Want to move off grid now? Here’s how to move off grid for less than $10k. It starts with the land. Find a very remote property something far away from a city, backed up against public land, state land, national park, or national forest is ideal. You don’t need a large amount of money upfront if you’re buying a smaller parcel of land that’s very remote. Trust me, the deals are out there, you just have to search for them. Some may or may not be listed online. Call local realtors in the area you want to buy your land and give them your list of needs and what you’re looking for, zoning type, area, lot/parcel size, etc. Tell them you’ve got cash and are looking for a small buildable parcel that you can buy now. They’ll send you a list of MLS listings matching your criteria.
Yes There Is Plenty of Off Grid Land For Less Than $10k, You Just Have to Search For It
Don’t expect too much land for $10k, but and don’t be too picky. It is only $10k after all and there are a lot of other expenses involved. But $10k will get you into a piece of land.
The main things you’re going to want to look are natural resources. Water and building materials. for building your cabin. Trees. Rock. Clay, and a good water source. Do your homework.
Look for land with legal access, year-round access, and make sure you do a title search on the land, make sure the taxes are paid up, and how to property is zoned. What are the septic requirements and can you build a vault toilet/outhouse or use a composting toilet.
Ask The County If You Can Camp On Your Land While You Build
Will the county allow you to live in an RV, camper or travel trailer while you build your cabin? Most counties will issue a temporary permit for you to camp on your own land while you build and most permits are 3-6 months, sometimes a year or more depending on how remote the property is.
The more remote and the smaller the county the less they’re going to care or enforce building codes and zoning ordinances and the fewer restrictions you’re going to have.
Don’t buy land in a subdivision!
Even if it’s a rural subdivision. You are going to want the ability to build what you want for shelter/cabin and you will likely want and need to raise livestock, so don’t buy land in a subdivision with covenants and restrictions UNLESS it’s specifically allowed for your to raise livestock for food, like chickens, pigs and cows.
Check your parcel’s zoning. Is is zoned residential or agricultural or both? Is it timberland? Does it have any local zoning issue that would prohibit you from building on the land. Don’t buy land in a flood plain unless you know what you’re doing, and van get a variance to build. Otherwise avoid it because it’s a headache to deal with.
Buy Land With Lots of Trees & Rock
You want the trees to build the cabin. You’re doing all the labor yourself. Check with the local county zoning and planning office and see if they allow owner/builder permits, which basically allow you to build. Ask if there are any impact fees (fees which are required to pay the county before you can build anything on the property at all). Sometimes they will not allow you to build a shed or metal storage building without first building a dwelling. Make sure you can have a place to store your tools and equipment to build your cabin.
You can buy land in the mountains for $500-$1000 acre way up in the mountains, in the deserts, and in remote forested areas.
Is Your Off Grid Land Accessible?
Make sure you can access the property year-round and you have legal access. A forest road may not be enough legal access as they can move it or shut it down or deny you access anytime they want. Your property must have a maintained legal access road or driveway leading to your property that you can access the property or it’s useless to you.
What Are The Zoning Requirements?
The idea is to avoid all the restrictions and regulations and zoning issues and overly restrictive building codes etc.
Check the setbacks and how far away from your property lines you need to build. You don’t want to build you cabin too close to your property line and then find out later it’s too close to the line and you have to move it. What is the minimum dwelling size. Most counties will not allow you to build a dwelling smaller than a certain size/square footage. Ask what the minimums are.
If your property is remote enough there will be no city water hookups, electrical, or septic hookup fees. But there will still be permitting costs to build, usually thought very reasonable cost. The more remote the land the cheaper it will be, usually, as a general rule. And the fewer rules and regulation there will be to impede your off grid living lifestyle.
What Are The Septic Requirements?
Make sure you know your septic requirements and that you have a well, or a way to haul water to your location, or catch rainwater and store it in a plastic tank or cistern.
Check on mineral rights too. Do they come with the land? A lot of times mineral rights are separated from the land. Make sure you get the mineral rights included. (this will be more expensive, but worth it later and can save you a lot of hassle later.
If you do your homework and due diligence you can find a property for a few thousand, maybe even owner financing with a few hundred down if you feel like financing it (I’d pay cash; no monthly bills).
Spend no more than $5k on your land. The rest goes to tools and equipment and solar and batteries and utility installation to build your off grid homestead.
It’s going to take a lot of homework and searching but the deals are out there if you know where and how to look.
LandWatch.com has a huge list of properties. Land And Farm, and Land.com network of vacant land sites offer millions of listings of vacant land for sale. You should be able to find something in the price range you’re looking for.
You may even be able to permanently setup a shipping container home or live in an RV the whole time on your property. It depends on how remote it is, the local county rules and regs, and where it’s located.
Can you do it? Sure. Will it be easy? No. You’re going to spend a lot of time searching to find the right property.
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