Re: [Homesteadingfamily] Just wanted to introduce myself :)

>>>Oh, one thing we did learn - make sure you have mineral rights. WV, parts
of OH/VA/PA don't allow it because of coal and natural gas. Even if you
don't have it on your land, they hold the rights and there is nothing you
can do to get them. Plus they have right of way.

This doesn't even make sense. I have mineral rights and surface ownership of my property. Plus, I own mineral rights on another piece of property, but not surface ownership. They can be sold separately. In the early years of the 1900's, when times were hard <G>, steel and coal companies bought up mineral rights, sometimes for 99 year leases, for what is really a pittance although it sounded like a lot of money at the time.

Yes, this can be a problem.

So, when you find land you like, make sure you buy the mineral rights too.

Find out about rights-of-way that may apply to your property before you buy it. And, don't assume that just because the gas company is USING it that they actually have a legal right-of-way. Learn to search these things out at the county courthouse. The gas company uses a road across my land, but they don't have a legal right of way. They use it only by our good graces ... as they found out when they tried to bully us once. <G>

Find out what the surface ownership rights actually are. We receive gas royalties from a methane well that has fingers under our property. They wanted to actually drill on us, we refused. They drilled on the neighboring coal mine property. Not us. They cannot necessarily disturb your surface just because they own mineral rights.

There is a pipeline going across a neighboring county. A surface owner refused to grant them permission to put the pipeline on their property. They had to go to the neighbor for rights, who took the payment and paid off her farm. Plus, she knows where it is going, so she is selling the timber before the gas company gets there. Bad time to sell the timber, as the market is low, but she can do it before the gas company comes through, and put a little extra jingle in her own pocket.

btw: anytime a timber company approaches you to buy your timber, have it appraised by at least three timber companies before you sell to any of them.

If you can possibly get a piece of property with *free gas* on it, go for it. With *free gas* you can have a gas furnace or space heaters, gas hot water tank, gas cookstove, gas clothes dryer ... and the gas is free. That means a lot, and from what I understand, this isn't common elsewhere. I find it odd that there is so much *free gas* in my area, but Lowes/Sears/Home Depot have to order gas dryers & cookstoves. They only have electric models on the floor! What's up with that?!!!

>>>Build your cellar around your water well. That will provide extra protection
for your well as a side benefit.
Check local laws, it's not allowed in several places. I discovered that and
several places do not allow fuse boxes inside the home; but if they do it
must have some fireboard or stone around them.

Well, on our farm, we had three families living here at one time, and we all had our water wells inside our cellars. But, I live where we don't have to get permits outside of city limits.

>>>Bottom line, you need to check local laws.

True!!!

>>>If power goes out, how will you get water?!

We keep gallons of purchased water in our cellar for drinking. Some folks pump water into a *holding tank* to use when the power is out. Not really sure how it works, since I don't have that.

We get buckets of water from the pond for flushing ... and if it's yellow, it doesn't sit around to mellow in MY house! Yuck!

>>>My aunt has 3 boys and her septic are 2
55-gal drums grandpa homemade in the early 60's! If you're used to your
garbage disposable, change your ways now.

They frown on that nowadays! LOL

I agree about the garbage disposal. Give the food scraps to your hunting beagles, pigs, & chickens!

Blessings,
Teresa in WV
www.HomeschoolOasis.com

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