one of them, be mindful that your coop may need more protection than your average urban coop.

Yardmom said:

In person auctions of land might get you a lower price per acre. Newspapers and other in print posts might be how to find them or look up auctioneers on line and call one that handles land sales.
What are you planning to farm? Only a few farms make enough profit for a person to live off of. The ones that do have far more than an acre.

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I forgot about auctions! Foreclosures are typically cheap. They're usually listed for what the previous owners owed and if you can find one in an area that people aren't shopping a lot in, you may be able to get it for the original auction price with little to no bidding. The only issue with Foreclosures is the previous owners aren't always good about leaving, therefore may leave you a bigger mess than you want to deal with.

SandyRiverChick said:

What I did years ago when I knew like you that I wanted to get out of a neighborhood and see what all I could do on real land, I got approved for a Constuction loan. It doesn't have to be the kind with rules about when/what to build, it's just a higher interest rate typically, and you don't have to build until you're ready. I went shopping in a pretty low range, but I made sure that I was looking at land that already had some sort of crap shack/tear down on it. Because to me that meant services (water, septic/sewer, electric) or 2 out of 3, but a better situation than raw land where I have to figure out and pay for services. So when I say crap shack, I search for trailers on land or really horrible houses, lol. I found quite amazing few 5acre properties People are usually more focused on the dwelling itself and don't see past it to the amazing land. So take advantage of that. Fast forward to now, 5 acres on River front.....

Click to expand...

I don't know anything about this type of loan so thanks for the advice. I'll look into this!

Yardmom said:

In person auctions of land might get you a lower price per acre. Newspapers and other in print posts might be how to find them or look up auctioneers on line and call one that handles land sales.
What are you planning to farm? Only a few farms make enough profit for a person to live off of. The ones that do have far more than an acre.

Click to expand...

Right now, on an extremely small urban scale, I have a vegetable garden, some fruit trees, berry bushes, and we raise chickens for eggs and meat. I was looking to experiment in any of these areas on a large scale to see what works. I was thinking maybe fruit trees, berry bushes, and eggs/meat. I am also a baker/canner, so I am interested in possibly selling some of my creations.

Lacy Duckwing said:

My Mom shopped for houses and land for years, and with me tagging along with a lot of her shopping, I've gotten some experience.

On the power lines, that is a straight-out, no go. You want to run from that. Not only do you run the risks and can't build whatever you want, if the State ever decides to put a corridor or anything like that like they are doing here in Maine, that's where they'll put it. They'll take over your land, cutting trees and moving whatever, and run the corridor through your lot and you'll have zero say over it. (My aunt is losing a lot of land due to this and her land she hays and raises cattle on.)

For the cheapest land (and taxes, which is something you want to look at even if the place appears affordable), you want to look at Townships. Nobody lives out there, the land is shockingly cheap, and there's extremely low taxes (and most of the time no town office with the possibility of no police except for State Troopers). Though affordable, there's typically reasons why people don't live in those areas like no nearby grocery stores, no cell reception in some to most places, and possibly no convenient gas stations. Some of these Townships might not even have people living in them.
Due to the lack of people in the Townships, predators may be overwhelming in those areas, so if you do move into one of them, be mindful that your coop may need more protection than your average urban coop.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! This land is actually already right next to a major freeway so I don't really think they would be something that would happen any time soon, but it's something to consider. With that said, is it still really not worth it just to have cheap land to get my foot in the door? It's so tempting seeing something I can afford right now...

Also, great idea about townships. I hadn't thought of that so I'll look into it. There are a bunch around here once you get outside of the major metropolitan area (Cleveland).

HenriettaPizzaNolan said:

I don't know anything about this type of loan so thanks for the advice. I'll look into this!

Right now, on an extremely small urban scale, I have a vegetable garden, some fruit trees, berry bushes, and we raise chickens for eggs and meat. I was looking to experiment in any of these areas on a large scale to see what works. I was thinking maybe fruit trees, berry bushes, and eggs/meat. I am also a baker/canner, so I am interested in possibly selling some of my creations.

Thanks for the advice! This land is actually already right next to a major freeway so I don't really think they would be something that would happen any time soon, but it's something to consider. With that said, is it still really not worth it just to have cheap land to get my foot in the door? It's so tempting seeing something I can afford right now...

Also, great idea about townships. I hadn't thought of that so I'll look into it. There are a bunch around here once you get outside of the major metropolitan area (Cleveland).

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You're welcome. It depends. Real estate prices are always changing, and once you've done a little work to the land, you could sell it for a lot more. Purchasing land is always an investment, so it doesn't really matter where you go you can always turn around and sell it for more in a couple of years with a little work. However, like I said with the risk of a corridor, if that does happen someday, the land's worth will go down and not up, and you'll lose more money than you gain if you decide to sell it down the road.

What type of freeway is that land by? Like an interstate? That won't stop them if they decide to put a corridor there and you may not be happy with the traffic. Also, you'll never be able to safely free-range your chickens there due to the risk of them getting hit (either by accident or purpose).

All in all, buying a cheap piece of land may be worth it to get your foot in the door, but you shouldn't always buy the first piece you see. There'll be pros and cons with every place you look at, even if it appears to be a dream come true, so you always want to be fully aware of what you're getting into. On this piece, I advise you to run from it, especially because you might not be able to get your money back if you decide against it and may have more troubles than you bargained for. Just keep searching and you may find a place that is way better and possibly cheaper.

Lacy Duckwing said:

You're welcome. It depends. Real estate prices are always changing, and once you've done a little work to the land, you could sell it for a lot more. Purchasing land is always an investment, so it doesn't really matter where you go you can always turn around and sell it for more in a couple of years with a little work. However, like I said with the risk of a corridor, if that does happen someday, the land's worth will go down and not up, and you'll lose more money than you gain if you decide to sell it down the road.

What type of freeway is that land by? Like an interstate? That won't stop them if they decide to put a corridor there and you may not be happy with the traffic. Also, you'll never be able to safely free-range your chickens there due to the risk of them getting hit (either by accident or purpose).

All in all, buying a cheap piece of land may be worth it to get your foot in the door, but you shouldn't always buy the first piece you see. There'll be pros and cons with every place you look at, even if it appears to be a dream come true, so you always want to be fully aware of what you're getting into. On this piece, I advise you to run from it, especially because you might not be able to get your money back if you decide against it and may have more troubles than you bargained for. Just keep searching and you may find a place that is way better and possibly cheaper.

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I appreciate your honest advice. I did drive out and visit that property today. It really was beautiful, minus the giant electrical towers lol, and the huge space had me daydreaming about all the fruit trees I want to plant and all the chickens I could run in that space. But once my mind returned to earth, I had a lot of questions, like how will I get water out there? And are there regulations on how close I can plant things to the towers?

I don't think there is a water hookup, but I can ask the realtor. But even if there is, getting the water from one side of the property to the other will probably be tedious, unless I put a bunch of money into piping, which... there's probably some regulation on that because of the towers. It seems like a lot of complications. Maybe it isn't worth it.

Yardmom said:

What are you planning to farm? Only a few farms make enough profit for a person to live off of. The ones that do have far more than an acre.

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Historically an acre of land was defined as the amount of land a medieval family could farm to provide themselves with food

HenriettaPizzaNolan said:

The other option right now is this one property. It's about 2 acres and within my budget to buy cash, but there are giant electrical towers running through the property and an easement with the electrical company. You also can't build anything on it but sheds.

Click to expand...

How do they define a shed? Where will you live? If it can't be built on and you decide it's not right for you, who is your market for this land?

Lacy Duckwing said:

Foreclosures are typically cheap. They're usually listed for what the previous owners owed and if you can find one in an area that people aren't shopping a lot in, you may be able to get it for the original auction price with little to no bidding. The only issue with Foreclosures is the previous owners aren't always good about leaving, therefore may leave you a bigger mess than you want to deal with.

Click to expand...

I'll write another post about our experience buying a foreclosed property.

HenriettaPizzaNolan said:

Thanks for the advice! This land is actually already right next to a major freeway so I don't really think they would be something that would happen any time soon, but it's something to consider. With that said, is it still really not worth it just to have cheap land to get my foot in the door? It's so tempting seeing something I can afford right now...

Click to expand...

I know the feeling of wanting to buy now, but I think you should keep looking.

Lacy Duckwing said:

On this piece, I advise you to run from it,

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Me too. I see no upside to it.