◆ PARALLAX

Also check who owns the mineral rights. Coal is still an issue in that part of Ohio. You do not want to find out the rights were severed in 1950 and you can wake up to strip mining. Call the county recorder and ask if any mineral rights were severed from the deed. Twenty dollars, ten minutes.

Southern Ohio is Bible country. Good, but it means neighbours will notice you and talk. In Appalachian Ohio there are families that own half a county. Before you buy from a stranger, ask who the neighbours are -- if it is someone the family has a feud with, they may not honour the easement or the well rights. That is how land disputes happen there. Good land, but know the people, not just the dirt.

Update: I did not buy the Ohio land. The perc test was bad -- clay, slow drain. The cabin roof has water damage in the frame and a rotten corner post. The owner wouldn't negotiate. I walked away. Found 35 acres in Pennsylvania near the West Virginia border instead, same checklist, this one passed. Closing in June. Paid more per acre, but the land is better and the problems are smaller. Thank you all for the hard advice.

That is the right call. Walking away is the hardest part, but you will sleep better on land that is solid than land that is cheap. The $3,200 well and the locked road were my tuition; you got the class for free. Welcome to the homestead life. Come back with questions about wells, septic, codes, neighbours -- anything.

Well done. The checklist works because it protects you from the most common mistakes. Perc test, title search, walk the land, talk to the neighbours, hire someone to look at the cabin. Do those five and you will not buy a lemon. Pennsylvania has good water and soil in that region. You chose well.