“The successful farmer of today works with his brains as well as his hands. He is a reader and a thinker as well as a worker. But he is a busy man, too, and the books he reads must be practical, simple, direct and useful.

We have made Farm Knowledge to fit just those needs, to be the best and most complete thing of its kind. It is up to date in every way, yet it accepts and upholds every old-time method that has proved its value. It is, in short, a working guide to American farming that “looks toward tomorrow, remembers the lessons of yesterday, and talks about today.” It has been written for farmers and their families, about farmers and their business, and by men whose lives and interests are closely bound up with the farm.

Our object in making it is to put in the hands of our customers and friends who are farming for their living, the most help and the best help that can possibly be put in book form, at a price that every one of them can afford. We hope and believe that it will help them to farm more successfully, raise bigger crops and better livestock, and sell them at a bigger profit. And in seeing and sharing the greater prosperity of our customers and the increased welfare of farmers in general, we will find our reward.

In making Farm Knowledge we have joined our forces with those of Doubleday, Page & Co., one of the biggest, most experienced, most successful publishing houses in the country. Its editors and experts are closely in touch with farming progress, and in making this book they have gone out to agricultural colleges, state and national departments of agriculture, farm bureaus, and their many farmer friends and advisers everywhere, for the solid, practical, time-tried rules and facts and figures with which these four volumes are filled.

This is your own book—THE FARMER’S OWN CYCLOPEDIA.

We want it to become a true friend and helper; a bond of closer friendship and greater service between you and—SEARS, ROEBUCK AND CO.”

The preceding is an introduction from a set of books entitled “Farm Knowledge” published for Sears and Roebuck and edited by E.L.D. Seymour in 1918. There are four volumes, each dealing with a different part of farm life. The original books are quite rare and expensive to purchase these days.

The complete Farm Knowledge series includes:

Farm Knowledge Volume I – Farm Animals
Farm Knowledge Volume II – Soil and Crops
Farm Knowledge Volume III – Farm Implements and Construction
Farm Knowledge Volume IV – Farm Life

It’s interesting that although it is 2010, the messages from these books are so familiar. Is the 1918 author actually encouraging his readers to get back to the land?

Although these books are dated, you will find some very useful and solid information that is lost in modern books on farming today. Of particular interest to those of you looking for small farm land are the chapters on farmstead layout in Volume III and soils and soil management in Volume II. I believe these volumes should be on every would be farmers book shelf.

I am providing a link to a PDF copy of Farm Knowledge Volume I, just for signing up for my newsletter. Over the next month members of the newsletter will get links to all four volumes in the Farm Knowledge series.

Perhaps you’ve been thinking about buying some country property. You know… your own piece of land… a place you can go to relax… or retire to. Maybe a small farm with horses, or chickens… maybe a goat… a nice garden. Or maybe you just want a little get away where you can relax and take in the view.

The Great Land Rush

Don’t PANIC! The great land rush hasn’t started yet. But stand by… because things are starting to heat up. While suburban and city property values are declining, you will find rural property staying quite stable or actually going up in value. As the saying goes “Once its gone its gone!” This is probably one of the last opportunities that we will have to own a decent size piece of land. Investors, companies and individuals are quietly buying up land as a hedge against our current recession.

Why Small Farm Land

Small partials of land make perfect sense for individuals looking for a place to raise a few animals, grow crops, or just have some space to relax. In fact most of the small farms in this country are only about 5 – 20 acres. This is a good size for an individual to manage on their own and still produce enough food to be totally self sufficient. It wasn’t that long ago that the country was made up of mostly small farms. Believe it or not there are still a lot of these small pieces of land left if you know where to look.

Searching For Your Property Online

Just about anything you can imagine can be found and purchased online. That goes for land too! The great thing about the internet is that you can actually get an idea of what your land looks like without ever leaving your chair. You can save a HUGE amount of time and money by first looking online. When I first started searching I could not believe the number of places there were to find land. In these next few sections

With all the places to look online the first step is to try to get an idea of what you want to do with your land and where you might want to live. This can be difficult because there may be a number of places that you might like to settle. Many times you will find places you never even considered looking at. I started my search by looking all over the United States to get an idea of what was out there.

The Basics

Don’t overlook some of the basics… is there water available? is there electricity nearby? Some people may want to have an isolated retreat, but know what you are getting into before that leap! When my wife and I started looking for our land we decided that we wanted to raise some animals and grow our own food. That meant we would need a reliable source of water. There are many places out west that are becoming quite dry and have to rely on community wells or municipal water supplies. In Colorado for example you require 35 acres or more to even drill a well. And you may have to drill down 400, 500, or even 700 feet to get a reliable source of water. Some people actually have to truck in water!!

Electricity should also be close by. If the nearest pole is a mile or two away it can be quite expensive to get a line to the house. Most people like the creature comforts that electricity provides and a connection with the rest of the world can be just as important. Be sure to check out the availability of phone, cable, cell phone signal, and clear shots to satellites, if you want to stay connected. Of course electricity and a connection to the outside world isn’t really a necessity… look at the Amish… they’ve been doing just fine without it!

Do you like hot humid summers… long cold winters… or mild year round temperatures? The weather has changed quite a bit over these last few years, with warmer temperatures and some pretty severe storms. I can remember as a child growing up in Seattle where the high would never get into the 80′s. No one had air conditioners in their homes or cars. Not any more! I went out there for vacation this last summer and the temperature was up in the high 80′s and 90′s!! And no air conditioning in the condo we were in. So plan for the future.

Ok. so you have an idea of where you want to go. Or maybe you don’t… That’s OK, here are the tools that I used when I got started looking for my small farm land. All of these tools are FREE and can be used with your PC running Windows… or in my case, one of those new Apple Mac’s running OS X.

First use the Google or Yahoo search engines to search for “land for sale” or “farm land for sale”. Here is just a small list of the places I found.

Land Auction – Land For Sale From Land Auctions in America

Land.Net® РLand, Commercial Real Estate For Sale, For Lease

Land for sale, acreages for sale, lots for sale at Landwatch.com

Land For Sale, Real Estate, Land – For Sale By Owners

LandsofAmerica.com – Land for Sale, Farms for Sale, Ranches for Sale

LandAndFarm.com – Land for sale, Farms for sale, Rural Property for sale

Land Showroom

US Land Services – www.uslandservices.com

U.S. Lots – America’s Land for Sale Web Site

Land Buy Owners

Farms for Sale | FarmSeller

Country Homes, Ranches & Farm Land for Sale – United Country Rural Real Estate

Farm For Sale & Farmland Available

HorseClicks

Farms.com Real Estate

Land for Sale, Farms for Sale, Rural Land for Sale at LANDFLIP.com

All of these sources were used to help me narrow down the area that I wanted to look at. They generally give you an idea of what areas are more expensive than others too. Many of the listing sites allow you to filter your search results by a number of different of factors including access to electricity and water, main roads, towns, views, and terrain such as lake, mountain, forest etc.

The next tools that I used helped me get an idea of the demographics of the area including, crime rate, median income, climate, schools etc. This is a very important step and should not be overlooked. The following are a couple of tools to use…

Citi-Data

City Compare

GreatSchools.net

Once you have narrowed down your search to a particular area you can use tools like Craigslist, Yahoo, or Google to find real estate companies in the area you are looking. Many of the sites previously mentioned will also include the real estate agency listing the property. This is actually how I located my land. I narrowed down an area using the website “Lands of America” then looked at all the properties a particular agency had listed.

Many of the listings will include a plat or some pictures of the property. These are really great and give you a rough idea of what the land looks like. Many times you can use the bits of information such as city, township or actual coordinates to locate the property and view it via satellite using one of the mapping tools online. Some of my favorites are…

Live Search Maps

Google Maps

TerraServer – The Leader In Online Imagery – Aerial Photos & Satellite Images

Google Earth

Even though some of the images may be a bit dated, most are only a couple of years old and are a great way to get an idea of what the whole area looks like. Tools like Google Earth can be very powerful. With a little work you can do things like overlay a plat or contour lines, or actually get a 3D view of the land. Even more powerful are tools like Google SketchUp. This tool allows you to take the map you have set up in Google Earth, import it and add things like buildings, landscapes, whatever… all in 3D! You can actually layout your entire farm using this tool. Get it here…

Google SketchUp

When trying to determine what types of crops might be suitable for your land a soil survey is indispensable. It can also be handy in determining an area suitable for a septic system!

Web Soil Survey

Can You Afford It

One of the questions you may ask as you look for your land is, how much can you afford. Most land is purchased in full and most lenders don’t lend money for undeveloped land. But times are changing and finding lenders or sellers that will hold a note are becoming easier to find. Most have simple interest terms and require a down payment of 10% – 20%. Length of the loan can vary from a few months to 30 years with interest rates under 10%.

Go See It

I wouldn’t even think about buying a piece of property without physically seeing it. Pictures and satellite views on the internet only tell part of the story. Plan to take several days so you can check out the surrounding area and get a feel for what it’s like. There is good and bad to everyplace, the idea is to find out as much as you can.

Understand What You Are Getting

I’m sure you’ve heard the term “due diligence”. What this really means is take the time to check out your land BEFORE you purchase. Follow the link below for a great reference and excellent checklist (end of the document) of due diligence issues that apply to land purchases. If you are buying property with existing buildings then additional concerns will require consideration.

State Trust Lands Asset Management Plan

People To Talk To

The first person you will likely come into contact with is the seller or sellers agent (real estate agent). These people want to sell their property and are normally from the area so they can be a wealth of information. Don’t be afraid to ask ANY questions you may have about the property and surrounding area. Usually if these people don’t have the answer, they will know someone who will. Just because you are looking at property from one agent or seller does not mean you should not check out other sellers or agents in that area. Use your time wisely, and it will pay off in the end. The county courthouse is also a great place to research a property you are interested in. All the clerks I have dealt with have been very friendly and helpful.

Enjoy It

You have finally purchased your property! It will likely not be perfect, although in your eyes it may very well be, but it is yours!

by Charles Iner

If you are interested in purchasing real estate, the wrong way to go about it is to simply find a plot or house that you like, and then make an offer. There are several often-forgotten steps that you should take before this point. Many people often overlook the land survey step of buying land. The best time to have a land survey undertaken is before you complete the process of purchasing the land.

Land surveyors can determine the boundary measurements to make sure that the plot of land you think you are buying is actually what you are buying. The land surveyor can tell you whether the trees, building ,fences, sidewalks, driveways, and other features of the land actually lie on the property, and also whether anyone else’s buildings or other features encroach onto the property you wish to buy.

They will also be familiar with building regulations, wetland regulations, and zoning. Land surveys are particularly helpful when purchasing a piece of real estate that you hope to eventually build on, as they can catch potential problems with this plan before you purchase the land. If you are purchasing mountainous land, land that may be considered wetlands, or land in other areas that may be difficult to build on, a land surveyor can help you evaluate the possibilities for building upon the land. If you plan to develop the land or subdivide it, a survey can help you determine whether this is possible or even legal.

Do not go off an old land survey provided by the current landowner. It may not describe recent changes to the land. The land surveyor you hire can place permanent markers on the corners of your property so that you are well-aware of the boundaries of the land that you will soon own. Before conducting a land surveyor, you may want to ask your real estate agent for a property profile, which will list the ownership information, legal description, plat map, tax information, and other characteristics. This is an excellent place to start when evaluating a potential real estate purchase. At least some of this information may also be available online. Then, be sure that you visit the property and walk the entire site, even if it is several acres, to see what it looks like with your own eyes.

Having a land survey conducted before the land changes hands is simply due diligence. Do not rely on anyone else’s word, such as the landowner’s, or a real estate agent’s, when purchasing land. This is a big purchase, and it should not be done unless you know exactly what you are buying. If you cannot get a land survey before placing a formal offer, at least have one done before the deal closes. The land surveyor will give you the best information possible to determine whether the piece of real estate will meet your needs. If any red flags come up, be sure that they are resolved to your satisfaction before closing on this real estate deal.

You do not want to make the mistake of buying land that is of no use to you, or buying land that is not what you thought it was. Although it’s especially important to have a land survey conducted when you are buying acreage or plan to develop the land, a land survey even of a small lot with a house can still catch potential problems before it’s too late.

About the Author

We at Point to Point Land Surveyors pride ourselves on accuracy, customer service and quality work delivered on time, guaranteed. Residential land surveys are a specialty.

Tracts of land for small farms can be anywhere from five to a hundred acres or more. So how can you afford to buy such large pieces of land? If you are like most folks, coming up with large sums of money is not easy. And banks don’t want to make loans for unimproved property or any type of real estate these days! So what options do you have? Well believe it or not you have quite a few.

Many companies selling land online offer payment terms with low down payments (typically 10%) and monthly payments. Most times the interest rate is less than 10% and payments can extend up to 30 years in some cases. Many do not require a credit check so if your current credit is less than stellar you can still buy land.

FSBO (for sale by owner) land can also be a good way to go because you can typically negotiate a specific deal or terms with the owner of the property. Like with all land transactions, get everything in writing and be sure you understand the details.

Ebay land listings are well known and you will find many companies selling land with terms of 10% down and monthly payments with low interest and extended payback terms. Most of the companies selling land are very reputable and easy to work with.

Check out the Land Auction sites. Sometimes you can find some real bargains. But be careful because bidding can go beyond what the property is worth. Get an idea of what properties like the one you are bidding on go for first and bid accordingly.

Do you have a life insurance policy or 401K that you can borrow from? Many offer very low interest rates and can be a another way to finance your property.

Just remember… land is a limited resource and will continue to go up in value despite other real estate market declines. There’s really never been a better time to invest in land than right now!

Here is just one of the many online sources that provide numerous Land Company, FSBO and Land Auction listings LandWatch.com