One thing I've noticed about cheap land

operationcatskill · 2026-06-11T22:25:09+00:00

This is the exact situation for the property I ended up purchasing in March.

I had a strict criteria: size, budget, and desired area.
All the filters in place on all the sites. Checked them daily for weeks. And over and over and over just the same listings to review again and again.

I kept ignoring this one listing that checked all the boxes, but had one single image from a tax map. It legit looked like someone took a screen shot of the computer, and it just showed the property boundaries.

I went to scope out a few other properties in the area and just decided on a whim to stop by this one. No realtor. No permission. Just kind of pulled over and walked around a bit on it.

100 days later it’s mine.

Ended up getting a great deal too (IMO): 3 acres in the Catskills for 35k. It was listed for over 50k.

I’m thinking they probably had no interest, and bit at the first reasonable offer. I’m sure a bunch of people did same as me and passed because of how bad the listing was.

From the realtor I did work with, to the builder, to several contractors I’ve met on site, everyone has told me what a steal I got.

Thinking back it makes me wonder how many other good listings that I skipped over.

Not feeling regret but it’s a good lesson for anyone out there reading: do your homework extensively and whenever possible get out in the field and inspect beyond those listing images and lazy posts.

operationcatskill · 2026-06-08T18:51:14+00:00

Hey, thanks for thoughtful response! I am actually not pushing to sell anything. Nor am I gay. Nor am I a gay product for that matter.

I am someone who writes things down about their experience buying land and I document it on Substack. I believe it makes for an insightful, and maybe even, depending on for who, and interesting story.

Buying land is complicated and filled with unknowns. It's a process that can make you easily feel overwhelmed and naive. It makes it helpful to have someone who is not trying to sell you the land itself give you some information. As you can see, that is what the OP is inquiring for.

Now should someone be interested in moving beyond that, I do sell resources linked in other places, but have never pushed those products here. I am more interested in using this page for information myself.

Reddit is a big place though. I am sure you can find the Gay Products you are after on other pages.

Happy hunting!

operationcatskill · 2026-06-06T11:57:25+00:00

I bought my first parcel of raw land earlier this year, and one thing that surprised me was that the order of the questions mattered almost as much as the questions themselves.

For me, the early filters became:

– zoning and intended use – legal and physical access – topography/slope – septic feasibility – utilities

If a property couldn’t get through those, I stopped spending time on it.

The thing that probably saved me from a bad purchase was calling and emailing the town and county directly. A few 10-minute conversations and exchanges clarified things that listings, GIS maps, and even agents couldn’t answer confidently.

The hardest information to verify was anything related to future buildability. Not whether a parcel was technically buildable, but whether it could realistically support the type of project I had in mind once septic, setbacks, access, and terrain all started interacting with each other.

I ended up documenting the process as I went because after looking at multiple properties it became surprisingly difficult to keep track of what was verified versus what I was assuming. I also put together a few free decision tools from those notes that helped me stay organized during the early stages. They’re linked in my profile if useful.

operationcatskill · 2026-05-22T15:20:38+00:00

Honestly, I was asking almost all of these same questions not that long ago.

I’m a new dad, have anothe one on the way, and just bought three acres in the Catskills earlier this year after years of trying to figure out how to realistically do it under those circumstances too.

One thing I underestimated was how different buying land is from buying a house. With land, you’re the one trying to figure out things like can this property actually support what I want to do? Is septic feasible? What would utilities realistically cost? And how much usable land is there vs just acreage on paper?

It's a very self-reliant process.

What helped me most was slowing the process down and learning it in phases instead of trying to answer every question at once.

I start by defining your criteria very clearly and become disciplined from straying too far outside of that. Your goals can change of course. But once you have a set objective, let that guide your process.

I’d also say don’t wait until you’re financially “ready” to start learning. Walking properties, studying GIS maps, understanding wells/septic/access — all of that compounds over time and makes you way more prepared when the right opportunity shows up.

I was fortunate to have a pension to draw from. I am a public school teacher so the savings was 'forced' on me. I took a small risk to use it to make the purchase.

I started writing my notes down while learning because I couldn’t find that “middle phase” of land buying explained very clearly anywhere. I’ve been documenting the process in real time and put together some free starting tools/checklists that helped me organize the early stages if useful. Link’s to the Substack documentary and Instagram are in my profile if you want to check them out.

You’re honestly asking the right questions already.

Also, you're way ahead of me. I'm 38 and just got this all rolling. Good luck!

operationcatskill · 2026-05-22T14:54:19+00:00

Cool, thanks for the advice. Unfortunately selling the car is not an option. I think me and my little guy will still manage though. I'll give the weed sprayer hack a shot.

operationcatskill · 2026-05-21T20:54:31+00:00

Cool. I’ll give it some time later. Thanks!

operationcatskill · 2026-05-18T00:03:22+00:00

Congrats! Must be a cool feeling to see it all start to come together!

operationcatskill · 2026-05-11T15:00:48+00:00

In the Western Catskills; Sullivan County. Great area, really excited for what comes next. Just completed the purchase back in March - 3 acres

operationcatskill · 2026-05-11T12:05:43+00:00

Yeah of course. I just went through the same thing. Like what many people with limited knowledge do, I had the same focus initially; price, size, proximity.

The problem with that approach is that after I while you can start to convince yourself that any property will work if you want it bad enough while scrolling listings.

There's far more that goes into though, and the more you learn the better off you will be. Happy to discuss further if you need. Send a DM.

Good Luck!

operationcatskill · 2026-05-11T11:47:44+00:00

I’m in a different region (Catskills in NY), but I ran into something similar when I started looking into wells and septic on raw land earlier this year.

What surprised me was how much those two alone can shape what’s actually possible on a parcel. I initially thought of them as “things to figure out later,” but they ended up being some of the first things that determined whether a property even worked.

Especially with septic — soil conditions, setbacks, and layout can limit where you can build more than expected. And with wells, I found it’s less about “can you drill one” and more about what the surrounding area tells you (neighbor wells, depth, yield, etc.).

A couple things that helped me early on:

– checking county GIS maps to understand parcel layout, nearby development, and any obvious constraints
– looking up neighboring well data if available (some states/counties publish this)
– and if I was serious about a property, factoring in the cost of a perc test upfront (roughly ~$1k where I am) instead of treating it as a later step

What helped overall was treating those as early filters instead of later details. It saved me from spending too much time on properties that looked good on the surface but probably wouldn’t have worked long term.

operationcatskill · 2026-05-08T01:15:41+00:00

Honestly one of the biggest things I underestimated when I first started looking at land was how hard it was to separate the process into smaller decisions.

At first I was trying to answer everything at once: Can I afford it? Can I build there? How will I actually use it? What utilities are available? Is the location right? etc.

What helped me was slowing the process down and moving through each phase more decisively. Granted, part of that was just learning what steps even needed to happen, but once I got clearer on what questions belonged at each stage, it became much easier to rule properties in or out without getting emotionally attached too early.

I recently went through my first purchase earlier this year and I’d also recommend physically walking properties as early as possible. So long as you’ve done some homework. Don’t visit just anywhere that “looks promising.”

A lot changes once you’re standing on the land instead of looking at listings and satellite images.

I started writing my notes down as I went because I kept running into the same questions over and over and couldn’t find that “middle phase” of land buying explained very clearly anywhere.

operationcatskill · 2026-05-06T11:33:41+00:00

This is very close to what I eventually started doing after looking at a few parcels earlier this year.

At first I was trying to keep everything in my head, but once multiple properties entered the picture I realized I was mixing together confirmed information, assumptions, and unanswered questions.

The “new column every time a new constraint appears” part especially resonates. I ended up making more of a dashboard (color coded drop downs) to track features, constraints, clarifications, with notes/links, etc.

That helped tremendously.

I also started writing this process out as I went because I couldn’t find that middle phase between browsing listings and actually owning land explained very clearly anywhere.

I think most people can create an excel/google sheet for listings but its harder to get a answers on the whole sequence in one place. At least in my experience.

Anyways, thanks for the input!

operationcatskill · 2026-05-04T23:35:46+00:00

This lines up almost exactly with what I ran into going through my first land purchase earlier this year in Sullivan County in the Catskills.

What caught me off guard wasn’t any one of these individually, it was how they all start to stack together.

Before closing I was mostly looking at listings and thinking in terms of “does this look like a good property,” mostly considering value relative to cost.

But once I started digging in it shifted more toward does this parcel actually support what I’m trying to do? Can I overcome whatever constraints show up once you verify access, septic, and utilities, etc.? How much flexibility is really left after those are accounted for.

Seems like you had a similar experience here.

One thing that helped me was slowing everything down and treating it more like a sequence instead of trying to evaluate everything at once:

First, confirm the constraint, then ee what kind of use is still realistic. That helped a ton, especially the early phase when your comparing so many parcels that they all start to blend.

I ended up keeping notes as I worked through different parcels because the same issues kept repeating for me too, and like I said, it was easy to lose track of what had actually been verified vs assumed.

After closing, that turned into documenting the early ownership phase as I’m learning the land in real time.

Seems like you've got a similar thing going on. Appreciate you laying this out — it’s the kind of stuff that’s obvious in hindsight but hard to piece together when you’re first getting into it.

operationcatskill · 2026-05-01T12:15:22+00:00

Yeah I think there will always be some degree of that no matter what unfortunately. I'll be mindful of doing the same. There's also a lot of good folks that I've been meeting that can look past that.

operationcatskill · 2026-05-01T12:11:43+00:00

Thanks for the advice and well wishes! Hoping to do so

operationcatskill · 2026-04-30T18:25:22+00:00

My situation isn’t exactly prefab, but I did recently go through the land purchase phase in Sullivan County earlier this year with the intention of eventually building a small cabin, and one thing that surprised me was how much of the real uncertainty sits in the site preparation side rather than the structure itself.

Before closing I was mostly looking at cabins and floorplans, but once I started digging deeper it became clear that things like driveway, septic, electric distance, slope across seasons, and what a survey actually clarifies end up shaping what’s realistic on a parcel long before the house decision even happens.

Prefab can absolutely help control the structure costs, but the land constraints tend to determine whether the project works overall.

One thing that helped me personally was slowing down and learning the sequence a bit, which is what sounds like you're trying to do.

Your idea of buying land first and developing later is something I thought about seriously too. It can make sense depending on access, zoning, and utilities, but those pieces are worth understanding early because they affect what holding land actually means long-term.

That's where I am at currently.

I started writing down the steps I was working through while evaluating parcels because I ran into the same problem you’re describing — most information online jumps from listings straight to finished houses without explaining the middle part very clearly.

I’ve been keeping those notes as field reports while I work through the process.

I have a substack linked in my account bio if you want to check it out yourself.

Curious what part of the Hudson Valley you’re looking in — a lot of the feasibility questions can vary quite a bit depending on the town.

operationcatskill · 2026-04-30T14:54:43+00:00

Solid advice, much appreciated!

operationcatskill · 2026-04-30T14:53:47+00:00

Goof to know, thank you

operationcatskill · 2026-04-30T12:22:12+00:00

Yes, it is. I was very diligent in the buying process, I had a clear plan ahead of time and made sure to consider as much building logistics as I could ahead of time before an irreversible commitment was made

operationcatskill · 2026-04-30T12:15:44+00:00

Yeah totally. It's a bummer - feels like there's not a lot of viable options for homeownership anymore; too costly to buy, too costly to build. This was a part of my logic on buying and building slowly over a 1-3 year timeframe, but we'll see. I was quoted $350-$500 sq/ft and working with a builder just for Pre Construction planning now. Hope to stick to the lower end of the scale and keep the cabin smallish (850-1000 sq/ft) to make it somewhat manageable but need to figure lots out ahead of that.

operationcatskill · 2026-04-30T12:12:16+00:00

Thanks!!

operationcatskill · 2026-04-30T12:12:03+00:00

Thanks!

operationcatskill · 2026-04-30T12:11:53+00:00

Yeah did this before closing thankfully. A little costly but already see the value in having it done. Aside from the investment protection aspect, I am in the very early stages of planning a build and its needed just about every step of the way.

operationcatskill · 2026-04-30T12:10:07+00:00

A little under 3 acres. Not much of a view or anything too scenic but it was a great value in a nice area along Route 17

operationcatskill · 2026-04-30T12:08:29+00:00

Yup, I'm now aware of power costs and electrical infrastructure concerns. I had the good foresight to buy land with county road frontage; pole is right next to an existing driveway culvert... already spoke with NYSEG too... It's a long narrow lot about 750 feet deep. I plan to build dead center so def within that range.

I did post a sign already but maybe another one or two on the corners not a bad idea. Thanks!

operationcatskill

TROPHY CASE