It’s never too early to start making plans for your dream property. For me, that dream consists of 20 acres outside city limits, with a lot of tree coverage and a small prairie lake in my front yard for fishing and boating. Someplace, I can design a Morton building to my liking. By the way, have you seen some of those hobby garages, homes, ranches people have designed? This is the COOLEST new tend in building. Take a look online here: https://mortonbuildings.com/projects/hobby-building
First things first, visualize the goal. What do I envision this property looking like. Am I set on a specific location or just looking for a certain terrain/landscape and views. The latter will should make my search much easier. Do I want a stick built house, Morton building, tiny home, RV, or full blown mansion. Do I plan to homestead and have livestock? If so, zoning of the land and acreage will matter down the road.
I need to make a plan of action and break down what steps I will take to make this dream a reality. So often I find myself, and others failing to create a manageable plan of action when it comes to a goal, new hobby, new years resolution, etc. Keyword: manageable. It’s easy for goals to seem impossible and overwhelming when it’s not broken down into achievable steps that allow you to make progress over time.
Knowing your budget and finding the right piece of land is the first step. Ok, so you found something on the surface that passes the eye test. If it were me, I’d visit the neighborhood and drive around to get a feel for where I’d be living. Next, I’d call the county and check on the zoning of the property. What is permitted and are there exceptions? Sometimes looking at neighboring properties can give you a good idea as well. Moving on to who’s going to build this dream property for me and where do I even start with development? Talk with the county building department, call local builders/well companies/developers, ask the locals how they got started. Find the steps it takes to develop and resources to help.
Developing your dream property shouldn’t be a burden. Sure, it’s going to take some work, but will turn out to be a fun and rewarding project. There are tons of free resources and people out there who are there to assist you along the way, so don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and ask lots of questions!
Best of luck!
Miles McLaughlin
Wilco Land
