Customer Reviews

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

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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.

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.

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.

Ralph Turner was a 46 year old Computer Technical writer, and he wanted to stay near Springfield Iowa to be near his aging parents in case they needed anything. He also wanted to have a place where he could experience the solitude he had learned that he loved. The book chronicals his experiences learning how to find a piece of rural land cheaply. After he sucessfully found his piece of land, he thought about writing a "How To" book about buying inexpensive rural land. Fortunately for us, he decided to present the information in the form of a first hand account of his experiences.

The author details a number of techniques of finding sellers without the need to use a broker. He also explains why so many owners are reluctant to break up a large parcel of land and he details a number of ways around that problem. His solutions are both simple and practical. They ranged from attending rural auctions to get the word out to folks that he was looking for land, and even his deciding to forego his own barber in town and get his haircuts at the barbers out in the areas where he was looking for land.


Along the way, Turner manages to find an old Farmall H and buy it for $300, even before he has found his land. We later hear that he has even joined a tractor restoration club. We are also treated to the detailed description of how he was able to move an old summer kitchen to his property to serve as little cabin.

When I read this book, I was in the midst of looking for my first piece of inexpensive rural property myself, as well as totally enamored of antique tractors, I found this book most enjoyable. "The CyberRanch" is now up to 208 acres in 3 parcels and I have more tractors than I can count. I would recommend this book for anyone who is looking to buy rural land, or who simply appreciates good writing.

Country Property Dirt Cheap is entertaining, educational, and inspiring. For me, 'Dirt Cheap is really a story of what makes America great; Americans. I read the book cover-to-cover as I laughed and learned at the same time.

I didn't buy this book; I sat down in the library and read it cover to cover in about an hour and a half. It's a quick read, but there is more solid, practical advice on finding the right piece of land than any book I've ever seen. In addition to the how-to's of finding that land, there is advice on other factors to consider, such as water tables, utility service, and such. When it's time for me to get serious about buying some land, this will be my first purchase. Highly recommended

It's interesting that Turner comes from a background of technical writing, yet he manages to write a book that is genuinely from the heart. This book, which is his autobiographical account of his passionate search for solitude, simplicity and a peace of mind, bridges the gap between ethos and pathos.

Turner is very focused, very detail-oriented in achieving his objective and his account of that process is an uplifting tale that bears his soul and leaves the reader inspired to "live the dream."

He also manages to throw in some very good real estate advice!

This is not a reference book, it is however an excellent read that goes through the processes that one man used to find his dream property.

Another book I purchased "Finding and Buying Your Place in The Country" was more of a reference book and doesn't go into much at all on techniques for finding your property. Perhaps you need to buy both of these books for the complete picture.

I learned a few things that hopefully I can use to find my dream property. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Ralph Turner tells an interesting and useful story of his quest for a piece of land in rural Iowa, and an antique tractor and a tiny house to go with it. He feels that the key to his success was to eliminate middle men. So he gives eighteen different ways to find sellers on your own.

This is a great book to read for entertainment and useful tips, but if you're seriously interested in rural land, you probably also should have Finding and Buying Your Place in the Country by Les Scher.

A captivating story. I seldom ever finish a magazine article, let alone a book. I received Ralph's book in the mail and began reading it to myselft at around 5pm, took a break for dinner and then started over reading it to my wife this time. By 1am, we had read the entire book. As I had hoped, it has stimulated our interest in the subject. I just wish more people would use Ralph's "story telling" or "narrative" format when writing books about their experiences in buying land and homes - it is so entertaining to learn through the experience of others.