Well, my plans to get up to Iowa to look at some properties got set back by that little thing called a "job." I ended up needing to go do some hail work, and now I'm almost finished packing my house, but with no idea to where I'm heading!
I'm putting my belonging in storage and so now the push is on to get out there and narrow my search for land! A funny thing happens when you start really looking, well, it's more like a couple of things happen when you get down to it.
One, all the great "deals" you use to find just about every day, well, they're all gone. Which reminds me of a quote by Donald Trump, he was quoted as saying that "the deal of a life-time comes around about once a week." I find this to be both true and false. The deals are out there, but everything that glitters is not gold! So you need to look harder.
So the other thing that happened once I really set out to find a deal, was I started finding a lot of great places. I started talking with people about different areas in the country and each one has a different area with it's own pro's and con's.
I have found some amazing deals on land in areas like OK, KS and MO. Places that I have never thought much of before. And with the real estate market like it is, there are some special deals to be made with people who are willing to "owner finance" or help out in other ways so they can get out from under the payments.
Sad reality of this market is people need to leave the places they dreamed about, so they can move to an area where they can find employment. I have seen real estate ad's from Colorado to Kentucky from people just about begging someone to buy their home so they can move closer to their new job.
So what has changed in my search? Iowa is not on top of my list as of right now. I took a closer look at the climate and choose to look a little farther south. One area that has a good balance of cheap land, good location for my job, and room to grow, is around the Ozarks in Missouri. Or more or less the general area where OK and KS meets south west Missouri. The area has good prices for someone starting out who's looking for a larger track of land. There's some hidden gems, and some not so great lots for sale, but the area in general looks like it could work well for both my Hail work, and if I want to add livestock. Not to mention the better wind and solar possibilities in OK and KS.
Another area that I have had my eye on since my childhood is Eastern Kentucky. I remember my parent's dreaming of one day owning horses in the Blue Grass State. Now I drive through the area any time I need to get from my home in Florida to wherever the hail storms are and keep telling myself to check out the area "some day." Land is not as cheap in KY, pretty, but not as cheap, but I did find that the houses are a better bargain. $50,000 buys a pretty nice house in some of the smaller towns around Danville,KY. So the general area is back on my list.
Hopefully my job will work out so I can drive through the area again, but maybe take a couple of days to look around. Then I can come back at the end of my season to really pin point my search efforts.
Too many great places in this country to live!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Trade you my sister for that PB&J?
We've all done it at one time or another, but it's making a bigger come back. I'm talking about bartering or trading goods and services without using money.
I was talking to a Farmer / Rancher friend of mine the other day about the way this economy is going and how people are dealing with it. Something that both he and I have noticed more lately is people are getting back to bartering more. My friend said he has been trading goods and services for years, but now he's seeing more people doing it.
It's even making the headlines, companies like BestBuy are setting up their stores to "deal." One article I read talked about how each BestBuy store now has a computer system that gives the store manager the lowest price they can offer an item for. Not only for sales, or normal prices, but to make a deal with a customer right on the spot.
They're asking people to make them an offer. It's not to say that you will be able to get that 50" Plasma TV for $1, but they are saying that if you're willing to ask, you can get a lot of little "extras" at no or low cost. If you're buying that new computer, you're going to need things like USB cords, or a case for a laptop, these are things that the manager has the power to give to you for free, just for buying something you were going to buy anyway.
So get out there and make a deal! Just don't try to trade your little sister or brother for a pet frog or something!
I was talking to a Farmer / Rancher friend of mine the other day about the way this economy is going and how people are dealing with it. Something that both he and I have noticed more lately is people are getting back to bartering more. My friend said he has been trading goods and services for years, but now he's seeing more people doing it.
It's even making the headlines, companies like BestBuy are setting up their stores to "deal." One article I read talked about how each BestBuy store now has a computer system that gives the store manager the lowest price they can offer an item for. Not only for sales, or normal prices, but to make a deal with a customer right on the spot.
They're asking people to make them an offer. It's not to say that you will be able to get that 50" Plasma TV for $1, but they are saying that if you're willing to ask, you can get a lot of little "extras" at no or low cost. If you're buying that new computer, you're going to need things like USB cords, or a case for a laptop, these are things that the manager has the power to give to you for free, just for buying something you were going to buy anyway.
So get out there and make a deal! Just don't try to trade your little sister or brother for a pet frog or something!
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