[UncoveringTruths]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'D')ELL CITY, Texas - Maxine Bryant received an ad in her mailbox last year for undeveloped land in West Texas and bought, sight unseen, 20 acres of sorry-looking desert in the middle of nowhere.

The Florida woman said the real estate company, Florida Top Land, told her that a Home Depot was coming to the nearby town of Dell City and that the airport — if that's what you can call a gravel strip along a farm field — would soon be improved.

She said she was led to believe, like some of the 200 or so other customers who bought the company's pitch and paid $15,000 to $20,000 for a 20-acre lot, that this was a place where "things are happening."

But if things are happening around Dell City, it's news to locals. And clearly, some of the buyers didn't look very closely at a map before signing on the dotted line.

"It's desert? What we bought is desert?" said new landowner Robert Brown of Hollywood, Fla. "It's not wetland?"

Florida Top Land has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and none of the customers interviewed for this story are threatening to sue. Florida Top Land president and chief executive Dennis Grant denied misleading anyone.

"Twenty years from now, which is not a long time, people are going to be building all over the place," he said. "So people might say there's an area where there is nothing right now, just like Florida. When people saw what happened in Florida and other parts of the country ... they saw something that can change, and I know this will change, too."

[mekrob]

That's actually not horrible, if you know about PO. You get this land for a pretty cheap price, I imagine. While it's out in the desert, that doesn't mean that you can't live there permanently. Even deserts have water tables. You could still make a small residence on the property. There would be plenty of light for solar panels which you would use to harness the water, make electricity and harness the geothermal power to heat and cool your home. On top of it, you get a very secluded area, so you won't have people flocking to your location once TSHTF.

As long as you know engineering, geology and the know-how and you have the energy, it's still possible to make that place worth it. It might even be better since you won't have to worry about hordes overtaking your location...Just a few thoughts of mine.

[UncoveringTruths]

Mekrob,

I get your drift but I would look for something more along this line with a secure water source.

544 ACRES WITH SPRINGS AND INDIAN PAINTINGS $395 an acre

[mekrob]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('UncoveringTruths', 'M')ekrob,

I get your drift but I would look for something more along this line with a secure water source.

544 ACRES WITH SPRINGS AND INDIAN PAINTINGS $395 an acre

[Newsseeker]

Caveat emptor. Buyer beware!!!!

[paimei01]

How many of you think that in case of economic collapse and fighting for survival, a piece of paper that says "this land is mine" will mean anything ?
People will need wood for fire, water and food, and nobody will be able to stop them taking these things from wherever they can be found.
My view of a post peak oil society is something like in Mad Max

[mekrob]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('paimei01', 'H')ow many of you think that in case of economic collapse and fighting for survival, a piece of paper that says "this land is mine" will mean anything ?
People will need wood for fire, water and food, and nobody will be able to stop them taking these things from wherever they can be found.
My view of a post peak oil society is something like in Mad Max

[Jack]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('paimei01', ' ')
People will need wood for fire, water and food, and nobody will be able to stop them taking these things from wherever they can be found.

[kochevnik]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Jack', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('paimei01', ' ')
People will need wood for fire, water and food, and nobody will be able to stop them taking these things from wherever they can be found.

[pea-jay]

The "paper" only means something if there is a governmental authority that recognizes it. That recognition is revocable at anytime, even by authorities. Just ask a Native American about the value of an Indian Treaty.

During good times, the government can take your land (and compensate you).

In bad times (for you or the economy ) you need to be prepared to maintain ownership. This is easier if you live on the property, but absentee ownership presents special challenges. How do you "protect" your claim if you cant get out to verify what is happening on it?

If the government falls and a new one replaces it ,they may just take it anyway, your only compensation being they let you live. Just ask the wealthy Cuban elite after castro took power.

If the national government falls, there is no guarentee the local replacement will abide by national rules, especially if they disagreed first. If this local government is representing a large body of landless poor, "land reform" may renegotiate your paper.

If all government fails and we face Mad Max living, your "paper" is only as strong as your defenses.

In anycase, you can see legal ownership is not a very secure right.