Ah, home sweet. . . empty lot? It just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Yet, buying vacant land may be the right choice for your family and your future fun levels.
While all the pre-furnished vacation homes on the market can seem too glamorous to turn down, don’t bite yet.
First, consider what it would mean if you could build your own perfect paradise by buying a lot of land. Even the president of the United States has a country get-a-away in the hills of the Appalachians.
So, why shouldn’t you? Learn some reasons why a country escape is better and what you need to know when buying land in the article below.
How Much is A “Lot” of Land?
When realtors or investors speak of buying “a lot” of land, it has nothing to do with the quantity. That’s simply what it’s called.
Think about a parking lot. It’s a lot of land that you park on. Who knows how that terminology got started.
What you do need to know about the quantity is usually listed in acreage. An acre is approximately the size of a football field if you took off one end zone.
That may seem like a large amount of land, but once you put a house and pool on it, one acre goes fast.
In some higher competition places, like beach homes, for example, your lot may not even be an acre. Then it’s usually referred to in decimals of an acre, like .4 acres.
Out in the countryside, you’re likely to see lots of five acres and beyond. Five acres is approximately 4.9 football fields – a lot of land.
That’s the size of a medium 20 or so house neighborhood.
Buying a Lot of Land: Why?
Now that you have your bearings, we can talk about why you should go through all the trouble of figuring this out.
When you buy a lot of land in the countryside or in rural areas, you get more for the same price. For example, a seaside plot of .5 acres could cost 90,000.
For that, you could get closer to five acres of land in rural areas. That’s not exact, just an example.
When you get more for the same amount of money, your finances will stretch further. With that high competition lot, you have building restrictions. You probably can’t build too high and block your neighbors view.
But in the country out on 5 acres? No one cares what you do. Build a 21 room log cabin, if you wish. The neighbors won’t complain.
Obviously, you’ll still have to commit to building codes and inspections, but you get the idea.
The Countryside Is Healthier
Way back when we didn’t have vaccines, people would send sick people out in the country where the air was pure.
Mount Sanitas in Boulder, Colorado is one example. They would treat people with tuberculosis out there since they though the clean mountain air was good for the sick lungs.
You don’t have to be sick or dying to benefit from country air. The more trees and fewer people there are around, the crisper the air is.
Spending a stint of time in the clean country air can clear your skin, help asthma or pollution-related breathing problems, and refresh your entire body.
And that’s only looking at adults. Children who breathe clean air grow up healthier and develop fewer illnesses along the way.
Taxation Is Lower
Back on the more concrete of examples, the taxation on a property in a high-cost area will also be high. But not in rural areas. You’ll have to pay a fee based on the size of the land, but it won’t be much.
Your property taxes out in rural areas will be much less, probably than where you live today.
It’s Fun
Think about a time in your childhood when you had a lot of outdoor fun. Do you miss that? Do you want that for your kids?
Maybe you can’t swim in the same lake or ride the same horses that you did thirty years ago, but you can recreate an outdoor oasis. Things like horseback riding, tree swings, lake swimming, and even 4 wheeler driving are all possible on your own lot of land.
If it snows where you live, that opens up possibilities for snowshoeing, sledding, and snowmobiling. Without the travel or the fees included in doing that a privately owned place.
Watersport vehicles and boats fall under the same category. You won’t have to pay anyone to store your boat if you buy a rural property with a lake.
Build a deck, teach your kids to fish, or hunt. Or make your land into a ranch and teach them the ways of the land. Your choices are seemingly endless.
Peace and Quiet
If all that wasn’t enough, think about the idea of sleeping in pure silence. No honks or car noise, no neighbor starting their car at four in the morning. Just you and the crickets quietly chirping as you sleep.
As a busy dentist, a good nights sleep is hard to wrap your head around. It seems you’re always running this way and that.
We can’t make your practice less busy (why would we want to?), but getting a weekend rural retreat will give you a place to actually relax.
Even better, make your weekends that you aren’t on call a no-phone zone. It’s just you and your family out in the country and no one can do a thing about it.
Interested in some other reasons to buy land? Read more here.
Your Country Cottage
Whether you decide to move out to the country after buying a lot of land or keep it for weekends only, you’ll be happy with your purchase. It doesn’t involve fighting the tourists at the beach or dealing with high property taxes.
Give yourself and your family a place to relax and be one with nature. It’s what humans do best.
Speaking of what humans do best, learn the best vitamins for teeth here.