Do you turn offf the water in the sink when shaving or brushing your teeth??

Do you unplug chargers not in use…..did you realize they still use about 5 watts of p ower per  hour even when they aren’t recharging equipment?

Do you keep your tires properly inflated?  Automobiles lose approximately 1% of fuel efficiency for every 3 pounds of pressure less than what is recommended.

Do you print on both sides of the paper vs. one?  Approximately 10,000 sheets of letter paper are used by every U.S. worker each year.  Imagine the savings there!

And lastly…….gather your friends and family for a little “low tech” fun.  Play a board game, take a walk, or just sit on the porch, patio or deck.  Such activities don’t require a lot in the way of natural resource usage and offer a great way to enjoy the company of others. 

2010….I can hardly believe it’s a new decade, my son turned 16,  and the next time we face a new decade, he will be 26…..notice I didn’t mention I would be ten years older as well.  It is moments like these that make me realize that the time we as family spend together is priceless and is always cherished.  It also makes me realize how much the great outdoors has played a part in our family time.  Each year my wife makes a scrapbook for both of our moms highlighting all of the things we did as a family and almost all of our family’s activities for this year took place oudoors.  No matter what the season or activity,  we seem to be doing it….outdoors

Just this weekend as cold as it was, we found the time to take a walk through the woods, and of course, hunt.  Yes, we froze, but it felt invigorating to be out there and more importantly, memories were made, the pictures were taken for next year’s scrapbook…. and that’s all that counts.  Hope you have a great year enjoying the outdoors too.

Personally, it’s a time in my life to reflect on the memories of seasons past.  Memories with friends and family in the field, or just those early morning breakfast gatherings and the smell of coffee and bacon in the skillet.  The older I get, the more thankful I am of each season I’m able to just be part of it.  To be able to sit in the stillness of a crisp autumn morning, one with nature and watch the orange sun peek over the horizon is nothing less than a blessing.  Squirrels cutting acorns from the tree tops to the deer below, owls hooting, blue jays singing, and turkeys flying from their morning roost are all part of another daily routine of morning activities in the autumn woods.

I’m often asked by the unfortunate people of this world, how I could rise so early in the day and search my way through the darkness of the forest to sit on stand all morning not guaranteed anything but the rising of the sun only to return home empty handed.  I just tell them I’ve never once returned home empty handed but they never understand.  Opening Day has come again, so don’t miss the opportunity of the rest of your lifetime.

Unfortunately, most people will never own a piece of land for investment or pleasure. Not because they don’t want to, but because most people lack the knowledge and experience to successfully locate, evaluate, acquire, manage, and maximize the potential of a piece of land.

They simply don’t know how.

AND….

The skill, education, and experience necessary to make an informed purchase decision can take years to develop. I understand. In fact that was my exact situation 5 years ago!

BUT…..

I figured it out, and I can help you figure it out, too!

Whether you are a prospective land buyer, OR a real estate agent representing a land buyer, this is information you NEED TO KNOW.

SO…..

To help get you started (particularly for those of you who are afraid you’re going to make a mistake). I want to send you some information, identifying what (in my opinion) are the Top Ten Mistakes most first time land buyers/investors make. Some of them are mistakes I made. I’ll also send you my Top Ten Myths of land ownership. These are things where the reality of land ownership and my dreams didn’t exactly match up. AND I’ll send you the Top Ten TRUTHS of land ownership.

Just put your email address in the sign up box below, and I’ll get this valuable information out to you right away.

Remember…..The best way to enjoy, conserve, and benefit from the great outdoors is to actually own some of it!

One mature tree on the southside of your house provides as much summer cooling as five midsized air conditioners.

Recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for four hours or to run a TV for three hours.

A hot water faucet that leaks one drop per second can add up to 165 gallons a month.  That’s more than one person uses in two weeks! 

Laptops use 90% less energy than desktops.

A single open fireplace damper sends eight percent of your heating bill up the chimney.

A decrease of only 1% in industrial energy use would save the equivalent of about 55 million barrels of oil per year, worth about $1 billion.

Refrigerators account for 7% of the nation’s energy use.

Among industrialized and developing countries, Canada consumes per capita the most energy in the world, the United States ranks second, and Italy consumes the least among industrialized nations.

Enough aluminum is thrown away to rebuild our commercial air fleet four times every year. 

The Department of Energy estimates that about 20% of the energy you use in your home powers electrical appliances such as televisions, DVD players, coffee makers, toasters, and microwaves – even when they are turned off.
 

But with a little know-how and some creativity, you may be closer to your dream than you realize.

Let’s look at the options.

Traditional mortgage lenders are where most of us have experience in borrowing money for real estate. Unfortunately, most of these lenders have little experience or interest in raw land. For buying land, I think you will find an easier road to borrowing if you look elsewhere.

I’ve always had good luck with smaller community banks, particularly ones where the ownership is located in the same area as the land. These people know the area and usually understand land as an asset. For someone with good credit and a steady paycheck, this is a good place to start. Loans can be structured with monthly payments, quarterly payments or annual payments, and can be set up as either interest-only or principle and interest. Rates are generally higher than those for a home mortgage, and most banks are only going to finance about 75-80 percent of the purchase price.

As far as commercial lenders go, there is no better avenue (in my opinion) than the Farm Credit system. While originally oriented toward agriculture, this network of cooperatives (which are partially client-owned) offers loans on land to anyone, not just farmers. Loan structures are similar to mortgages, with 20-year amortization and 80 percent loan-to-value being the maximum. You will be required to qualify for any loan, just as you would with a mortgage, but some loans are based primarily on credit score, dramatically reducing the paperwork and speeding up the qualification process.

Some borrowers, however, just don’t look good on paper. Whether it’s due to bad credit, being self employed, or having recently changed jobs, some people appear to be marginal candidates even though they have the means to pay for the land they want.

But all is not lost. Some landowners actually prefer to owner-finance the land they are selling. You just have to ask. Typically, owners who are willing to owner-finance have an undesirable tax consequence headed their way if they leave the closing table with a pile of cash. They can mitigate this through owner financing. You are still going to need some cash, of course, but quite often there is no credit check.

Owners usually secure their loan with your down payment and the structure of the contract. Often, they will use a “contract for deed” arrangement, where you don’t actually get title until you make the final payment. If you default on the loan, they get to keep your money AND their land. For most landowners, this is a pretty good guarantee that you will pay as promised.

One final option that most people don’t consider is using your IRA as a source of cash for your purchase. In addition to financial instruments, your IRA can also invest in land. Now, most IRA trustees or “holders” don’t allow land as an investment, but some do. If you have money sitting on the sidelines waiting for the stock market to come back, you might consider this.

Of course, be sure to discuss any of these options with your attorney and financial advisor to make sure that you fully understand all the legal, financial and tax implications for your particular situation.