Country Property Dirt Cheap: How I Found My Piece of Inexpensive Rural Land...Plus My Adventures with a $300 Junk Antique Tractor [Paperback]

Ralph C. Turner (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The key word here is cheap, since if you have enough money, a broker can find you something nice even in Orange County. The trick is to avoid brokers and get out in the sticks. In southern Iowa, Turner studied plat books, looking for odd pieces of land; he drove miles of gravel roads; he ran ads in small-town papers; he went to farm auctions; and he learned the difference between quitclaim and warranty deeds, as well as how to deal with surveyors, at what point to contact a lawyer, and how to determine the right amount to offer. Finally, he found 15 acres of timber, with rural water and power already available, for $6,000. Next he bought a Farmall H tractor for $300, and a building for $100--the most delightful chapter explains how to jack up and move a building along back roads. A modest, quirky book, well written and entertaining, by an obsessive bachelor whose like can be found in any public library and whose method would seem to be applicable in any rural community. John Mort

Review

Turner's dream to purchase an inexpensive piece of country property for weekend visiting seemed impossible given the high price of small acreage, but his perseverance proved successful. Here he imparts eighteen methods of locating potential sellers, as well as personal adventures managing the land. An entertaining, revealing account blending autobiography with practical tips. -- Midwest Book Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: Index Legalis Pub Co (April 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0945959524
• ISBN-13: 978-0945959526
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #177,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Business & Investing > Real Estate > Sales

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun, easy to read, First Person Quest for CHEAP LAND, November 16, 1999

By 

Real Estate Investor (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Country Property Dirt Cheap: How I Found My Piece of Inexpensive Rural Land...Plus My Adventures with a $300 Junk Antique Tractor (Paperback)

I just got the book yesterday from Amazon.com and read it cover to cover. In a non technical easy to read first person account, the author tells his tale of CHEAP LAND quest. The boyhood dreams of a small quiet. peaceful place in the country that is low maintenance and CHEAP is not the authors alone. Others myself included have had similar fantasies. The book reads like a novel, not a tech manual. Besides being easy reading the book is informative and worth the price. Its light and introductory and may not satisfy the more advanced and professional reader. The techniques are sound and can be expanded to suit your individual needs. The chapters on buying a cheap tractor and the chapter on building moving are both interesting and different from other country real estate books. One old time farmer told me the tale of buying 100 acres for $6,000 and then buying a tractor for another $6,000. Years later with the appreciation of land he lamented that he had bought that tractor instead of a 200 acre farm! Land is such a thrilling and basically fulfilling purchase. It has the lasting power of no other purchase, and the appreciation potential of few other investments. It may not make you as rich as Microsoft stock, but there is a strange spiritual satisfying feeling attahced to a land purchase. The author brings out the peace and quiet calming nature of a country land purchase. I recommend both the book and the land purchase.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining..., April 26, 2004

By 

J. Daily (Fort Worth, Tx United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Country Property Dirt Cheap: How I Found My Piece of Inexpensive Rural Land...Plus My Adventures with a $300 Junk Antique Tractor (Paperback)

Not a reference, just one man's story of how he went about purchasing his getaway property dirt cheap. Although not a how to, it does show some of the pitfalls to watch out for when looking for and buying country property. The author writes in a nice conversational style that makes this an easy read.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Entertaining Read, September 1, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Country Property Dirt Cheap: How I Found My Piece of Inexpensive Rural Land...Plus My Adventures with a $300 Junk Antique Tractor (Paperback)

This book was a quick and entertaining read. The author is indeed a good story-teller. He gives a lot of good information about what is available at courthouses, discusses legal descriptions, property boundaries, real estate agents, attorneys, deeds, water, utilities, surveying, house-moving, etc. But as for FINDING a piece of property or for finding one CHEAP, he really didn't offer much more than a few simple suggestions (and never even mentioned the internet!). There was no tax sale, no government auction, no re-po, no magic formula - just waiting for luck and a newspaper ad to produce a seller with the right property & price. But it was an interesting adventure.