Areas of US rural that have cheap land

[ohionative09]

Hi1 We would like to find cheap land to live on. It can be just land with nothing on it. If you know of any area of the US that has cheap land under $1,000 per acre tell me about it. I would especially like to know if anyone knows of such place in Tennessee close to North Carolina border, but also anyplace else that has cheap land. I live in Ohio & it used to be cheap here some decade ago, but not now.Thanks, Lisa

[ActfinJo]

I don't know of any place in east TN that has land that cheap. Even the straight up and down mountain property goes for around $4-5000 an acre. Good luck tho.

[trustno1]

There are about 10million other people looking for the same thing.Woodstock days have sailed long ago...lol

Just like everything else in life...You get what you pay for.
If you ever hear the word "cheap" used by the seller of real estate to describe property for sale, run for your life.

"Cheap" usually equates to no water rights, no water at all, floodplains, isolated locations, uninhabitable, soil problems, rockbeds, hazardous waste, zoning/use restrictions, and other nightmares.

Try New Orleans or other areas ravaged by catastrophic events. You could probably even get a house on some of the land (just bring your own water and vaccines...lol)

It just depends on what kind of sacrifices you are willing to make and how desperate a seller is at the time.

All common sense applies, as usual.

[Socal104]

Might not be your location but you can still nab cheap land in Maine for under $1,000 an acre if you are buying a lot of acreage. Not even that far from the water. Of course, it is raw land and you are going to have to invest more money running electric, driveway. Not sure about the Carolinas but you can get deals on really rural places that have no value for farming.

If you just have to have a lot of land, do it cheaply. Find a piece of land that abuts a national forest or other public property. You get your privacy and many of these places are so deserted that it will feel just like your land. This way no tax surprises. Also, check out the trees on the property. When you clear for your driveway, you may reduce the cost or have a nice energy supply if there are good hardwood trees in place.

[flipchick1127]

Definitely not your location, but SW Kansas has lots of land for under $1000/acre.

[Linsey Knerl]

Agreed. Flipchick1127 and social104 both states have locations with land under or around 1000 an acre. Upper Maine tends to see land for that price some of which with homes and barns (acreages with standing trees) very reasonably priced. I just happened to be looking there recently. I live in a plains state so I can also confirm that along the western parts of Kansas and Nebraska you can buy land and acreages within that price range. Climate in western Nebraska and Kansas can be quite dry and mild (keeping in mind I'm from here and live east which is less "mild") for larger portions of the year. Some areas can be strikingly beautiful as well in their own unique way. Folks from Colorado have been buying up land for many years now because they can sell for 2-3 times the price of land in Nebraska than Colorado. Another advantage to the Plains states is the very low unemployment currently. Something to ponder and quite a trip!

[Living Frugal Tips]

Hi Lisa,
My husband and I are on the hunt for cheap land too. Here are a few suggestions that we have done. You may have already done these as well, but worth mentioning:

I came across the site www.LandsofAmerica.com and it's got tons of land listings. You can set up email alerts when new property meeting your criteria become available.

Also, for the state that you are looking in identify the top real estate offices, but specifically ones that list foreclosures. I found 5-6 within our target area and check the foreclosure deals out weekly. With so many foreclosures on the market you no longer need to pay for a list to find them as in years back.

You can also search for the major banks that have foreclosure listings on their sites too. I've got tons of sites bookmarked for GA, NC and CO if you alter your search.

Happy hunting!
Lisa

[jamiec]

The most isolated parts of KY are the least expensive I know of close to TN and NC, and you'll have a much more pleasant environment than the also inexpensive hot, flat lands of AL and MS. Some parts of southern IN, close to KY, are also surprisingly reasonable.

If you can go farther, parcels of isolated desert in NM fit your price, but the cost of getting water, etc. could quickly eat up what you save on the acreage.

Beware of zoning that requires a minimum acreage to place a home. In NM, for example, some buyers have gotten stuck with parcels that would be considered large in other areas, but are too small to meet local zoning requirements for a house. A horse, yes, but not a house.

The other Lisa's landsofamerica.com suggestion is excellent; just knock off the extra "n" in the URL when you try the link.

[sjpeer]

There's lots of land in the west. Are you mostly looking for central and eastern U.S.?