LAND BUYING: DO'S AND DON'TS

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For instance, when I bought my homestead, I was assured—by the local real estate agent—that I would have no problem getting work. But shortly before I moved there, a disaster occurred that I'd had no warning of: The area's only industry closed down . . . leaving people with no money to pay for outside services.

Nor was I informed that the people in that community tended to be somewhat hostile to newcomers. At first I thought there must be something wrong with me! Soon, though, I met several other people who had lived in the area less than a year or two, and all were beset by the same feelings I was experiencing. Within six months, every single one of them had left, all because they no longer wanted to buck that sense of being unwelcome. (I later moved to another community, less than 50 miles away, where I've been quite happy.)

I suggest, therefore, that you make the effort to talk to new residents in the area where you're planning to buy and find out how they feel about living there. The answers you receive may be the final deciding factors as to whether you purchase or not.

These, then, are some of the points you'll need to consider before investing your hardearned savings in any land deal. Of course, you may decide to compromise on a few of the factors I've mentioned in order to make your homestead dream come true . . . but be sure you don't compromise so much that your dream becomes a nightmare!

A licensed real estate broker offers some additional tips for you to consider when . . .

BUYING MOUNTAIN PROPERTY

By Carlton T. Bortell

The high country has a great appeal to many people, but buying property in such areas can be even more involved than purchasing slabs of flat land. Just understanding the topography of hilly territory can set your head awhirl! Level terrain can be cut up into neat geometric forms . . . but in the mountains, property lines may veer off at odd angles in every direction.

And as if that's not confusing enough, you also have to deal with the vagaries of the individual surveys already on file. Some of these, for example, are very outdated . . . they reflect bygone methods of measurement . . . and often their reference pointssuch as old stumps—aren't to be found anymore.

If the most recent survey available to you is past its teens, have a new one made (the cost of doing so is a negotiable item in any contract). The updated document will enable you to discover, among other things, any inaccuracies in the amount of acreage cited. (I've seen 207 acres dwindle to 153 when resurveyed, and 34 acres expand to 47.) Sometimes the seller will establish a per-acre price, so that the total cost will depend upon the results of the new survey.

WHAT TO PAY

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