You could say that real estate has quite literally hit rock bottom in some areas of the country, since you can find free land, and possibly homes in some areas of the country, for free! If you’ve ever dreamed of moving out the rural Midwest and breadbasket of America you can find some great opportunities for real estate investments that won’t require a down payment. There are some places that still offer free land or have markets that are so depressed that you can pick up property for what you’ve got in your piggy bank.
If you Like Peace and Quiet…
From what I’ve seen places like Kansas and North Dakota have free land opportunities that encourage new residents to move and to prevent their towns from a decreasing tax base.
According to the website for Kansas:
Our goal is to help our rural areas sustain and grow economically.
Basically they want your tax dollars! This reminds me a lot (and may also be) of the tax increment financing offered by municipalities to encourage business redevelopment in blighted areas, which then increases the tax base by the real estate developments.
Location, Location, Location
If rural living isn’t your take I’m sure that you could find plenty of inner city dilapidated homes that you could purchase for less than a few thousand dollars and put a bit of elbow grease into. However, your neighbors might be squatters.
Jump on Realtor.com and search for your community or communities around you based on lowest price first and you may get some awesome results such as these:
According to the Realtor of the second property for $1,000 you can get a gorgeously decorated condo. Makes me wonder what their interpretation of gorgeously decorated really is.
Free Homes That You Could Win
Free home giveaways have been something that charities will do when coupled with builders to raise funds. Several have been given away in Wisconsin over the past few years, but with economy down I’m not sure if it’s such a popular idea.
Doing a quick search for “Free Home Giveaway” yielded results from St. Jude’s and HGTV’s Home Giveaway, which you could enter.
However, if you are lucky enough to win a giveaway house, you might want to consider the taxes that you’ll be responsible for based on your winnings. Considering that real estate isn’t exactly liquid like water, the winnings might not be so grand after all.
Do you know of anywhere else that’s offering free homes or rock bottom price homes?
