Off-grid from zero · lesson 2 of 12

Picking the land (before you fall in love with it)

Learn the five questions that decide whether a parcel can be lived on at all, and how to answer them before you sign.

Every bad off-grid story I know starts with land bought on a feeling. The view was right, the price was right, and the county, the water table, and the road had other ideas. The good news is that the disqualifying problems are findable in an afternoon if you know what to look for: access, water, sanitation, zoning, and sun.

The laws pages on this site cover the first layer for every state and county. The site report turns an address into a climate, elevation, and distance picture. The checklist in the downloads is the one to carry on the walk. Use all three before you make an offer, and make any offer contingent on a title search and on whatever soil evaluation or septic permit the local health authority requires.

Numbers to carry
  • A well can cost $8,000 to $30,000; a parcel that will not perc can cost you the whole plan.
  • Frost depth varies widely, from inches in the South to 6 feet or more in the far north, so ask the local building department for the required depth before pricing water lines, piers, and septic.
  • Winter sun hours can be half of summer's; a south slope with no tree line matters more than acreage.
Read
Use
Do before the next lesson
  • Run the site report on every parcel you are serious about and read the laws page for its county.
  • Print the land-walk checklist and the county questions; make the calls before the offer, not after.
  • Get the recorded access easement and the perc test (or write the contract contingent on both).
← Lesson 1 Lesson 3: Water comes first →
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