My wife (teacher) and I are exploring the idea of buying land. We are wanting to buy a 70+ acre plot under in western Wyoming/Idaho/Montana. We have been talking and looking at land primarily in Wyoming for a while. We have no ties in the area but absolutely love it out there.
We plan on just slowly improving the land (well drilled, driveway small things), using it for hunting/ camping when we can. With the eventual plan of building a home with a small barn. We would register as Wyoming residents with no income tax and low property taxes.
We are pcsing to Japan, and see this as an opportunity to capitalize on having some extra money, with the yen rate. As well as my wife being able to hold a full time job, we have been bouncing around so she has only been able to sub.
We have two cars paid off, 2017 Nissan Rogue and a 2024 Toyota Corolla cross hybrid
10 month emergency fund
Savings account we have just been putting monthly savings in
Savings rate: $1000 a month
Tsp: $15xx a month
Monthly investments: $250 towards ETFs
My wife’s income goes towards her IRA and fun money
We would put 20% down. Plan on using our monthly 1000 savings, whatever money we save from shopping primarily off base, and cutting down our budget some more for the payment. My wife’s income will be split between IRAs and extra going towards the payment.
What issues have you ran into with buying land/ building a house?
Are there any benefits?
Are we just falling into a dream?
How should we view buying land/ where would it fit in your budget?
We aren’t big on buying a house while in the military. We don’t want to be long distance landlords. Between closing costs and how little we’d pay of the principle in the 3 years we’d live there I don’t see the benefits of buying.
We don’t see this as an investment at this point, but more of a toy because we won’t be living there. We wouldn’t pull any triggers until early next year at the earliest. Wanting some outside perspective. Really open to different perspectives, tips, experiences, advice.
Opinions/Experiences on buying land
byu/Fabulous_Emphasis_50 inMilitaryFinance
Posted by Fabulous_Emphasis_50
2 Comments
The issues I see:
Buying an empty lot in WY isn’t going to make you a WY resident.
Being in Japan may or may not be a financial boost. The weaker yen is helpful in some ways, but COLA will go down or disappear if it gets low enough.
Don’t assume your spouse will work in Japan unless she already is hired. There are lots of spouses looking for work.
I’m an Enlisted AD member retiring after 20 years of service next year.
Along the way we have purchased several parcels of land to keep our options open to do similar. One happened to be in an area I grew up in and I had no qualms calling the realtor and writing a check, I knew the neighbors on 3 sides and the 4th side is a road. Another was bought sight unseen on a whim but it was a sizeable parcel at a steep discount.
Lessons learned:
Money – How are you paying for the land? How are you paying for improvements? What’s the plan if you change your mind and find a different plot, or change your mind entirely and want to divest if the land?
* Reading and reading your post it seems like this is where your mind is. What are your funds looking like now? How much debt do you want to take on? What’s the cost of the land? Sounds like the plan right now is spend all extra money on this plot. You’re in Japan, do you desire to travel? Would you rather invest all the money in a brokerage or HYSA and buy the plot later? Keep in mind, you know what they say about land, they don’t make more of it.
Structure(s) – What’s the game plan? You have a patch of dirt. Where are you sleeping? Is it adequate for all souls aboard? You, spouse, kids, pets? Are you moving there after retirement or trying to get stationed there now? Is this a 1, 5, or 10 year plan?
Infrastructure – How the heck are you going to get there. Solitude and a “life out west” is great but are you in an unincorporated / unmaintained area? Where do the snowplows stop? Road graders to fish washouts after a rain?
Utilities – What are you going to do? Power, water, septic. There are plentiful off grid options for each but they all come at a cost. My dear wife went to the bathroom in a bucket for a week because of an issue with utilities at our place. I love her and I learned that I need to ensure a toilet is available if I want to continue to call her my wife.
Logistics – You have the land and the money, but do you have aa place to source the things you need? Where I’m at we don’t have harbor freight and Walmart around the corner.
Bills – Brother I pay property tax on land I haven’t even walked on. That’s a slap in the face.
Locals – Have ya made friends yet? Stopped in at your local Legion, VFW, Bar, Feed Shop, etc?
Lifestyle – Are you sure? Did you watch Yellowstone and think “I can do that” or do you have this in your blood somewhere? It’s one thing when the power goes out “in society” but when you’re out there and the lights go out… You might be on your own for a bit. Are you OK without phone reception? Starlink may have you covered in internet, or maybe your property is served by a landline.
These and more are all things to consider. I grew up this way and introduced my wife to it after we met. She took to it like a natural. We spent a week entirely off grid, dropped off by a Cessna at a shack in the woods with fishing poles and a box of wine. I didn’t think I could love her more than I did before that trip started but when all you have is someone else in a 15×15 plywood hut and a lake full of fish, and a hole in the ground to poop in… Well, I married the right gal – that’s for sure.
Other things to look at, local, state, federal maps for jurisdictions, unincorporated area / incorporated area / township / city / county layout, districts for fire service, voting, soil conservation if you intend to do land improvements, the list goes on and on.
If you want to chat about it long term my DMs are open. We are ahead of you on the exact path you are describing but not quite to the finish line yet.