Well, 2+ years later and I'm still looking. Probably being too picky. Have pretty much been concentrating on land with existing ponds/lakes, but have always managed to find enough drawbacks on the ones I've liked to never make a closing.

So now I'm starting to fall back on the side of the fence as far as building my own pond/lake goes.

But I guess I'm just very concerned with 1) buying a piece of property that I think is ideal, and later finding out that the soil isn't suitable for the size pond I'd really want; and 2) the water source. If I'm going to invest this kind of money into a larger pond, I'm going to want to ensure it always has water in it. So that means either a spring or a well. $10,000 on a well wouldn't worry me too much, if the soil question was answered, and provided I didn't have to spend $100 a month running a continuous well.