KS Not all of it's flat!

[Anon001]

Hey, I'm in northeast Kansas and was wondering if there are others nearby. I am about 35 miles northeast of Topeka east of 75 hwy and about 25 miles south of the Nebraska state line.
Paul

[WileyCoyote]

Hi, Paul, we're in north Central Nebraska, in the Sandhills, just south of the South Dakota line. I've never seen ayone from NE here on BWH. There's only 6000 people in our whole county, though - and most of them are ranchers with big spreads. Looks like to the way of thinking out here, we're neighbors! ;D

[Anon001]

WileyCoyote, I agree. We are indeed neighbors. Our county has 17,000 in it... but the majority of the populace are in the southern half of the county and I am in the NE corner of the county in the middle of nowhere....lol

[silvergramma]

Flatlanders huh? i thought that was the people in North Dakota.. lol
tumbleweeds from North Dakota can end up down at your place? lol

[Anon001]

Flatlanders huh? i thought that was the people in North Dakota.. lol
tumbleweeds from North Dakota can end up down at your place? lol
I have no idea what you are talking about but this part of the country is definitely NOT flat!
PaulNKS

[KS_GI]

Another Kansas here, a genuine Flint Hillbillie. about 20 Miles SE of the Emporia area.

[Anon001]

KS_GI,
I'm about 35 miles north and east of Topeka. About 25 miles south of the NE/KS state line.

[krash]

Another Kansan here--about 45 to 50 miles north and west of Topeka. And it is not flat here either. Flint hills are beautiful!

[poisonivie]

lol Its my part of kansas thats flat!!!! Western

[Anon001]

lol Its my part of kansas thats flat!!!! Western
ROLMBO

[Mister_Mxyzptlk]

I seem to recall a bunch of college students studied several states geography and compared them to the geography of the pancake. They determined that a few states were in fact FLATTER than a pancake. I don't remember if Kansas made the list.

[jdnh20]

Also from not so flat Kansas. I'm 38 mi. s.w. of Kc. on I-35

[Anon001]

jdnh20,

Welcome!!! You aren't too far from me....maybe 60 to 90 miles?

[Jamie]

We just relocated to the Omaha area about 2 mos ago from Oregon. We are really loving it here, but land prices seem to be pretty high still. Trying to figure out where to buy land so we can begin paying it off, then move out on it. We do have some friends in the Topeka area but they don't come on to BWH. They are homesteaders though.

We are really loving the area here, not flat like we had imagined. Very hilly and green.

[Anon001]

We just relocated to the Omaha area about 2 mos ago from Oregon. We are really loving it here, but land prices seem to be pretty high still. Trying to figure out where to buy land so we can begin paying it off, then move out on it. We do have some friends in the Topeka area but they don't come on to BWH. They are homesteaders though.

We are really loving the area here, not flat like we had imagined. Very hilly and green.

Jamie,

I like this area... hilly, decent land prices. Here you can easily buy land for $1,000 an acre or less.

[Jamie]

I had no idea land was that inexpensive down there! We had tried to get a job in the Topeka area but most everything is in KC. Not sure if it would be safe to commute in winter. We have a bus conversion that we will live in when we do finally find and buy land so we can begin asap. We are also planning on using the bus for the possible SHTF. It is good to have options.

I read your blog, very interesting!! So you came from 7 boys! How neat! We have 8 children with 9 on the way. Life is busy but full of joy. I will visit your blog again Paul and hopefully we can get to know each other.

Oh, if a person wanted to find some land in KS what are the chances of finding a seller willing to carry the note? I suppose it just depends on the person.

Nice chatting with you, Paul
Jamie

[Anon001]

I had no idea land was that inexpensive down there! We had tried to get a job in the Topeka area but most everything is in KC.
There are still a lot of jobs in Topeka and the surrounding area. What type work do you?
Not sure if it would be safe to commute in winter.It would be no problem as long as you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Also, our winters are not as severe as they used to be.

I'm about 30 miles from the north side of Topeka. I'm about 70 miles west of Kansas city.

In April or May I went to a farm sale. There was an old farmhouse, 2 story, 4 bedroom, dining room, two mud porches, living room, cellar in great shape, barn, pig shed, chicken house, two 1car garages, and a big shed that may have been a house at a little two room house at one time, 80 acres, pasture, hay ground, timber, 2 ponds, and it sold for $105,500.

I read your blog, very interesting!! So you came from 7 boys! How neat! We have 8 children with 9 on the way. Life is busy but full of joy. I will visit your blog again Paul and hopefully we can get to know each other.Yep 7 boys. The first one born in 1944 and the last one in 1963. There were five and then 7 years later they had me and my little brother followed 2 years after that. By the way, I made a posting of my story at the following link:

How I got started with homesteading and self-reliance. (http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/vb/showthread.php?t=1997)

It tells how I started out with no money and making minimum wage and got to where I am today as a self-sufficient homesteader AND debt free. I did it in 15 years.

Oh, if a person wanted to find some land in KS what are the chances of finding a seller willing to carry the note? I suppose it just depends on the person.Yes, it does depend on the person. It can be done. I have a buddy that has carried notes on property several times. I had bought another 40 acres last summer and then later began thinking that 22 miles from home is a little far so I decided to try and sell it on contract (it is debt free... paid cash). But, after that, I rented the hay ground to the neighbor and then this summer he is also renting the pasture for his cattle. So, the rent coming off of it pays the taxes and insurance and also gives me a return on my money that is more than the it would earn in the bank. Also, it will appreciate in value and just give me that much more return. So, I decided to keep it for the time being. It is a nice place for a homestead and very secluded and private. It is also only about 35 miles from Topeka.

[Jamie]

Paul,
Thanks for posting your story about getting started in self sufficiency. I will plan on reading that later tonight. That is our goal as well to be totally off grid and debt free. For us, we had a farm on 10 acres in Oregon. We lived in a small community near a "big city" of about 55,000 people. Not alot of jobs for my husband there that paid what he was making. Sadly they laid off people after about 2 years on the job and with no other prospects, we ended up losing it. We tried to sell for about a year since we had heard that he may lose his job but we had bought at the top of the market with a VA loan and the bank was guaranteed thier money regardless. No motivation to shortsale or anything. So we walked away. Now we have learned some things the hard way but still have the dream of homesteading and someday we hope to get there. Well, that's a bit of our story. I am glad to hear that there are opportunities to still buy on a owner note. I'd rather give my money to a good honest seller than the bank any ol day! I don't work out of the home. I stay home with the children, but my husbands line of work is computer infrastructure. The title is senior systems engineer most of the time. Now he is doing contract work because he makes more money doing that. The area that we know folks is Maple Hill. If we did end up there, it would be nice to be close enough to attend church there. Is your property close to Maple Hill?

God Bless,
Jamie

[Anon001]

Jamie,

Your story is one reason I never want to be in debt. When I was "forced" into full time homesteading in March 2007, I had no warning. I had paid off my land note one month earlier. In 10 years, this 160 acres was paid for by the income from the calves. If I had not paid it off I would have lost it. Timing was perfect. But, it was just coincidence that I paid it off the previous month. I had no warning that my job was ending.

I am north Topeka about 30 miles and 6 or 7 miles east. Maple Hill is west of Topeka... probably about 50 to 60 miles from me. There is another member on here that lives about 20 miles west of me also.

Yes, selling on contract is still around. I don't know the laws in other states but in Kansas if you have a seller carrying the note, you can register your contract with the county clerk in the courthouse. It is called an "Affidavit of Equitable Interest". Without that, the seller, at anytime, sell your place out from under you and evict you .... even with the contract. But, if you register with the county clerk, it prevents him from doing that. There are also other things you can do to protect yourself.... with such things as property taxes and such. By the way, my property taxes here just on this 160 run a little under $500 per year.

[Jamie]

Wow Paul,
It seems your guardian angel was looking out for you in helping you get the place paid off. I am really happy that it all worked out for you. Sometimes bad things happen to good people and we are really praying that eventually it can happen for us too. Paying cash would be a far better option but we are raising a family and the savings grows a little at a time. Ideally it be great if we could find something inexpensive and do a contract, pay it off within a year or two and then move out on it. I didn't know that about Kansas, thank you for letting me know that. WOW, your taxes are fabulous!! What a huge blessing to be able to bring in several sources of income.

I am off to read your story.

God Bless,
Jamie

[Anon001]

Jamie,

Don't make my accomplishments out to be more than it is. What I did, ANYONE can do. But the key is to budget and have no debt other than the mortgage. All the money a person pays on payments is money that can be going into savings to pay cash or to provide a large down payment. I would never take out a mortgage that was more than 15 years. On this 160, the mortgage was a 30 year amortization with a 15 year balloon but was paid off in 10. Every year, there was money from the calves left over after all expenses. That money went to pay principal.....every year. I always had two calf crops per year because my land payments were due twice a year. One on Jan 1 and the other on June 1 of each year. So, I had my budget. I paid all my expenses. Everything left over that didn't have to go into my budget went on principal.

If I could do it on what little income I had, then anyone can. Calculate what someone starting at minimum wage and ending at 9.00 per hour would make per year. Then figure payroll deductions. Not much money. The only two things that you must do to make it work is a budget and discipline.

So, go for it! LOL

[Jamie]

Thanks Paul~!! We are going to go for it.... we are saving as much as we can right now and with any luck we will be able to get our bus fixed and brought up to us. We had to leave it in storage in El Paso back in January and need to get the coolant put back in it. Its a great old bus but not just anyone can work on those. So, we save and wait. Once its here it will give us many more options. Then we can begin saving up for land. We have a family blog that we talked about turning out animals for sale and acheiving our dreams. I haven't wrote much since being in Nebraska mostly because I don't have any land and I am having lots of morning sickness so I don't feel much like writing. LOL Anyhoo, you are welcome to check it out. We didn't have near the land that you do but we gained alot of experience and had so much fun being in that environment. Its www.thefergyfarm.com

Thanks for all your help Paul, I will be asking you lots of questions as we get closer to our dream.

God Bless,
Jamie

[Anon001]

Jamie,
Yesterday there was 200 acres near me that sold for $1100 an acre. Mostly hay and pasture with timber. The best deals for rural ground are usually farm actions like when a farmer retires and sells off part of his ground or all of it and moves to town, etc... or when someone dies and the family sells at auction. Those are the best deals usually and the land goes for less than if it is through a realtor. I realize that you may not qualify for lending. If you go with a contract "for sale by owner", you may pay a bit more and you will most likely pay more interest.

Ask anything you like. I will answer all I can.

Paul

[Jamie]

what a great deal! No we won't qualify for conventional lending. We know we will have to pay a bit more in interest for a land contract but we are willing to do that. We are just praying that the timing will be right for when we do find land. Thanks so much for all your help. I will ask you questions I am sure. My husband works so much, I am going to have him read this thread later tonight since I have been sharing with him about your posts.
You are a great friend Paul! THanks again!

Jamie

[Anon001]

Jamie, ask anything at anytime, and if I can help, I will.

[Jonesy]

Another Kansasn checking in.

I live about 20 miles west of Wichita. It seems pretty flat around here. :)
I usually wear out the center of my motorcycle tire long before the edges(not many curves either)

I always thought Florida was more flat than Kansas.:) I would have thought I was still in Kansas but not for the cows wondering around a palm tree. :o

[Anon001]

There are some areas of Kansas that are flat. But the north central and northeast aren't flat...

[poacher]

Just another Kansan checking in.

Take care Be safe Poacher.

[Anon001]

hey Poacher,

What part of the state do you live in? I'm in the northeast about 25 miles south of the Nebraska state line.

Paul

[poacher]

I live around wichita. Some days it seems that there is too much of wichita around me, but, it could be worse I could live in central L.A.

Take care Be safe Poacher


www.handloadersbench.com (http://www.handloadersbench.com)

[Anon001]

Yeah, it could definitely be worse. lol

[TackKS]

Another person in Kansas checking in; about 15 minutes drive from Newton.

Today, I was wishing for some of that 'global warming' Al Gore keeps talking about. LOL! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr............

[Anon001]

Again... welcome to the forum.

It's a bit chilly here as well. It is 5:00 pm and 7 above. At least the wind finally died down and it's just breezy now. I think we will dip to around -10.

Paul

[topneill]

Hi Paul - thanks for starting this thread, albeit a while back! :) I am in Topeka. So just a little south of you! I agree that this part of Kansas is not flat at all! I commute to work by bike and this first time I did it someone asked me how the ride was and I said, "If I ever hear anyone tell me that Kansas is flat they are going to get sucker punched!" The hills around here suck sometimes, particularly in July and August. Ugh!

[Anon001]

LOL... Why is is it that everyone thinks all of the state is flat and dry?

Do you live in Topeka proper or just near Topeka? I'm about 12 miles northeast of the sale barn in Holton.

Paul

[topneill]

Hi Paul -

We are in Topeka proper. Small house. Small yard. So I guess maybe I wouldn't consider us "homesteaders" exactly. I just got on the wagon a few years ago by starting a garden and getting moving in that direction.

[Anon001]

Any progress is still progress toward a goal.

Even though Topeka is only about 35 miles(+/-), I seldom get there.

Paul