Su Ba wrote:You've put quite a bit of thought into your project so far. I'd like to suggest a few more items on your check list.......check water rights. Check mineral rights. Living on land where someone else owns the mineral rights can be a nightmare for a homesteader. Same for timber rights. Also watch easements. Personally I wouldn't want easements running across my land.
My homestead is 20 acres. I like having the surplus acres so that I can have pastures, make ponds, and maintain a wood lot. Otherwise 20 acres really isn't necessary for a working homestead. That having been said, I bought the largest amount of acreage that I could afford to buy. Extra land is never a problem. Too little land can be a real nuisance. I would have taken 40-100 acres if they had been within my budget.
A word about neighbors. They can change. I was careful to check out our neighbors before buying my land, but in the past 10 years over half the properties on my mile long road have sold. So we got new neighbors that we had no idea about until they moved in. Some have been fine, some have been problems. Just something to be aware of.
As for off grid. Around here many people start out just using a generator. By the way, you may find a 1200 generator to be far too small. Then people add a battery bank so that they can run lights and a water pump at night. Plenty of people here stop at that.....generator + charge controller + battery bank, DC system. Next step would be to add an inventor and switch to an AC system. Next step up would be to install another generating system, be it solar, wind, or hydro, or a combo. And then just use the generator for back up and topping off the batteries on down days.
My only advice, be flexible....and don't be afraid to make the jump. I talk with people all the time who have been stuck in the planning stage for years and years. Keep in mind that if the land you buy doesn't turn out right, you aren't stuck with it. In our case, the first piece we purchased didn't work out, so we sold it and bought our current place.
Wow I love advice like this! Thank you so much you have no idea how much this helps me!
