Gene posted the following to the homestead list:
Name: The Complete Guide to Country Living
Birthdate: 1-27-00
Home address: http://www.ruralize.com/CompleteGuide.html
I found the material interesting and useful. There was only
one area which left me with a few ???? so that is what i'll talk
about <grin>.
The section on buying land suggested to beware of marginal
land. While this a useful statement i think it misses a few
opportunities. In many cases the best approach is to look
for marginal land first and ignore the good land. It all
depends upon what the land problems are and how we determine
if land is marginal. Often an inexpensive plot of land is
ideal for homesteaders, foresters, and others.
The trick is to look inexpensive land where one can solve the
problems. Even land in flood plains can be a good idea if
solutions to flooding can be found. Originally, agriculture
began in flood plains where the soil was weeded and
fertilized by flooding water. This is still done in many
parts of the world.
In this area my favorite technique is to buy steep land and
look for additional barriers which make the land difficult to
own. Often the solution only requires patience to struggle
with paper work and environmental reports. In some cases it
is an access problem that can be negotiated with the
neighbors. Even land with poor soil has potential.
The advantages of the "marginal land" is lower taxes and less
pressure by developers. The initial costs are much lower and
often the seller will help solve the problems. The one
caution would be to solve all the problems before signing
anything. If one problem exists without a solution then walk
away.
Another thing worth mentioning is that often marginal land isn't
advertised. Realtors don't bother with it and the sellers
gave up long ago. I've heard several stories about people
who looked up a scrubby plot in the tax records and found
the owner had inherited it and lived in a different area.
A win-win situation was soon in process. Unfortunately, this
is the same technique used by land-sharks where ethics and
a fair price are not part of the process.
Gene, i liked your idea of an e-book and you are welcome to
use anything i've written. The ecopath archive is full of
stuff and i've got an additional archive of material here.
Have you thought about an open style copyright? For example,
i get several user written publications where the material
can be spread if the source is recognized and it isn't
republished as a profit making activity.
----
jeff owens, [EMAIL PROTECTED], http://www.xprt.net/~jko
underground house, solar power, self-reliance, edible landscape
to leave ecopath: unsubscribe ecopath -> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
