PaulR,

My 2 cents (recall advice is what you pay for it). I spent 2 years searching for my place in East Texas.

The most important factor was deciding where you want to buy property. After doing a lot of looking and driving, settle on a specific area/county to buy land.

Spend more time getting to know that local area. Learn the plusses and minuses and what is the going rate for each type of property + what are improvements worth...ect. Bottom line - KNOW what land is selling for and understand exactly how much IMPROVEMENTS are worth. Lakes, fences, storage, electric, water, roads, cabins�all that stuff adds up. For example, my local water coop charges $1500 to install a water meter + another $1500 in water lines for getting the water to my cabin. It all ads up.

Start a relationship with local realtors, letting them know exactly what you are looking for. IE - existing lake or lake-site, size, price�etc. You may be surprised at all the property that is sold before it goes on the market. In a seller market, a GOOD local realtor will have buyers lined up for when properties become available. Additionally, if you know the realtor, there is usually a few weeks time to pre-view properties before everyone else does. By the time it hits the internet, lots of folks has looked at the property. I also learned that some realtors do not list all of their properties on line.

I ended up passing on a property that had a beautiful lake (but had other issues) in favor of my property which has a lake in need of repair. I bought at the low end of the market and the property was never actually listed even through I purchased through a local realtor.

Happy Hunting
Gator

- Smoke 'em if you got 'em

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