There’s a common misconception among many preppers that “only rich preppers” can afford a Bugout Location (BOL). It’s simply not true… but… you have to be a careful shopper.
The Affordable BOL
My thesis is that you can buy an appropriate rural acreage and build an inexpensive bugout location and camping area on it for the same cash outlay you would have for an SUV. Financing? We will get back to that in the gotchas… but it is possible to do. I know, because I’ve done it.
My Methods
I went out to find an example property to share with you good people, and I decided to be fair I should stick to what I know… North Missouri. This is just an example, of course, you would want to start searching for BOL opportunities in your own prefered area.
I know North Missouri like the back of my hand. If you’ve ever listened to our podcasts you know that Spice and I travel A LOT on the weekends, we work events and we end up traveling all over Missouri, Iowa and Illinois.
I have a good idea of what land here is worth, what sells and what sits on the market. I know where the prime hunting areas are, I know where the “weekend hunters” tend to go and I know where the big fishing areas are as well.
Knowing your area is key, as is spending time researching properties. There’s no time like the present to start, even if you are not ready to commit to serious boots-on-the-ground shopping.
Let me show you an example of what would work.
Here’s a BOL you can buy for the price of a new SUV
First, a caveit. I have no idea who owns this property, I have never met or contacted the listing agent nor do I have any further information. I found this place on Landwatch.com
Callao, Macon County, Northeast, MO Land For Sale – 17 Acres
Here’s the description. I’m leaving in the phone number because I think this is actually a pretty decent location (I know the Calio area quite well) and this one is actually worth pursuing:
17 Acres of timber and brush located north of Callao appx. 8 miles. Farm is not visible from any road and accessed through a legal recorded easement. There is a beautiful open ridge running down the center of the property, perfect for a couple acre food plot. Farm is loaded with cedar trees, young oak trees, as well as a few marketable white oak and red oaks. There are deer beds everywhere in the cedar thickets. If you are looking for an affordable spot for a chance at a mature north Mo buck, don’t let this one get away. Call Luke Shoemaker, 660-676-2218.
Because this add will eventually go away when the property is sold, here’s a screenshot of it:
The Good, The Bad and the Are You Serious?
Let’s take a quick look at this property and talk about the good, the bad and the “are you serious” features.
The first thing I see about this property that will be a non-starter for some and a ‘I’m all in’ for somebody else is the fact that it entirely unseen from any road. This is the definition of a “hidden BOL”. You access the property via a legal easement. That can both be good and bad, and I will talk about the below in the “gotchas” section.
On the one hand, it’s EXTREMELY private, there will be no “golden horde” people showing up on your doorstep. On the other hand, you need to make SURE the person who owns the land the access easement is on isn’t a pain in the tail to deal with. Even if that person is OK, will the next person who owns the easement land be? It’s a concern.
The next thing that I see is that it’s mostly wooded. If you know how to read terrain from a picture, you can see there’s a grass draw in the center, this is a perfect place to build a pond (Add about $7,000 to the price for that pond).
There’s room for crops, and there’s lots of hunting space. The area this property sits in is world-renowned whitetail country.
This location would be an “off grid” spot, you would be talking about doing a well or water catchment system of some kind, and solar.
There are, of course many places out there with water and power already there, but if the SHTF and you don’t have your own water source, that’s a real problem.
Look Out For The Gotchas
Here are some of the
- Zoning & Codes – this is your #1 gotcha, you must find out ALL of the zoning laws and code laws in an area before you buy, to make sure you can do what you are planning to do on your own land. IMHO I would never personally build a BOL in a place with restrictive zoning or code laws. I don’t need the government inspecting my property, and I also don’t need them telling me what I can and cannot do.
- Taxes – know ALL of the taxes involved, not just property taxes. Sales tax, vehicle taxes, everything.
- Water rights and restrictions – Make sure it is legal to collect and store rainwater, and if you have water rights.
- Property use restrictions – are there any weird local laws that restrict you from using your proposed property any way you like… for example, no campers? Believe it or not, this is a real thing in some places
- Right of ways and access easements – you need to know where ALL easements on your property are, as well as any easement you have a right to (generally used to get onto isolated properties).
- Title insurance – This is simply a must, you must purchase title insurance. Period.
- Flight paths – Is your property in the flight path of any area airport?
- Cell coverage – Your phone may not work on a property, but do ANY cell phones work there? Sometimes a different company’s phones will work (at The Place only US Cellular networked phones work, for example)
- Financing bare land – The last gotcha I will mention is that it is very difficult to finance “bare” land. There are ways around this, but you may have to get creative.
Conclusion
It’s critically important that, if you plan to bug out, you need somewhere pre-planned that is safe to go to. One good way to make sure you have this is to buy a small rural property and build up your BOL over time.
Having a rural BOL has a big added side-benefit… it diversifies your investments by adding an asset that isn’t stocks & bonds, precious metals or currency.
Just some thoughts for your mental mill to grind on.