Camper or house - need advice

There were several things posted in this thread, that didn't make sense to me. (for example, how parking a camper on an undeveloped property, that you don't own, isn't trespassing and how it makes it "developed"; how renting is a waste of money, because your paying for someone else to maintain the place, instead of having the needed savings to hire want you can't do, or don't want to for yourself, etc).

But two things did stick out to me that made me wonder:
Your dad planted "many valuable trees" and "need to sell" are two that come to mind.
"old basement" is another.

What is the basement under? Does it have plumbing/electricity already? What is the value of the tree's and are they ready for selling/harvesting?

Wow. I forgot I had posted this and was looking back through. Started to read this and was like... "hey, that sounds like my situation" lol.

Anyways, a little update... I now have $4,000... yipee. Still not much, but improving. I have not bought anything, but keep thinking about it. Man, I just need a place to live that I can call my own. I need something low risk that is already liveable but maybe needs a few simple repairs that I can do while living in it.

Not sure if this is normal or maybe an indication that I'm not ready to buy, but what I want swings wildly from one day to the next. One day I still want to "live free" in a camper or something I can buy outright with my measly $4000, and the next day I'm ready to buy a duplex for $100,000 and try to make some income with the side I don't live in. But it's true, I really don't have enough saved up for the issues that come AFTER buying. What I've found is that it's possible to buy with the amount I have if I am able to get a 100% financed USDA Rural Development home loan, or if the seller will pay closing costs. So there's ways to do it, but no, probably not smart since I have no cushion.

Honestly I feel our country is heading into a rough period (and maybe disolving? breaking up? collapsing, etc) and am wondering if it really makes sense to get into a home loan right now and spend all that money on a home. I'm thinking it might be better to put my money more into land, and have an acre or so and live in a small decent mobile home, maybe 600-800 sq ft. That's all I need. Mobile homes, although I've heard don't hold value like a regular house does, seem less risky repair-wise. I suppose you can still have costly sewer issues like one person posted, but...what else would be a big fix???!!!

There's some property for sale close to me that is 4.5 acres with utilities already on land $25,000. That sounds like a good deal. The problem is that it's harder to get a loan and need more downpayment since there's not already a dwelling on the property. Maybe I can borrow from a rich relative I have for the downpayment. Then on top of that I'd have to buy the mobile home, or SOMETHING simple to live in.

When I was in my 20s and making $8-$10/hr I thought that $18/hr was a lot of money. That's what I make now, but can't seem to figure out how to get ahead. I'm not a good planner I'm finding out : / I guess I need to start out simple, like with the mobile home idea.

Any new thoughts on the best living options for the coming economic upheaval? I still need a place to live. Tiny houses are fine, except that I've lived in small cramped places and shared living space for YEARS. I just want some space of my own. So the camper and tiny house, while fine ideas for other people, is not going to work for me right now.

If you're single (or coupled) but kidless have you thought about just renting a room for awhile and saving as much as you can. My sister did this, always had great places with great roomies and was eventually able to save enough to buy a small condo with cash. I know you said you don't want to do that but it can be an easy way to get ahead and eventually have a place of your own for the rest of your life - without having such a big loan. When I got divorced and owed not only the mortgage but had to pay ex hubby off too, getting a couple of roomies for just a couple of years made a huge difference on paying off everything and saving a bit too. Didn't need to keep them very long either to get to that point of FI and be able to live alone in my own place if I wanted.

Of the 27 places I've lived as an adult, all but 3 have been roommate situations where I shared expenses. Clearly I have just not planned well, because all this time I could have been saving???? I'm not being sarcastic, but more wondering how I've got to where I am. What thinking has lead me here, because that's the advice I give to other people when they can't afford a place on their own. I can afford to find an apartment to live on my own, but I'm just wondering if THAT is the best decision. Right now I need my own place (whether rented or bought) and my own space. I just got out of a very crazy situation with 4 other roommates and am craving time to myself for awhile. It was my own fault for staying as long as I did because I wasn't in a lease, just didn't want to move AGAIN. I got burnt out on roommates though : (

ButterflyBreath, I also look for cheaper options . Sometimes you can buy an older mobil home for cheap but the Banks wont lend money on them you have to pay cash or find a seller that will take payments. Buying a house is not always a good investment, I know more people that owe more than their house is worth. Sometimes the taxes are more than an apartment.

One thing that might help if you could find a live in situation with someone that needs some help you could save up some more money.
It would be nice to find like minded people that wanted to work together to live cheap, but in this day and age that is hard to find .

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Originally Posted by ButterflyBreath

Of the 27 places I've lived as an adult, all but 3 have been roommate situations where I shared expenses. Clearly I have just not planned well, because all this time I could have been saving???? I'm not being sarcastic, but more wondering how I've got to where I am. What thinking has lead me here, because that's the advice I give to other people when they can't afford a place on their own. I can afford to find an apartment to live on my own, but I'm just wondering if THAT is the best decision. Right now I need my own place (whether rented or bought) and my own space. I just got out of a very crazy situation with 4 other roommates and am craving time to myself for awhile. It was my own fault for staying as long as I did because I wasn't in a lease, just didn't want to move AGAIN. I got burnt out on roommates though : (

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I can definitely understand why you'd want your own place!! That's a lot of moves and living with different people. Not really sure what would be the best way since you said you want a larger place rather than even a small house. But I think you may want to re-think that even if it's just a temporary rental. Maybe a rented studio apt. Small but at least you'd have your privacy and it probably wouldn't cost much more than a roommate situation. Or you can try maybe renting a mobile home or trailer on some land to see how you'd like that before taking the plunge and getting into debt. If you've never lived out in the country or in a remote area on several acres alone and far from things, it might not be as idyllic as you believe. Plus it will give you a better idea of what the other costs associated with a mobile home or trailer would be - extra utilities, taxes, insurance, maintenance and repair, etc... Stuff you'd have to pay for yourself if you owned rather than rented. Then if you are still interested in buying a place you'll be more aware of all the costs besides just for the land and the mobile. And if you are on a well or septic, repairing or replacing either of them (or just bringing them up to code) can cost in the tens of thousands of dollars. Friend who replaced their old septic on a mobile on some land they owned had to shell out close to $35,000 just for that.

Otherwise maybe looking at a house or pet sitting gig for people who are travelling long term or living away from their home. You'd get a free house all to yourself and could save more money during that time. Or you'll just have to take out a loan and hope for the best. Not that many other options out their if you want your own larger place. I know you don't want to hear this but if it was me, I'd bank the $4,000 for the future and try to live as cheaply and frugally as possible in order to save more. That would mean a roommate thing for me, but maybe with someone who owns a larger house and there was only me and that person living there and not a bunch of roomies.

Another thought is a condo or mobile home in a park rather than you're own land. Either would probably less expensive to buy or rent but you would have monthly condo fees which can be high. Also if you did buy a place, you might want to consider getting at least a 2 bedroom place so that if your financial situation changes (as mine did when I got divorced) you can always get a room mate (or even rent the whole place out for awhile) to help out until you are back on your feet. Gives you a lot more control of your housing situation if you are the landlord instead of the tenant.

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Originally Posted by ButterflyBreath

Clearly I have just not planned well, because all this time I could have been saving???? I'm not being sarcastic, but more wondering how I've got to where I am. (

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Keep a notepad with you at ALL times and start tracking exactly where you spend EVERYTHING.
Once you start tracking all your expenses, things become clearer.

I'm totally going to look into this. It's not far from where I live and I have relatives near it too:

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/23...41361867_zpid/

i guess it would be the equivalent of living in a tiny house but slightly bigger. And maybe down the road as I save up I can build onto it to make it larger!

if it's livable it should qualify for USDA rural dev loan. Will look into it this week.

Here is a link to the Tiny House Hotel in Portland Oregon. People rent these to see what it would be like to live in one. This guy lives in an RV full time and goes to school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J02JvaXbGH0

Butterflybreath I checked out the link you posted. My brother had bought an old amish farmhouse in upstate New York and it needed a lot of work but he was able to fix it up himself.